The $100 Guitar Before The $100 Guitar After
The $100 Guitar Project


The $100 Guitar, art by Cecile
Art by Cecile O'Meara, Nov 2010

The $100 Guitar, arrival with Charles O'Meara
The $100 Guitar arrives at Chuck O'Meara's home in Madison, CT, Oct 24, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Shawn Persionger and Marty Carlson
Shawn Persinger (R) hands the $100 Guitar off to Marty Carlson (L) at Gerosa Records, Brookfield, CT, Nov 4, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Marty Carlson
Marty Carlson with $100 Guitar at Barking Spider Studios, Nov 9, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Joe Bouchard
Joe Bouchard with $100 Guitar at Barking Spider Studios, Nov 9, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Chris Murphy
The $100 Guitar, Chris Murphy
The $100 Guitar, Chris Murphy
Marty Carlson hands off the $100 Guitar to Chris Murphy, Nov 11, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Keith Rowe
The $100 Guitar, Keith Rowe
The $100 Guitar, Keith Rowe
Keith Rowe with $100 Guitar at ND's apartment, Dec 6, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Keith Rowe and Nick Didkovsky
Keith and Nick after Keith's recording, Dec 6, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Nick Didkovsky
Nick Didkovsky after recording, Dec 15, 2010

The $100 Guitar, Larry Polansky and Nick Didkovsky by Wendy Roberts
The $100 Guitar, Larry Polansky by Nick Didkovsky
The $100 Guitar, Larry Polanskyby Nick Didkovsky
Larry Polansky picking it up, Dec 22, 2010, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Larry Polansky and Jon Diaz by Amy Beal
Jon Diaz picking it up from Larry Polansky, Dec 26, 2010, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Jon Diaz by John Kilgore
Jon Diaz, Dec 31, 2010, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Jon Diaz and Bruce Eisenbeil by Noel Hunter
Jon Diaz handing it off to Bruce Eisenbeil, Jan 1, 2011, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Bruce Eisenbeil
Bruce Eisenbeil

The $100 Guitar, Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp, Jan 18, 2011, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Elliott Sharp and Marco Oppedisano
Elliott Sharp handing off Marco Oppedisano, Jan 19, 2011, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Marco Oppedisano
Marco Oppedisano by Kimberly Fiedelman-Oppedisano, Jan 21, 2011, Queens, NY

The $100 Guitar, Marco Oppedisano and Ron Anderson
Marco Oppedisano handing off to Ron Anderson, Jan 23, 2011, Prospect Park SW, Brooklyn

The $100 Guitar,  Ron Anderson and James Moore
Ron Anderson handing off James Moore, Jan 30, 2011, NYC

The $100 Guitar,  Rhys Chatham Taylor Levine
Taylor Levine passes off to Rhys Chatham, ca. Feb 9, 2011

The $100 Guitar,  Rhys Chatham Hans Tammen
Rhys passes off to Hans Tammen, ca. Feb 13, 2011

The $100 Guitar,  Hans Tammen Kobe Van Cauwenberghe
Hans Tammen passes off to Kobe Van Cauwenberghe, ca. Feb 15, 2011

The $100 Guitar,  Amy Denio
Amy Denio, March 3, 2011, NYC

The $100 Guitar,  Mark Stewart
Mark Stewart

The $100 Guitar,  Fred Frith John Shiurba
Fred Frith hands off to John Shiurba, March 5, 2011, Oakland, CA

The $100 Guitar, John Shiurba Karl Evangelista
John Shiurba hands off to Karl Evangelista, March 9, 2011, Oakland, CA

The $100 Guitar, Phil Burk Karl Evangelista
Karl Evangelista hands off to Phil Burk, March 12, 2011, Oakland, CA

The $100 Guitar, Thomas Dimuzio Henry Kaiser
Thomas Dimuzio hands off to Henry Kaiser, March 16, 2011, CA

The $100 Guitar, Henry Kaiser Hillary Fielding
Henry Kaiser hands off to Hillary Fielding, March 20, 2011, CA

The $100 Guitar, Barry Cleveland  Hillary Fielding
Hillary Fielding hands off to Barry Cleveland, March 27, 2011, CA

The $100 Guitar, Barry Cleveland  Ava Mendoza
Barry Cleveland hands off to Ava Mendoza, April 3, 2011, CA

The $100 Guitar, David Starobin
David Starobin, April 20, 2011, New Rochelle, NY

The $100 Guitar, Andy Aledort
Andy Aledort, April 27, 2011, Sea Cliff, NY

The $100 Guitar, Greg Anderson
Greg Anderson, April 11, 2011, NY

The $100 Guitar, Bill Brovold
Bill Brovold, May, 2011, New Paltz, NY

The $100 Guitar, Bill Brovold and Mark Solomon
Bill Brovold hands off to Mark Solomon, May, 2011, NY

The $100 Guitar, Mark Solomon
Mark Solomon, May, 2011, NY

The $100 Guitar, Nick Didkovsky Josh Lopes
Nick Didkovsky hands off to Josh Lopes, July, 2011

The $100 Guitar, Taylor Levine
Taylor Levine, July, 2011

The $100 Guitar, Taylor Levine hands off to David Linaburg
Taylor Levine hands off to David Linaburg, July, 2011

The $100 Guitar, Jesse Krakow and Jesse Kranzler
Jesse Krakow hands off to Jesse Kranzler, Aug 2, 2011

The $100 Guitar, Time Canvas, Antwerp, Belgium
Time Canvas, Antwerp, Belgium 2011-09-25

The $100 Guitar, Time Canvas, Antwerp, Belgium
Time Canvas, Antwerp, Belgium 2011-09-25

The $100 Guitar, Bruno Nelissen  Juan Parra
Bruno Nelissen hands off to Juan Parra, Antwerp, Belgium 2011-09-26

The $100 Guitar, Mark Hitt and Nick Didkovsky
Nick Didkovsky hands off the $100 Guitar to Mark Hitt. March 31, 2012, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Mark Hitt and  Han-Earl Park
Mark Hitt and Han-Earl Park during Hitt/Berger session. April 13, 2012, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Joe Berger
Joe Berger, $100 guitar session. April 13, 2012, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Mark Hitt and  Han-Earl Park
Mark Hitt hands off the $100 Guitar to Han-Earl Park. April 13, 2012, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Han Earl Park by Scott Friedlander
Han Earl Park by Scott Friedlander, April 14, 2012, Brooklyn

The $100 Guitar, Han Earl Park by Scott Friedlander
Han Earl Park by Scott Friedlander, April 14, 2012, Brooklyn

The $100 Guitar, Han Earl Park and Scott Friedlander
Han Earl Park and Scott Friedlander, April 14, 2012, Brooklyn

The $100 Guitar, Del Rey and Taylor Levine
Taylor Levine hands off the $100 Guitar to Del Rey, April 22, 2012, Brooklyn

The $100 Guitar, Taylor Levine to Nels Cline
Taylor Levine hands off the $100 Guitar to Nels Cline. April 25, 2012, Brooklyn

The $100 Guitar, Nels Cline
Nels Cline with the $100 Guitar. April 25, 2012, Brooklyn

The $100 Guitar, Nels Cline to Caroline Feldmeier
Nels Cline hands off the $100 Guitar to Caroline Feldmeier. April 28, 2012, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Caroline Feldmeier and Nick Didkovsky
Caroline Feldmeier hands off the $100 Guitar back to Nick. May 1, 2012, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Alex Skolnick and Nick Didkovsky
Nick Didkovsky hands off the $100 Guitar to Alex Skolnick. May 3, 2012, NYC

The $100 Guitar, Alex Skolnick
Alex Skolnick with the $100 Guitar. May 6, 2012, Brooklyn. Photo by Emon Hassan.

The $100 Guitar, Alex Skolnick and Mike Lerner
Alex Skolnick hands off the $100 Guitar to Mike Lerner. May 8, 2012, Brooklyn

THE STORY:
On Oct 20, 2010, Nick Didkovsky and Chuck O'Meara (that's us) bought a $100 electric guitar from Elderly Instruments. We did not know what it sounded like or if it even worked, but we were charmed by its no-name vibe and single bridge pickup that looks like an old radio.

A bunch of our guitar playing friends were instantly charmed, too, including (take your time reading this, it's an awesome list): Alex Skolnick, David Starobin, Elliott Sharp, Mike Keneally, Barry Cleveland, Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser, Mark Hitt, Keith Rowe, Nels Cline, Andy Aledort, Hillary Fielding, John Shiurba, Karl Evangelista, Phil Burk, Ray Kallas, Janet Feder, Thomas Dimuzio, Julia Miller, Chris Murphy, Chuck O'Meara, Marty Carlson, Shawn Persinger, Kai Niggemann, Steve MacLean, Ken Field, Roger Miller, Michael Bierylo, Bill Brovold, Larry Polansky, Biota Bill Sharp, Ava Mendoza, Amy Denio, Bruce Eisenbeil, Caroline Feldmeier, Colin Marston, David Linaburg, Hans Tammen, James Moore, Jesse Krakow, Jesse Kranzler, Joe Bouchard, Jon Diaz, Josh Lopes, Kobe Van Cauwenberghe, Marco Cappelli, Marco Oppedisano, Joe Berger, Mark Solomon, Mark Stewart, Mike Lerner, Nick Didkovsky, Rhys Chatham, Ron Anderson, Taylor Levine, Tom Marsan, Greg Anderson, Han-earl Park, Del Rey, Teisco Del Rey, Matt Wilson, Bruce Zeines, Toon Callier/Zwerm, Juan Parra, and Wiek Hijmanns.

The $100 Guitar passed through the hands of over 65 players, each of which recorded a piece with it (anywhere from a few seconds to 3 minutes long), and then passed it on to the next player. We got enough pieces for Bridge Records to release a double CD (see below!).

The enthusiasm is kind of staggering; we started this idea and 48 hours later we were overwhelmed by the positive response!

NEWS! In Stock Now at
Amazon!

NEWS! NPR covers the $100 Guitar Project! Details

NEWS! Emon Hassan of Guitarkadia has begun a documentary on the $100 Guitar! Follow him on Twitter at @Guitarkadia

NEWS! NPR story aired Dec 4, 2012 on NPR Morning Edition. Hear it archived here: web

NEWS! Franks Meyers of www.drowninginguitars.com has done deep research on Japanese electric guitars and has identified our guitar!
QUOTE
Your $100 guitar is a special instrument from a historical viewpoint. This was a very first electric guitar model ever produced by Fujigen Gakki. This company was started in 1960 and is still making guitars to this day. Fujigen Gakki made electric guitars for many brands, including all those cool Ibanez guitars (in the 70s and 80s), and Fujigen was the company that Fender used when they started their Japan production in the early 80s. The company was started by a fellow named Yuichiro Yokouchi. He's still alive and in his late 80s! The guy is like the Leo Fender of Japan, because he was a tinkerer and developed many guitars and effects, but didn't play the guitar.

So your guitar was originally called an EJ-2 (it's missing the neck pickup) and probably dates from 1964. The pickups were developed in-house by Fujigen Gakki. These guitars were made from 1962-65.
ENDQUOTE


NEWS! We are proud and happy to announce that Bridge Records has committed to releasing the $100 Guitar Project as a double CD! Bridge is a family run label that has been in business for many years, and has a legacy of fine releases that speaks for itself. Royalties on every sales will be paid directly to CARE. As you probably know, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty.
Bridge Records

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    View the $100 Guitar's trip here (Hawaii and Europe missing):

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    VIDEOS!

    Shawn Persinger, Nov 3, 2010


    Marty Carlson, Nov 10, 2010


    Keith Rowe, Dec 6, 2010


    Nick Didkovsky, Dec 12, 2010


    Jon Diaz, Jan 8, 2011


    Ron Anderson, Jan 29, 2011


    Rhys Chatham, Feb 12, 2011


    Hans Tammen, Feb 16, 2011


    Marco Oppedisano, Feb 2011


    John Shiurba, Mar 10, 2011


    Thomas Dimuzio, March 22, 2011


    Barry Cleveland, May 13, 2011


    Bill Brovold, May 30, 2011


    Juan Parra, Oct 25, 2011


    Mark Solomon, Jun 3, 2011


    Manuel Göttsching (Ash Ra Tempel), Jan 9, 2012


    Del Rey, Brooklyn kitchen, May 2, 2012


    Colin Marston, Sept 7, 2012


    Final roster of signatures! Sept 12, 2012


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