"Signature" gear

Deijavoo

Why the aversion to it?  

One of my favourite guitars I've ever played was an EJ Strat and I'm no fan of his music at all. 

I wonder how many Les Paul players baulk at others for using signature gear? 

Lixarto

There's quite a spectrum - the Les Paul is so established I've known guitarists who weren't even aware there was a chap called Les Paul.

Then there's stuff like your EJ (or EC/JB etc) Strats which look no different from a standard one.

Then there's vile stuff like the JEM, Dimebag etc shite.

not_the_dj

Depends what it is. I wouldn't want a Brian May red special as that's so closely associated with an artist, but I wouldn't have a problem buying a Strat with a tiny squiggle on the headstock if the spec of the instrument was what I wanted.

JookyChap

I just have this recurring nitemare that the 'Jo' in JoBo is short for Jooky

underdog

I have a slash les Paul which most people seem to have strong feelings against. It's essentially a les Paul standard with a more expensive top and better pickups; it cost me new less than a Les Paul standard would, so no argument here.

Nunogilberto

I've got an Ibanez PGM 301 Paul Gilbert model from a few years back - the white one with the painted on F holes. Yes, I'm a PG fan, but if I was a gigging guitarist I wouldn't worry too much - not everybody's heard of him and it's a fine, versatile hard tail rock axe.

However, I'd feel uncomfortable with a Red Special or a Jem etc - with the possibility that people would suddenly expect me to be able to drop out Queen/Vai riffs at the click of my fingers...

DrJazzTap

Depends on the gear to be honest. I wouldn't go out of my way to get something because its a piece of gear. The Simon Neil strat is supposed to be really good. The slashs snakepit marshall is the same as the jubilee one isn't it?

Again the EJ strat and Jeff Beck strats are very good.

Deijavoo

They must sell, so maybe I've got it wrong but all over forums there seems to be a lot of sniggering at owning certain signature gear. 

I wanted to look at a Chad Kroeger Les Paul despite hating his band more than I can possibly ever explain. Yet the stars on the neck put me off anyways. 

littlegreenman

I love my Satriani Ibanez.

Lightweight, very ergonomic, comfortable 22 fret neck, rock-solid Edge trem. The tonal palette on offer with tappable HB's and high pass filter covers all the ground I need and more.

Did I buy it because I'm a fanboi? Hands up, Yes.

Would I buy one if I wasn't? Definitely.

Some of the signature stuff can be pretty niche market and not for everyone, and some is occasionally gimmicky (Yes Mr Vai, I'm looking at you!*) but if a big guitar firm asked any of us if we'd like our exact "perfect for us" spec'd guitar to be made a reality, who'd say no?


* JEM's look funny, but they really are great guitars for doing what they do. Certainly "not" shite.

ThePrettyDamned

I think sigs are fine if the artist uses them or if they're a great guitar in their own right.

I remember a great looking noodle sig, but the gaffer tape seemed to make it sound rubbish...

Zakk wylde lp's look mental, but they're brilliant guitars - all out rock machine with a maple neck and quality build. If you wanted a similar guitar, but need to try several to ensure a proper great one, the lpj is an alternative. Just chuck emg's in!

Synyster gates has a wicked paint job and what were, at the time, his own pickups iirc.

monquixote

I actually quite like sig gear, but not in the conventional sense that a hero of mine plays it, but more because someone very skilled has designed it for life on the road rather than someone in a marketing department mandating a spec sheet.

I'm not that bothered by companies releasing cash in product for someone very famous especially when the guitarist in question clearly doesn't actually use them (For example you'll never see Santana on stage with a Santana SE), or it's just a standard model with a fancy inlay (like a lot of the Joe Perry and Slash LPs)

What I am quite into is when someone has worked with a company to refine their product in a way that you can tell will greatly improve it for a working musician. 

So examples I'd give would be the DGT where David Grissom has worked on product development with PRS for years and produced something designed to be the ultimate gig machine, the same applies to Vai and Satriani both of whom I feel have genuinely moved guitar design forward and contributed to Ibanez product development. Witness the amount of iterations of the Charvel GG guitar and the things that he's changed like the bone nut and graphite rods meaning it doesn't need to have the setup tweaked on the road. Eric Clapton wouldn't give a shit about that because he'll always be on tour with 20 guitars and a full time tech, but GG faces the same problems you or I have in needing to have a guitar that he can rely on night after night even though he's going to be playing a huge jazz festival and most of us will be playing the Dog and Duck.

DeeTee

I don't care as long as it doesn't have the artist's name all over it. I'd love it if I could get a Zakk Wylde LP in a les ridiculous paint job.

Loobs

Yeah, I like the Bob Weir Ibanez:

Lixarto

littlegreenman said:

* JEM's look funny, but they really are great guitars for doing what they do. Certainly "not" shite.

They are very high quality rock guitars (I played a friend's only last week).

They look shite IMO.

Alnico

I have pre ordered the Wilko Johnson Telecaster from GAK.

I bought it because I really like it being a 60's spec Telecaster and also because I love the look of it. Wilko is one of my biggest influences and I've loved his playing and his music for most of my adult life however the main reason for it was because I just love the guitar, I think it's really cool. Also it's only £501.00 which is very reasonable for a Mexican 60's Telecaster and I like the way they've put his signature on the back of the headstock.

It's due for delivery sometime between June and September apparently. I was told that they are not strictly a limited edition model however They have sold out so quickly in all the UK stockists that Fender had to commission another production run and that's what everyone in the UK is waiting for. Fender UK have been quoted delivery sometime between June and September.

When I get it it's definitely going to get gigged but it's something a little bit special to keep and hand down while still being a really nice reissue of a 60's Telecaster.

If it was the kind of price Fender normally charge for signature guitars, I probably wouldn't have bought it though. The price had a lot to do with it.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/roogie14/Wilko_zps65475ae1.jpg

littlegreenman

Lixarto said:

littlegreenman said:

* JEM's look funny, but they really are great guitars for doing what they do. Certainly "not" shite.

They are very high quality rock guitars (I played a friend's only last week).

They look shite IMO.

Glad you clarified your opinion on that

Deijavoo

Loobs said:

Yeah, I like the Bob Weir Ibanez:

I'd absolutely (accidentally) destroy that pickup switch if I ever gigged that.

57Deluxe

The only sig bit of gear I liked was for what it was and not the artist. 

Sadly Yamaha no longer make the SA503 TVL  which was a blistering bit of kit...

DiscoStu

57Deluxe said:

The only sig bit of gear I liked was for what it was and not the artist. 

Sadly Yamaha no longer make the SA503 TVL  which was a blistering bit of kit...

I bought my TVL for the same reason, because of the gorgeous design and the triple P90s.
I like QotSA but I'm no Troy fanboi.

Alnico said:

I have pre ordered the Wilko Johnson Telecaster from GAK.

 I like the way they've put his signature on the back of the headstock.

Same deal with the TVL. The only thing on the headstock is Yamaha, and even the 'signature' on the back is his initials, rather than Troy Van Leeuwen.

jd0272

Think the only sig' I'd have in truth is an EJ maple necked Strat, simply because of the spec of the thing. But I won't, as by design a Strat is parts-a-casterable, I shall cobble together one meself, thus saving many £££££££££'s.

digitalscream

The only sig gear I've got is the Washburn N4 - oddly enough, I became a fan of Nuno after I bought it. At the time, it was the only solution I could find to the problem of upper-fret access with my short stubby fingers. It may actually be getting a real signature on it in July...

I did have an Epiphone Del Rey, which was effectively Epi's version of the Gibson Tak Matsumoto sig. That was a phenomenal guitar, and I feel foolish for getting rid.