Sometimes you know how a guitar is going to sound just by looking at it. So what kind of noise do you expect from this Joe Doe Gas Jockey, with its classic 50s car styling and gas pump colours? Rumbling low end? Muscular chug in the rhythm position? Screeching highs, like a teen blowing donuts in his dad’s ’59 Chevy El Camino in the grocery store car park? All that and more. So whether you choose the gas pump red or the sparkling gold sand model, the Joe Doe Gas Jockey sets up a musical expectation of thumping, humping and pumping rock n roll and delivers it with ease.
So what’s the origin story behind the Joe Doe Gas Jockey guitar? Well, it all began on a gas station forecourt in 1960…
The Story
Wally ‘Songman’ Saban is a living, breathing, human jukebox. Pull up into his New Jersey gas station on Fellowship Road and he’ll not only fill your car with gas, but will play any song you can think of on his electric guitar. How is it possible? Well, for the sixty three years Wally has worked on the station forecourt, he’s been accompanied by music from his AM radio playing Billboard hits of the day. He only needs to hear a song once before the notes become transcribed and etched into his musical DNA. There’s a weathered sign hanging over the entrance to the station – Challenge Wally for 5 dollars. If he can’t play your song, then gas is on him. Locals know not to take the bait but if you’re new to town, you’ll try your luck, suggest something obscure from the 70s... and end up 5 bucks worse off.
Wally has only lost the challenge once, when he failed to play a request from Loretta Marshall in 1982. She left with a free tank full of gas, and Wally got her number. They’ve been together ever since.
Read the interview with Joe Doe Guitar Designer Ben Court
Review by Guitarist Magazine
Review by iGuitar Magazine
The Specs
Body:
Offset mahogany body finished in Gas Pump Red with white binding.
Pickups:
3 x Wilkinson WOCMHB mini-double coils.
Controls:
Volume/Volume/Tone and 3-way selector.
Hardware:
Gold Wilkinson hardware; T.O.M bridge, WJ55 tuners.
Neck & Fingerboard:
Glued in maple neck for bright snappy tones with finger friendly 12” radius, 635mm scale length and 22 frets.
Genuine rosewood fingerboard with pearloid block fret inlays.
Nut:
43mm GraphTech nut, as slippery as an oil spill.
Case: Joe Doe luxury solid hardcase with custom stickers.
Certificate: Certificate of authenticity included.
Limited Edition of 100 'Gas Jockey' is an original Vintage® guitar, designed and created by Joe Doe Guitars and the UK Vintage design team.