Weapons of Choice · Benny Doro Collection

01 / Editorial context

Before We Begin

A studio is never just a room. The instruments inside it reveal what their owner reaches for, what he notices, and how he wants a song to feel.

In the West New York studio Benny kept from about 2001 onward, the guitars stood ready in a long line—his “warriors,” each with a different job and a different personality. “They all played different,” Benny says. “They were vastly different.” The photographs document Eddie Van Halen Artist Series guitars; original Paul Stanley Icemans; Les Pauls from 1981 and 1996; a black Custom with gold-plated hardware; and a rare prototype associated with Gene Simmons.

Benny remembers them through touch—the fast one, the heavier one, the difficult one—not as display pieces. They were working tools for chasing a sound. Most of the collection is now in storage, and two guitars remain with him. What survives here is more than an inventory: it is a portrait of a working room and the possibility that one day another song will ask for them.

What happened?

Benny photographed the guitars and recording tools assembled in his West New York studio.

Why did it matter?

Each instrument played differently. Together they record how Benny chose sounds, feel, and personality—not simply how he collected objects.

What happened next?

Most went into storage. Two remain with Benny, along with the thought of getting ready for battle again.

02 / First-person memory

Authoritative narration · 2:22

In Benny's own voice

Listen to Benny

This is Benny's supplied recording, preserved unchanged. The editorial introduction above provides context; the narration is his authoritative first-person account.

03 / Verbatim record