Now, the Idol is a mainstay for the lead guitarist, and has knocked his 1969 Les Paul Custom out of the top spot for favorite guitar. I jumped on it - it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.” “It’s pretty hard for any guitarist, no matter how good they are, to make a signature guitar. “I pretty much couldn’t turn it down,” he says. Part of the package, he says, was getting to design a guitar all his own. When Trohman was approached by Washburn by last year, he had minor deals with some retailers, he says, but no actual endorsement.

The result, he says, is a dirty sound that roars out smooth. “I think it’s really cool, and it works for me when I’m flicking between two amps,” Trohman says. In particular, its Voice Contour Control (VCC) coil-splitting system allows for a dirty tone, combining single-coil pick-up sounds and humbucking, without the usual hum of a single-coil, according to the retailer’s website,. Inspired by some of Trohman’s favorite vintage guitars - his black Les Paul Custom and white Les Paul Studio - his model hides a couple of innovative features beneath its basic surface. “I’m very into design, and I like modern stuff,” Trohman says. Maybe the flashiest physical feature of the guitar are its inlays on the fret board, shaped like Fall Out Boy’s keyhole logo. I just have a guitar, and it needs to be able to do its job.” Those are fun, but as the guitar player for Fall Out Boy … I don’t have a bunch of effects.

“I have guitars that have a lot of weird modes, and tons of switches and stuff,” Trohman said. The neck is wide and thin, the solid basswood body is thin and light and there are just four adjustment knobs. And, speaking with BLAST, Trohman insisted that the name of his new line of custom electric guitars had no special meaning - called the Joe Trohman Washburn Idol.ĭesigned by Trohman and manufactured by Washburn Guitars last year, the Idol is aesthetically simple: available in black or white, with a classic binding - cream around the black model, and black on the white. In the past seven years, Trohman’s band - Fall Out Boy - has exploded from an underground sensation to an internationally recognized pop-punk powerhouse, hitting number one on the Billboard charts and performing at the MTV Video Music Awards last September.įor some fans, his success and talent makes Trohman a rock-and-roll idol himself. “But that phrase, ‘I’m only human’ - it’s there for a reason.” “People always ask who mine are,” the 23-year-old said in a recent interview. Guitarist Joe Trohman doesn’t believe in idols.

Vintage washburn guitars