Around 20 of Dave Mustaine's guitars, including many Dean signature and prototype models, were sold via the MEGADETH frontman's Reverb gear shop last week, and almost all of them went to one person: Keith Gannon, owner of Essex Recording Studios, just outside of London, England. Gannon, who describes himself as "a huge MEGADETH fan," has since uploaded a 15-minute video explaining why and how he purchased Mustaine's guitars from the Reverb shop. According to Gannon, he wanted these guitars "to come somewhere that they'll be appreciated," so that the studio's clients will be "to touch these guitars and play these guitars and record with these guitars, if they want to." He also admitted that there is "a financial incentive" to him buying the guitars, explaining that the instruments and the rest of the gear in the studio "plays a major role in supporting the studio and our ability to give artists free time and very inexpensive time when they come and record with us." As for how he managed to get the guitars, Gannon attributes it to "preparation and planning," explaining that he sold one of his cars recently and some of his own "premium guitars" in his Reverb shop, and then used his experience as a "car dealer" to procure Mustaine's instruments quickly. The official Dave Mustaine Reverb shop launched on November 4 and featured nearly 150 items, including guitars, amps, drum gear, pro audio equipment, and more used by the thrash metal legend. In a statement explaining his decision to sell the equipment, Mustaine said: "When you've been playing and touring for as long as I have, you tend to amass quite a collection of gear. They're great instruments and they represent more than 40 years of playing, but I've got more than I could possibly use myself. I owe so much to my fans. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't even have all this gear. I'd rather give it back to them than let it sit and collect dust." He added: "I have a lot, a lot, a lot of gear. I've got a lot of double-neck guitars, I've got a lot of prototype stuff. I've got absolutely killer collector's item stuff for the right guy. For me, my job is to put everything I can into this guitar so that when it gets put into somebody else's hands, I can say, 'This is the guitar that wrote 'Holy Wars'.' "I have always believed when it comes down to memorabilia with a band — especially instruments — I want to pass this on to people. I want them to be able to have something that I had. I believe a lot in energy... whatever energy I put into this, my particular mojo, I like to be able to give that to somebody."
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