I stopped in at the amazing Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix today and visited with my friend, museum director Rich Walter. I was there to check in on an instrument I own that has been on loan there for several years: the futuristic 1960 Howard doubleneck made for Duane Eddy. The Howard doubleneck guitar had been on loan to the SFO Airport Museum for the last year, as part of the surf music exhibit there. It was great to actually hold this guitar again; I’ve only seen it as part of museum displays for the last few years.
I can’t recommend the MiM enough; a day spent there will blow your mind. The American musical instruments are just one small part of the entire museum, but there are more historic and incredible instruments there than I can list in one post. For instance, this doubleneck that used to belong to Duane Eddy sits right next to his original Gretsch 6120 that he cut all his hits with. In a different exhibit upstairs, you can see all the original recording equipment from Jack Miller’s Phoenix recording studio—the same equipment Duane Eddy recorded his hits on. All this is literally just the tip of the iceber Check it out next time you’re in Phoenix, you won’t regret it.
