Weapons of Choice
December 18, 2006 by Jo Minor
There have been many variables throughout rock music’s effervescent history - it can be said that almost nothing stays the same, and no one escapes from the madness that paves the road to rock stardom.
And through all those emotional rollercoaster rides of dreams coming true and of devastating shortcomings, every rock hero relies on their music, their equipment and their persona to make it through the day - just to battle it out on stage, tooth and nail, again and again.
Let’s take a look at some electric guitars, or more precisely, the most important electric guitars in rock ‘n roll history.
Fender Stratocaster
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The Stratocaster, or Strat as it is commonly known by guitarists, is probably the greatest electric guitar to ever see the light of day. Leo Fender’s ingenious design made the Strat an easy to use instrument with all the trappings one would need on an electric guitar. The Strat became a popular choice for musicians from the start, and has been seen in the hands of such rock legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Yngwie Malmsteen, Matthias Jabs of the Scorpions and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.
The Strat is an extremely versatile instrument as well, as it has served blues and rock guitarists as much as it has been utilized by heavy metal.
Gibson Les Paul
Gibson’s signature model was created through the ideas of the musician it was named after. The Les Paul boasts an unmistakable sound that suits rock and blues very well, and is popular with guitarists from other styles of music as well. Its rich, warm tone is the total opposite of the sharper, tinny sound produced by the Fender Strat.
The Les Paul is one of the company’s earliest and most efficient designs, thus making it a design very much sought after by other guitar makers. The result: hundreds of Les Paul-inspired guitars have made their way into the market, with the ESP Eclipse and the PRS Singlecut among the better known ones.
As with the Fender Strat, the Gibson Les Paul has been the guitar of choice for some of the greatest figures in rock ‘n roll, such as Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Ace Frehley of Kiss, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Gary Moore.
Gibson Flying V
A radical yet useful design makes the Flying V a truly unique instrument. As the name suggests, the Flying V is shaped like the letter V, and has become a cliché of rock ‘n roll for decades.
Certain guitarists swear by their Flying Vs, and the guitars unconventional shape adds presence to any rock show. The Flying V has also been favorite second guitars to greats Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, who have taken their Flying Vs out for a spin on certain occasions.
The Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker and his brother Michael have used their Flying Vs throughout their careers, and has been the preferred guitar of Metallica front man James Hetfield during the crucial years of the band. The Flying V has also inspired some other significant guitar models from makers such as Jackson and ESP.
Gibson SG
This devilish, double-horned beast of a guitar was simply named SG - short for “Solid Guitar” - and has never been renamed by Gibson since the model was introduced decades ago.
Made famous by groundbreaking guitarists Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath and Angus Young of AC/DC, the SG’s menacing but oddly enchanting persona has captured the attention of guitarists from various styles of music.
As with the Les Paul, the SG garnered success for Gibson very early in its history, and has recently spawned a series of SG-inspired guitars. The most notable of these would be the ESP Viper, which has a slightly deformed body shape that is still very much similar to its Gibson counterpart.
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