John used this guitar to record the song “Wayne,” which he released in April 2013 as a tribute to a friend who had passed away. In a 2014 interview with Guitar Player magazine, John expressed his fondness for this guitar, noting that he had started to prefer it over the Yamaha SG he had relied on after leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
I also have a Performance guitar, made by a guy named Kunio Sugai in North Hollywood. I played it on a ten-minute solo on a song called “Wayne” that I recorded a few months ago when a friend of mine died. It’s kind of like a Strat, and has a great whammy bar system that stays in tune really well. After three years of mostly playing the SG, I’ve found myself playing that guitar more and more.
John Frusciante, Guitar Player magazine, March 2014
Specs, Model
The guitar was made by the same guy who made John’s first guitar that he used with the Peppers, way back in 1988. The brand is called “Performance”, and the guitar is basically a hand-made Stratocaster on steroids, featuring a custom tremolo, and two humbucking pickups.
John’s model in particular seems to be a Corsair, with some relatively unique features. These include the uniquely colored pickguard, double humbucking setup (could also be HSH, hard to tell from the photo), and the white binding around the body and the headstock (which as you can see in the photo below are not that uncommon).
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