Mark Tremonti Shares Regret Over Parting With Beloved Guitar Due to Legal Dispute

We've all made decisions based upon impulse at one point or another in our lives, but Mark Tremonti reveals that one such decision led him to part ways with a prized guitar that he now regrets.

Speaking with Guitarist magazine (as transcribed by Guitar World), Tremonti recalls owning a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop reissue that became a collateral transaction after getting upset over a legal dispute between Gibson and PRS over his PRS signature guitar.

The Alter Bridge guitarist explains, “There was a reissue Goldtop Les Paul that I used throughout the big Creed days and I sold it because there was a lawsuit between Gibson and PRS. I was just angry that my [PRS signature] guitar got taken off the shelves for all those years, and so I got rid of that Les Paul just out of anger.”

The lawsuit took place in 2001 with Gibson filing suit against PRS over their Singlecut models and initially resulted with the court ruling in Gibson's favor, thus leading Tremonti's PRS Singlecut six-string signature guitar that had been released that year to be barred from production. But a few years later in 2005, the decision was reversed with PRS once again allowed to resume production and Tremonti's guitar once again being made available.

Tremonti reflects, “I should have kept it because the folks who had made that Les Paul had nothing to do with the folks who caused the lawsuit. And the business has changed hands: there’s new guys in charge who are doing great things. But that’s the one I wish I still had.”

While Tremonti may no longer have that Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, he's managed to do quite well with other guitars in his collection over the years, churning out hit songs from Alter Bridge and launching his self-titled solo band. Tremonti's latest studio album, Marching in Time, arrived just last week and is available via his website.