Shapes
Guitars come in many shapes and sizes and use various types of wood in their construction. Here are some of the most famous and iconic guitars used by guitarists all over the world from Rock to Jazz players. You’ll see from this guide that in many aspects guitars haven’t changed since the 1950’s.
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster is a legendary guitar. It has been a mainstay of guitarists the world over since its introduction in the 1950’s. Its also been a favourite of renowned guitar players such as Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix. A big part of the 'strats' character is due to its single coil pickups which produce a clear pristine sound
Gibson Les Paul
The Les Paul is iconic and another guitar designed in the 50's. This guitar is mainly used by Rock Guitarists as it produces a strong and powerful sound due to its twin humbucker pickups. The list of famous Les Paul users include Jimmy Page, Slash, Gary Moore, Billy Gibbons, Zakk Wylde, Joe Perry, Mark Knopfler plus many, many more
Fender Telecaster
The ‘Tele’ is yet another guitar designed in the 50’s. The guitar is famous for its bright twangy sound and therefore used by many country players, including Mearle Haggard and Brad Paisley. The guitar can also sound warm and bluesy and is the first choice guitar for Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen among countless others
Gibson SG
This time we have a guitar designed in the 1960’s. The SG made its debut in 1961 and is the guitar used by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi who is seen by many to be the inventor of heavy metal. The SG is also used by another Rock legend Angus Young of AC/DC. The guitar has humbucker pickups which are perfect for churning out power chords at high volumes
PRS Custom 22
PRS guitars are top quality instruments which are highly regarded by many guitarists. The company was set up in 1985 by founder Paul Reed Smith. Two of the trademarks of PRS are the bird inlays on the fretboard and exotic woods used in their construction. One of the first well known guitarist to play these guitars was Carlos Santana with many others following his example
Fender Jaguar
The Jaguar was introduced by Fender in 1962 and was taken out of production in 1975. It enjoyed a resurgence by punk and alternative rock guitarists before Fender brought it back into production in Japan in the mid 1980’s with the American version appearing in 1999. Famous users of the Jaguar include Kurt Cobain, Johnny Marr and John Frusciante
Gibson Flying V
The Flying V made its debut back in 1958. The guitar was originally made from Korina with later models using mahogany. The design was ground breaking at the time due to its unconventional shape. The flying V is particularly popular with heavy metal players such as Michael Schenker from UFO and KK Downing from Judas Priest. Jimi Hendrix also sometimes played a flying V as well as Blues Guitarist Albert King
Jackson – Super Strat
A super strats name is derived from the fact that its shape is reminiscent of a Stratocaster although with higher output pickups and a two octave (24 fret fretboard). These kind of guitars also have a locking tremolo system which is very often a Floyd Rose. Jackson are just one manufacturer that produce super strats such as their Soloist model. Other notable companies include Ibanez, Schecter, and ESP
BC Rich Warlock
BC Rich are synonymous with outrageous shaped guitars. They were founded in 1969 by Bernado Chavez Rico. Because of their aggressive shapes they are played by mainly metal guitarists. The Warlock model is often used by Kerry King from Slayer. Other famous BC Rich players include Slash who sometimes uses the Mockingbird model when not playing his Gibson Les Pauls
Gibson ES 335
The 335 was another guitar released in the 1950’s The ES (Electric Spanish) 335 is a semi acoustic electric guitar. The guitar consists of a solid maple block of wood running through the centre of the guitar with f holes over the two hollow cutaways. The semi hollow body design of the 335 makes it a very versatile guitar being used by Blues, Jazz and Rock musicians including Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Eric Clapton and Noel Gallagher