Tom Morello has teamed up with Fender to release his iconic ‘Arm The Homeless’ guitar.
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Built in close collaboration with Morello himself, the axe “revives the instrument that powered decades of anthems from Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave and Prophets of Rage”, according to press release.
Every detail, from the hand-painted blue hippos and “hockey-stick” headstock to its custom electronics, has been faithfully reproduced, making it “both a striking art piece and a performance-ready instrument”.
“The ‘Arm the Homeless’ guitar has been my comrade for life in the sonic sphere. It allowed me to find myself as an artist,” said Morello.
“I’ve played 22 albums in my life and ‘Arm the Homeless’ has been part of all of them. I know that there’s a lot of magic in the way that this weird island of misfit toys guitar has brought into my life, and hopefully some of that can be brought into yours.”
The guitar, which “delivers the dynamic tonal range that has defined Morello’s sound for decades” and features “unique personal artwork from Morello, featured on a striking blue ice metallic finish” retails at £1,699. You can purchase it here.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Midnight Mission and Covenant House, charitable organisations hand-picked by Morello, reflecting “his longstanding commitment to social impact and uplifting communities”.
Elsewhere, Iron Maiden recently lent their name to a new signature Fender guitar collection in celebration of being a band for a half a century.
The collection encompasses new models from Fender Custom Shop, Fender and Jackson. Among them is a masterbuilt Stratocaster designed to mirror Dave Murray’s ultimate touring guitar, as well as a 50th anniversary Stratocaster from Fender.
There’s also a Jannick Gers Stratocaster “designed for [his] high-energy playing and stage showmanship” and a Steve Harris Precision Bass for fans to recreate his “unmistakable galloping low end”.
Johnny Marr and Fender also recently reunited to release a new limited edition Jaguar Special guitar with a custom gloss nitrocellulose black lacquer finish, while Jack White also announced a new range of signature guitars and an amp earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Morello recently gave an update on the status of unheard music from Audioslave, the band he formed with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.
