Stupidest signature guitars?

Philly_Q

stickyfiddle said:

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.

There's one of the Goldtops on eBay at the moment.  I know what he looks like, but I've never heard any of his music, I doubt I'd like it....

stickyfiddle

thegummy 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. 

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.

I honestly think both are well justified - Swift because it's a small bodied, decent starter-ish guitar. Clearly aimed at girls and there's nothing wrong with that imo. She uses high end "full-fat" Taylors live, but no-one is going to buy their kid a 2k guitar for xmas.

And Sheeran's Martins are pretty much the exact guitar he actually uses, so why not.

It's not like Clapton was "known" for using a mid boosted Strat before Fender started knocking them out - he was known for using Blackie and nothing else. Let's be realistic - literally every signature instrument is an attempt by the manufacturer in question to sell more guitars (or more expensive guitars) then they would via standard models alone.

thegummy

stickyfiddle said:

thegummy 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. 

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.

I honestly think both are well justified - Swift because it's a small bodied, decent starter-ish guitar. Clearly aimed at girls and there's nothing wrong with that imo. She uses high end "full-fat" Taylors live, but no-one is going to buy their kid a 2k guitar for xmas.

And Sheeran's Martins are pretty much the exact guitar he actually uses, so why not.

It's not like Clapton was "known" for using a mid boosted Strat before Fender started knocking them out - he was known for using Blackie and nothing else. Let's be realistic - literally every signature instrument is an attempt by the manufacturer in question to sell more guitars (or more expensive guitars) then they would via standard models alone.

You do make good points.

You're right that it's all just marketing. I find it bizarre that the signature would actually be a selling point to anyone; the only signature guitar I have - the Bernie Marsden - could be called the PRS Buzz Lightyear for all it mattered to me, it wasn't even a tiny part of why I wanted it. I've never even listened to Whitesnake (though been told I should ammend that a few times).

Perhaps one thing that I dislike about the Taylor Swift one is that the only people who will desire it will be kids wanting their first guitar, yet the combination of the two "Taylor" names written on it will at least double the price compared to a guitar of at least similar quality from a different brand that would do the kid just as well.

Sporky

I'd suggest the Ibanez MMM1 Mike Mushok signature.

Nothing against Staind, they did some OK pop songs, and nothing against the guitar - I loved mine.

But it wasn't actually a copy of the Ibanez he played. Different shape, different pickups... it was a brown baritone.

DeeTee

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!

Absolutely. She identified a need that wasn't being met for her, and worked with a guitar company to resolve it. Love it or hate it, it's clearly to her specs and is by all accounts (not played one, I stay away from EBMM guitars because I know I'll want one) a really good guitar. At least it's not another Les Paul that's almost exactly the same as an existing model, with an ever-so-slightly different burst colour and a signature somewhere.

carlos

But do you have boobs? Because that's what SV said went into the design. 

carlos

This abomination. 

DeeTee

carlos said:

But do you have boobs? Because that's what SV said went into the design. 

But that's a perfectly valid design condition. She found that many of the guitars available were uncomfortable for her, and this wasn't taken into consideration. No different from a belly cut, or a lighter guitar for someone with a back problem.

Flanging_Fred

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the plethora of Dimebag signature guitars (and amps and pedals etc etc).  The aesthetic of them may not be to many peoples taste but what irks me most is that so much of it seemed to c ome out after his sad passing   

I'm not so sure he would have played much of the gear that has his name all over it.

HAL9000

thegummy said:

...and a Taylor Swift Taylor.

Any relation to Bond James Bond?

Paul_C

Fishboy7 said:

Wasn't there a Nigel Tufnel sig?

fretmeister

Paul_C said:

Fishboy7 said:

Wasn't there a Nigel Tufnel sig?

It’s magnificent.

stephen.wood125

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. 

Is she ambidextrous or TV post production?

EricTheWeary

skullfunkerry said:

The singer from The Offspring had a signature Ibanez for a while, that struck me as really silly, although I think he plays guitar in one or two of their videos

The guitarist from The Offspring still does, at one point his sig model was the one covered in duct tape which always struck me as silly. 

I might nominate the Popa Chubby Flying V. I don’t think it’s an inherently stupid guitar but I’ve never seen a picture of Chubby with one,* I’ve read interviews with him and they’ve never been mentioned and they didn’t seem to sell well at all. And, let’s face it, he’s hardly a household name. 


And we all all seem to like a Gibson Trini Lopez now but he was the chap who sang If I Had a Hammer, hardly the Steve Vai of his day. 




* yes, someone will probably post one now. 

Philly_Q

Looks like a promo shot of some kind, though... he certainly isn't playing it.

Here is is playing a Flying V.  Sort of...



Yikes!



What the fuck...?

Whitecat

Paul_C said:

Fishboy7 said:

Wasn't there a Nigel Tufnel sig?

Don’t even look at it!!

NickL

skullfunkerry said:

The singer from The Offspring had a signature Ibanez for a while, that struck me as really silly, although I think he plays guitar in one or two of their videos

There was a Bono signature green Gretsch on the market over 10 years earlier than the Edge signature Strat or Explorer.

carlos

Paul_C said:

Fishboy7 said:

Wasn't there a Nigel Tufnel sig?

I'd flog my other guitars just to have that one. In fact, looking at it I'm wondering if there are stickers for those fret markers, similar to the Jason Becker ones.

Rabs

Most of Zakk Wyldes stupid ass guitars..  The SG V has got to be one of the ugliest guitars ever made.

https://i.imgur.com/LWy40NW.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/nyCIN3U.jpg

How about the Kiefer Sutherland signature Gibson

https://i.imgur.com/cVNKyFg.jpg

AlexO

Taylor Swift is great and well worthy of a signature guitar. A proper pop star and very good song writer. 

I wouldn't say her music is on my playlist

BUT...

Everyone should have a listen to Ryan Adams cover of her 1989 album. Really shows you how good her songs are once you strip away all the fancy pop production.