Guitars I never see anymore

[markmann]

I got to thinking about this recently... There are some great guitars that I used to see on stage on a regular basis that I never see anymore like Steinberger, Parker, Hamer, etc. I realize that these are no longer in production but people play old guitars all the time and there must be a lot of these around so where are they?

Are they out of style or "out of sight out of mind?" Are folks afraid to take them out or saving them for some reason?

 

[orourke]

Steinberger and Parker are particularly modernist guitars. Musicians in general (not just guitarists) tend to be traditionalist in their taste. I watched the Grammy's recently and there were still a surprising amount of acts still using guitars, almost all of them were Fender's or Gibson's. I think I saw one PRS in a hip-hop act. I own a Steinberger, I practice with it a lot, but I wouldn't gig with it (unless I was in some kind of 80's tribute act). It's just a little too goofy looking.

Hamer, at this point they are probably relatively rare (compared to Fender or Gibson), so when you considered how many people own them, how many of them are gigging, how many are in good enough shape to gig...the numbers probably gets pretty small. Most people just reach for their trusty Gibson or Fender.

 

[Family Man]

In regards to visual aesthetics alone, I'm glad I don't see Steinbergers and Parkers regularly. Woof.

 

[B Money]

Feels like I used to see Les Paul double cuts a lot more frequently in the past.
I don't think I've seen one in person in decades.

 

[mjross]

I have a few Steinbergers I‘ve collected over the years, amazing guitars! With Steinberger they did not make that many of the USA guitars and production ended many years ago. Also, Steinbergers are very expensive, I’m sure those that own them do not take them out a lot. They are pretty easy to walk off with If you don’t keep a constant eye on them!

 

[ssdeluxe]

Gibson early custom shop 1995-2003'ish.......you just don't see many.....I'm not talking the R8's and R9's....kinda lots of those...I mean the cool small run customs and unique ones, semi's: 335's, 345's, 355's..sg's...R4's...R5's....archtop's....firebirds.....the cool stuff..

n.b. I don't want one...lol....just don't see them much.

and Yamaha's (the great ones)..in general.

 

[Defendant]

Steiny and (high end) Parker owners are likely not gigging their these days because of their rarity. You don't want to be paying for your transtrem to be rebuilt any time soon.

There's lots of brands that are uncommon to see these days - Valley Arts, Robin, Blade, Hamer.

 

[Strummerfan]

Traditionalism and the fact that a lot of the types of guitars you mentioned were really niche guitars. A Parker or a Steinberger really appeal to a select group of people, and never really became as well used and prolific as some of the bigger names. Hamer are an exception, being largely based on the big two's style and somewhat more traditional in design. I think they never got enough market saturation to become as ubiquitous as the Gibson/Fender guitars, although they still have an avid fan base. Ibanez and LTD made strong crossroads in the metal segment, and are.still very popular with that set.

 

[jj7642]

Maybe unpopular opinion, but IMO there is a reason you see certain types of guitars persevere through the ages - they are better instruments. There is a reason Les Pauls, Strats, Teles, SGs etc... ares still used today: they are genius designs that look, sound, and play great. I mean how much can a strat really be improved?

 

[Rekonizefull]

I used to see that black explorer shape guitar with all the buttons that activate effects. I'd see that in pawnshops all the time. It wasn't an explorer, actually I forget what it was

I wonder if they'll start making guitars with the brains of a HX or similar. Just plug straight into PA. Maybe lithium powered one day.

Sorry, I know you were talking nice guitars, didn't mean to go sideways

 

[mjross]

In regards to visual aesthetics alone, I'm glad I don't see Steinbergers and Parkers regularly. Woof.

Just don‘t look, listen!

 

[jblake]

Steinberger and Parker are particularly modernist guitars

These are 40 and 30 year old guitar designs, respectively. Did people in 1984 consider the Strat particularly modernist?

Edit: The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. The Telecaster had been around for 28 years when the first Steinbergers were released, 44 years ago.

Parker was founded in 1993, or 30 years ago. Parker guitars are as old now as Fender Jaguars were when Parker was formed.

So my takeaway is that the development of the electric guitar exploded in the 50s and has been crawling more and more slowly ever since.

 

[catsandstrats]

Happy to say I don’t see many Ovation acoustics these days.

 

[Zenyatta Mondatta]

In regards to visual aesthetics alone, I'm glad I don't see Steinbergers and Parkers regularly. Woof.

I'd never own one because they're not really built for the styles I play, but I always thought Parkers looked kind of neat.

 

[Chiba]

Pretty much all I see in the bands we play with are Fender and Gibson (incl Squier and Epiphone). I never see Ibanez, Charvel, Jackson, Kramer, etc. - the kings of the pointy guitar/super strat era. I can't tell you the number of gigs I've played in the last two years where I was the only person in any of the bands with a Rickenbacker or PRS, and those used to be at the top of the indie bands/hard rock bands respectively for cred.

 

[max17]

Steinberger and Parker are particularly modernist guitars. Musicians in general (not just guitarists) tend to be traditionalist in their taste. I watched the Grammy's recently and there were still a surprising amount of acts still using guitars, almost all of them were Fender's or Gibson's. I think I saw one PRS in a hip-hop act. I own a Steinberger, I practice with it a lot, but I wouldn't gig with it (unless I was in some kind of 80's tribute act). It's just a little too goofy looking.

Hamer, at this point they are probably relatively rare (compared to Fender or Gibson), so when you considered how many people own them, how many of them are gigging, how many are in good enough shape to gig...the numbers probably gets pretty small. Most people just reach for their trusty Gibson or Fender.

I think Hamer has been owned by Fender for a while. So that may explain some of it. Also think Ibanez beat Hamer at their own game. But I do see Hamers in the metal scene now and then. Played (didn't own) a Hamer double cutaway back in the 80s a few times. Really really liked it. But they're $$$$ these days if you can find a USA one. Now that I think about it, wonder if they 'ripped off' the Ibanez Artist?

 

[HomeInMyShoes]

@B Money , here's a DC for you. Still played very regularly. And yeah, they aren't around much. I took it in for fretwork and the shop owner said he didn't see them much.


2022-03-05_09-08-22 by (HomeInMyShoes), on Flickr

 

[s2y]

Maybe unpopular opinion, but IMO there is a reason you see certain types of guitars persevere through the ages - they are better instruments. There is a reason Les Pauls, Strats, Teles, SGs etc... ares still used today: they are genius designs that look, sound, and play great. I mean how much can a strat really be improved?

All of these companies were bought out. Zero promo and inadequate production. Steinberger in particular couldn't keep up with demand at the end. They wouldn't have constantly sold out if there weren't any demand.

 

[Scary Uncle G.]

I'd never own one because they're not really built for the styles I play, but I always thought Parkers looked kind of neat.

The body and neck shape are too uncomfortable for me.

 

[Ron Kirn]

it looks like we won't be seeing them here either....