Two things you need to know about the Joe Doe Hot Rod guitar. One; unless you’re the owner, then admire the custom pinstriping, flash metallic sunburst and gleaming chrome hardware with your eyes and not your hands. Two; if you’re lucky enough to score one of these sweet Cali-mod-shop builds, be careful when plugging into your amplifier of choice. The Hot Rod has been supercharged to produce a sonic boom that will get all the dogs barking in your neighborhood! But if being seen and causing a scene is your bag, then this is the guitar for you.
Every Joe Doe guitar comes with a unique origin story. So who was the inspiration behind the Joe Doe Hot Rod guitar? America’s original rebel rousers the Angelo twins - that’s who.
The Story
“Ask anyone in Parker, Pittsburg USA if they remember twins Bernie and Ernie Angelo and you’ll get a roll of the eyes, a cold shoulder, or worse, a door slammed in your face. Bernie and Ernie were the original all American rebel rousers, waking up a sleepy 1950s town with rock and roll music, drag racing and cussing in public places.
Did they burn down the The Shores Acre High School gymnasium in summer 1959? Maybe. Were they the pair seen at midnight sawing the head off The Miner’s Memorial statue in the town square in ’62? We can never know for sure, but it is perhaps more than coincidence that when the twins finally left Parker for California in 1967 to follow their musical ambitions, the crime rate halved. Their departure was celebrated by the townsfolk with an impromptu street party but one resident was sad to see them go. Sheriff Brunot, whose police cells provided a concrete home from home for the boys on many occasions remarked; “Looking for stray dogs or stopping a DUI is one thing, but nothing got my pulse racing like chasing after those Angelo boys down main street, red lights blazing”.
Parker town’s loss was California’s gain as not only did Bernie and Ernie become early pioneers of SoCal surf rock, they ran an always in demand mod shop where regular mom and pop cars were pimped, pinstriped and powered up”.
The Specs
Body:
Solid mahogany back with California wave inspired carved maple cap. Beautiful from any angle.
Finished in dazzling 'Silverburst’ with Go Faster pinstripe decals.
Pickups:
Wilkinson WOCHB (bridge) / WOCHN (neck) double coils.
Controls:
2 Volume, 2 tone and 3 way selector.
Hardware:
Wilkinson GTB wrapover chrome bridge with fine tuning capability.
Shiny chrome Wilkinson WJ15 tuners.
Neck & Fingerboard:
Mahogany neck with custom ‘Hot Rod Maniacs’ decal on rear.
Genuine rosewood fingerboard with finger friendly 12” radius and mini dot inlays.
Nut: GraphTech nut, as slippery as a tire with no treads.
Case: Joe Doe luxury hardshell case with case candy.
Certificate: Certificate of authenticity included.
Limited Edition of 100 'Hot Rod' is an original Vintage® guitar, designed and created by Joe Doe Guitars and the UK Vintage design team.
About Joe Doe
Joe Doe Guitars, maker of unique custom guitars with amazing back stories built in have teamed up with the Vintage® design team to create the 2023 Collection, a series of limited-edition guitars (just a hundred of each) that are hands down, like nothing you’ve ever seen before!
Constructed using the highly regarded Vintage® V6™, V52™, V100™ and V4™ chassis, Ben Court, originator of Joe Doe Guitars has applied his signature blend of art, design, and tall storytelling to create guitars with a history, character and soul all of their own, made to play as well as they look, and sound as good as you’d expect from a Vintage® guitar. So, when a Joe Doe Guitar is hanging on your wall it’s a work of art to be admired and discussed in hushed tones and when it’s hanging off your guitar strap, it’s pure musical inspiration.
Each Joe Doe Guitar features a characterful origin story, custom artwork, unique design details, Wilkinson hardware and pickups throughout, and a Joe Doe branded hard case.
Each guitar comes with an individually numbered authentication certificate and extra special ‘case candy’.
You can read the article with designer Ben Court Here.