Over the past few years, Gabe Dalporto has been the man leading Guitar Center into a bold new era as the retail giant's CEO. His approach has included strategies such as increasing the flow of high-end gear into stores and launching an AI rig advisor for in-store shoppers.
What makes Dalporto uniquely positioned in his role as Guitar Center CEO, though, and what informs his entire approach is his background as a guitarist: as a player himself, he knows what other players want to see from Guitar Center.
And, like all players, Dalporto has amassed a fine collection of electric guitars and acoustic guitars over the years. There are two guitars in particular, he tells Guitar World, that stand out above all others.
“I’ve got two favorite guitars and both of them I inherited from my father,” he says at Guitar Center’s recent VIP event in NYC, which kickstarted the company’s Guitar-A-Thon, and was attended by GW’s Paul Riario.
“One is a 1964 Stratocaster. It’s white, it’s got a rosewood fretboard. I’ve played that my entire life and that’s been my go-to,” Dalporto continues.
“When my dad passed away I inherited his 1956 Les Paul, which he had modded and [he] took the P-90s out and put humbuckers in. It’s a Goldtop and it’s just beautiful, and I love that thing. It’s like, which kid do you love [more]? It’s really hard to say.”
While those two sentimental six-strings get the nod, Dalporto also gives an honorable mention to another guitar that has cemented itself as his everyday player: “I also have a PRS that I play, I gig with, and that's a really great, versatile guitar as well.”
Guitar World caught up with Dalporto earlier this year to discuss his mission to win back guitar players’ trust in the face of declining store prestige, changing buying habits and uncertain economic conditions.
In that conversation he called his 1964 Strat his “first true love”, and named the Les Paul one of his "irreplaceable guitars”.
“I think what I've learned over the years is, you wind up playing different music depending on the guitar you’re playing,” he said of his personal guitar catalog. “Guitars almost feel like they want to be played a certain way, and so I’ve been building out my collection to encompass a lot of different styles.
