Dave Grohl’s 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez

This is Dave’s main guitar with Foo Fighters, the one he used to record most of the band’s songs. It was also used as a basis for his current stage guitar, the Gibson Dave Grohl signature model.

Origin Story

According to Dave, he bought this guitar around 1992, while he was still a member of Nirvana.

This guitar I’ve made every single Foo Fighters record with. This is a [expletive] beautiful guitar. I saw this in a guitar shop in Bethesda, Maryland. I think it was 1992, ’93, or something like that. I think I was still in Nirvana when I bought it. I thought it was unusual.

It looks like a Gibson ES-335, except it has diamond-shaped f-holes and has this different headstock on it. And I didn’t really know anything about Trini Lopez, the artist, when I bought it.

Dave Grohl – Gibson interview

Usage

As noted in the opening paragraph, Dave used this guitar to record most of the FF albums.

Every album we have ever made, from the first to the latest, was recorded with my red 1967 Trini Lopez signature guitar. It is the sound of our band, and my most prized possession from the day I bought it in 1992. Thank you, Trini for all of your contributions.

Dave Grohl – Foo Fighters Twitter

But, as far as live usage, Dave usually stuck with other guitars. In the early days, in the mid-90s, he went through a number of different Les Pauls, SGs, and Explorers, which goes to show that he preferred to keep the Trini Lopez safe at home, and protected from abuse that inevitably happens to guitars on tours.

Specs