How well do you know your guitars?
Thursday 27 January 2011 2.27am HKT
At the time when I wrote this, it was to have been my last post as I headed off to hospital last week because of bronchitis. How did Steve Jobs put it? Oh, yes, a “medical leave of absence.” My own medical leave of absence has come to an end, so this is for all you guitar fans out there.
BTW, we’re talking about GUITARS, so that means acoustic as well as electric guitars (including bass guitars), just so people don’t get the wrong idea.
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Alvarez
This St. Louis, Michigan, guitar-making company started in 1965 when Gene Kornblum of St. Louis Music partnered up with Japanese luthier Kazuo Yairi to produce high-quality, handmade acoustic guitars at an affordable price. The Alvarez AD60CK Dreadnought Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar is the most recognisable, but upgrade the nut and saddle to get the best out of it.
Aria
Aria is a Japanese guitar maker, based in Nagoya, and concentrates on making lower-priced guitars like the Aria Pro but deals in some higher-end products as well. The most obvious thing about Aria guitars is their solid copper tuning keys and mahogany necks. Funnily enough, Aria players tend to hate Kasuga players and think Aria should be higher than Yamaha in any muscle ranking.
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich is renowned for making some of the world’s most unusually shaped guitars. This is the brand for the evil death metaller. B.C. Rich players are anger pedallers: Slipknot, Slayer, Soulfly, Trivium and Death. If your chief concern is to make an infernal racket that could wake the dead, get a B.C. Rich.
Behringer
Admittedly, Behringer is much more well known as a maker of recording/mixing studio consoles than guitars. It makes electric guitar packages that are aimed at beginners and priced mostly under US$150 such as the Behringer V-Tone Guitar Pack and the Behringer iAXE393 USB Electric Guitar.
Benedetto
New York-born luthier Robert Benedetto is a maker of archtop acoustic guitars and one of the world’s most widely respected. He comes from a long line of artists, cabinet makers and musicians in his family. Honestly speaking, you really do need a bank loan to get a Benedetto.
BOSS
BOSS Corporation is primarily known for making guitar effects processors. Some people tell me BOSS used to make a very small range of electric guitars, but I have never seen them anywhere.
Bunker Guitars
Seattle-based Bunker Guitars designs and builds some very high-calibre (and unusual) guitar models, such as the Bunker Touch Guitar™.
Carvin
Carvin has been making custom electric and acoustic guitars and basses for over 60 years, plus guitar and bass amplifiers, pro audio gear, mixers, speakers and other stuff.
Carvin guitars are endorsed by guitarists like Steve Vai, Al DiMeola and more. Craig Chaquico has been playing Carvin guitars since the early 1980s and brought national attention to Carvin on MTV with Jefferson Starship.
Charvel
The original hot-rod electric guitar. Charvel Guitars of San Dimas, California, is famous for custom-builts whose designs (most agree) have no equal. Hot style and hot sounds, but you need to be able to fork out some cool cash: most guitars go for upwards of US$5,000.
Cort
This South Korean company makes electric and acoustic guitars plus basses and amps. Cort produces 11 electric guitar series, 13 acoustic guitar series and eight bass series, so they’re stretching themselves a bit.
Danelectro
http://www.danelectro.com/index.html
Danelectro is a guitar and effects maker in Camarillo, California, and creates some very individualistic-looking, low-cost guitars. Even its website looks like a throwback to the Fifties. Danelectro started out as a 1957 budget guitar: a Sears & Roebuck guitar (under the name Silvertone) whose case doubled as an amplifier.
Dean
Dave Mustaine with the Dean V
Dean guitars are insane. Many famous people use them (like Dave Mustaine of American heavy-metal band Megadeath) and they look immense. They have really awesome designs, there’s a lot of history behind every model, and obviously, deserve to be here because the sound is really nice. Dean Guitars is owned by Armadillo Enterprises Inc., which also owns Luna Guitars and drum maker ddrum.
Eastwood
http://www.eastwoodguitars.com
Eastwood Guitars is a Canadian-Korean company set up to re-create affordable and playable versions of rare vintage electric guitars that have long since gone out of production.
Airline Coronado DLX
Interestingly, Eastwood’s production philosophy is to create guitars that evoke classic looks and vintage sounds but also sold at a price point where they are meant to be played and not simply collected.
Eastwood now produce around 20 guitar models, and they have been very positively received by players and in reviews. They also produce bass guitars that are either reproductions of classic bass guitar designs or adopted from their other guitar designs.
ESP
http://www.espguitars.com/home.html
The ESP Guitar Company of North Hollywood, California, makes guitars for mad guitarists. ESP guitars are best for shredding and heavy-metal riffs.
The magic of ESP guitars is in their awesomeness — look who uses them: Kirk Hammett (Metallica), George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob, Souls of We), Travis Miguel (Atreyu), Wayne Static (Static-X), etc.
James Hetfield (Metallica) and Dave Mustaine (Megadeath): these two metal legends have kicked serious ass on an ESP guitar.
The Custom Shop and Original series ESPs are handcrafted in Japan, while the Standard series are factory-made also in Japan.
Anyone who wants the crushing metal tone, with insane playability, should pop down to their local ESP dealer. These monsters beat the crap out of any guitar on any Top 10 list.
Epiphone
See Gibson/Epiphone below.
Fender/Squier
Fender: http://www.fender.com
Squier: http://www.squierguitars.com
There’s no argument: the immortal legend that is the Stratocaster and the classic workhorse Telecaster are the two best guitars ever made. (Gibson’s Les Paul probably goes in the third slot.)
Fenders have been played by everybody: David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards all spanked Fenders.
The Stratocaster is probably the most known guitar ever made, which is why companies replicate it all the time.
The Fender Telecaster is the first successful solid-body electric guitar, and it turns 60 this year. See the list of Fender Telecaster players at Wikipedia.
Like Gibson, Fender supplies a budget range of guitars called Squier, which are more suited to beginners.
Fernandes
http://www.fernandesguitars.com
This Japanese electric guitarmaker started in 1969 on the interesting notion that “rules are meant to be broken.” The Monterey Elite for many is a dream: incredible sounds, perfect play, amazing feel, beautiful looks, and the sustainer pickup is awesome!
Ferrington
http://www.vintagekramer.com/company44.htm
Nashville-based guitarmaker and luthier Danny Ferrington comes up with electric guitars are spectacularly designed and uniquely shaped, and puts him in the rank of American’s primier guitarmaker. Ferringtons are played by Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. Ferringtons are considered rare guitars by guitar enthusiasts and pro musicians.
First Act
First Act Inc. is a generalist instrument maker and makes eight groups of music instruments. Adam Levine (Maroon 5) is a First Act electric guitar user.
Framus
Framus electric guitars are made by Warwick GmbH & Co. Music Equipment KG of Germany. Framus used to be famous for making great jazz guitars; maybe they still are. To cut a long story short, Framus guitars are made under exacting technological setups more usually expected at NASA. See the list of international artists who endorse Framus products.
The name Framus comes from the name FRAnconian MUSical Instruments, which was the original manufacturer before Warwick took over.
G&L Guitars
After leaving Fender, Leo Fender started his own company in 1980, now in Fullerton, California. His guitars are great, but his website is a bit hard to navigate.
Gibson/Epiphone
Epiphone: http://www.epiphone.com
Gibson: http://www.gibson.com
Some guitars are born to be recognised anywhere. The Les Paul model is an icon. Queen used one (though Les Paul himself didn’t like Queen much). Slash of Gun ‘n Roses uses one.
Gibson is a name that even noobies will have heard of. The company is responsible for various iconic shapes such as the Les Paul, the Explorer, the Flying V and the SG. Every guitar that Gibson releases is a rock icon.
Epiphone is Gibson’s cheaper arm, so you’ll get the class of a Gibson without the big pricetag. Epiphone is a great brand for beginners who want to avoid the ‘cheap and nasty’ areas. Epiphone puts out lower-cost versions of the pricier Gibson instruments — there is an Epiphone Les Paul. Epiphone is to Gibson what Squier is to Fender — but they’re so good.
The funny thing about Epiphone is that it doesn’t get enough credit. Fender and Gibson are great guitar brands, but Epiphone started way before either of them and still makes great guitars today.
Jeff Beck bought his first Les Paul (a 1959 model) for £150 while still a member of The Yardbirds (1963–68), which was an astronomically high price at that time. See the list of Gibson players at Wikipedia.
Godin
This Quebecois company is known for its unusual thinline, hollow-body electric guitars as well as for solid-body ones.
Gremlin
Gremlin Musical Instrument Company is the United Kingdom’s leading distributor of folk and acoustic musical instruments since 1981. The warehouse and business premises are in an industrial estate in Worthing near Birmingham in central England. Looking at Gremlin’s website, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a run-of-the-mill industrial vendor for double-glazing.
Gretsch
Known primarily as drum builders, The Gretsch Company of New York City also creates a number of high-calibre guitars. The company started in 1883 as a little shop making banjos, drums and tambourines. Today, it makes some of the world’s greatest drums and guitars over the span of four generations. An old schoolmate of mine took an interest in Gretsch guitars after he saw Scottish-born Australian guitarist Malcolm Young (AC/DC) use a Gretsch White Falcon.
Guild Guitars
Guild Guitars Inc. is an acoustic guitarmaker founded in 1953 in New York City. Guilds are solid, workmanlike guitars for general purpose. The official website provides several interesting features, including a “Date Your Guitar” page under “Support.”
Hagström
http://www.hagstromguitars.com
International: http://www.hagstromguitars.eu
A Swedish name that you may not be familiar with unless you have a soul (or something resembling that). Somebody said ‘Hags’ are “good guitars and they make a good Les Paul-style guitar.” Dweezil Zappa (son of Frank), Pat Smear (The Germs, Nirvana, Foo Fighters), composer Gregory Hine and Warren Fitzgerald (The Vandals, Gwen Stefani) do their magic on Hags.
Hamer
Hamer (‘hay-mur’) guitars are made by KMC Music Inc. of Bloomfield, Connecticut. In 1973, a group of passionate musicians got together in a Chicago basement and started building modern guitars with a vibrant, vintage soul. Every Hamer is truly hand-built.
From 1974 to 1981, Hamer USA employed two separate serial numbering systems, one for custom instruments and one for production models.
Artists who play Hamers: Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), K.K. Downing (Judas Priest), Jon Herington (Steely Dan) among many other music luminaries.
Heritage
Heritage Super KB
The Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Heritage Guitar Inc. concentrates on making quality archtop guitars, although they make a fairly wide range of solid-, semi-hollow- and hollow-body electric guitars as well.
Hohner
One hundred fifty years of music history-making. This German-owned American company manufactures many models of electric and acoustic guitars, plus mandolins, ukeleles, sonor drums, sonor orffs and other instruments.
Interestingly, it makes headless guitars such as the Hohner G3T Headless Guitar with genuine Steinberger-licensed bridge.
John Lennon and Johnny Cash both used Hohner harmonicas, and JoJo Garza (Los Lonely Boys) rockin’ on a Hohner B-Bass guitar.
Hohner is probably the only musical instrument manufacturer to have its own museum, the Deutschen Harmonika Museum in Trossingen, Germany.
Höfner
Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1887 by a master violin maker and is today the biggest manufacturer and exporter of stringed and fretted instruments in Germany. It makes classical, acoustic, archtop, bass and (interestingly) bluegrass guitars (basically, banjos) such as the Höfner HBA-5. Their guitars are handmade in Germany and have so much quality in them that it’s not even funny.
Ibanez
With a Spanish-sounding name like Ibanez, you’d be surprised that this guitar brand is actually Japanese and owned by an ex-bookselling company called Hoshino Gakki of Nagoya. Hoshino only started making stringed instruments around 1935 and made what would be considered as the first of modern-era Ibanez electric guitars only in 1957.
How do you pronounce Ibanez? Well, it’s a Japanese company, so anything will do. You can do it English way (EE-ban-nez) or, as I do it, Spanish style (EE-baan-yeth).
The company doesn’t say so, but it’s probably named after Salvador Ibáñez (1854-1920), a Spanish luthier.
Very cheap, affordable, fast, sturdy, great sound. It’s simple — get an Ibanez if you want to shred. Anyone needs one of these axes if they want to get up on those high strings and widdle them around — or the screaming leads leaping right out of the amp and into the front-row girls’ knickers. Every notable shredder has played an Ibanez at some point: Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci, Joe Satriani and Mick Thompson to name but four.
The Ibanez RG120 is one of the best RG models. Most Ibanez players are amazing technically, but then again, you could just as easily say you’ve got to be amazing technically first before you could play an Ibanez.
Jackson
The Villanizer
http://www.jackesonguitars.com
Any beginner who wants to ‘make a statement’ should go for a Jackson, the instrument of choice of many high-profile players.
Jackson guitars seem more suited to a ‘heavy rock’ environment. It became a metal icon mainly because of Ozzy Ozbourne’s wonder-shredder Randy Rhoads (1956-82).
(Incidentally, Randy Rhoads was actually the first Jackson guitar owner.)
Six-string luthier Grover Jackson started his company as a small Southern California guitar repairshop in the late 1970s.
Today, the Jackson brand has come to be the weapon of choice for numerous modern brands, including Machine Head, Children of Bodom, Bullet For My Valentine, and Phil Collen of Def Leppard.
The Villanizer (photo) started life as a Rhoads Jackson V and turned into some steampunk transmogrifia by Thunder Eagles Guitars.
The Jackson KV2T King V can just decimate any Fender Stratocaster!
Kasuga
Defunct as of mid-1990s
Everybody votes for this trustworthy brand. Alas, Kasuga went out of business in the 1990s, so any Kasuga guitars left floating around now seem mostly to be from the early 1970s.
They last for ages and, in the right hands, a Kasuga guitar beats every other guitar known to mankind.
Kasuga Music Instruments Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Nagoya, Japan, was established in 1935 by Miki Bukichi, who went on to be chairman of the Japanese Democratic Socialist Party in the 1950s. Before going bust, Kasuga was mainly an acoustic guitar brand, although it made a small range of electric guitars too. Kasuga also made lots of bluegrass instruments (banjos, mandolins, etc).
Kasuga was the usual OEM manufacturer for Tokai, C.F. Martin and B.C. Rich, among others. Like most other Japanese manufacturers, Kasuga sold importers’ own brands around the world.
It started making its own brand of Heerby & Ganson brand of guitars in the 1960s and sold them in Japan throughout the 1960s and 1970s. (The name Ganson is a translated amalgam of ‘rock’ = gan and ‘village’ = son.)
During the ’60s and ’70s, Kasuga also partnered with Tokai to make the Conrad guitars for export to the USA. In the 1970s, it was in partnership for a while with Roland for a guitar synth.
By the ’80s and ’90s, Kasuga was OEM’ing a lot of guitars for well-known brands like Yamaha, Burny/Fernandes and the early Navigators. Apparently, Kasuga also made some Washburn models in 1988 or so (with ‘K’ serial numbers) and might have also made some Jackson and B.C. Rich guitars. Kasuga also did B.C. Rich-type copies for the Japanese market with a ‘K’ on the headstock instead of a ‘B’.
As a sign of things to come, Kasua lost the Yamaha Acoustic contract to Taiwan sometime in the late 1980s.
By the start of the 1990s, Kasuga must have had trouble staying in business because a lot of contracts by now went to Korean guitar factories that sprung up in the 1980s and also in Taiwan as well. Kasuga went out of business by the mid-1990s.
Klein
The 19-string Klein Electric Harp Guitar made for Bob Gore
http://www.kleinguitars.com/kleinacousticguitars.htm
An unusually shaped line of guitars used most notably by the great Bill Frisell. If you’re intrigued by odd-looking guitars, go for a Klein.
Klein acoustics and electrics are played by Steve Miller, Joni Mitchell, Andy Summers, Joe Walsh, Bill Frisell, Lou Reed and David Torn. Michael Hedges played a Klein electric harp guitar, and Stanley Clark, Billy Sheehan and Sting along with others play Klein-designed basses.
Kramer
Kramer sounds great! Eddie Van Halen and Richie Sambora played Kramers. This guitar should be in the Top 5 of best guitar brands!
The Kramer aluminium neck era ran from 1976 to 1985 and was the stuff of company legends even before the company switched over to the more popular wood neck models during the 1980s. When Kramer Guitars began, it was exclusively producing aluminium neck guitars.
In 1982, Kramer wanted to be more competitive in the emerging “heavy metal” market, so it made a deal with Floyd Rose and became the only brand to introduce the world to the new and revolutionary Floyd Rose Locking Tremolos. The great Floyd Rose-equipped Kramer guitars were loaded with additional features like Schaller tuners and Seymour Duncan pickups, and made Kramer the clear favourite of the ’80s metal guitar players.
Kramer became the world’s best-selling guitar in the mid-1980s, outgunning the historic and iconic Gibson and Fender brands. It doesn’t matter: Kramer belongs to the Gibson family of brands anyway.
Larrivée
Jean Larrivée Guitar Inc. of British Columbia, Canada, manufactures higher-end acoustic guitars but also makes electric guitars and mandolins. System of a Down, the Armenian-American rock band from Southern California, uses Larrivées — as do others on Larrivée’s artists’ page.
Line 6
Calabasas, California-based Line 6 Inc. is a company of modelling pioneers. Line 6 is responsible for producing the world’s first digital modelling guitar amplifier in 1996, the AxSys 212. A year later, Line 6 brought out the POD, a kidney bean-shaped desktop device created to solve another critical problem that had plagued guitar players: recording great guitar tone. But Line 6 makes a variety of acoustic and electric guitars too.
Line 6′s Variax 600 and 700 modelling guitars are no longer in production.
“Variax is the one guitar that is a complete collection of guitars. No more dragging around multiple acoustics and electrics to gigs or recording studios. Variax gives you an endless variety of sounds from classic acoustic and electric tones all the way to sitar and banjo, all in one instrument. Moreover, the absence of magnetic pickups means that every note comes out crystal clear without any unwanted pickup noise.” — Line 6 website on Variax
Players: U2, James Hetfield (Metallica), Mick Thomson (Slipknot) and Ed O’Brien (Radiohead).
LTD
This is a new brand started in 1996 by ESP (see above) catering mainly for markets outside Japan.
The LTD series of guitars are similar to the more upscale ESP models, but made more affordable by the use of cheaper materials and hardware. The 1000 and 400 series are made on an assembly line in South Korea, while the series below 400 are made in Indonesia. Nonetheless, most musicians regard LTDs as a good, reliable brand for rock music.
Luna
A Luna guitar is a woman’s guitar. It’s built by them, for them and related to them. They look good on women.
Luna Guitars of Tampa, Florida, was founded by Yvonne de Villiers, an accomplished stained-glass artist who took inspiration for establishing Luna from her mother, an electric guitar player of 40 years’ experience.
Luna Guitars are played by Jan Kuehnemund (Vixen), Enid Williams and Jackie Chambers (both Girlschool), Justine Blazer and practically most other girl bands.
C.F. Martin & Co.
C.F. Martin & Co. Inc. is the oldest acoustic guitar company in the USA (founded 1833: around the start of Victorian times for those who need a British time reference).
It also runs a Martin Guitar Museum at its factory location in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
Famous Martin owners include Jeff Beck, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Jim Croce, Peter Frampton, Mark Knopfler, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and Sting.
Maestro
http://www.maestroguitars.com/index.php
Affordable price but no compromise in quality. Even the Maestro SD1 for beginners produce great sounds.
And you wouldn’t have thought this was a Singapore-based company. It makes classical guitars, steel-string acoustic guitars and ukeleles. Maestra Guitars is said to be the only guitar company today that owns its own production facilities and have a claimed 100% control in the whole manufacturing process.
Monterey
http://www.montereyguitars.com
Australian guitarmaker Monterey have been gaining quite a reputation of late as instruments of choice for a variety of Australian musicians. Some recent additions to the Monterey ranks include ex-Mondo Rock bass player Paul Christie, Taxiride bass player Andy McIvor, and King Mungi guitarist Luke Attril.
Monterey makes acoustic, semi-acoustic, thinline acoustic/electric, electric, bass and specialty string instruments.
Music Man
http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/
Music Man is the registered trademark for the guitars made by Ernie Ball. (His website gives pics and specs for each guitar model, but not much else in pricing or other documentation.)
Lots of musicians play Ernie Ball’s Music Man: see the list here.
Ovation
Ovation Guitars is devoted to the somewhat controversial round-backed guitars. They are still built by hand using only the best materials and guitar-building techniques. The difference between Ovation and the rest is this: Ovation has mastered the art of combining traditional guitar-making techniques with modern technology in material science, plus proven scientific research. The result is an instrument that equals or surpasses the other top brands in tone, playability, reliability (to say nothing about awesome looks) WHILE keeping prices down below competitor prices AND keeping the work and workmanship in the USA. That’s some mean feat.
You wouldn’t believe it but Ovation is part of the aerospace company Kaman Corporation. Founder Charles Kaman established Kaman Aircraft in 1947 and built the world’s first gas-turbine helicopter in 1951. Because its engineers kept making discoveries about vibration and acoustics (critical factors in designing helicopter rotorblades), Charles Kaman applied that knowledge to his love of guitars.
Parker
Parker guitars are unusually shaped, handcrafted electric guitars that seem to have a broad following. Adrian Belew, Vernon Reid, Larry Coryell and Joe Walsh play Parkers.
Peavey
http://www.peavey.com/index.cfm
This multifaceted American company makes seven series of electric guitars and six of bass guitars.
Guitar World magazine said of the Peavey HP Special CT: “A true high-end guitar with one of the world’s most advanced and asymmetrical guitar necks, custom-wound direct-mounted humbuckers and a flawless Floyd-style tremolo. I can’t give the HP Special CT a more enthusiastic endorsement.”
Peavey players tend to be within the heavy/metal/gothic/moto rock genre, like All That Remains, Black Tide and Blue Oyster Cult, but also surprisingly John Taylor, Duran Duran, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Zac Brown Band.
PRS Guitars
PRS stands for Paul Reed Smith, who makes some of the best guitars in the world. Go to a guitar centre and try one.
Real guitar aficionados always complain whoever made this or that list is insane — that PRS is better than Fender, PRS should be right after Ibanez, for sure after Gibson … blah … blah-blah … blah-blah-blah.
And they would be right.
Even I couldn’t believe Charvel or Epiphone could outrank PRS — that is just complete horse manure. PRS is a great guitar brand — it’s actually better than Fender or Ibanez — in many ways even better than Gibson — and a lot cheaper too.
Who goes for a PRS? Sometimes, a guitarist needs class, sophistication and beauty. Well, on those days when Beyoncé just isn’t available, a PRS guitar will do the job. These axes simply ooze class. Any beginner with cash to flash simply needs to get one of these.
Sure, anyone can blow £100 on a piece of wood with strings, but a PRS is a lifetime purchase that will outlast anyone who treats it with respect.
(Considering the general lifestyle of those with more money than taste or brains, probably outlast their lives as well.)
Carlos Santana plays PRS guitars. Before, he was a Gibson SG player.
Ran
Ran Guitars is based in Olsztyn, Poland (formerly Allenstein, Prussia) — the same town where Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) lived as astronomer, administrator and town commander.
Previously, Ran had the reputation of copying others but lucky enough not to get sued. Today, it’s slowly coming onto the mainstream, now that Peter from the Polish death-metal band Vader has become famous.
It’s like Jackson meets B.C. Rich sorta, nice-looking guitars.
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation in Santa Ana, California, makes acoustic, electric and bass guitars. It’s notable for putting the world’s first electric guitars into general production in 1932.
The Beatles had Rickenbacker guitars, and Rickenbacker guitars had The Beatles. Lennon used a six-string, short-scale guitar called the 325.
Rondo
http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html
Family-run American guitar maker Rondo (est. 1959) produces electric guitars that span the whole price range from US$70 to US$700 to suit all tastes and abilities.
Rondo guitars are pretty decent and workmanlike, but most importantly, inexpensive. So Rondo is the name to go for when you”re asking yourself, “Where the heck to do I get a decent bass guitar for a defret project?” For that kind of project, best bet is to pick up a Rondo B-Stock jazz bass guitar.
Interestingly, Rondo makes quite a number of flying V-style axes as well as LP and Tele-style instruments. The flying V models have several different names, such as Octanis, Draco, WH1, SIV 45 and Fulcrum (all priced between US$100 to US$150) — not bad, considering that some of them have Floyd Rose trem units.
The Douglas Hawker has three humbuckers and a nice transparent finish, and plays and feels really good. The Douglas Halo is an explorer-shaped guitar priced from US$100 to US$140.
Ruokangas Guitars
Finnish luthier Juha Ruokangas offers high-end handcrafted electric guitars starting at the US$1,600 range. Check out Ruokangas players here [link].
Samick
This French (?) company specialises in producing lower-cost electric guitars, but the styling is just … beautiful.
Saint Guitar Company
Saint Guitar Company is a custom electric guitar manufacturer in central California, established around 1998. The word on the street is that Saint Guitar makes some of the best guitars ever. Apparently, Saint uses a unique neck joint to produce a brighter tone than you could get out of other humbucker guitars.
Santa Cruz Guitar Company
http://www.santacruzguitar.com
Santa Cruz focuses on producing high-end acoustic instruments, especially acoustic steel spring guitars. When the company first started in 1968, apparently there was no information to be had on this type of guitar, so Santa Cruz took its inspiration from violin-making knowledge instead.
Schecter
http://www.schecterguitars.com
Schecter Guitars (est. 1976) of Burbank, California, might not make the best guitars around, but Schecter is way better than Gibson if you want a great metal sound. Now moving into the ‘darker’ side of the top guitar brands, Schecter have only recently started earning attention despite making guitars for years.
Younger learners who love their metal will be in good company: Schecter is endorsed by such guitar heroes as Synster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold).
Schecter has a reputation of great quality for the price, nice looks, nice feel, great sounds and very easy on the wallet. Signature Schecters (not necessarily the top-end models) are Syn Custom, Vengeance Custom and the 30th-anniversary S-1.
Seagull
http://www.seagullguitars.com/intro.htm
Seagull Guitars is a brand of The Godin Guitar Company in the Quebecois village of La Patrie, where half the population of 475 are guitar builders. Seagulls are highly respected midpriced acoustic guitars.
Spear
Spear Guitar is the new kid on the block from South Korea whose reputation for innovativeness makes up for young presence. It makes acoustic and electric guitars. Whilst Koreans are not especially known for their Western musical instrument manufacturing, many guitarists familiar with Spear say it won’t be long before Spear guitars become as popular as Ibanez and Jackson. Spear markets itself towards the lucrative first-level metal market, specifically between established metal brands Ibanez and Charvel and more middle-of-the-road types from Gibson and Fender.
Spector
Brooklyn, New York-based Stuart Spector Designs Ltd. first introduced musicians to the revolutionary design and unique sound of the Spector NS-Bass in 1976/77 whose distinctive tonal quality has since been dubbed (and trademarked!) as ‘The Spector Tone.’ It continues to make handmade electric guitars in a woodshop cooperative that it started from originally. Spector got absorbed into Kramer Guitars in the 1980s and went bust in the 1990s, before it sprang back to life in 1998 with the help of an East Coast bassist.
Squier
See Fender/Squier above.
Stagg
Stagg Music is a general musical instrument maker and dealer in Belgium. Established in 1995, Stagg produces handmade instruments from specialist inhouse designs. It makes everything from woodwind, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, pro audio and related accessories.
Takamine
Takamine is a popular Japanese make of acoustic and electric-acoustic guitars that quite a number guitarists say sound better than Höfner, Pluto and Gibson. The company started in the early 1960s at the base of Mount Takamine in Sakashita, Japan (where it’s still located) and started exporting in 1975. List of featured Takamine players here [link].
Taylor
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars
Taylor Guitars makes impressive acoustic guitars. In 1974, Bob Taylor, Kurt Listug and Steve Schemmer purchased the American Dream Musical Instrument Manufacturing shop in Lemon Grove, California, and change the name to Taylor Guitars. At the time, all rosewood used was Brazilian. Dolores O’Riordan (The Cranberries) plays Taylor, and even named her son that.
Owners of the C.E. 614 say the neck finish is excellent but the only complaint is too much tenor, but the amp takes care of that.
Tokai
http://www.tokai-guitars.co.uk
Maybe not the biggest brand out there, but Tokai guitars rule. They’re easy to play, sound amazing and not overpriced like Gibson and Fender, according to many guitar aficionados. Tokai guitars feature the tone, craftsmanship and playability of vintage instruments at a fraction of the cost.
Before 1982, Japanese guitarmakers weren’t particularly known for quality or performance. Until Tokai turned that picture upside down that year with a new way of guitar construction.
In wooden stringed instruments, vibrations travel faster at the centre of the body than at the top or back of it. By placing a cross-grained piece of wood in this centre position of the body, the vibrations (sound) gets reflected back towards the top and back 4 times faster than on a standard guitar. This groundbreaking body construction increases sustain and note clarity to the point that you could actually feel the sound streaming through your body as you play. The multidirectional grains also gives stunning visual appearance unmatched by standard instrument-making techniques.
Tokai went on to create the same effect in 1983 with a revolutionary aluminium-alloy body design in its Talbo guitar and bass.
Today, Tokai is best known for making aluminium-bodied guitars that give long sustain and clear sound with the warmth and aesthetic appeal of wooden-bodied instruments.
Tokai (est. 1947) is located in Hamamatsu, Japan, and was originally a piano maker. It started making acoustic, electric and bass guitars from around May 1965. For quite some time, Tokai had a bit of a reputation of making Fender and Gibson replicas. In February 1972, Tokai signed a technical contract with C.F. Martin & Co. for the design of acoustic guitars. The first electric guitars started in December 1977, including ‘Love Rock’ and ‘Breezy Sound.’
Tokai guitars were unavailable in the USA for nearly a decade until they are made available again sometime in 2000-2010 through the Tokai Guitar Registry, a fansite that also handles some sales in the USA.
The legendary instruments were played by the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and are still highly sought after by collectors.
Vintage
http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageelectric.html
The Vintage brand of guitars are currently handled by British guitar dealer John Hornby Skewes Co. Ltd. of Leeds, United Kingdom.
Vintage has had a bad rap among some of the more elitist guitar crowd because of its previous reputation for cheapness. Not anymore. Vintage now offers maximum guitar bang for the buck. Working with British guitar design ‘god’ Trevor Wilkinson, Vintage will provide an absolute bargain whatever the buyer is looking for — be it a Stratocaster or a Les Paul. Vintage is top brand on a budget.
Warwick
Warwick GmbH & Co. Music Equipment KG is a German bass guitar company founded in 1982 by Hans-Peter Wilfer. Warwick basses were originally a premium brand: it offered only a small range of models built with high-quality exotic tonewoods with ‘neck-through‘ design. Today, Warwick now also offers budget models, many of which are ‘bolt-on neck‘ versions of the originals.
Warwick differs from other bass manufacturers in that it buys all its wood in complete rough logs or planks — none obtained pre-cut. This means more work for Warwick but ensures complete control over the wood used and the finished look of the instrument.
All Warwick basses are built in Germany — except for acoustic Alien basses that are built in Vietnam, the Pro Series and the Corvette Standard models in South Korea, and the budget line RockBass in China.
Notable Warwick bassists are Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai until 1998 and one of the most important Warwick endorsers), Jack Bruce (Cream), Robert Trujillo (currently Metallica; formerly Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), Bootsy Collins (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a highly influential bassist in funk music) and Adam Clayton (U2), among many, many others.
Washburn Guitars
Someone told me that Washburn makes some of the best guitars out there and are very underrated despite making so many “awesome” guitars such as the American-made N4 or N5, which has got to be tried for the quality to be believed. The Chicago company, founded in 1883, makes a full range of acoustic, electric and bass guitars.
Yamaha
http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/home.html
This Japanese behemoth makes as many types of musical instruments as you could possibly name (as well as motorcycles). Yamaha is an ideal brand for beginners as much as for pros.
Zachary Guitars
The Zachary Z2
“Your guitar sucks,” so wrote Esquire magazine in its 2007 article about Zachary Guitars. “That’s pretty much the mission statement behind Zachary Guitars, a tiny outfit run by Canadian rocker Alex Csiky, whose 100% do-it-yourself ethos and fuck-the-mainstream mentality produces some of the finest instruments ever crafted.”
The Windsor, Ontario-based guitarmaker doesn’t make custom guitars and really lays down the line on his website (which looks more like a crapped-out blog):
“I make guitars as I chose and what I like. Whatever interests me at any particular time. If you like what I made, then I may sell it to you, if I feel that it suits you and you will be able to appreciate it.
“Regardless of how much money you have, I will not sell you any guitar if I feel its not right for you or that you don’t deserve to own it. If its not right for you then you will not appreciate it. This is of no advantage to either one of us if my guitars are not what you need or deserve.”
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QUESTION TIME
This list is an amateurish joke. Many guitars listed are pure cheap junk I’d toss in the garbage even if they were free. Take it from a pro, Parker and PRS are the two highest quality. Fender, B.F. Rich and Gibson, along with brands that have stood the test of time, plus a few hand-made (custom) brands, are the only ones you can seriously depend on. The rest are mostly pathetic attempts at copying a major brand and cutting the price by really cutting back on quality. As they say, you get what you pay for.
I’m more than 100% in agreement with you there.
You’ve not included a lot of other guitar makers. Why?
No particular reason. It’s just that some names are, although famous, are only famous in the professional musical community. I may follow up with a Part-2-type post on the other names.
Meanwhile, here is Wikipedia’s list of guitar makers [link].
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© The Naked Listener’s Weblog, 2011. Updated 15 Oct 2011 (format fixes, typos).
Images: Dave Mustaine via Wikipedia ♦ Airline Corondado DLX via Eastwood Guitars ♦ Heritage Super KB via Heritage Guitar ♦ The Villanizer via Makezine.com ♦ Rondo guitars via Underground Guitars ♦ The Zachary Z2 via Zachary Guitars.
I have played guitar since I was a teenager (a long time ago) and I have had quite a few instruments pass through my hands in that time. My favorite was probably the Fender Strat- I am a big Hendrix fan, but you can’t go past Jimmy Page and his big Gibson. Great post man, keep on thrshin’ that axe!
I knew you’d like this. Yeah, I’m big on Hendrix too. Also Joplin. Oops! We’re showing our ages now…
We’re never too old to Rock n Roll dude!
This really answered my problem, thanks!
I am looking for guitar under 500$. Please suggest me any. Thanks.
The best way is to look around yourself and decide which one has the right “feel” for you and within your budget. Getting a guitar is as much a personal thing as is your ability to play one.
You can’t look for a guitar that is right for you with a budget! When the right instrument comes your way you have do do whatever it takes to have it. Every guitar that I have ever owned has had its own personality- some have just turned out sweet music with the gentlest touch and others have had to have their music wrestled out of them.
That’s one helluva good way to explain it.
You are so right dgmattichakjr see my post ref the Kasuga I had already owned 2 strats & an SG & I wanted a 335 & when the guy in my local music shop gave me the Kasuga to try I said no thanks, he said he just wanted my opinion of it so I tried it & the rest is history. Ive never played a Gibson Les Paulthat came close to the playabilty or the sustain.
Great list & very informative, I agree with your comments on the Kasuga, I bought a new Custom in 1976. I was actually looking to buy a Gibson 335 but I was blown away when I tried the Kasuga. I was sad when it was stolen but 20 years later I got it back & it was like being reunited with my best friend. It was still in good condition even though it had been gigged for most of its life. I’ve now replaced the electrics & fitted Gibson Burstbuckers & its like new again, what a great guitar.
Thank you, Graham. I know many people whose musical lives have changed for the better because of having played a Kasuga.
My brother recommended I might like this blog. He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You cannot imagine just how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your great view, I really learn a lot from this site.
Good blog post. I definitely love this website. Thanks!
No, thank you, Neil, for coming to visit.
Ash Custom works of Auckland NZ, stunning guitars! Then you have Langcaster guitars. Crafted from 35000 year old Kauri wood, they’re truely beautiful! So many makes out there, and if you can make music, none of them can be that bad. Good article.
Many thanks for the info on Ash!