product types:
- electric guitars
Information:
David Petschulat is a legendary Nashville luthier best known for his "Little Guitars" - the mini Les Paul style instruments he made for Eddie Van Halen in the early 1980s which Eddie played on the recording of the song "Little Guitars" and on tour. In 2021 Petschulat began plans to reissue these instruments. Petschulat was introduced to guitar making as a 21 year old college student when he visited the famous Nashville Picking Parlor in search of help. He was making an electric guitar and needed a hand to cut fret slots in his fingerboard - Danny Ferrington showed him how to cut inlays and install frets. The luthiers at the Picking Parlor took him under their wing and soon he was hired to learn on the job while working on repairs. He finished his first guitar, his second sold to Nancy Wilson of Heart. He also sold guitars to Dave Hlubek, Jackson Browne, Mick Jones, Howard Leese and Steve Morse. In 1981 he finished his 13th guitar: a small Les Paul with a bird’s eye maple top, his “Flying P” logo, and a tiny amp and speaker inside. He pitched the guitar to various guitarists that summer but had no interest until Van Halen saw it. He bought it on the spot and ordered another in a different color.