Stupidest signature guitars?

thegummy

AlexO said:

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.

Wouldn't get too carried away with praise for her song writing - that album was "co-written" with Max Martin and Shellback - the prolific songwriting geniuses of the past few decades.

Philly_Q

Rabs said:

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

You're absolutely right.  But his Wylde Audio guitars are even worse.  Utterly hideous, without exception.

The body shapes remind me a bit of Minarik.  And that's not a good thing.

duotone

thegummy said:

AlexO said:

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.

Wouldn't get too carried away with praise for her song writing - that album was "co-written" with Max Martin and Shellback - the prolific songwriting geniuses of the past few decades.

Yeah, not sure that she wrote a single song on that album on her own.

Just checked and she did write 1 song called ‘This Love’

Have a look here if you want more info. 

https://www.discogs.com/Taylor-Swift-1989/master/750386

BRISTOL86

Really can’t see the problem with either Sheehan or Swift having sig guitars. Both have no doubt played a role in getting more young people interested in playing a musical instrument, and their guitars or ones like
it feature heavily in their performances. 

If I had a kid I’d much rather they asked me for a Taylor Swift Taylor or an Ed Sheeran Martin than being sat glued to a games console or iPad like most kids seem to be. 

AlexO

duotone said:

thegummy said:

AlexO said:

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.

Wouldn't get too carried away with praise for her song writing - that album was "co-written" with Max Martin and Shellback - the prolific songwriting geniuses of the past few decades.

Yeah, not sure that she wrote a single song on that album on her own.

Just checked and she did write 1 song called ‘This Love’

Have a look here if you want more info. 

https://www.discogs.com/Taylor-Swift-1989/master/750386

Is nothing sacred anymore! I feel like a kid who's just learnt that father Christmas isn't real.

deano

stickyfiddle said:

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.

He did use pedals with Blackie though (a Boss HM-2 from memory Google!). When Fender asked him about a signature guitar he said he didn't want to be bothered with pedals anymore and that they should put a boost circuit in the guitar itself.

In fairness to him, he does use his own signature guitars, both live and on record, which is more than I can say for a fair few people.

Paul7926

Philly_Q said:

The body shapes remind me a bit of Minarik.  And that's not a good thing.

The pattern hurts my brain but for some reason the actual shape I quite like.  There is probably no hope for me, save yourselves.....

stickyfiddle

AlexO said:

duotone said:

thegummy said:

AlexO said:

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.

Wouldn't get too carried away with praise for her song writing - that album was "co-written" with Max Martin and Shellback - the prolific songwriting geniuses of the past few decades.

Yeah, not sure that she wrote a single song on that album on her own.

Just checked and she did write 1 song called ‘This Love’

Have a look here if you want more info. 

https://www.discogs.com/Taylor-Swift-1989/master/750386

Is nothing sacred anymore! I feel like a kid who's just learnt that father Christmas isn't real.

Yeah, but she does actually write a big chunk, both whole songs and parts of songs. According to wiki...

Taylor Swift - 4 songs of 11 
Fearless - 7 songs of 13
Speak Now - every single song (14) 
Red - 8 of 16
1989 - 1 
Reputation - 0

But (and now showing a more than a hint of Swift-nerdism) it's worth noting that some of her original demos/phone memos were bonus tracks on 1989, clearly showing the creative process. Also, she's mates with Martin Sheeran and Antonov, so it makes sense that she'd include them in her own writing process.

It's also completely normal for modern pop music.  And it's not like Johnny Marr ever wrote anything interesting without Morrissey, or Page without Plant, Jagger without Richards, etc. 

danny_777

Tbh the Mark Knopfler Strat. A completely stock USA Strat, in red. Double the price. 

thegummy

BRISTOL86 said:

Really can’t see the problem with either Sheehan or Swift having sig guitars. Both have no doubt played a role in getting more young people interested in playing a musical instrument, and their guitars or ones like
it feature heavily in their performances. 

If I had a kid I’d much rather they asked me for a Taylor Swift Taylor or an Ed Sheeran Martin than being sat glued to a games console or iPad like most kids seem to be. 

Well, same here but I'd also rather he asked for an iPad than a crack pipe and rather he asked for "a guitar" than a specific overpriced pop star model.

I'm not saying there's a problem with them having sigs, just that it's way more of a shameless cash-in than normal sig guitars.

Those singers having a sig is not really any different to them being in a Pepsi advert or paid to wear Nike; kids will just want it for the name alone, whereas with normal signature guitars, the idea is that a buyer knows about that artist's guitar and specifically wants a similar one.

I'm not saying pop stars aren't good enough to have a sig, just that it's a very different strategy to "guitarists" having one.

Grumpyrocker

stickyfiddle said:

AlexO said:

duotone said:

thegummy said:

AlexO said:

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.

Wouldn't get too carried away with praise for her song writing - that album was "co-written" with Max Martin and Shellback - the prolific songwriting geniuses of the past few decades.

Yeah, not sure that she wrote a single song on that album on her own.

Just checked and she did write 1 song called ‘This Love’

Have a look here if you want more info. 

https://www.discogs.com/Taylor-Swift-1989/master/750386

Is nothing sacred anymore! I feel like a kid who's just learnt that father Christmas isn't real.

Yeah, but she does actually write a big chunk, both whole songs and parts of songs. According to wiki...

Taylor Swift - 4 songs of 11 
Fearless - 7 songs of 13
Speak Now - every single song (14) 
Red - 8 of 16
1989 - 1 
Reputation - 0

But (and now showing a more than a hint of Swift-nerdism) it's worth noting that some of her original demos/phone memos were bonus tracks on 1989, clearly showing the creative process. Also, she's mates with Martin Sheeran and Antonov, so it makes sense that she'd include them in her own writing process.

It's also completely normal for modern pop music.  And it's not like Johnny Marr ever wrote anything interesting without Morrissey, or Page without Plant, Jagger without Richards, etc. 

Page wrote plenty before Plant finally got over his shyness and started writing his own stuff. 

mburekenge

Surely, it has to be 'the captain's' signature chapman. 

HAL9000

Buddy Guy Strat. A MIM Std with a V neck , hilarious paintwork, and an even more hilarious price.

thegummy

Grumpyrocker said:

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, but she does actually write a big chunk, both whole songs and parts of songs. According to wiki...

Taylor Swift - 4 songs of 11 
Fearless - 7 songs of 13
Speak Now - every single song (14) 
Red - 8 of 16
1989 - 1 
Reputation - 0

But (and now showing a more than a hint of Swift-nerdism) it's worth noting that some of her original demos/phone memos were bonus tracks on 1989, clearly showing the creative process. Also, she's mates with Martin Sheeran and Antonov, so it makes sense that she'd include them in her own writing process.

It's also completely normal for modern pop music.  And it's not like Johnny Marr ever wrote anything interesting without Morrissey, or Page without Plant, Jagger without Richards, etc. 

Page wrote plenty before Plant finally got over his shyness and started writing his own stuff. 

It was silly, anyway, to compare bandmates collaborating to a pop star working with a professional songwriter who's written dozens of the biggest hits in teenybop pop.

One is like my mate giving me a push up over a wall and me pulling him up from the top; the other is like getting a building contractor company in to build a staircase while I stood by with a hard hat on giving a yes or no to various suggestions they made during the planning.

carlos

This ugly boat anchor.

timmypix

Ugliest/stupidest signature guitar by far is the old ESP/LTD Dave Mustaine Axxion. He had a lovely V and then decided to replace it with a guitar drawn by an 8 year old.

I've got/had a few signatures over the years. I'm on my third ESP LTD Ninja (Michael Amott) as I love both the guitarist and the shape of the guitar, which is unique. Take the shape away and it could be anything.

I had an LTD Steph Carpenter 7 string for a bit - don't like Deftones but it was before the 7-string boom and there weren't many baritone 7s around.

I've got a nice PRS Bernie but that is purely down to sentimentality - I grew up down the road from Bernie and used to bump into him all the time, so he was probably one of my first guitar heroes as a kid because he was "real" - ie, I could listen to his CD then bump into him at the pub. Thankfully it's a wonderful guitar!

I also have a real craving for the Custom Shop Slash Anaconda burst, which is stupid because it's just for the colour. If they ever produce that colour accurately on a production Les Paul I'll snap it up. And yes I know that's a stupid reason to buy a guitar but I don't really care!

Fuengi

Not pointless, just a bit random - Reverend Jen Wasner Signature. 

https://www.reverendguitars.com/guitars/jenn-wasner-signature

thegummy

Fuengi said:

Not pointless, just a bit random - Reverend Jen Wasner Signature. 

https://www.reverendguitars.com/guitars/jenn-wasner-signature

I'd take a shot

DeeTee

thegummy said:

Fuengi said:

Not pointless, just a bit random - Reverend Jen Wasner Signature. 

https://www.reverendguitars.com/guitars/jenn-wasner-signature

I'd take a shot

I think it should be shot.

prowla

I don't really "get" the celeb guitars - why would I want to play something with someone else's name on it?

I know someone who consulted with Fender for the Hank Marvin Strat and went to great pains to make a prototype which matched the real one; he said the one Fender put into production was nothing like it.

Similarly, Chris Squire said that the Rickenbacker signature bass sounded nothing like his one (around 10:30).

https://youtu.be/bsGjl6kP0SI?t=638