There can’t be many people who wouldn’t have loved to become a guitar hero. Standing onstage, legs apart thrashing out power chords and blistering guitar solos loud enough to make peoples ears bleed. And there are a number of truly great electric guitars that have stood the test of time.
One of the most famous electric guitars is the Fender Stratocaster. Originally designed way back in 1954 the Fender Strat was the instrument favoured by the late, great Jimi Hendrix. It’s also the instrument chosen by the likes of Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend of the Who. The Fender Stratocaster continues to be as popular today as it ever was and a whole new generation of guitarists are discovering this great, iconic instrument.
Another well known and popular electric guitar from Fender is, of course, the Telecaster. This excellent guitar preceded the Stratocaster having been first produced as the Broadcaster in late 1949. There are and have been many well known and talented guitarists who like to play Fender Telecasters. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is a great lover of Telecasters, generally tuned to an open G chord for that classic Rolling Stones sound.
If we are talking about classic guitars we must of course mention the fantastic Gibson Les Paul. This is another design classic, first produced back in the 1950s and made ever since. Jimmy Page, of Led Zeppelin and Yardbirds fame, is just one guitarist who chose the Gibson Les Paul. A modern day guitarist who is a great exponent of Les Paul is, of course, Slash of Guns ‘n’ Roses fame.
Since I’ve mentioned a couple of Fenders its only fair to mention a couple of great Gibsons. I could have chosen the great Gibson ES335, a personal favourite and popular with many great guitarists including BB King, but instead I’ve picked the exceptional Gibson SG. This fantastic looking electric guitar, with the distinctive double cutaway, was introduced in the early 1960s to compete with the popular Fender Strat. This is the guitar used by Angus Young of Australian rock band ACDC for all of their well known rock anthems. It was also the guitar of choice for Tony Iommi, guitarist in the well known rock band Black Sabbath.
There are just so many great guitars but these four are, without doubt, at the top of the list of great electric guitars of our age.
a