Kris Derrig (April 6, 1954 – May 14, 1987) was an American

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

and musician born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. As a guitar builder, he is best known for building

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

's recording guitar, used in the

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

album ''

Appetite For Destruction ''Appetite for Destruction'' is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records. The album was released to little mainstream attention in 1987. It was not until the following ...

'', as well as many other counterfeit 1959

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

. Derrig died in May 1987 from a form of cancer. He didn't live to see the impact his Les Paul copies would have on Guns N' Roses debut album, ''Appetite For Destruction'', and the signature sound of Slash.Archived a
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Wayback Machine

References

1954 births 1987 deaths American luthiers Guitar makers People from Greenfield, Massachusetts {{US-music-bio-stub