Ultimate Rhoads

what year was randys black beauty and what pickups

thank you

randy will never die wrote:what year was randys black beauty and what pickups

thank you

by black beauty do you mean the shark tooth inlayed jackson? or the polka dot flying v?

The one with the shark tooth inlays was a gift to him at the best new talent award at cow palace in 1981.
and i'm pretty sure the polka dot v was made for him by karl sandoval in 1980.

heres a link if its the LP he had... viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6647&p=71771&hilit= ... oot#p71771 scroll up so you can read all of it...

Eh? The black Jackson was not a gift to him. It was another guitar being built for him that was given to him that night because the guitar was done.


The black beauty is always a reference to black les Paul customs. The pickups were most likely stock pups as I would imagine as the guitar was brand spanking new and randy did not have any time with it yet. Also my mind escapes me at the moment but wasn't the black lp just a guitar used for the photos lot and not actually Randy's? Or maybe it was his like I mentioned prior and it was so close to his death that he did not have another chance to use it or be photographed with it

the black les paul

first 3 pics top left

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&suge ... 39&bih=559

if i rember right the black les paul was givein to randy by a freind

Sorry your wrong !!! Randy got the black beauty and a white sg from a pawn shop.
This was mentioned back in 2007 here...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1461&hilit=pawn+shop

well it was baught in a pawn shop answer 1

what year was the guitar

it looked like stock pickups answer 2

randy will never die wrote:well it was baught in a pawn shop answer 1

what year was the guitar

it looked like stock pickups answer 2

In Joel McIver's book Kelle Rhoads describes this guitar as being a 'Cherry'. Which is slang for a guitar being bought but hardly used in excellent mint condition. So i could imagine the pick ups being as new and the stock pups as bought. The year he has put on the 'beauty' is '57.

Is this not the same guitar he was photographed with wearing a black leather jacket in Guitar World? Was it not a three pickup model?

distortionplus wrote:Is this not the same guitar he was photographed with wearing a black leather jacket in Guitar World? Was it not a three pickup model?

That'd be the one.

I've often wondered about the Black Beauty and why it never made a stage debut. It sure would have been a sight to behold. I guess he did not feel confident enough with it, or was bought more for an investment.

distortionplus wrote:I've often wondered about the Black Beauty and why it never made a stage debut. It sure would have been a sight to behold. I guess he did not feel confident enough with it, or was bought more for an investment.

I'm sure i have read something about Randy not liking the 3 pick up system. He may of bought it to trade or to make into a guitar for him. I don't think the Rhoads still have this guitar, so it may have been sold back in the 80's ?. The same goes for the white sg and the 12 string firebird. Those are another couple of guitars that Randy had and the history of where they are now is anyone's guess.

Something interesting that I've come across is when he really had the guitar. I've heard a Delores interview where she says that Randy only got the guitar very soon prior to his death and never got to use itnexcept for the photoshoot that he had it in. Yet in the guitarworld guitar legends Randy issue, he says that the black beauty, white custom and firebird polka v were the guitars used for recording blizzard as the jacksons were not made by the time it was finished. So I wonder if he had two different ones or if he meant the black standard that he played in QR that was supposedly Jodi's brothers guitar that he borrowed again for recording?

distortionplus wrote:I've often wondered about the Black Beauty and why it never made a stage debut. It sure would have been a sight to behold. I guess he did not feel confident enough with it, or was bought more for an investment.

Actually, here is a post regarding the Black Beauty...

3/2/1982 wrote:I saw Randy play less than two weeks from his passing. Me and my girlfriend were at the D.O.A.M. concert and there was Randy playing his black triple pickup Les Paul like the one I had. It was so cool - Randy glancing up at us and playing toward us - he made it so personal. I feel fortunate to have seen him play and to have felt his spirit first hand through his playing. (I've missplaced the ticket stub but I might can find it).