The Zappa Mystique

What comes to mind when someone mentions Frank Zappa? Eclectic, avant-garde, theatrical, satirical, wild-haired, and cigarette-smoking might make the list. The fact is, Zappa like so many great artists, gave our otherwise monochromatic lives an iridescent glow through his music. To say that he ceaselessly created, and continued to push the boundaries of music composition, production, and arrangement to the very limit only begins to scratch the surface of his monumental career.

Over the last couple of months, we’ve had the rare privilege of delving into the tools used by Zappa to create his art. As fellow gear-heads it has been nothing short of an adventure through time. His unique taste, attention to detail, and efforts to achieve the best possible sound on record are nothing short of impressive. The two most notable pieces that captured our attention are his Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster and B3 Hammond Organ, which are currently a part of our “Played, Worn, and Torn” music highlights auction.

The ES-5 Switchmaster, being the first guitar that Zappa owned, holds a special place in music history. He would go on to use the Switchmaster to record his first three albums with The Mothers of Invention (Freak Out!; Absolutely Free; and We're Only in It for The Money). During the course of this guitar’s life, it has seen many modifications and changes – some of which are still shrouded in mystery. In the Zappa Gear book by Mick Ekers, John Carruthers who is quoted as saying, “Frank had me put all those preamps in, there’s like six of them that were chained together and y’know, I thought it was a little excessive but with Frank you never knew, you’d come up with some way to make it work for what it was that he wanted…the preamps were just fitting in between the controls and were there so there was still a volume for each pickup and a tone for each pickup…it had all these gain boosts that you could switch in, it had like minitoggles.”

The B3 Hammond Organ is another piece that pays testimony to Zappa’s innovation and curiosity, further cementing his role in music history as a sonic adventurer. Zappa Gear quotes FZ as saying "I had it transistorized and put in a road case, and I put a voltage follower on it... so that you can run the Minimoog or any other modern synthesizer with it. I also had a special set of Syndrums so that you could get a scale of 61 bongos or 61 tom-toms or 61 wood-blocks or whatever... you can get any of the Syndrum sounds along with the sound of the organ." The fact that these modifications were being carried out in the 1970s is astonishing, not only was Zappa way ahead of his time but the technical prowess needed and his willingness to swing solo into an audio labyrinth are all indicative of his iron resolve to leave no stone unturned on his quest for tonal bliss.

What struck a chord (pun intended) with us was that Zappa used these items as mere tools to achieve the sounds he wanted to hear. This often meant taking things apart or drilling holes and cutting out pieces from his musical instruments as a means to achieving his ends. When juxtaposed with the idolatry of vintage music instruments amongst collectors and musicians alike, it brings into perspective Zappa’s undying devotion to music composition. Few things were as sacred to him as composing music, lucky for us his gear has not only stood the test of time and rigors of the road, but also give us a rare glimpse into the mind of a musical pioneer. Register to bid now for your chance to own this piece of music history.