We all have our favorite guitarists. The ones who inspired us to play. The ones who’s licks we had to learn. the ones who seemed to make the guitar sing in such a way that seemed other worldly. The particular instruments these legends play are often revered as much as the artist.
Ironically, the guitars that many of the legendary guitarists we idolize played were little more than off the shelf models with a few tweaks for personal preference. That being said, there is still something magical about iconic guitars.
When I think of special guitars the fist thing that comes to mind is the red special This is truly a unique guitar hand build by a unique guitarist. The sounds that Brian May coaxed out of this 100 year old piece of mahogany are truly amazing. Now I’ve played a Guild Brian May model and I can tell you I was unable to even come close to replicating the regal riffs of the master.
Another instrument that is as famous as it’s owner is the frankenstein guitar made by Edward Van Halen. This guitar was a striped down, bare bones, fly by the seat of your pants slab of wood and paint yet the amazing squeals and dive bombs that came out of this guitar defied conventional logic at the time. This was a case of less is more. Less stuff on the guitar, more notes. Plain, simple, and effective.
While anyone with the cash at hand can own replicas of these and other iconic guitars, make no mistake, the real magic was the pairing of the player with the wood and steel.
Scott
