By Patrick Keegan

The Teams

When a guitarist achieves fame, so does their guitar. As the guitar increases in fame so does its sales (if you don’t believe me, think about how much Jack White has increased the sales of old Kays, Airlines and Silvertones). Since the whole point of guitar manufacturing is to bring home the bacon, companies like Fender and Gibson will make signature models in an attempt to get you to buy the guitar designed by your favorite guitarist. The worst bit is, the guitarist doesn’t always benefit from making a guitar famous. For example we shall look at jack white again, he has recently been raving about his Gretsch Rancher acoustic that had been discontinued, this year Gretsch has brought it back and people appear to be receiving it very well. Would this have happened without Mr. White? My answer is probably not, if Gretsch didn’t get the publicity that it did for that guitar then it probably wouldn’t be doing nearly as well.

Right now we are going to take a look at who is known for playing what. I know that a few have been seen playing other brands, but the key words in that first sentence was known for. The list is in no particular order and if I left someone out I’m sure I have a reason.

Fender:

1. Jimi Hendrix- This guitarist (arguably the inventor of modern day rock and roll) is known for many things, one of them being his backwards Stratocasters. Jimi helped morph the Strat into the icon and symbol that it is today.
2. Stevie Ray Vaughn- Stevie was known for using his strats as blues-rock machines. He often customized his strats by painting the letters SRV onto the pickguard. His Lenny Stratocaster was recently bought for over $600,000.
3. John Frusciante- This is the guy I think of when you mention the word Stratocaster. He used his Strats and Teles on almost all of the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums he recorded.
4. Kurt Cobain- Although he is not the best guitarist, he should be credited for bringing back the Jaguar and the Mustang. He has had multiple signature models with Fender, including the Jagstang, that have all been very successful.
5. Eric Clapton- His “Blackie” Stratocaster sold for just under one million dollars. He is often regarded as one of the best guitarist of all time.
6. Jeff Beck- Jeff is known for his Strats, he even has his own signature Stratocaster.
7. Eric Johnson- The guitarist is known not only for the song ‘Cliffs Of Dover’ but also for his stock Stratocasters.
8. Sting- Yes, bassists exist too. Sting is known for his exceptionally worn in ’53 Precision Bass.
9. John Mayer- regardless of how you feel about him, he is a remarkable guitarist and he loves his Strats.
10. Yngwie  Malmsteen- This over-the-top guitarist has his own signature Stratocaster that comes only with scalloped frets.
11. Andy Summers- I’ve already mentioned one member of The Police, but I think this one is worth mentioning too. Andy has a thing for his modified ’63 Telecaster that he bought either from a student with the mods already completed or from Eric Clapton.
12. Duff McKagan- The former Guns N’ Roses bassist, former Janes Addiction bassist, Velvet Revolver bassist, solo artist and writer has his own signature P-Bass.
13. J Mascis- The only offset player to make this list, he and his Jazzmaster (he has his own signature squier) have developed a cult following, being a part of that cult, I felt obliged to add him in here.
14. Rory Gallagher- His Stratocaster (it has been said that it was the first one in Ireland) is so worn that there is almost none of the sunburst finish left. The paint isn’t the only thing that was removed from the guitar though, all of the pickups, the scratch plate, the tuning pegs, the pots and the wiring had all been replaced.

Gibson:

1. Les Paul- His signature model has become one of the most popular guitars of all time. Its so loved that there are more signature models of his signature model. Think about where music would be if this man never made that deal with Gibson so many years ago…
2. BB King- The king of blues has his own signature ES-335 based off of his beloved “Lucille.”
3. Jimmy Page- Whether its his black Les Paul Custom or his Double Neck SG, Jimmy has always batted for Gibson.
4. Joe Bonamassa- “For me to be myself, I have to play a Les Paul” I don’t think I need to add anything else there.
5. Slash- The man practically breaths Les Pauls! It’s no surprise that he has his own Signature Gibson and Epiphone models.
6. Peter Frampton- His Les Paul Custom was given to him by a fan, it sounds really good when you put a talk box in front of it.
7. Angus Young- This little man got his big tone from his SG and his Marshall amps.
8. Tal Farlow- This Jazzer got his very own (and very deserved, I might add) Gibson signature hollowbody based off of the ES-5
9. Chuck Berry- The forefather of rock used exclusively ES semi-hollow models throughout his career.
10. Elvis Costello- He is worth mentioning because his Gibson signature is an acoustic model, and that is something that Fender cannot compete with.
11. Buckethead- Although he has been pictured playing a Strat, his loyalty lies with Gibson. His signature model is a fantastic looking white with two red kill-switches.
12. Tony Iommi-  The Black Sabbath guitarist loves his left handed SG Special which he named “monkey”
13. Bob Marley- Reggae is not exempt from the reach of Gibson. Bob Marley was buried with his Gibson Les Paul Special.
14. Wes Montgomery- Another jazz guitarist, this one used an L5 CES and a ES-175