Guitars & music
Proof that plays
Thousands of picks fly into the crowd on every tour, and stage-played guitars can sell for the price of a house. Spark Labs puts the proof in the pick plastic, the guitar finish, the serial decal and the signature, so a scan can say which night, which stage and which hands.
Caught a pick? Scan it.
Each night of a tour gets its own crystal blend in the picks. A fan who caught one can scan it and see the show it came from. Two of these picks are real. One is a copy printed to look the same.
- Crystal glow—
- Which show—
- Tour print—
- Fingerprint—
Illustration with a fictional tour.
Picks that name the night
Custom picks are cheap to copy, and “stage-used” picks are sold by the bag. Spark Labs compounds the crystals into the pick plastic or the printing ink when the picks are made, with a different blend for each show. The pick looks and plays exactly the same.
- Per show, per artist. Blends can be set for each night, each band member, or each guitar tech’s supply.
- Fans can check. A scan at the merch stand, a fan event or a collector’s shop names the show.
- Used vs. unused. The tech scans picks out to the stage, so the record shows which ones were played.
Guitars with a record
Refinished bodies, swapped necks and forged serial numbers are the oldest tricks in the vintage market. For new instruments, crystals can go in at the factory. For guitars on tour or signed at the end of a show, they go in with the pen and the tech’s scan.
- Finish
- A blend in the lacquer or clear coat. A refinished body reads blank.
- Serial and decal
- Crystals in the headstock decal or serial ink. A forged serial reads dark.
- Signature
- Signed with the pen on the pickguard or body, with its own one-of-one pattern.
- Case and papers
- A crystal-printed case label and certificate that match the guitar’s record.
From the factory to the auction
One record follows a guitar through its whole life. Each step below is a scan.
Built
The maker’s blend goes into the finish and decal. The serial is recorded.
Toured
The guitar tech scans it out to the stage and back, show by show.
Signed
The artist signs it with the pen. The pattern joins the record.
Auctioned
The auction house scans it on intake and shows the record to bidders.
Owned
Every later owner scans it and sees the same history.
The rest of the tour
Anything printed, worn or played on stage can carry the night’s blend.
- Setlists
- Printed in crystal ink for each show, then signed with the pen.
- Tour posters
- Limited runs that cannot be reprinted, numbered in the ink.
- Tickets and passes
- Laminates and all-access passes that prove they were issued.
- Vinyl and sleeves
- Signed sleeves and special pressings with their own blend.
- Stage-worn clothing
- Thread and tags, the same as game-worn jerseys.
- Sticks and heads
- Drumsticks and drumheads marked for the night they were played.
Make the tour provable.
Artists, managers, guitar makers, tour merch companies and auction houses: tell us what leaves the stage, and we will plan the crystals for it.
Talk to Spark Labs