“There’s a lot of s**t that you’ll never see in my hands under any circumstances”: Chris Shiflett on why he’s happy to be a “guitar snob”
“It’s not like I didn’t know vintage guitars were great – but actually owning something of that vintage, it was like, ‘Okay, I see what everybody is raving about.’”
Credit: Jim Dyson / Redferns via Getty Images
Foo Fighters guitarist and solo artist Chris Shiflett has revealed why he became happy to be a “guitar snob”, particularly after he bought a vintage guitar for the first time.
Before Shiflett made his first vintage purchase, he always liked the idea of “workhorse guitars”, and axes that he wouldn’t be too upset about if they were to get scratched up whilst on the road.
- READ MORE: Why Chris Shiflett spends his Foo Fighters downtime talking to other guitar players about guitar
Shiflett is touring with the Foos this month (September) following the release of their latest record, But Here We Are. He’s also set to release his solo record, Lost At Sea on 20 October this year, and has been playing some intimate shows to promote the album.
In a new interview for the print issue of Guitarist magazine, it was remarked that Shiflett doesn’t come across as the kind of guy to be a “guitar snob”: “I am a guitar snob in my own way,” he answers. “There’s a handful of things I love and then there’s a lot of shit that you’ll never see in my hands under any circumstances. But I don’t get too precious about guitars.
“If they feel good and sound good, then it sorta doesn’t matter. And when you’re taking things on the road, you want something you can drop, break and scratch – and not be too upset about it,” he explains.
“I was never a vintage guy growing up. But I don’t remember even hearing the words ‘vintage guitar’ until the ‘90s, and I didn’t have the money anyway, so you don’t worry about what you can’t afford.
“I always liked the idea of workhorse guitars you could put through their paces. But that started to change,” he says. “So I sold a bunch of guitars through Reverb and bought a ‘57 Les Paul, which was a Goldtop originally, but somebody had taken the paint off.
“It’s not like I didn’t know vintage guitars were great – but actually owning something of that vintage, it was like, ‘Okay, I see what everybody is raving about.’”
Get tickets to catch the Foo Fighters on tour via their website. Lost At Sea arrives on 20 October 2023.