Stupidest signature guitars?

Collings

I quite like the the Knaggs  Steve Stevens but just can't quite live with the silly reygun logo on the headstock and his signature scrawl on the truss rod cover.

crunchman

thegummy said:

There's an Ed Sheeran Martin and a Taylor Swift Taylor.

They're not that cheap either. Never tried them but I'd bet that the spoiled kids who have them could have gotten a much better guitar for the money.

At least Sheeran is always playing the guitar, the a Swift one must be up there on cashing in.

Don't know about the Taylor Swift one, but the Sheeran one is ok.  I've got a slightly bigger (OOO size) Martin of similar construction.  It's actually a very good guitar.  A lot of people don't like it because of the non-traditional materials and unfinished look, but it does sound good.  I wasn't intending to buy that model.  I was looking for a working guitar with a pickup that was less precious than my nice Martin.  I'd tried several others, including some that were double the price, and that one just sounded the best.  I think the lack of a glossy finish does help the tone.

I'd never buy the Sheeran one because of X on the body, but it is actually quite a decent guitar.

Blueingreen

DrBob said:

I did wonder about the Gibson Keifer Sutherland sig...

Very nearly bought one of those.  Great looking 336 and on Ebay at a good price.  Just got a little suspicious about authenticity and Gibson were no help when asked them to confirm it.  Still wonder whether I dodged a bullet or missed out on a bargain.

Not a Kiefer Sutherland fan, only know him from the first series of 24 which was not my kind of thing.  iirc there was nothing on the guitar itself to indicate it was a KS except the serial number.

Maynehead

I've said it before, but a signature guitar is just a guitar that was designed by a guitarist rather than a guitar designer who works for a guitar company. If you like the design, then buy it. There's no rule to say that you have to be an avid fan of the guitarist to own one!

Having said that, I do think it's stupid how some signature guitars try to recreate preceisely the wear and tear, scratches and imperfections of a specific guitar owned by the guitarist. Style and design is one thing, but why would you want a paint chip in the same place as someone else's guitar?!

LuttiS

AlexO said:

Nothing against him at all and he's obviously a very good businessman and brilliant for him if people are buying the,

But anyone who's bought a Lee Anderton, 'Captain' Chapman Stratocaster needs to take a good look in the mirror at themselves. 

Didn't think that was his "signiture" guitar, thought the Cap10 was just named with him in mind as he has a love for strats..

Philly_Q

A couple from Anthrax.

The Danny Spitz PRS which I mentioned the other day.  I don't think it was ever commercially available and it's not exactly stupid, just really ugly.

Scott Ian's series of NOT Jacksons.  I'm sure he was happy enough with 12 or 14 frets, but it wouldn't have actually done any harm to include a few more....

crunchman

Not sure if it's still in production but there was a pretty poor Mark Knopfler Strat.  For some reason it had Texas Specials - which can ruin any guitar.  Remember trying one in a shop years ago, and then trying out a Mexican one (something along the lines of the Classic Series) that was less than half the price at the time.  The Mexican one completely blew the Knopfler away.

stickyfiddle

Blueingreen said:

DrBob said:

I did wonder about the Gibson Keifer Sutherland sig...

Very nearly bought one of those.  Great looking 336 and on Ebay at a good price.  Just got a little suspicious about authenticity and Gibson were no help when asked them to confirm it.  Still wonder whether I dodged a bullet or missed out on a bargain.

Not a Kiefer Sutherland fan, only know him from the first series of 24 which was not my kind of thing.  iirc there was nothing on the guitar itself to indicate it was a KS except the serial number.

Ya, I don't care for KS, but I'd love a 336 with an ebony fretboard. Great looking guitar imo

Grumpyrocker

stickyfiddle said:

thegummy said:

There's an Ed Sheeran Martin and a Taylor Swift Taylor.

They're not that cheap either. Never tried them but I'd bet that the spoiled kids who have them could have gotten a much better guitar for the money.

At least Sheeran is always playing the guitar, the a Swift one must be up there on cashing in.

Sheeran can sell out Wembley for 3 nights then headline Glastonbury a couple of years later then sell out Wembley AGAIN for 4 nights the following year. Playing guitar. On his own. That's fucking awesome whatever anyone says.


As for Swift - that's not remotely a token cash-grab. She's no EVH/Vai/Slash/whatever but does play guitar shitloads, particularly live and on her early stuff. Also a decent pianist. 

The bit in that video of her entertaining kids in a hospital was lovely. She can definitely have a signature guitar for that alone.

wesker123

Slash green LP 

Philly_Q

stickyfiddle said:

Blueingreen said:

DrBob said:

I did wonder about the Gibson Keifer Sutherland sig...

Very nearly bought one of those.  Great looking 336 and on Ebay at a good price.  Just got a little suspicious about authenticity and Gibson were no help when asked them to confirm it.  Still wonder whether I dodged a bullet or missed out on a bargain.

Not a Kiefer Sutherland fan, only know him from the first series of 24 which was not my kind of thing.  iirc there was nothing on the guitar itself to indicate it was a KS except the serial number.

Ya, I don't care for KS, but I'd love a 336 with an ebony fretboard. Great looking guitar imo

I've got a Lee Roy Parnell CS-336 with an ebony board.

builttospill

Courtney Love Squire Venus

stickyfiddle

Philly_Q said:

stickyfiddle said:

Blueingreen said:

DrBob said:

I did wonder about the Gibson Keifer Sutherland sig...

Very nearly bought one of those.  Great looking 336 and on Ebay at a good price.  Just got a little suspicious about authenticity and Gibson were no help when asked them to confirm it.  Still wonder whether I dodged a bullet or missed out on a bargain.

Not a Kiefer Sutherland fan, only know him from the first series of 24 which was not my kind of thing.  iirc there was nothing on the guitar itself to indicate it was a KS except the serial number.

Ya, I don't care for KS, but I'd love a 336 with an ebony fretboard. Great looking guitar imo

I've got a Lee Roy Parnell CS-336 with an ebony board.

He had a run of signature LP Goldtops too. LOVELY looking things. No chuffing clue who he is.

stickyfiddle

Grumpyrocker said:

stickyfiddle said:

thegummy said:

There's an Ed Sheeran Martin and a Taylor Swift Taylor.

They're not that cheap either. Never tried them but I'd bet that the spoiled kids who have them could have gotten a much better guitar for the money.

At least Sheeran is always playing the guitar, the a Swift one must be up there on cashing in.

Sheeran can sell out Wembley for 3 nights then headline Glastonbury a couple of years later then sell out Wembley AGAIN for 4 nights the following year. Playing guitar. On his own. That's fucking awesome whatever anyone says.


As for Swift - that's not remotely a token cash-grab. She's no EVH/Vai/Slash/whatever but does play guitar shitloads, particularly live and on her early stuff. Also a decent pianist. 

The bit in that video of her entertaining kids in a hospital was lovely. She can definitely have a signature guitar for that alone.

That might actually be her signature Taylor, by the looks of it. I get the feeling she's a decent human being.

carlos

Something about boobs not fitting in with the more common guitar shapes.

thegummy

stickyfiddle said:

thegummy said:

There's an Ed Sheeran Martin and a Taylor Swift Taylor.

They're not that cheap either. Never tried them but I'd bet that the spoiled kids who have them could have gotten a much better guitar for the money.

At least Sheeran is always playing the guitar, the a Swift one must be up there on cashing in.

Sheeran can sell out Wembley for 3 nights then headline Glastonbury a couple of years later then sell out Wembley AGAIN for 4 nights the following year. Playing guitar. On his own. That's fucking awesome whatever anyone says.


As for Swift - that's not remotely a token cash-grab. She's no EVH/Vai/Slash/whatever but does play guitar shitloads, particularly live and on her early stuff. Also a decent pianist. 

My comment wasn't on Ed Sheeran at all, it was on his signature guitar qualifying as "cashing in".

Surely you wouldn't deny that the target market is kids who like Ed Sheeran's music and it's not like, say, people buying a Clapton Strat because they specifically want a Strat with a mid boost circuit that Clapton is known for. I doubt many guitarists will be thinking that they really like the tones on Sheeran's new single so buy his sig Martin to get close.

I have to disagree about the Swift one not being a cash-grab, although I have to say you make a good point and I was wrong to make the assumption she rarely plays a guitar based on the times I've seen her on TV; if she genuinely plays regularly at her concerts then it's less shameless of a cash-in as I though. But still very much one for similar reasons I gave for Sheeran.

Also, she's not just no EVH/Vai/Slash, she's no "bloke down the pub that does more than strum cowboy chords"...

Having said that I actually do like Taylor Swift, believe it or not, though not Ed Sheeran. Those opinions on their music didn't come in to my thoughts on their sig guitars though.

thegummy

LuttiS said:

AlexO said:

Nothing against him at all and he's obviously a very good businessman and brilliant for him if people are buying the,

But anyone who's bought a Lee Anderton, 'Captain' Chapman Stratocaster needs to take a good look in the mirror at themselves. 

Didn't think that was his "signiture" guitar, thought the Cap10 was just named with him in mind as he has a love for strats..

I'm fairly sure it was a copy of Lee's actual main Strat he had for years with the pickups the same (though I think they might have been clones in the production model) and the colours/scratchplate are trying to match his.

It was out at the time I was shopping for a Strat and I'd have considered it if it wasn't, IMO, one of the ugliest guitars I've ever seen. I'm completely indifferent to the person a guitar is a signature model for if I like the guitar in its own right.

If it looked like a normal, plain Strat or looked like the Strat clones Chapman went on to release later, I may well have bought it instead of the Fender I did buy.

thegummy

carlos said:

Something about boobs not fitting in with the more common guitar shapes.

That has to be up there with the best signature guitars.

It was actually designed by her (at least I think that's true), it looks stunning, which is difficult to achieve when straying quite far from the classic designs, and since it came out I haven't seen her playing any other guitar.

Defo a yes from me!

Xandoor

thegummy said:

carlos said:

Something about boobs not fitting in with the more common guitar shapes.

That has to be up there with the best signature guitars.

It was actually designed by her (at least I think that's true), it looks stunning, which is difficult to achieve when straying quite far from the classic designs, and since it came out I haven't seen her playing any other guitar.

Defo a yes from me!I can't stand this thing personally! It's just wrong! I do like some sig models though. Particularly the ones with that artist's specific wiring and influence, like the mid boost clapton strat. It's an interesting take.

paulnb57

Dee Dee Ramone Sig Bass?
Isn't it just a White P Bass with "1-2-3-4" on the neck plate?
AFAIK he played a standard P Bass?