Seriously ... would I be a noob to buy a signature guitar?

[guitarrhinoceros]

I know, I know. First off, I'm a teacher. I am highly against people bullying others. Second, I am all about originality, and that is often my goal in everything I do in life. It is my mantra that I realize is wholly impossible. Anyways, I really, really, really want to purchase this bad ass signature guitar. I've had my eyes on it for awhile. But, really though -- there is something sort of lame about sporting another man's signature guitar, right? I am torn. I don't mind getting made fun of, but I also don't want my band to receive negative attention.

What do you think?

 

[mitchanator]

Well i would love to get a fender strat john mayer for myself so i would say go for it. What signature guitar do you want to get

 

[vanguard]

depends who you are as a player. if i saw thurston moore sporting someone else's sig model, it'd be cool because he is totally his own man and not trying to "be" anyone else.

when i see hoards of SRV or mayer wannabes sporting their respective models and doing bad impersonations of them at bars, it's really, really sad.

 

[jaxn slim]

If it's got the specs you're after, I don't see any harm in it. Which sig is it?

I just ordered my first sig guitar yesterday from the manufacturer, a Reverend Eastsider S Pete Anderson Sig #3. I'm really stoked. I even met Pete Anderson at NAMM, but I couldn't tell you a single song he played on.

 

[vivaoaxaca]

I play a Les Paul signature guitar. Funny tho, I don't play anything like Les Paul.

 

[jaxn slim]

depends who you are as a player. if i saw thurston moore sporting someone else's sig model, it'd be cool because he is totally his own man and not trying to "be" anyone else.

when i see hoards of SRV or mayer wannabes sporting their respective models and doing bad impersonations of them at bars, it's really, really sad.

Yeah. But that's more about about them trying to cop the licks and stage presence, right? The fact that it's a sig guitar is kind of after the fact, wouldn't you say?

 

[Miles]

To the OP. You're only a noob, IMO if you buy a guitar BECAUSE that person plays it.

If it's an instrument with features that speak to you musically much more than most of the stock versions of the instrument, it's great.

Case in point - I LOVE the way Jaguars play but hate the plinky sound they typically offer. I was uber tempted to pick up a Kurt Cobain sig model since it has humbuckers and the knobs are much more practical in design/layout. I also love the bound fingerboard.

I keep wishing Jonny Greenwood would issue a Fender Tele Plus signature because the features those have (two dually red and one blue lace sensor) along with a cut switch are SO cool, thick, and bright for chaotic rock. Such well thought-out features that are no longer widely available. Nor are they easy mods.

 

[zastruga]

No! My #1 is a Mascis Jazzmaster, and I generally forget that there's any association with him at all while playing it. It's a guitar with specs he happens to like, and that's it.

To be fair though, it's not a replica of a famous guitar or anything like that, so the link between artist and guitar is not that strong. Like the above poster, I tend to be fine with signatures like that and just think of them as any other guitar (save for usually having better/more interesting specs). On the other hand, a giant SRV emblazoned on your Strat is definitely not going to win you points in many people's minds. In the end though, play what inspires you to play more and the rest is moot!

 

[zastruga]

BTW, Vanguard, both Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon play Mascis sigs. I think I've seen them play with that guitar more than Mascis does!

 

[jaxonmills]

Yeah. But that's more about about them trying to cop the licks and stage presence, right? The fact that it's a sig guitar is kind of after the fact, wouldn't you say?

That's exactly what he's saying.

 

[SteveO]

Pete Townshend plays Eric Clapton signature Strats almost exclusively, and I would hardly consider him a noob.

 

[smallstoner]

I'm with Miles. Buying, say, a Jimmy Page sig 1 because you want to be Jimmy Page is sort of like running around in Spiderman underoos and pretending to climb walls.

OTOH, buying a Page sig because it's a great axe with incredibly versatile tones is a perfectly wise decision. Except the money part.

If I found a guitar I really liked, and it turned out to be a Jonas Brothers Signature Dickless Wonder, I'd still buy it. But I wouldn't buy a guitar that didn't suit me just because it had my favorite musician's name on it.

 

[Butterscotch]

If you really, really, really want it...go get it!
Don't deny yourself that pleasure!

 

[guitarrhinoceros]

I'm so embarrassed. I don't really like the artist that much, but his guitar is incredible looking. It plays great too! It is the Tom Delonge signature Gibson Custom ES-333. The racing stripe is so bad ass. And the color scheme. And the fact that it is just a complete rock beast. Locking tuners, Dirty Fingers in the bridge, natural looking headstock, etc.

 

[tapeworm]

buy and play what you like and dont worry about what anyone else here or anywhere else says. period. really that simple.

 

[64 burst]

+1 with the other posts about the features of the guitar, especially Miles up there ^^. Unfortunately signature guitars don't make us play like the players that they represent. Practice and a good ear does, and even then I personally have less respect for guitarists who REALLY sound like a famous player. You could probably assemble the parts from the sig and slap them into an American strat for less money than a sig. and have it play the same. Then you can set about making the guitar famous so you can get your own sig.

Edit: just saw that it's a gibson. That would be harder to put together I guess, but not impossible

 

[EL 34 X2]

If the guitar speaks to you more than the signature on the headstock I see no problem with any guitar.

 

[guitarrhinoceros]

Do you all know what that guitar looks like? It is really quite the incredible looking instrument.

 

[guitarrhinoceros]

To the OP. You're only a noob, IMO if you buy a guitar BECAUSE that person plays it.

If it's an instrument with features that speak to you musically much more than most of the stock versions of the instrument, it's great.

Case in point - I LOVE the way Jaguars play but hate the plinky sound they typically offer. I was uber tempted to pick up a Kurt Cobain sig model since it has humbuckers and the knobs are much more practical in design/layout. I also love the bound fingerboard.

I keep wishing Jonny Greenwood would issue a Fender Tele Plus signature because the features those have (two dually red and one blue lace sensor) along with a cut switch are SO cool, thick, and bright for chaotic rock. Such well thought-out features that are no longer widely available. Nor are they easy mods.

So true. I want the guitar because of the features and look, not the player. It is just a rock and roll ES-333, with a bad ass paint job to boot.

 

[guitarrhinoceros]

http://images.gibson.com/Files/d56c58d7-b783-451b-9a44-57259f66eab3.jpg