This apollo-themed guitar is being auctioned for Unicef aid for Ukraine

Gardiner Houlgate has teamed up with Joe Doe Guitars to put together an “emergency auction” of the Apollocaster, a unique rocket-themed Tele-style guitar. All proceeds will be going towards Unicef’s efforts to provide aid to those affected by the war in Ukraine.

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The guitar is a dual-humbucker Telecaster-style singlecut, featuring an engraved pickguard design that resembles the parts board of an Airfix model for the Apollo 11 spacecraft. The back of the guitar, just below the string ferrules, bears a recreation of the Lunar Plaque left on the moon by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. Its inscription reads: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

Joe Doe offers a bit of (fictional) backstory for each of its guitars. It says of the Apollocaster: “As well as being the Chief Mechanical Engineer working on the construction of the Apollo 11 lunar Excursion Module, Ray Davenport Jnr also played rhythm guitar in the NASA house band, One Small Step. Davenport Jnr built the Apollocaster guitar during breaks between shifts, but was fired in 1972 after it was discovered he had been stealing vital metal parts in the construction of the Apollocaster guitar.”

Joe Doe added in a press statement of the auction: “You like helping out, right? So do we which is why we’re donating one of our unique, one of a kind Joe Doe Original guitar builds to the upcoming Guitar Auction at Gardiner Houlgate UK on Wednesday 9th March.

“All proceeds go to Unicef to help provide the children of Ukraine with water, food and shelter. The Joe Doe Apollocaster is a custom made, never to be repeated build with premium hardware, knackered nitro finish, Bareknuckle Mule split humbuckers and its own origin story! Bareknuckle pickups? Gotoh bridge and tuners? Check, check and check.

“No buyer’s premium will be charged so smash the piggy banks, shake the change out of your sofa and help out! Eternally grateful.”

Bidding will take place on 9 March. You can see the auction lot here.