This guitar is a replica of George Lynch’s famous J Frog “Mom” guitar that he used extensively in the late 80’s. The original bones guitar was made in 1986, and was affectionately named "Mom." The body was carved and sculpted by John "J. Frog" Garcia and was assembled by Jim Foote at Music Works in Redondo Beach. The original can be seen in various Dokken music videos and has been well photographed over the years. Unfortunately, it now hangs silently at the Los Angeles Hard Rock Cafe' as part of their permanent location collection.

I always loved how unique this guitar looked and thought that the 3D carved body was very cool. This guitar is instantly recognizable and will always remind me of the 80’s when Guitar gods ruled the music scene. Some of the guitars that these guitar heroes used have become almost as famous as the guitarists themselves. One only needs to think of the 80’s to conjure up images of the unique instruments such as EVH’s stripped Frankenstrat, Warren’s Snakeskin covered Charvel, Randy’s Polka Dot V, and Lynch’s Bones guitar.

While thee have been reissues of George’s “Mom” guitar by several manufactures, including ESP and Ed Roman, these were either inaccurate when compared to the original or very pricey. ESP offered a limited edition back in 1999 that ironically at the time I had placed a deposit in order to hold one. Unfortunately, due to legal issues, very few of these ESP guitars were actually produced and my money was refunded by the dealer. The ESP guitars were not exact replicas and in fact, the carving and color were not very accurate when compared to the original.  Ed Roman has a licensing agreement with J Frog and while expensive, offers an excellent replica of Lynch’s original guitar. The carving offered on the Roman manufactured guitars is extremely detailed and virtually identical to that of the original. While I have come close on a few occasions to buying one of the Roman made replicas, I have never finalized a deal. Sadly the prices have steadily increased over the years and I regret not grabbing one back in early 2000.

One day while searching eBay looking for a used J Frog guitar, I stumbled upon an auction by Michael Piper, who was selling a replica he had made using a block of alder and hardware from a Kramer guitar. His attention to detail both in the carving and air brush finishing of the guitar body was superb and I was amazed at how accurate to the original the body looked. The auction drew considerable attention and I was waiting for the last seconds to bid when my computer died. Needless to say I was bummed and could not believe I missed out on this guitar. However, luck was on my side and after the high bidder passed on the guitar, Michael subsequently sold it to me.

After receiving the guitar I replaced the Kramer neck with a reverse hockey style neck that I ordered from Warmoth. The new neck came unfinished and armed with a can of black spray paint and some stickers, I finished the neck and attached it to the body. Initially, I only added “Mr. Bones” on the headstock in stickers but my good buddy Bubba (Jeremy) suggested also adding RIP to the tip. I must admit that it was a great finishing touch and I am more than pleased with how the guitar turned out.

The guitar sounds as good as she looks and plays amazingly well. The two small beefs I have with the guitar are the limited room between the neck and lower horn of the guitar; which makes playing the high notes very difficult and the size of the skull which makes it hard to see the fretboard when playing standing up. However, with a few small changes to my playing style, I quickly adjusted and have solved both of these small problems. I cannot say enough good things about Michael’s impressive woodworking and finishing skills and I am thrilled to have such an accurate replica in my collection. Now if I could only play as well as George…