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PHIL KEAGGY - Grammy nominated and seven-time Dove Award winner, is one of the world’s great guitar players and a pioneer in contemporary Christian music.
- July 28, 2016
- Guitar Lessons
Let me qualify this right from the start! Best Guitars? This topic is as about as subjective as best pizza chain or restaurant.
A great guitar is whatever you love to play and get the best performance for you from. That said, for the general audience, there are a few staple guitars that have stood the test of time and seem to be the go to for a great number of professional guitarist.
Maybe we should approach this review from the aspect of Best Guitar For Rock, Country, Blues, or Jazz etc. But really, does it even matter? We’ve heard Jazz on a Telecaster and Rock on a Gretsch hollow body, so we’re not gonna over generalize or stereotype this, let’s just talk guitars.
Fender Guitars
Leo Fender got it right! I’ve heard this phrase from a great number of pros and especially guitar techs: “Why, mess with perfection,” they say?
If you’re not up on the guitar wars, Fender has been dominate in the best guitars and guitar battles since the 1950’s.
The 2 main contenders for best guitars from the Fender Company are the Telecaster and the Stratocaster. Both are equally sweet but powerful tools in the hands of greatness. Take Eric Clapton’s Blackie (Stratocaster) or James Burton’s Telecaster, or any other of the greats from Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughn, there’s a whole lot of funky Stratocasters and Telecasters out there that made us fans of Leo Fender’s magical wood, wire, and magnets.
Whether you are a Tele fan or a Strat fan, you can’t help but hold every other guitar to the Fender standard.
When you play a Strat, it sounds like a Strat. Single coil pickups with a 5 way switch gives you just about everything you’ll ever need.
The neck pickup on a Tele sounds so smooth and glassy at the same time, the neck pickup will cut your head off. A Tele is unforgiving. It will make you play right or you’ll sound very exposed. Add to this the Jazzmaster, Mustang, or Jaguar and you have some really cool and classic guitars that are revered around the world.
Gibson Guitars
Gibson goes back much further to the late 1800’s. Orville Gibson, a wood-worker, made some pretty wonderful instruments during his time, and in fact paved the way for some of the best guitars by making the finest and thus, most loved guitars today.
Gibson arch top guitars and mandolins are among the best in the land. Gibson acoustic guitars like the J45, J50, J200, the Humming Bird, Dove, and others are used by pros all over the world.
They are as deep and beautiful to listen to as they are to look at. Moving on to Gibson’s electric arsenal and you must be impressed with such a wide range of excellent workmanship. There’s the glorious Les Paul, Les Paul Jr, Les Paul Special and more. The mighty hum-bucker pickups that rock musicians have praised and worshipped for well over 50 years. If you want that warm crunchy tone, there’s nothing like a Les Paul with dual hum-buckers. That’s a sound like no other.
The 50’s and 60’s Gibson Gold Top Les Paul are in a category all their on. If you can afford one of these best guitars, get one.
Then there’s the arch top guitars like the Gibson 335, 330, T125, Super 400, and L-5’s that you can stop looking at and you just can’t put down.
There are many more Gibson greats like the Gibson Flying V, Explorer, and Firebird that are crazy to look at and play but have made their mark in Rock music.
Pick your weapon man, they’re all amazing tools and you need as many as you can afford.
Martin Guitars
Although Martin is not as know for electric guitars, who can argue that their mark on the music landscape with the magnificence of the D28, D18, D35 and others has forever set the standard for great acoustic guitar building?
There’s no sound like it. Others have done well and made their versions, but Martin has made great sounding acoustic guitars since the 1800’s and they’re a major contender in the guitar wars today.
C. F. Martin got it right for sure. Martin has been making instruments for 175 years.
When it comes to tone, you can put a decent microphone in the studio or live in from of one these boxes and you’ll likely be in heaven when you hear what comes out in front of you. They are loud and crisp, but deep and rich.
Blue Grasser’s love them. Country, Blues and Rock players love them. You can’t go wrong with a Martin. Greats like Johnny Cash, Elvis, Bob Dylan, and a host of others all found them to be the mark of excellence, and you will too.
www.martinguitar.com
Taylor Guitars
Founded in 1974, Bob Taylor’s Taylor Guitars has certainly become a major player on the field. There are a host of model numbers to pick from, and there is an enormous standard for excellence and quality by the Taylor builders.
There are 214’s, 314’s, 414’s, 814’s, 914’s and many more. You can get a Taylor in just about any shape and wood.
You will simply be amazed to sit in an acoustic guitar room at Guitar Center or you local shop and play these guitars. One after another, they shine. Clear, warm but punchy tone comes out of these awesome instruments. Great pickup systems are also a mark of these guitars.
You can’t go wrong with a Taylor. You might just want more than one.
Other Notable Brands & Best Guitars
Okay, so, it’s impossible to praise them all equally. There’s just too many like Yamaha, Ibanez, Paul Reed Smith, Epiphone, Jackson, Gretsch, Mosrite, B.C. Rich, Carvin, G&L, Rickenbacker, Takamine, and Washburn. You may find your life mate in any of these guitars. There are so many great builders out there. I haven’t even mentioned the custom builders that build very expensive, but amazing, works of art.
You’ll be amazed to start down the road of studying and getting familiar with all the great guitar builders there are in the world. The above are simply some of the staple and standard setters. The main thing is find your guitar and make your mark.
Should you be interested in what types of guitars are out there feel free to click here.
Regardless of the type and model of your guitar, without practice and doing things the right way, you will get no-where. So why don’t you click on the link below and let one of our pro’s show you the best way to learn and practice the guitar.
