21 December 2007
	SHOPPING Guitars for rockers By Heather Formby

Baby boomers trying to fulfil boyhood dreams of rocking on stage as Jimi Hendrix or Mick Jagger replicas are the perfect market for the iconic Fender guitars. Tens of thousands are sold in SA each year to people aged from eight to 80. But it is more likely that most of the buyers are also those who buy Harley-Davidsons, since they are the ones who can afford the US-made electric guitars. Dead Cat Bounce, an SA band made up of six ageing rockers, most with day jobs in the financial markets, have around 50 Fender guitars between them. Cadiz Securities MD Dan Ahern swaps his suit for a microphone; his wrinkled band is made up of Coronation Fund Managers financial director John Snalam, Nedbank manager John "Bass" McWilliams, Deutsche Bank director Mert Black, as well as Audio Installations' Rael Yudelman and DCB Investments' Rod "Drums" Byl. Used by more famous rock stars like Eric Clapton and bands like Pink Floyd, Fenders come in hundreds of models; the catalogue is 250 pages long. But it is the custom-made designs that are a guitar player's dream. Sometimes taking six months or more to make, and costing up to R200 000, Fenders can be designed with any whim in mind. FOR MORE INFO Fender is distributed in Southern Africa by Feedback, a division of Paul Bothner. Tel: (021) 799-4900; Or go to: www.fender.co.za The range is available at most major music shops One Texas buyer asked for cowhide on his guitar; others have featured Hawaiian sunsets and Aztec graphics. The most sought-after collectors' pieces are those made in the early 1960s; they can fetch as much as R300 000.