The 28 Most Recognizable Guitars

caitlin1214

caitlin1214

tPF Bish
O.G.
Jul 7, 2006
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#1
We salute rock & roll's most iconic tool of the trade since stuffed spandex — the multinecked, fur-lined, flame-throwing masterpieces that remain as influential as the shredders who strapped them on.


Jon D'Auria and Mike Errico


Blender November 27 2007


28. Artist: Buck Owens
Instrument: Red, White and Blue acoustic
Description: Built by Semie Moseley of Mosrite Guitars (also favored by unlikely bedfellows the Ramones), the Country Music Hall of Famer had his guitar painted red, white and blue to express both his patriotism and his love for the genre he called "American music." (You probably call it "country.")
Factoid: Owens, guitar in hand, scored big as host of the 1969 TV show Hee Haw, the country... uh, "American"... music counterprogramming to NBC’s popular, and pop music-centric Laugh-In.
Shining Moment:...well... Hee Haw.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwlCQJbw8AQ






27. Artist: Les Claypool, Primus
Instrument: The Rainbow Bass
Description: This fretless, six-string Carl Thompson bass is composed of stripes of curly maple, padauk, purpleheart, ebony and cocobolo wood.
Factoid: Shortly after receiving Rainbow, Les realized that the balance of the body was off, so for a quick fix Thompson chopped off the horn of the bass at the top of the neck. Before alterations were completed, Primus filmed the video for “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” which featured the damaged hornless bass.
Shining Moment: At Woodstock ’94, Claypool galloped around the stage playing “My Name Is Mud” as a rain-soaked crowd of thousands hurled mud at the bassist and his band. Having to leave the stage to clean off the Rainbow Bass, Les returned to say, “I sure opened a can of worms with that one.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaCXxqRNNcc





26. Artist: Michael Angelo Batio
Instrument: The Reverse Double-Neck
Description: With a right-handed and left-handed neck formed in a V-shape, this Dean guitar is as unique as it is uniquely unplayable for people not named "Michael Angelo."
Factoid: Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave) was a student of Batio’s in his early days.
Shining Moment: The two-handed tapping technique known simply as “the over and under,” which ranks among the more hilarious human musical achievements on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rutyA12z3Ok




25. Artist: Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters
Instrument: Dan Armstrong/Ampeg ARMG-2
Description: Made of transparent Lucite, these guitars debuted in 1969, making the claim that Lucite had better sustain and lighter body weight than wood.
Factoid: Calling it one of his favorite guitars ever manufactured, Grohl owns four Lucite Ampegs that are all tuned differently for various Foo Fighter songs.
Shining Moment: This rare axe is featured in three of the Foo Fighters' most popular videos: “All My Life,” “The One” and “Times Like These.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RHj0VDVH_E
 
#2
24. Artist: Michael Anthony, Van Halen
Instrument: Jack Daniel's Bass
Description: With a combined love of low-end bass and low-end whiskey, Anthony enlisted the help of luthiers Kevin Dugan and Dave Jellison to create the “JD Bass” in the shape of an oversized Jack Daniel's bottle.
Factoid: Although Van Halen's 2007 tour with original singer David Lee Roth was dubbed a "reunion," original bassist Anthony was not invited to reunite: He was replaced by Eddie's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang Van Halen. A rumored reason: Anthony's love of Jack Daniel's.
Shining Moment: Anthony and bass, suspended by a wire and swinging across the stage in the 1984 video for “Panama.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFg78JtiZPY
 
#3
20. Artist: Zakk Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society
Instrument: The Grail
Description: This signature Gibson Les Paul features a yellow-jacket-striped bull's-eye paint job and enough power to accessorize a braided Viking beard.
Factoid: Ozzy Osbourne, searching for a replacement for guitarist Randy Rhoads, who died in an airplane accident in 1982, managed to lure Zakk away from his day job — at a gas station. In New Jersey.
Shining Moment: In 2007, Wylde paid tribute to his forebears by performing “I Don’t Wanna Stop,” “Bark at the Moon,” “Night Train” and other classics as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist on VH1 Rock Honors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgrOD4PZzuY
 
#4
12. Artist: Gene Simmons, KISS
Instrument: Axe Bass
Description: Designed by luthier Steve Carr and shaped like an executioner's ax, a limited number of these basses was released by Kramer Guitars in the early '80s.
Factoid: Although the fire spitting, tongue-flaring Simmons typically plays his B.C. Rich signature “Punisher” bass for live shows, the Axe Bass was used from 1978 to 1981 as Simmons's primary bass and is now brought out for the occasional encore performance.
Shining Moment: Simmons's declaration that the Axe looks the way a bass should be played — like a weapon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTEKcNSglQM
 
#5
8. Artist: Bo Diddley
Instrument: The Big B
Description: Taking the hardware, neck and electronics off his original Gretsch guitar, Diddley stuck them on a wooden box, and poof: the Big B was invented.
Factoid: The box design was born from a series of embarrassing events onstage involving Diddley’s previous Gibson L5 guitar crushing his groin from frantic onstage dancing.
Shining Moment: On November 20, 1955, with Big B by his side, Diddley made the first appearance of an African-American on The Ed Sullivan show. The TV host became furious when Diddley burst into two songs rather than one and made the claim that Diddley, “wouldn’t last six months in this business.” Diddley went on to become the “originator” of rock & roll, celebrating a 50-plus-year career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_fuioN6kZg
 
#6
4. Artist: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin
Instrument: Gibson SG Double Neck
Description: Page’s rock relic contains both 12- and six-string rosewood fret boards held together with a cherry-stained mahogany body.
Factoid: Since the 1976 release of Zep's comically bloated The Song Remains the Same (Spinal Tap moments include Page's violin-bowed solo), the double-neck SG has been one of the most sought-after guitars on the market, prized equally for its look and its ironic nod to '70s excess (Band of Horses's Ben Bridwell tours with one in white). Retailing around $8,000, the price is also appropriately overboard.
Shining Moment: Teamed with Page, the double neck gets the assist for his rock-guitar opus “Stairway to Heaven.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjHdBDnHEeU
 
#8
You're welcome!


To be compeletely honest, I'm not some music expert, I just love it and I want to know everything there is to know about it.


Posting topics like this is an education for me and I hope it interests other people, too.
 
#11
Sorry for waking up this old thread, but I'm really not. I was looking for help restringing a dustbag, and restringing pulled up lots about jewelry, and this great bit of musical knowledge. Can't wait for my guitar loving DH to come down, so I can show him. Heh heh heh, and imagine, of all places, here on the Purse Forum.

Thank you Caitlin, great info abouot all my favorites.. From Elvis, to Clapton, Prince and more, just surprised that Slash didn't make the cut. I wonder what his guitar of choice is.

Caitlin, you rock!
 
#13
Yay for this zombie thread, coz I missed it first time around.
Fab posts, Caitlin, I really enjoyed them. I would have thought Angus Young's Gibson SG would be further up the list. Every time I see one, I automatically think of him.
 
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