Priced at $80,000, Yuriy Shishkov’s Pinball Telecaster guitar and matching “Wizard” amplifier built by Fender’s custom amp expert Jim Dolmage are true pop culture memorabilia–using parts and materials from a vintage pinball machine. A showpiece that will appeal to guitar, pinball machine, movie memorabilia and Americana collectors alike–the guitar features the game’s original colored plastic playfield inserts that actually light up in a random pattern with battery-powered LEDs. Movable flippers and a spring-loaded ball shooter add a fun factor to this otherwise operational instrument, and plastic painted game trim pieces on the body and headstock complete the instrument’s pinball theme. Rounding off the guitar is a vintage-style maple neck; a Fender Custom Shop Nocaster neck pickup; a chromed pinball volume knob; chrome wraparound bridge/tailpiece; as well as plywood from the 40-year old Bally pinball machine, which was used to hand-build the body–a challenge in itself.
The matching Wizard amplifier’s enclosure is constructed entirely from wood and metal recycled from the pinball machine’s cabinetry. The original vintage stenciled paintwork gives off an almost “carnival” atmosphere with a rattlesnake motif inside and out. The heavy plywood and metal trim lend a significant “attack” to the expressive sound of the ’57 Custom Pro-Amp circuitry, which is warmed up by the stout 15-inch Eminence speaker.
