"Signature" gear

stickyfiddle

Good (IMO):

Red Special - I know they're very visual, but it's a *really* good design and sounds fantastic

Eric Johnson Strat - just the perfect vintage-modern Start

PRS DGT - I haven't played one but they sound amazing and appear to be the perfect PRS spec

Cobain Jaguar, though that's really not much different from a CP Jag

Bad

Slash Les Pauls. One was fine. Even a second was ok, but they've overdone it and now everyone's selling those Vermillion ones at rock bottom. 

Everything Bonamassa - see Slash, except somehow people keep buying his sig stuff.

And re: Clapton, interestingly when I saw him in March he played the same pewter Strat on every song, bar the usual acoustic break in the middle where it sat on a stand. Didn't need tuning once. 

GuitarMonkey

I quite like the Billy Gibbons pinstriped goldtop. I don't suppose anyone knows where one might be for sale?

iseverynamegone

I've just bit the bullet and put my name down for a hand built Hentor like Alex Lifesons. No aversion here. (Apart from to that hacked £3k 355 AL SIG)

I guess people may wish to avoid
Being associated too closely with a guitarist . In my bedroom that doesn't bother me.

When I was younger and gigging I wanted something that was individual - if I was 20 now I'd probably buy a jooky... Alas those days are some way gone

grungebob

I've had quite a few SIG guitars over the years and all bar exception of 2 I bought because the feature set was what I wanted and had nothing to do with the artist who's model it was. 2 exceptions where the Kurt Cobain jaguar and mustang, love me some nirvana so was always going to buy them.

I currently have a Dave Navarro SE that is a damn fine guitar in my eyes and going nowhere until I can source the USA version. I like white PRS not Navarro.

Loobs

I have no problem with signature gear if the specs are to my taste and it's not covered with obnoxious branding. 

I have no real desire to be associated with another musician but some signature guitars are very cool. 

Branshen

I play a Hartley peavey signature. I don't mind having his signature on the headstock. However, I guess it's different because he isn't an artist, but the bloke behind the company. I must say I never understood where the model came from, looks a bit like a tweaked evh model imo.

richardhomer

GuitarMonkey;249966" said:

I quite like the Billy Gibbons pinstriped goldtop. I don't suppose anyone knows where one might be for sale?

They are exceptionally rare and usually only offered for sale by people who know someone who owns one, rather than the (typically self-effacing) owner themselves.

There was a picture of one on here once - though the actual guitar was largely obscured by its own case. Looks like even the guitars themselves are a tad publicity shy....

As of today - assuming it's signed - you'd probably need to pay about £10,000.... Even at that, the (mystery) owner wouldn't make a penny in profit. But that's the risk of buying on a whim, I suppose.

ICBM

Branshen said:

I play a Hartley peavey signature. I don't mind having his signature on the headstock. However, I guess it's different because he isn't an artist, but the bloke behind the company. I must say I never understood where the model came from, looks a bit like a tweaked evh model imo.

lol

I play a Paul Reed Smith signature too. Not a great fan of his playing, but the guitar seems nice enough - although it's actually only a Paul Reed now, because the Smith bit of the signature fell off.

Branshen

ICBM said:

lol

I play a Paul Reed Smith signature too. Not a great fan of his playing, but the guitar seems nice enough - although it's actually only a Paul Reed now, because the Smith bit of the signature fell off.

Ahahaah, think there's a misunderstanding here. This is what I meant. Peavey "Hartley Peavey Signature EXP" model.

dilbert

I have no issues with signature guitars, nobody's forced to buy one. You could argue about the cost of some of them but if you're buying them simply for the artists name/sig on the headstock, you probably need to re-examine your motives. 

 Frankly, the only one of the few I have tried and liked was the bog standard Clapton model, the neck profile was just right for me but I can't justify the coin so hey ho, my Strat plus will have to carry me through.

jd0272

Loobs said:

I have no problem with signature gear if the specs are to my taste and it's not covered with obnoxious branding. 

I have no real desire to be associated with another musician but some signature guitars are very cool. 

You have an agreement. There is no Fret for this. But you have one nonetheless.

jd0272

GuitarMonkey said:

I quite like the Billy Gibbons pinstriped goldtop. I don't suppose anyone knows where one might be for sale?

I know where there is one. If you are prepared to step outside of the interweb, I shall inform you.

PM me your address. I shall write you a letter (this is a thing 'we' used to do), but you will have to send me a Postal Order for the cost of the stamp. In that letter, you will find the information you require.

It's no bother at all.

usedtobe

There are sig guitars that I really like as guitars, and I wouldn't baulk at buying any of them because of they were signature guitars. I wouldn't, however, buy a guitar, mainly or entirely, due to it being artist approved. I find that a bit odd.

I very nearly bought a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, before I'd ever heard a note of his music, just because I really liked the guitar. 

I can see, though, that there might be an expectation, if you were seen playing a well known sig guitar, that you might play similarly to the famous name. I suppose a lot of people automatically think "he's got a Slash guitar - must be a Slash fan - must play like Slash.."

underdog

My big reason for buying a slash LP is one most people wouldn't care about, I wanted an LP standard that didn't have a pick guard fitted nor holes drilled for one. Daft I know.

It's a nice colour (vermillion), has great pickups and a comfortable neck. When I played it and was costing less than a standard I had to go for it.

RobDavies

As a Townshend fanboy, I'd tried everything to get my hands on one of the signature 330's that they produced about 20(?) years ago.

I had no real intention of using it as the necks are too weeny for my fat fingers, but the idea was to buy it purely as a "collectors" item.

I still look out for them now, as well as the Townshend SG's and LP's.

Samgb

I think the Slash LPs look and sound brilliant.
The Bonamassa ones iI don't understand at all. I don't dislike him and he writes some good tunes but considering his reputation I find his 'sound' depressingly generic. Load of gain and delay? What's the point in having a lovely Les Paul for that?
Regards the more general point if the spec is what iI want then I'd buy a signature guitar but the branding needs to be subtle.
I was very very close to buying an Ibanez Chris Miller Roadcore on EBay not long back but in the end didn't. They are lovely cream things with a coil tapped HB and a P90 and really reasonably priced new(the eBay price was very do-able). I really should have bought it but the You And Me At 6 thing put me off. Having seen one close up no I think I'd have bought it!

Phil_aka_Pip

What puts me off about some sigs (not all) is the feeling that I'd be expected to play the same stuff as the person it's named after. Whereas if I'd bought one, it would be because its spec is exactly what I wanted.

Gassage

Away from guitars, the Clapton Twinolux, whilst a meaty piece of pricing, is one of the most sublime sounding richest toned amps I've ever heard. Absolute winner there, whether you like clapton or not.

dilbert

I briefly tried sig models for two of my fave guitarists, Mark Knopfler and Eric Johnson and both left me feeling underwhelmed at best. Probably down to the "weight of expectation vs. my meagre talents" battle but neither had me even thinking about whether my bank balance could take the hit. Time to revisit the old tone is in the fingers' thread ?. dilbert

Richardj

Samgb said:

Regards the more general point if the spec is what iI want then I'd buy a signature guitar but the branding needs to be subtle.
I was very very close to buying an Ibanez Chris Miller Roadcore on EBay not long back but in the end didn't. They are lovely cream things with a coil tapped HB and a P90 and really reasonably priced new(the eBay price was very do-able). I really should have bought it but the You And Me At 6 thing put me off. Having seen one close up no I think I'd have bought it!

@Samgb, it's a cracking guitar, if you still fancy one I might be able to help you out there

I had wanted an EC Strat for many years.  So much so that I converted mine with the necessary gubbins.  When I was able to get one with some interesting history it was a real let down as it didn't sound any better than mine and the V neck felt a bit odd.  Haven't got it now.