RadioStar 1939

A few years ago, they found a real, honest-to-God bomb just a few steps away from Leo’s door.

Such a thing is not unusual in Berlin. When they dig in the walkway to repair a broken pipe or install some new telephone lines, they frequently find unexploded artifacts from World War II. In this case, it was a 250 lbs., British-made bomb, one of the thousands dropped by the Allied forces that air-raided Berlin in February of 1945.

A bomb squad quickly defused the device, but the construction workers left behind a nice piece of spruce that Leo promptly converted into this awesome electric guitar.

The most eye-catching feature is the pickguard, made from the panel of an old Motorola radio from that era (1939, hence the name), a remembrance of the terrible days that still haunt this city from time to time.

(Text: Gardenia Fair, from “Catalogue Raisonné – Leo Lospennato Guitars”)