Jason Becker's White Hurricane Guitar

A sponsorship deal with now-defunct Hurricane Guitars marked the beginning of Jason's professional career. This white 'superstrat' style guitar was designed to meet Jason's needs as an emerging virtuoso. The double-locking bridge, fast maple neck, and bolt-on construction allowed Jason to push the boundaries of guitar playing by transitioning from hyper-fast shredding to heart-breaking melodies to almost experimental noises seldom heard from the guitars of less creative players. Jason played this guitar exclusively on his groundbreaking solo album, Perpetual Burn, when he was 18 years old. The frets on this guitar are well-worn as it was one of the few guitars Jason owned, and perhaps his most played. He is pictured with this guitar on the cover of Cacophony's genre-defining album Speed Metal Symphony. It is also his main guitar on his album of old demos called The Blackberry Jams, and Jason plays it in his documentary, Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet. This guitar has been thumb-printed by Jason.

Specs:
22 frets
Rosewood Fretboard
Maple Bolt-On Neck
Pickups: Humbucker, Single Coil, Single Coil
Licensed Floyd Rose Double Locking Bridge System

In the late 1980s, a sixteen-year-old guitar phenom rode to sudden stardom. Considered a true "prodigy," Jason Becker was destined to become a true rock legend until, at age twenty, he was struck down with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease. Now 52, Jason is one of the longest known survivors of this totally paralyzing disease. Communicating only with his eyes, Jason continues to create music to the wonderment of the many great musicians who form some of Jason's fan base.

The love for this man is such that a seventeen-minute video has been produced for this auction featuring Jason and friends, including Paul Stanley and the late Eddie Van Halen. This sale includes three of the six guitars Jason professionally performed with. Each appears and is described in the video.

Jason Becker's Guitars Video

A native of Richmond, California, Jason Becker (born July 22, 1969) was a child prodigy on guitar. He had been exposed to the guitar at an early age because both his father uncle were guitar players.

Jason rose to prominence when, at age 16, he became one half of the legendary rock guitar duo Cacophony with his great friend Marty Friedman. Produced by Shrapnel Records, Cacophony released albums Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off in 1988.

In 1988, Jason released his first solo album Perpetual Burn. The album cemented Jason's status as not only one of the greatest technical guitar players of all time: the album's most difficult passages remain almost unplayable for even today's most virtuosic guitarists. Perpetual Burn also showcased Jason's skill as a composer. The album includes experimental, classical and humorous elements which reflect Jason's funny, optimistic personality and his desire to push guitar music beyond its then-understood limits.

After wowing audiences all over the world with his amazing guitar chops and deep compositions, Jason auditioned for—and got—the gig with David Lee Roth, following in the huge footsteps of Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai. He wrote and recorded the David Lee Roth album A Little Ain't Enough.

Poised to take over the rock, it was during the recording of that album that Becker was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Undeterred, he succeeded in completing a second solo album, Perspective, released on his own label in 1996, with Raspberry Jams, an album of demos, following in 1999. In 2001, through the intercession of Eddie Van Halen, Perspective was given a major-label release on Warner Bros.

The disease – which doctors said would likely end his life in three to five years – has robbed Jason of his abilities to play, walk, speak, and even breathe on his own. But has he never lost his will to live or his desire to create music. Despite being paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, Jason continues to compose via a computer program that read movements of his eyes. The computer program, developed by his father, enables Jason to spell out words as well as musical notes and chords. He imparts his musical vision to his team who then can input the notes into a computer, edit the parts to his exacting standards, and then generate charts for session musicians. It is through this amazing process that Jason composes his profoundly beautiful music, rich in melody and counterpoint, brimming with emotion.

Jason's inspiring music and life story have been the subject of countless news articles, magazine cover stories, and an award-winning documentary, Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet. This 2012 film, featured interviews with Marty Friedman, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Richie Kotzen, and Steve Hunter, among others. And in 2018, 29 years after his ALS diagnosis, Jason released an aptly named album of all-new original material, Triumphant Hearts.

Condition: More detailed condition reports and additional photographs are available by request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is in very fine condition. Please message us through the online bidding platform or email Guernsey's at auctions@guernseys.com to request a more thorough condition report.