
Brandon apparently had 2
guitars, maybe three.
1) "Strat
Copy" with a modified strat style headstock.
Specs:
Strat copy, strat body and modified strat headstock
all black
3 single coil pickups
looks like a standard tremolo
standard strat wiring, 3 single coil pickups, 3 controls, deep
dish input jack.
dark rosewood fretboard
string trees on the headstock I
want to say this is an Ibanez guitar, but I am not totally sure.
I am not totally up to date on my ibanez history (more of an ESP,
Gibson, and Custom guitar man). It does look a LOT like another
company's strat copy and I am looking into this right now. You
can see this guitar on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Universal
City, Califonia (Universal Citywalk). Here is a pic most of you
have probably seen, as its been posted on a few sites. I don't
recall the origin, so I threw it up on my site: http://filepit.freewebs.com/montyjay/25.jpg I know the actual model number is on
the guitar but I don't recall what it is and it doesn't show up
on my photos/video. there is a good sho of the neck and headstock
in the book "the crow the movie" by jeff conner and
robert zuckerman. It's on page 41 and is of brandon sitting on
the curb. It *looks* like this the headstock is straight, like
most (if not all) strat copies. It could just be the angle of the
camera though.... 2) "standard Ibanez" strat
style but with the *standard* Ibanez headstock. I say strat
style because its a typical super strat shape, not necessarily a
strat copy with 3 single coil pickups, etc. In fact, I don't
think there is a clear shot of this guitar to make out the
pickups. DeathCrow posted a photo of brandon with this guitar (http://crow.virtualave.net/images/BrandonLee.JPG) and you can also find it in the
"the crow the movie" book by jeff conner and robert
zuckerman. It's on page 36, fairly dark, and in the loft. But you
can easily make out the standard ibanez headstock. You can also
see brandon burning a photo of this guitar in the loft when
rochelle comes to see him. Then there is a flashback of eric
playing this ibanez guitar. If you pause it, you can easily make
out the ibanez logo shape as well as the standard ibanez
headstock. The guitar also appears to be RED in color. I
don't think it's the filters or lighting either. The rest of the
room does look red (the walls, brandon's shirt), but gabriel the
cat is white and probably about two feet from the guitar. You
can't make out what kind of pickups are on it though. Now that
scene contradicts the photo of brandon on the ground, holding the
ibanez guitar, and looking up. Although it's in black and white,
it still could be a red guitar, but it sure looks dark. I am
thinking it IS the red guitar, its just the black and white print
that makes it look that way. 3)
This third guitar refers to Brandon's personal guitar that he
learned on. His guitar teacher, JK Loftin, commented that
"...he had this guitar - actually kind of a cheap guitar -
that they got him," says Loftin. "I gave him three
months' worth of lessons in two weeks, and he sucked it up. He
was just so sharp."
After Brandon's
death, Eliza came into possesion of this guitar and offered it to
JK Loftin. He said, "At first I thought that'd be really
great to have. But then, I didn't know if I wanted something like
that around to remind me of this. Something that should have
been," he says, "and never will be." So JK Loftin accepted the guitar and had it in
his possesion for about 5 years. In October/November of 1999, JK
Loftin sold this guitar to a man named Marc in Hollywood,
Florida. There was a Crow fansite that existed at the time with
photos of Loftin, Marc, and the guitar. I honestly don't recall
which guitar it was, but for SOME REASON, I want to think it was
cream or white. But I really don't know, it VERY WELL COULD BE
THE STANDARD IBANEZ. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos that
were on this site and it is no longer online. I checked my old
computer and my laptop, nothing to be found. So the
"third" guitar might be the Red Standard Ibanez or
something else...I am working on finding out more info at this
time. [B]THE GUITAR IN THE MOVIE:[/B] -Brandon picks it up at Gideons: It's all black,
has 3 single coil pickups, shows half of the neck. Brandon then
picks up the guitar and we see the upper half of the neck and
headstock. -Brandon is then confronted by ernie
Hudson. Brandon then lowers the guitar to his side, but does so
quickly and with the dim lighting, you can't really tell which
headstock it is, but it does look like the strat copy, guitar #1. -The next scene with the guitar is where Brandon
pulls Rochelle Davis from the road. Brandon then turns to face
the pole and we see the guitar on his back. You can see that the
input jack is chome as well as the standard tremolo. The input
jack type on top of the body is your typical kind found on strat
copies. the pickguard, knobs and pickups are black. -Next, the guitar can be seen as brandon enter
funboy's window. This is clearly guitar #1, the strat copy. You
can clearly see the outline of the headstock when brandon enters
the room. Probably one of the best shots comes when Brandon
procedes to put down the guitar. You get a great shot of the
headstock and its definitely the strat copy with all logos
blacked out. -The next guitar scene is the first
rooftop solo. As the camera pans up, the headstock is definitely
guitar #1, the strat copy.
-Next, brandon is
in the loft burning photos. one of them is of eric playing the
standard ibanez. this triggers a flashback and you can easily
make out the ibanez logo and headstock. You can also see that the
BODY color is RED. This is guitar #2, the standard ibanez. -And finally, the rooftop solo where brandon
smashes the guitar. The camera pans out from the back of his
chest and cust to a new frame before we get to see the entire
headstock. It then shows the neck, pans to the body and you can
see the 3 single coil pickups. Brandon then picks up thte guitar
and the headstock does look like guitar #1 with the chrome
tuners. The guitar crashes down onto the amp and the sparks light
up the front of the body which allows us to see that it is the
strat copy, 3 single coil pickups, chrome hardware, etc guitar
#1. So maybe while he was alive, Eric's
actual guitar was a red, standard Ibanez. When he returned, he
just literally picked one up at Gideons and this is the black
Strat Copy. But then again, he DOES play through the same little
amp...
Here is a photo of JK Loftin and the individual that bought Brandon's guitar:
