After his time spent playing (and not loving) a Les Paul Black Beauty and later, a Grestch Duo Jet, Peter Frampton picked up a Gibson SG and fell in love with humbuckers. Shortly thereafter, he moved to a Gibson ES-335, but there was a problem—a feedback problem.
Every time Frampton would get on stage to play, his guitar would mercilessly feed back in an increasingly unpleasant manner. That is, until audience member and fan Mark Mariano lent—and later, gifted—Frampton a 1954 Black Beauty that he had heavily modified into something that Frampton fell in love with. But the story doesn't end there.
Check out the video above to hear how Frampton's beloved "Phenix" was believed destroyed during a fateful flight to Panama, before it found its way back to Frampton 32 years later.