Standard and a 1962 Gibson ES-335—were
damaged in the Nashville flood.
“The Les Paul was submerged for four
days. It has some flaking that happened after
it got out of the water and started drying
out,” Urban says. “From the goldtop around
the pickups, there are huge chips that have
come off since then, and it has bits flaked
off all around the neck. That is particularly
worn from all of the flood damage. The
ES-335 was also a flood victim that has been
salvaged. It does not look overly damaged,
but it has a muted look to the lacquer and
got more worn looking—much more so
than before it went into the river.”
Urban’s main stage instrument was
also waterlogged but successfully revived.
Nicknamed “Clarence,” it’s a Fender 40th
Anniversary Telecaster obtained at Manny’s
Music during the musician’s first visit to
the United States. According to Urban’s
guitar tech, Chris Miller, over the years
the guitar has had “every pickup combina-
tion under the sun put in it at one time or
another.” During the restoration process,
Miller set about returning the instrument
to its original state before subsequently
launching new pickup experiments. Of
course, no guitar could go through so
much physical devastation and remain ton-
ally unchanged. However, Urban says the
tone has changed for the better as a result
of the flood and restoration.
Tres “Mang” ifique!
FLAMMANG:
GC50-LD Small Jumbo, Model J- 35, & P30 Parlor
629 Forest Ave. • Staten Island, NY 10310 • 718-981-8585
mandolin@mandoweb.com •
mandoweb.com
