All language subtitles for On.the.Roam.S01E07.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_eng

Yeah.

Yeah.

How are you doing?

Waking up, bro.

All right, man.
My name is Bill.

- Hi, Bill.
- Oh.

This right here,
the wood warehouse.

- Yeah?
- Yeah. This over here

is the manufacturing plant.

- Yeah.
- As a matter of fact,

we're growing, and we're
looking to take that building.

- Holy smokes.
- Wow.

-Yeah. Yeah.
-That's amazing.

We wanted to be here
earlier, so--

-Yeah, I think you guys--
-Well, no that's not true,
we just live on the road.

♪ And the road
Becomes my bride ♪

♪ I have stripped
Of all but pride ♪

♪ So in her I do confide ♪

♪ Off the beaten path
I reign ♪

♪ Rover, wanderer,
Nomad, vagabond ♪

♪ Call me what you will ♪

♪ Wherever I may roam ♪

♪ Wherever I may roam, yeah ♪

area.

- This is where we keep our wood.
- -Holy shit.

So this is the
Hollywood Bowl seating.

- No way.
- No fucking way.

- Yeah, man.
- The old seating,

we're making guitars
out of them.

Hollywood Bowl,
holy shit.

I bet you guys got
like vintage-aged wood too.

- Oh, we do. Yeah, yeah.
-You got all...
You got all of it?

We've taken old
bridges, wood bridges,

old barn wood,
and make guitars out of them.

- Can we get that?
- Yeah.

What I wanted to do
on this episode

is I really wanted to focus
on building these instruments

from the ground up.

So some of my favorite
artisans,

guys that I follow
on Instagram

that are just amazing.

That's the best.
I love you, man.

Just being able
to document them

and celebrate the craftsman,

that's what
this is dedicated to.

And taking that, and then
that inspires the artist.

We're gonna see the end
part of

Visiting the Fender Factory,

it was really kind of the
start of this whole thing.

I wanted to show up there,

I wanted to camp out
and wake up and be there

right in the morning.

Whoa.

Fender has had a huge impact

on my journey
to playing the guitar.

My first electric
was a Fender Nocaster

that I cherished.

It fueled my passion
for playing guitar

and appreciation
for how they're made.

It's not some freaking
machine, man.

I love that.

Roger's been here
since 1960, he's 91 years old.

Dude, what's up, Roger?

- How are you doing, sir?
- Hey.

You've been here...
You've been here for 60 years?

It's 61.

Sixty-one years
you've been here?

I started in 1960.

Born in 1929,

and you've been in...
And you're 91 years old.

You're amazing.

Wow.

Thank you, my friend.

Bro, it's all hands on,
artistry.

Same techniques they're using,
been doing since 1954.

So much of what founded
Fender as an iconic company

and made it a household name
is still there today.

It's a legacy
of craftsmanship

that carries on
with each guitar they make.

I think the craftsman
for me is just

pouring yourself
into something so that,

you know,
it's reflective of you.

It's crazy
to think of all the music

that will be created for the
world by these instruments.

And it all begins here at the
hands of these builders.

Somebody picks up a guitar,

and they'll hold it
for several minutes

and stare at every facet
of that guitar.

Whoa.

You think it's like, "Oh
yeah, these are machine-made,
blah, blah, blah."

But no, every detail,
like it was wonderful

to go into the Fender
and see how much goes in
to one of these guitars,

like a lot more
than I thought.

It's a beautiful process.

I was really blown away.

Oh, Dale Wilson, bro!-

I follow you on Instagram!

Oh
that is so cool.

- Oh, man, this is awesome, bro.
- Thank you very much.

Meeting all of the artisans

and guys who I follow,

being able to see

all the work, their workshops,

going in there, seeing how
handcrafted everything is.

It's kind
of a vulnerable thing.

You make something
and if you're proud of it,

you're proud to show
your friends,

you're proud to show
your family.

But you're also
kind of vulnerable

because you're worried
they might find all the stuff

that you think
is wrong with it.

I've been building guitars
about 18 years here at Fender

and I built my first guitar
when I was 14 years old

in high school, which, um...
While the kids were building

bongs and clocks, I decided
I wanted to build a guitar.

I wanted to slow things down
and take my time

and just focus on something
really detailed.

I could spend my time
making something that

somebody else
could appreciate.

Being able to do this
and make someone's day,

that's why I'm doing it.

Always learning
and developing that

into the craft
and making it better

and I get to pour myself
into that guitar.

I still don't believe
that I... This is what I do.

Like,
sometimes I'll tell my mom,

like, "Hey, Mom,
I'm at Jimmy Page's house,"

and she's like, "Oh, that's
nice, honey."

These craftsmen
have the coolest jobs.

They come into work every day
and they live their passion,

using their skills to make
music possible for so many.

Going to the Fender
custom shop,

they were so cool to me

and so nice, the whole team.

Seeing how
an instrument comes together

made me wanna learn more,

and to draw from that well
of inspiration.

This led me to Les Claypool,

someone who's had
a heavy hand

in creating custom guitars.

We never had fires
around there.

Very rare.

Do you go swimming in this?

- You can.
We used to have a rope swing.
-We used to.

We haven't
in a long time.

Ho-ho-ho-ho!

Don't worry,
I used to be a lifeguard.

Come on on, you're good.

Les Claypool
and Primus were massive

influences on me growing up.

I relate
to his unique style of music

and it inspired me
to pick up the bass.

Oh, man.

That was, uh,
less than a minute.

I call him Geoff.

- Look at that, buddy.
- It's so big.

- That's impressive, sir.
- Give him a lick.

Being able to spend
time with him and his family

and become friends with him
is something

that I never would have
thought possible as a kid.

Whoa, shit!

Damien.

Oh, shit, I've caught Damien.

This is how bad a fisherman
Aquaman is.

Primus is, without a doubt,

one of my all time
favorite bands.

Bass isn't usually
a forefront instrument,

but Les Claypool, when he's
on stage, he steals the show.

This one really growls.

This one, for me, it sounds
more like Primus, like...

He has some of the
most incredibly intricate

and impressive bass riffs
I've ever heard.

So much that
there's a couple of them

he can't even play anymore.

He's so connected to
his instruments

that create his unique sound.

He's just a master
of his craft.

What inspired me
to play guitar,

I mean, I've always tried
to pick it up

and wanted to learn,
but I just...

I didn't have it
when I was a kid.

And I wish I would've south
a little bit longer.

But what inspired me
are these artists,

people like Les Claypool
and the Flea,

they're big inspirations
in my life.

I don't necessarily wanna
make my own songs.

I want to just sing
their songs.

These are all
Carl Thompson basses.

He's a brilliant,
brilliant luthier.

Everything he makes
is so unique,

and you kinda tailor
your playing...

to the instrument, you know?

But I always tell people,
"Hey, if you wanted to buy

the best bass in the world,
buy a Carl Thompson."

But I mean, look at this
thing, it's just...
It's gorgeous.

He makes the most amazing
instruments, he's like the...

He's like the modern day
Statovarius.

He really is.

Anything you want.

Anything you want.

I discovered Carl Thompson
through Primus,

and Les Claypool was a huge
inspiration to me and Primus

when I was young, growing up,
skateboarder.

And then just seeing...

Seeing him
just kind of blew my mind.

What's up, buddy?

It's a pleasure
to meet you, man.

Awesome.

Wow. This shop is amazing.

It was pretty exciting
to be able

to go to Carl's house,

and go into Brooklyn,
and go down in this basement,

and it is tiny like super,
super tiny.

All right. Gonna show me
around a little bit?

Wax on, wax off.

Wax on.

It's an honor.

Being in Carl's presence,
that's a guru grandpa.

You know, you're in the
basement of Grandpa's place,

you hope your grandpa's
that cool.

But he's just dropping
all of these like

beautiful little
nuggets of wisdom.

What the hell's this?

Okay, well that's fine,
your brother drew it.

Is it right there?

Billy Ray Thompson.

Me and Batman, I know him...

I know him very well.

Wow. A family of artists.

For this incredible show,

we've been able to meet
people from all over,

including masters of craft
in unexpected places.

Carl is no different.

His space might be small,

but the bases he creates
are unbelievable.

He's been making these
instruments here for years,

literally shaping the course
of musical history

from beneath his fingers.

This one's gorgeous.

You sure you want to send
this to Australia?

Nah.

Nah, we can make him
wait longer, right?

You originally started
as a jazz musician,

and then you started
making your bases?

Or you always made your bases?

I'm just...

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

Wow.
So what year was...

What year is this?

Wow.

Carl's lived
such an extraordinary life.

Being a self-taught master,

words can't describe
how amazing he is.

I want it to look like this,

I want it to look right,

it has to be right, yeah.

I don't care
how you approach it.

He really shows
the influence of handcrafted.

And while many
larger builders

have lost that human touch,

there are still a few
who champion craftsmanship.

Hey, Billy.

- Hey.
- I remember seeing this.

Before I even played guitar,

I was like, "What is that?"

- Oh, yeah.
- And I brought my first...

And I brought
my first national.

And it was on the day
of Robert Johnson's death

and I learned
how to play lap steel,

and then I learned
how to play like...

Come on in my kitchen,

and before I could
actually play a note.

So I started...
I started playing slide...

-Yeah.
-before I could
actually play notes.

- You still got that one?
- Oh, yeah.

I got all of that stuff.

There are some guitars

that changed the course
of music history.

One of those guitars,

ZZ Top front man
Billy Gibbons

1959 Les Paul,

the Mistress Pearly Gates.

Give me a little
history of Pearly Gates.

I point to Eric Clapton

as being the guy
that cracked the code

and the evidence showed up
on the back

of the John Mayall
& the Bluesbreakers record,

and that became
the go-to thing.

But keep in mind
that was in '66 or '67,

this instrument had already
been out of production

since '59, or early '60s,
I could say.

Pearly Gates
is one of the most

iconic guitars in the world.

So I sent my team to Gibson

to meet Billy
and his legendary instrument.

Took off to Los Angeles

saying that you got a buyer
for Pearly, so...

I sold him the steel Pearly.

- Where's Pearly?
- Coming in.

- Oh, my.
- I have her.

- Oh, my, oh, my.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- You guys ready?
- Let's go.

Come on back.

Go, go, go.

Oh, man.

Pearly Gates
is Billy Gibbons' guitar

that he's known to have

from like the beginnings
of ZZ Top, very special.

Immediately,
the sound of the instrument

eclipsed everything
that had come before it.

You don't get to see
that guitar that often.

So my team got to be there

and to see the most perfect
'59 Les Paul in history.

It defined music and
it created a genre of music.

- Oh, yeah.
- This is music history.

To be able
to shoot Pearly Gates,

it's magic, it's huge,
it's like,

that guitar is definitely
locked down Fort Knox.

Even unplugged,
these things have a...

Have a resonant sound.

I'm gonna meet Tom Murphy.

Tell me what this is.

This was my file

when we first tried
to replicate Pearly Gates.

These were the pictures taken
of the actual guitar.

He's got these legends

and I wanna celebrate their
guitars,

and by doing that,

we're gonna take their guitar

with all the cracks
and the beats,

the smoky lounges
and everything

and all that soul
that's in there,

and then we're gonna
duplicate it

with other artisans

who were inspired
by that music

and then surprise them

so they can retire that one
and then take it out

and go play it in the world.

Getting the opportunity
to help replicate

one of the most famous
guitars in music history

for a music legend,

another surreal experience.

All the love and skill
that goes into building
a masterpiece

really makes you appreciate
the craftsmen

who dedicate their lives

to keeping this
art form alive.

Everyone that works at Gibson

is excited about
these artists.

That's maybe why
they work there

and because they're
moved by them

and now we get to build
his guitar

and then we're gonna auction
it off for charity.

So that was like a really
special thing

just to be able to like
document that

and then give something back.

I was pleased to see
that we were gonna

replicate the Pearly Gates,

Billy Gibbons' guitar,
for Jason.

It's always been
really special to me

because in the spring of '70,

I was sitting on the floor
in a tiny little club

to see Billy Gibbons'
new band.

He walked from behind
his Marshall amp

holding that Les Paul

and I was a 19-year-old kid

hearing Billy Gibbons play
and seeing that Les Paul.

I mean, it was just guitar
heaven and music heaven.

So it was just thrilling
to see that circle happen

where I was influenced
by that guitar

and then got to replicate it.

This particular guitar,
of all guitars I've done...

- Yeah.
- I had to use

a wire brush on a grill

to replicate where
he has worn the wood away,

not the finish,
the wood is rounded off there.

-Wow. Belt buckle.
-Belt buckle...

They're low slung, you know.

And so that's what
Billy Gibbons' guitar
looks like.

Yeah, because
it has a real...

Like, we're talking
about that tobacco,

it's been played in a lot
of clubs and...

- Oh, of course.
And see...
-few joints, kind of...

You can see the yellowing
of the binding,

that's the lacquer
turning yellow

on the whole guitar.

I asked him personally,
of all the years

and all the guitars,
how this guitar

- did never get broken.
- Right.

He said,
"'Cause she was right here."

Wow.

We heard that Billy had named

that Les Paul "Pearly Gates,"

so he loaned a car to a girl
to go to California

and the car was named
Pearly Gates.

My buddy, he said,

"Uh, there's a cowboy
outside of town

that's working a ranch,

he used to have a,
uh, cowboy band.

I think he's got one
of those sunburst Les Paul's."

I said,
"Well, let's go check it out."

He pulled it out
from under the bed,

it was a famous story,
under the bed.

He opened up
the case and there it was.

Well, there was a young girl
that was in Texas,

she was actually
from Los Angeles

and she had an opportunity
to get a part in a movie,

but she didn't have a way
to get from Texas

back to California.

So a buddy of mine and I
gave her a 1936 Packard.

We said,

"Listen, we don't know
if it's gonna make it,

we don't know
if you're going to get there."

But sure enough, she said,
"I'm gonna learn
how to drive it,"

which she did,

made it all the way
to California,

got the part and she said,
"Now what do I do?"

I said, "Well, sell the car."

Which she did,
and she sent the money

back to us on the day
that we found the Les Paul.

I had this
hand full of cash

and I gave it to this cowboy
and I said,

"Here, we'll make a deal."

He said, "Fine."

And that was...
That was the start of it.

-Wow.
-Yeah.

Under a bed in Texas,

that's how you found
Pearly Gates.

That's it.

I loved sitting with him
and hearing his story, so...

It was one of those
beautiful moments

when you meet your heroes
and your heroes are cool.

So, it's... be cool, be kind.

The craftsman
who built the original

1959 Les Paul

changed the course
of music history.

Each one was hand built

creating a unique personality
for each guitar.

And like Pearly,
they went on to create music

that would inspire us
for generations.

That's the Pearly Gates.

Yeah.

So, um, we're at
the home of Dan Maloney

who has been making me
bases for years.

See, I wanted to design
my own instrument

that fit me personally,

you know, my ergo instrument.

Uh, it was Dan who I...

He was really the only person
I wanted to talk to about it,

- so let's go see Dan.
- And so he's

Let's go see Dan.
Pachyderm base.

He's a good guy.

It's your hometown then.

Yeah.

- The mystery god.
- This is the mystery.

-How are you doing, Dan?
-You look good.

- How are you doing?
- Nice to meet you, man.

This is where
it's all made, huh?

This is where it happens.

- All right. Yeah.
- I asked Dan

to make me one out
of dark chocolate

and, um, so, I'm very anxious

to have the first edible
pachyderm bass guitar, so...

Um, we were...
We were talking

because I wanted to get
a bass from you,

and then you said maybe
possibly the next bass

we would be making
would be, uh...

We could make a koa, right?

Well, we're making
a couple of koas.

-A couple of koas.
-So we'll see which one
I wanna keep.

- Yes. So we get...
- We get twinsies.

I love natural materials.

I feel so connected
with these things

that are shaped
from the earth,

they have meaning.

Koa is my favorite wood

and it's from Hawaii,

it's absolutely beautiful.

So this bass is kind
of a marriage

of those things that I love.

There you go.

That's pretty.

Wow, that came out great.

Wow.

How long did it take
to make one of them?

I started this one about

five or six months ago,
I think.

I was like, "Okay,
I want something

that balances
incredibly well,

that is light, super punchy,
very basic electronics."

I want shit
to be easy and ergo.

I like it to feel,
have the contours

and these different
things on how they feel
against my body.

And I sit there and I play
with them in my chair

and lay on the couch and do
all kinds of things, so...

Because that was, for me,
when I was growing up

with my Carl Thompson base,

I was... It was like
my girlfriend, you know.

I wish...
I had the thing with me
everywhere, every night.

It was very comfortable to me.

- Yeah.
- So I wanted my instruments

to be equally as comfortable.

We shifted the waist on it,

so like, this,
the waist is here,

- the waist is here.
- Yeah.

So what I was finding
is that it didn't balance

on my knee very well.

So we shifted
the bottom portion

of the waist back,

it's basically the same base

but we wanted
to extend the lower horn

so it feels better
on your knee.

See, like, it just sits there,
just like...

And then you can work
on the console,
it doesn't go anywhere.

But it's also a little bit
of a... Of an homage

-to Carl Thompson because...
-Yeah.

Carl is the king of all kings,

and this is a bit
of a nod to him.

So each one
of these are hand done?

Some of the ones
I use, but he does...

He does all the fine-aly,
dine-aly.

I mean, how would you
shape this edge?

I would use
different methods.

I'd use a bit of that,
I'd use a bigger stuff,

I'd use the grinder

and I'm not into, um,
that real fine stuff,

- I use files, I use sandpaper.
- Oh, you just ruined it.

- That one's mine.
- Wah-wah-wah-wah.

Yeah. Yeah,
you bought that one.

Yup. It's all good.

But you can see
I did a couple of dingers

when I was working on it too.

Right here, I did
exactly what you did.

Uh, you know,
we edited that out,

so we'll never use it,
I didn't ding shit.

- But I saw you ding it.
- I didn't.

Thank you for opening
your house and home

and showing us your craft.

And thank you for showing me
that you do it yourself

which I think is amazing.

-I just fuck around,
honestly, you know?
-Yeah.

It's pretty cool
coming down here.

Carl's dad built this.

So he took the neck
off an acoustic

and built the body for it,
that was back in the 1930's.

- Wow.
- -It was before Les Paul was,

you know,
building instruments.

His dad was, uh, doing
a bunch of recording on...

Early recording gear.
He just always had trouble

getting feedback and stuff
on that early recording...

- Yeah, yeah.
- so he decided to build

a, uh, an electric guitar.

- Wow.
- Yeah.

He just loved it.

Did he?

Wow.

Eric Clapton played it?

It's a museum piece, sir.

Carl's father's guitar

has been played
by many big names.

And to think it could be
one of the world's

first solid body
electric guitars.

To see it just hanging there,

it's just a testament
to how humble he is.

Look, there's stuff
back here too.

No, this is it.

That is amazing.

-It's amazing.
-Yeah.

Carl clearly comes
from a family of creators.

As a father who wants
to pass down to my kids

the things that I love,
my passions,

I felt a deep connection.

Well, that's what
our show is really about,

it's like, it's just
handcrafted artists

and really it's the heartbeat
of it right here,

like, being in a basement
in this small studio

making the greatest
bases in the world.

You're one of the...
You're one of the greatest

luthierists in the world, bro.

To document him,
that's what this is all about.

Just going down
into his little workshop,

you get to experience it.

It was beautiful
to watch this whole thing

come to life.

Just what he
lives by, his mottos,

the things that,
like, that fuel him,

and he's so inspiring.

Thank you, you definitely
shared your gift.

-A hundred percent.
-A hundred percent.

He's a hundred percent.

He's definitely
shared his gift.

Yeah, that's right.

You know, I'm using
my passion or excitement

about what he does

to show the world

and he has this super power

of being able to do this,

and he needs to pass it
to the world.

So I think it's wonderful
that we're complimenting

each other.

This is called
the Nashville.

- That's called a Nashville?
- Mmm-hmm.

Wow.

Yeah, the rainbow base started

as a guitar back in the '70s.

You're the first one
to do that?

This... And then
they called it Rainbow Bass,

and when Les
came into my life,

I just thought,
"This guy's a crazy guy.

I'm gonna make him
something crazy."

The craziest. The craziest.

-So I'll make him
something crazy.
-Yeah.

Now everybody wants
a Rainbow Bass, you know.

Is that his first one?
Is it like the rainbow?

That's the first one
I made him, yeah.

-That's the first one, yeah.
-But he... But he had one

-before that.
-Yeah.

He found one,
he said that that little

-particular bass he has...
-Yeah, yeah.

that... The walnut bass?

He said he found that
in a hawk shop

in San Francisco somewhere
a long time ago.

-Really?
-So before I even
met him, you know.

Also, then I stumbled
across one

at the local music
store that was used,

I was like, "Holy shit,
this thing's a crap,"

picked it up and played it,
it was the one

- you played last night.
- Yeah, that's the one.

I had no money,
so I just went and borrowed

money from everybody,
and I skimped and saved,

and it was $600.

And I went in
to go back to get it

and they had marked it up
to a thousand.

And I told the guy,
I went, "Dude,

you told me $600,"
and I was in high school.

He goes into the back
and he comes back

and he's like, "Okay,
I'll sell it to you

for $600 with tax.

And I was like, "Okay."

And I gave him $600
and I wrote him a bum check

for the tax.

But I got the bass.

When Les came over

and, uh, he said he wanted
to get a six-string bass.

And so he started making it,

and then half way
through I was like,

"You know, I'm gonna maybe
have it be fretless,"

because I'm an idiot.

And I made my life much harder

by having it be fretless.

Why did I decide
to have it fretless?

It's... This was
the ridiculous thing.

I just wanted the...

I was like,
"I'm bored with four-string.

I wanted challenge myself."

That's his base.

- When I made his...
- Yeah.

this stuff went
all the way through,

- the rainbow.
- Yeah.

Because when I heard
that scroll,

all those woods art.

I was in the kitchen

but, you know,

I should have charged him

$50 million for that one.

Les' music was influenced

directly by Carl's genius

in making this bass.

And the songs created on it
had a profound impact

on a lot of people,
including me.

You know,
market pachyderm basses

are amazing,
they're super ergo.

But if you wanted
an incredible piece of art

by the greatest
bass builder luthier

I've ever come across ever,
you'd get a Carl Thompson.

Have you seen the picture
I got from him?

No, show it to me.

He's a wild man.
I love him to death, man.

He speaks so highly

of you too,
so it's an honor to be able

to come here
and meet you and...

I'm so happy
I got a bass from you.

I'm glad you did, too.

I mean,
like I told you before,

I made guitars for Lou Reed,
I mean, Hank Williams.

I never made one
for the Aquaman.

Carl made this
gorgeous six-string bass.

The woodwork
was pure artistry.

He took influence
from Les' style

and incorporated it
into his build.

Carl's just a fucking genius.

Yeah, this thing's amazing.

Nice and light.

Now, you know,
Les has his pachyderm basses

that he does
with Dan Maloney.

This thing's badass.

Yeah! Carl!

But it's really beautiful
to see, like,

where that kind of style
came from,

and that's through Carl.

Yeah, this thing's
really cool.

-I'm stoked.
-Yeah.

- I'm stoked to tell Carl.
- -It's very cool.

He's very excited
just coming here.

Going to Carl's place,
in his little small basement,

I mean, it's quite
impressive to go...

You know, what we're shooting
on the show is like

these massive companies
that are still making
handcrafted things

but then it's like getting
into someone's garage

like Dan, making these
amazing instruments.

But still, Carl,
you would think
it'd be a little bit,

and he's like 80 what?

- I don't even know.
- Yeah.

- But it's--
- I think he's a vampire,

I think he's ageless.

Yeah. I mean, look at that.
That's just...

Nobody beats his woodwork,
it's unbelievable.

They're literally
pieces of art.

And that's one
of the beautiful things
about it too,

like you're creating
something with him.

You get to see
behind the curtain

of what it takes to make
something like this

and that kind of artistry.

So koa wood,

the core is honduran mahogany,

the neck is roasted maple.

Oh,
is that what that is?

This is what they looked
like before, the...

That's the neck.

Well, before this,
it's a tree, you know, so...

So two of my firsts,

I've never had a fretless,

so I felt like it was...

I think what's gonna
make me a fretless

is gonna be you guys.

It's beautiful.
And then this is my first,

this will be
the first six-string...

right here.

Woo-ho-ho!

Amazing.

I don't know how many guitars

he puts out a year,
but it's just so special

to be able to have,

like, anything from him

and be able to record him.

Carl, if there's a charity

that you really love,
we're gonna raise money,

give that to a charity
if there's anything
that you...

-If there's--
-Make-A-Wish.

Make-A-Wish?

I'm gonna auction off,

basically, my first fretless

and hopefully raise money
and we can...

And it will bring some more
to some charities,

and then... And then...
And then we'll also do a...

We'll also do Make-A-Wish,
buddy.

When I talked to him
on the phone,

what did I say? I said,

"This guy, I never met him,

but he sure sounds
like a nice guy."

You gave me
a lot of gold today,

you gave me some great advice.

Hey, buddy.

Yeah.

To be able to use my team
and our passion

and be able to capture him
in the most beautiful way,

it was an honor.

- You wanna see what Dan made?
- -I do.

Okay. So, this is one
of the first koas

- that he was working on.
- This is the first koa?

- It's one of the first ones.
- -One of the first.

So these are the two
koas he was working on

when you were around.

Both of these have been
my road basses.

I've taken them both
on the road.

For the making
of this show,

I've come to realize

that the flame inside
all of us

to create and give our gift
to the world

is the thing
that pulls us together.

Being able to share
these one of a kind guitars

with the world,
I wanted to make

an extra one so that
we can auction it off,

and then from there,
donate it to charity.

Well, I always
tell my kids, I'm like,

"When I go, when I die,
there's no money."

Evel Knievel
said when I was kid,

"You know,

I've made $2 million
in my life,"

which was a shitload
of money back then,

"but I've spent four."

So I tell my kids,

"Look, when I go,
there's no money,

but you're gonna have
a fuck of a yard sale,"

you know, because, like,
I keep all this shit.

Like, you see it's on the van,
you know,

I got all kinds of shit
like that.

Lola and Wolf...

I made a lot of money.
I spent more.

-You're gonna have a hell
of a yard sale.
-Hell of a yard sale.

So, when we auction
it off, it basically gets...

Goes to any charity
that you want.

What charity would
you want the money to go to?

Uh, well, because we lost
my little nephew Matthew,

baby Matthew, years ago
to leukemia,

um, and I saw what, uh,

my brother
and my sister-in-law,

my whole family went through,

in that situation,
as you know, as a father,

that's...

It's the most horrific thing

-you could possibly imagine...
-Yeah.

losing a... Losing your kid.

So St. Jude's Hospital
was this amazing place

that really took care
of my brother
and his family, and so...

St. Jude's.

-Thank you, brother.
-Right on, man.

That's awesome. Yeah!

Let's go eat
some of your wieners.

Let's eat some wieners.

All right.

Let's do this, let's do this.
Let's... Let me
show you something.

All right. So straight
from Murphy's lab,

- we got three.
- Oh, my gosh.

Um, I wanna give you two,

and we're gonna sign one
for a fan.

Do us the honors,
do you wanna open them up?

Oh.

Oh, man.

Wow.

Somebody's gonna be
really happy.

Oh, man. Whoa, yeah.

- Right?
- Oh, God.

This comes the tough part now.

-Oh.
-Beautiful.

-It's...
-That's what it's hooked on,

-right there.
-Nice and dark, too.

-That... Yeah.
-Hmm.

Man. Phew.

All right. Ooh, baby.

That looks good.

Jeez.

Oh. There it goes.

Look at the depth
of that color.

The movement, you know.

They call it flame maple
and there's a reason

because it flairs under the...

Under the movement.

Really being able
to spend time with him

and give it to him
in his home

and just honor him,

it's a wonderful thing, man.

He's really a beautiful
human being.

This is really,
really beautiful work.

-They are, aren't they?
-Stunning.

You know,
every element is so bold.

I hope we captured in camera

like how just unbelievable
these things are.

Pearly has this presence,

this powerful tone

that has yet to be eclipsed.

Cesar.

Jason. Hi, Billy.

- We did it.
- We did it,

and, uh, we're gonna join you

in, uh, supporting
one of the great charities

that, uh, we know
that you've, uh,

been so closely
associated with.

You know,
with all the work

that we're doing
around music education,

I think Gibson Gives
will be the right place.

Nice, Gibson Gives.

-I love it, buddy.
-It's a done deal.

I can't believe
it's happening.
I'm pinching myself.

This is, uh,
a real special moment.

Um, and just in time,
the ZZ Top tour starts

in, uh, just around the corner

and, uh, we don't have
to worry about

what we're taking on the road,

I'm seeing it right here.

That's awesome.

This is really
really special.

I love it here.

I'm really proud of all
the stuff that you guys
have created

and, you know, that's what
we wanna celebrate.

We wanna celebrate
handcrafted.

You guys are still doing it
here at Fender,

it's just so wonderful
to celebrate craftsmanship

and be able to pass it
over to musicians.

It's a beautiful
full circle of, like,

passing on the thing
that we love,

the universal language
of music,

so thank you, Fender.

Woo!

A lot of these artists
come back and they want
these certain luthiers,

these certain craftsmen
to build their guitars.

And so, this one is...
It goes out

to the boys at Fender.

I love this little team,

and please enjoy
how much goes into

these little pieces of art.

What an amazing journey,

unlike any
I've ever had before.

The craftsmen I've met
have opened my eyes

to the love
and detail that goes

into every instrument
they create.

They come from all walks
of life

and create their art
in different environments.

They themselves
are works of art,

in basements, in factories,
in garages.

It's a collective
of specialists

who love what they do

and who share their gifts
with the world.

They're united by the drive

and passion to build
these tools of music,

and translate that
into every stroke
of the file,

tap of the hammer,

and the winding
of the strings.

My heart is so full
getting to explore

even a piece of this world,

and to meet the masters
who live in it.

I never wanna be
a master.

I had an idea
about making a bass,

and I found a way
to make it happen.

That's all.

It doesn't take a genius
to do that.