Top Ten Classic Rock Guitars

Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Fender SRV Stratocaster

10. Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Fender SRV Stratocaster

The Stevie Ray Vaughn Stratocaster signature model was based on Vaughn’s favorite guitar, “Number One”, also called his “First Wife”. The SRV Stratocaster was in the works in the late ‘80’s with a planned release date in 1989. Stevie’s touring and recording schedule, however, delayed its release. Finally, in 1990, Stevie was presented with 3 prototypes, right before his Tonight Show performance. That night, his notable SRV stickers on the pickguard were missing, so the Tonight Show art staff got creative and applied temporary white Letraset stickers. Vaughn liked the script-style lettering so much that he suggested that the lettering be engraved into the pickguard – as it appears today. Vaughn died about 10 weeks after his Tonight Show appearance, and the SRV was put on hold until 1991. At that time, at the direction of Stevie’s brother Jimmi, plans for the Limited Edition were scrapped. Jimmi’s goal became making sure the SRV guitar was affordable so that “every kid that wanted one could afford one.”

9. Jerry Garcia’s Tiger

Where did Garcia’s rich, deep tones come from? From his appropriately named “Tiger”. Jerry’s custom-made guitar was named Tiger because of the inlay on the battery/preamp compartment. Tiger was built in the so-called Alembic “Hippie Sandwich” tradition described as several different layers of wood sandwiched together to create beautiful layers. Tiger’s top layer was cocobolo, followed by a stripe of Maple, then a layer of Vermillion and a Flame Maple core. The binding across the body and front of the guitar is brass, with a gorgeous inlay on the back side of the body. The neck, made of Western Maple, has a hardwood section of padauk inlayed in the back. The ebony fret-board is enhanced with a brass binding. One writer states that Tiger is “12 ½ pounds of muscle and beauty” — the power behind the sound that defined the Grateful Dead.

8. Bob Dylan’s 1964 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster

When Bob Dylan plugged in his 1964 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster at the Newport Folk Festival, he literally electrified rock history. But there was controversy surrounding his first live “plug-in”. Dylan was booed by his fans. The reason for the crowd’s hostile reaction was either that Dylan appeared to be “abandoning” the folk orthodoxy, or poor sound quality on the night of his performance – or a combination of the two. Either way, Dylan’s actions had huge implications for both rock and folk music. His ’64 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster was front and center in the event that shifted Dylan’s career.

But the famous guitar has stayed in the limelight. Dylan’s history-making Strat went missing for 47 years, and controversy over its whereabouts still simmers. In a Rolling Stone Music article, PBS Detectives are quoted as saying that the missing guitar has been found in the home of a New Jersey native, Dawn Peterson, and has been authenticated. The story goes that Peterson’s father was a private pilot who worked for Dylan’s manager in the mid ‘60’s. After a flight, Peterson claims to have found 3 guitars that were left on the plane, with 17 pages of hand-written lyrics in the cases. Peterson claimed that when he tried to return the guitars, no one got back to him. Dylan, on the other hand, claims to have the guitar. But experts make a strong case that the guitar in Dawn Peterson’s possession is the same Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that Dylan played at the festival in 1965. Vintage-instrument specialist Andy Babiuk was convinced after PBS asked him to compare it to close-up color photos from Newport. “The more I looked, the more they matched,” Babiuk says. “The rosewood fingerboard has distinct lighter strips. Wood grain is like a fingerprint. I’m 99.9 percent sure it’s the guitar – my credibility is on the line here.” PBS History Detectives also called in Dylan memorabilia collector Jeff Gold, who often helps auction houses authenticate items for sale. “A vast percentage of the stuff I get shown isn’t real,” he says. “By nature, I’m a defeatist. But this was obviously real.” The mystery surrounding this iconic, history-shaping guitar only adds to its mystic.

7. Jimi Hendrix’s Gibson Flying V

Along with his hand-painted Fender Stratocaster, Jimi also owned 3 Gibson Flying Vs. His first Flying V was the famous hand-painted psychedelic one that was designed especially for Jimmy in 1969. His performance at the Isle of Whyte Festival put this iconic model center stage. The routings and pick guard are left handed; all the hardware is gold. The vibrato is a typical flat mount base (no difference left or right). This was the first time Gibson inlayed a pearl logo on a Flying V. And perhaps in honor of Jimi’s native American (Cherokee) background (from his father’s side), Jimi requested the split diamond inlays be made to represent Indian arrow heads. The Kluson-built tuners are very unusual. They are Gibson Deluxe double line tuners with single line tulip buttons that were unusual for that period. At that time, through 1971, the perloid buttons had 2 strings.

6. Derek Trucks Gibson SG Standard

One of the most accomplished and respected guitarists working today, Derek Trucks’ “weapon of choice” is a Gibson SG Standard. A departure from the original 1961 SG, the hardware complement of Derek’s SG is quite unique. His Signature SG is also modified with a decorative Lyre vibrato cover with the vibrato mechanism itself removed and replaced by a stopbar tailpiece. Derek also customized the guitar with the early style “no wire” ABR-1 Tune-o-matic tailpiece, without a pickguard. His rise from child prodigy to one of the most talented guitar players of our time, has put him in the company of many top-notch musicians. Truck is currently the co-leader of the acclaimed new Tedeschi Trucks Band and longtime bandleader of The Derek Trucks Band. He also continues to play with the Allman Brothers Band and has performed with legends like Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton. Who ever he’s playing with, his “sublime tone and unique playing style—both of which benefit from liberal slide playing” are unparalleled. His Gibson SG is the guitar that makes it happen.

5. Eddie Van Halen’s Hand-Painted Frankenstrat

In 1979, Eddie’s original guitar was repainted red, with stripes left unpainted to reveal the original black and white underneath. Eddie changed the neck, removed part of the pick guard, and eventually installed a Floyd Rose vibrato unit. The guitar is known both as “Frankenstrat” and as the “Frankenstein”. Fender issued a replica of the guitar in relic form at a retail price in 2007. A “new” (non-relic) Frankenstrat was available through the Charvel company for significantly less, but it was eventually discontinued. This Fender/Charvel series was the first time Van Halen had consented to the commercial release of a guitar with his signature graphics on it. Allmusic described Eddie Van Halen as “Second to only Jimi Hendrix… undoubtedly one of the most influential, original, and talented rock guitarists of the 20th century”. His use of two-handed tapping, natural and artificial harmonics, vibrato, and tremolo picking, combined with his rhythmic sensibility and melodic approach, have influenced an entire generation of guitarists. The solo in “Eruption” was voted #2 on Guitar World magazine’s readers’ poll of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. The trademark red Frankenstrat played a huge role in shaping the sound of this epic guitarist who ranked 8th in Rolling Stone’s 201l list of the Top 100 guitarists.

4. Eric Clapton’s Blackie

Jim Hendrix and Blind Faith band mate, Steve Winwood, greatly influenced Clapton’s choice of guitars. Impressed by their instruments, Eric Clapton switched from Gibson guitars to Vintage Fender Guitars. His first Stratocaster was nicknamed “Brownie” because of its sunburst brown finish. Brownie was used on his albums “Eric Clapton” and “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”. In 1970, Clapton discovered the Sho-Bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee. He bought six 1950’s Stratocasters for $200-$300 US dollars each. He gave one to George Harrison, Pete Townshend and Stevie Winwood, then took the best parts of the remaining three and assembled “Blackie”, his favorite Fender Stratocaster – affectionately named by Clapton for its black finish. Clapton played Blackie for many years, but finally retired his Fender favorite in 1985 due to problems with the neck. A 1990 TV commercial for Honda brought Blackie out of retirement at the specific request of the company. Clapton’s guitar solo on “Bad Love” was filmed for the commercial. Blackie was also brought out on stage for one number during the Royal Albert Hall shows in 1991.

3. George Harrison’s Rosewood TelecasterGeorge Harrison’s Rosewood Telecaster

“There are instruments, and there are legendary instruments which have become mythical in proportion.” Harrison’s Rosewood Telecaster is one of the later. Mythical! In 1969, the Beatles were at the end of their long and winding road together. Time had taken its toll on their creativity and relationships within the group. They had stopped performing concerts by then, and decided that as their parting collaboration, they could come together for the “Let it Be” album and film – followed by a final live performance on the rooftop of Apple’s London headquarters. During the filming and recording, Harrison received a new instrument custom-made for him by Fender. To generate market excitement over the new Fender design, a prototype of the Fender Rosewood Telecaster , a vintage fender telecaster, was presented to Harrison. The new solid body was made with a thin layer of maple, sandwiched between a solid rosewood top and back. Harrison’s guitar was flown to England in its own seat, accompanied by a courier and delivered to the Apple offices. The now famous guitar was used in the “Get Back” recording sessions and in the final rooftop performance. The day after their rooftop show, with cameras rolling in the Apple basement studio, the Fab Four performed and recorded “The Long and Winding Road” and “Let it Be”, with Harrison using his now legendary Rosewood Telecaster. Not long after, the band went their separate ways. In 1969, Harrison attended Delaney and Bonnie’s London show. Eric Clapton was on the bill. Following the performance, Clapton asked Harrison to join the group for shows through Great Britain and Denmark. The next day, Harrison joined the tour and as an unforgettable gesture of appreciation for the invitation, presented Delaney with his much-loved Rosewood Telecaster with these words, “This is what you did for me last night”.

2. Jimmy Page’s Gibson Double Neck

The epic double neck Gibson played by Led Zepplin’s Jimmy Page has been called “The Hammer of the Gods”. The sound of Page on the Double Neck for Stairway to Heaven is considered unequalled in rock history. One Zepplin fan is quoted as saying that while other artists have played this model, “It wasn’t until Jimmy picked up the double neck that it became the instrument that screamed “Rock God” and became an icon.” Another source names Jimmy Page’s Gibson EDS 1275 Double Neck as “the coolest guitar in rock”. It allowed Page to perform “Stairway to Heaven” without an awkward mid-song guitar change. Page would alternate from the bottom 6-string for the delicate finger picking in Stairway’s intro and verses and the spiraling guitar solo, to the 12-string for the song’s bridge and final chorus. Page also used his famous Gibson Double Neck for classics like “The Song Remains the Same” and “Rain Song”. The Jimmy Page Signature Double Neck, no longer in production, was a painstaking recreation of Jimmy’s original 1971 model with mahogany 6-and 12-string necks outfitted with rosewood fingerboards. A dark cherry finish, chrome hardware and strap locks, a period-correct 5-ply pick guard, 4 Page pickups and 2 volume and tone control knobs.

1. Jimi Hendrix’s Hand Painted Fender Stratocaster

Jimi Hendrix

Hard to believe that with only 4 years of mainstream exposure before his death, Jimi Hendrix is still widely considered “the greatest electric guitarist in music history”. His fame in the US skyrocketed after his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival using what we consider to be the #1 classic rock guitar of all time, his hand-painted Fender Stratocaster. At Monterey, Jimi smashed the guitar during his performance of “Wild Thing” and then did what he often did to his beloved guitars – he lit it on fire! Throughout his career, Hendrix used many guitars, but his guitar of choice was always the Fender Stratocaster.