I was reading this post here about top 28 most recognizable guitars. I must say that I just love this topic, even if I have never thought about it. I will not post here again the same top that the other guys posted on their blogs, just that I must admit that there are some electric guitars, mostly, that made a strong impact on the way the artist’s image was built. Indeed, think about Prince with his Purple Glyph Symbol Guitar, think about Zakk Wylde circle guitar, think about Michael Angelo Batio with his The Reverse Double-Neck guitar, etc.
I had only one thing to object to that top. I don’t see the Red Special model of Brian May and that’s one recognizable model, I think that every guitar player in this world knows it and some also know the legend of how it was built.
I would also add Steve Vai’s cut through guitar to that list and maybe a few others too. However the list is great.
Man, I just observed now: no SRV no 1 model either?!!
Dr. J
December 4th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
I was working in retail when the Ibanez Steve Vai Signature was released; each Ibanez dealer was given one signed guitar. If you played the Ibanez and then picked up a Les Paul standard, you could feel a tremendous difference in quality. I don’t know exactly how to say it, (guitar is not my primary instrument); — the craftsmanship was great on both guitars, but the Ibanez was devoid of any sense of QUALITY. I mean, you could tell it would be a nice guitar, but it wasn’t something that you’d expect your great-great grandson or daughter to inherit. How about a top ten list of most fashionable guitars? That would surely be different than a list of the top ten highest quality guitars!
: )
admin
December 4th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Well, I wouldn’t have expected that, for sure! I told you in a previous post that I was disappointed by Ibanez RG350DX compared to a Carvin guitar, but I thought it is because the price difference, but Steve Vai’s model is not a cheap one, for sure. I haven’t played it so far, but I don’t like what I hear…Ibanez for me was a dream. I am sorry to read this,really.
Dr. J
December 4th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Wait…Ibanez makes good guitars, really! I’m trying to say that if you’re talking about the top 10 best guitars of all time, I’m not sure that they’d be in the top 5. My definition of quality is somewhat hard to pin down, but weight, finish, construction details, apparent durability, feel of machine heads, etc…would all be in the rubric. It’s like a great cookie; we can all agree when we’re eating a truly quality cookie, but we might not be able to discern all the ingredients at the moment.
Jon
December 4th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
But this isn’t about the best quality guitars of all time, it is the most recognisable. I think Joe’s chrome Ibanez and Vai’s multi-coloured vomit Universe should be in the top 20, but I also think the list is missing many others like Lennon’s Rickenbacker, Vai’s triple neck, Rhoads Polka V…
Dr. J
December 5th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Good point… Mea culpa.
admin
December 5th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Indeed, it is about most recognizable guitars and Jon is right, Satriani’s chrome guitar has always been a trademark of Joe’s image while Vais’ multi-colored guitar is a stamp that anybody (any guitar player) would recognize it.