You see most guitarists would argue that there are 3 (maybe 4) big, BIG, guitars - the Strat, Tele,Les Paul and the possible fourth, SG. Now i've probably just annoyed a few people who will be saying "well what about Ibanez's and ESP's". The thing is though, they're all pretty much based on those big 4 and in my opinion that's a little worrying. Fender's Strat (1954) and Tele (1948) have been around for well over 50 years so it begs the question, why after this length of time, has no one produced another revolutionary guitar?
It would seem the obvious answer is that we really don't need one. Think about it, there's a reason why the percentage guitarists of play them, they're seen as the best guitars. They may not suit some but for most they're the answer. Its simplicity thats the beauty of them. They're is nothing to mess with your head (I'm diliberatley thinking of the Fender Jaguar here, which in my opinion is the greatest Fender but it's ridiculous controls somewhat let it down) or nothing too one sided. You see people playing Strats all over the place and the Les Paul is potentially the most used electric in rock music. These guitars are just SO iconic and that is the key.
Could anyone then make another iconic guitar? It seems everything new now is just a variation of what we've already seen or just rather odd. Perhaps it is far too difficult a task to make one but I for one would love to see something that becomes timeless. Right now though you have to say that very little on the current market and that's been released in recent years is going to be timeless.
So, I, a humble guitarist, challenge the world's biggest guitar manufactures to build another timeless guitar. No? I suppose you're all busy making guitars we don't want to buy full of the latest gadgets...shame.
Peace, Linus
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