THE FENDER RADIO SERVICE COMPANY
The top 10 Electric Guitars
10.) Suhr Classic – The Suhr guitar company is located in the city of Lake Elsinore, CA, about 60 miles southeast of Los
Angeles. John started his building career some 35 years ago in New Jersey. Being a former Fender Custom and Pensa builder, he
is now working on his own making custom guitars. Suhr guitars have an impressive list of endorsements from top name artists.
[Suhr Classic]
9.) Gibson Flying V – The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model first released by Gibson in 1958. Orville Gibson began
making mandolins in Kalamazoo, Michigan USA. In 1902, the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd. was founded. The first
prototypes for the Flying V were made in 1957 and full scale production was started in 1958, though The Flying V didn’t do
very well initially and production was stopped in 1959. In the mid ’60s Artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Lonnie Mack, Albert
King and Dave Davies, looking for unique guitars helped to renew interest in the design. A fully functional, replica of a
Gibson Flying V, over 43 feet (13 m), was built in June 2000 by Scott Rippetoe and his team from The Academy of Science and
Technology in Texas. This world record is registered in Guinness World Records. [Gibson Flying V]
8.) Rickenbacker 381 V69 – Derived from a design dating back to 1957, this guitar is memorable for its hand-carved arch top
and back. Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker , is an electric guitar manufacturer, notable
for putting the world’s first electric guitars into general production in 1932. Rickenbacker’s headquarters are in Santa Ana,
California. Rickenbacker is the largest guitar company to manufacture all of its guitars within the United States
[Rickenbacker 381 V69]
7.) Gibson SG – The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s.
Since its initial introduction in 1961, there have been numerous models and variants that carry the “SG” name. Gibson has
offered many variations and finishes on the basic SG body style and continues to manufacture special editions. The SG has a
shallower body than the Gibson Les Paul, making it much lighter, and the neck profile is a little more shallower, although
this varies from year to year and guitar to guitar. The body is usually made entirely of mahogany with the exception of the
Swamp Ash SG Special and some walnut bodied 1970s models, and does not have the curved, maple top section of the earlier
design. Perhaps the most striking visual difference is that the SG is a double-cutaway guitar. [Gibson SG]
6.) Gretsch White Falcon – The Gretsch White Falcon is a visually distinctive guitar commercially introduced in 1955 by
Gretsch. Gretsch is a U.S. musical instrument manufacturer currently being distributed by guitar company Fender and drum
craft company Kaman. The Gretsch White Falcon is a visually distinctive guitar and while it has seen vast and substantial
changes to its body shape and features through the years the White Falcon has always maintained a striking and unmistakable
presence and has become a highly recognized piece of Rock history. The White Falcon is best known for its large 17-inch size
and distinctive appearance, with gleaming white paint, copious gold trim, and a falcon in mid-flight engraved on the gold
pick guard. [Gretsch White Falcon]
5.) Danelectro DC3 -DC-3 guitars were manufactured by Danelectro. A small number of DC-3’s were manufactured in the late
1990s. The DC-3’s design is based on classical Danelectro models, such as the DC-59. The DC-3 has three pickups, whereas the
DC-59, only two. The “DC” stands for ‘double cutaway. Danelectro was founded by Nathan Daniel in 1947; throughout the late
forties, the company produced amplifiers for Sears, Roebuck and Company and Montgomery Ward. In 1954, Danelectro started
producing the Danelectro lines of solidbody electric guitars and amplifiers, [Danelectro DC3]
4.) Gibson ES-335 – The Gibson ES-335 was the world’s first commercial semi-hollow body electric guitar, released by Gibson
Guitar Corporation in 1958. The “ES” in the ES series stand for “electric spanish.” In the 1920s the Gibson Company developed
many innovations in guitar design, and became the leading manufacturer of arch-top guitars, particularly the Gibson L5 model.
In 1936 they introduced an “Electric Spanish” model, the ES-150, recognized as the first commercially successful electric
guitar [Gibson ES-335]
3.) Fender Telecaster – The Fender Telecaster, also known as a Tele, is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar
made by Fender. The Telecaster initially found a home amongst the early country and western artists, because of it’s bright
tone. This tone was created by a heavily wound bridge pickup design, and the general overall durability of the instrument has
kept it in production since 1950 when it was issued under the Broadcaster name. The initial production model appeared in
1950, and was called the Esquire. Fewer than fifty guitars were originally produced under that name, and most were replaced
under warranty because of early manufacturing problems. In particular, the Esquire necks had no truss rod and many were
replaced due to bent necks. Later in 1950, this single-pickup model was discontinued, and a two-pickup model was renamed the
Broadcaster. From this point onwards all Fender necks incorporated truss rods. [Fender Telecaster]
2.) Gibson Les Paul – The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. The Les
Paul was originally designed by Ted McCarty and endorsed, named and used by then popular jazz/pop guitarist Les Paul. The Les
Paul model was reputedly the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and pop star, electronics
inventor, and accomplished jazz guitarist Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical
market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty brought guitarist Les Paul
into the company as a consultant. Les Paul was a respected innovator who had been experimenting with guitar design for years
to benefit his own music.
The significance of Les Paul’s contributions to his Gibson guitar design remain controversial. The book “50 Years of the
Gibson Les Paul” limits Paul’s contributions to two: advice on the trapeze tailpiece, and a preference for color.
Additionally, Gibson’s president Ted McCarty states that the Gibson Guitar Corporation merely approached Les Paul for the
right to imprint the musician’s name on the head stock to increase model sales, and that in 1951, Gibson showed Paul a nearly
finished instrument. Regardless of who did what in designing the Les Paul, it is the number 2 pick for the top ten guitars,
second only to the Fender Stratocaster in popularity. [Gibson Les Paul]
1.) Fender Stratocaster – The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed by
Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously to the present. The Stratocaster at
the number one slot for the top 10 guitars, is still the best selling guitar worldwide. The Stratocaster has been widely
copied; as a result, the term “Strat,” although a trademark of Fender Musical Instrument Corporation, is often used
generically when referring to any guitar that has the same general features as the original, regardless of manufacturer. The
Stratocaster’s contoured body shape, (“Comfort Contour Body” as Fender refers to it), was a drastic design change from the
flat, slab-like design of the Telecaster. The body features unique curves on the upper back and at the front bottom. The
Stratocaster also features three single coil pickups, with the output originally selected by a 3-way switch. Guitarists soon
discovered that by jamming the switch in between the 1st and 2nd position, both the bridge and middle pickups could be
selected, and similarly, the middle and neck pickups could be selected between the 2nd and 3rd position. This trick became
widespread and Fender responded with the 5-way pickup selector (a standard feature since 1977) which allowed these tonal
combinations and provided better switching stability. [Fender Stratocaster]
Source is below my friends.
http://www.acesandeighths.com/10_guitars.html
Now I know every guitar player has there favorite guitar so this is almost impossible to say exactly what guitar is the best my friends,but having owned several Fenders in my lifetime,including a 1957 Fender Strat I would have to agree with this list that is the best electric guitar ever made.
Your views however will be welcomed on this blog friends……:)
Now,now Gibson owners lets not get too rabid alright….lol
It is my view that there is no better electric guitar on the planet….yes even today…lol…:)
Although the quality has gone downhill over the years I still believe overall no guitar holds a candle to the Fender Strat.
Thank you Leo Fender where ever you are……!
D.Lemur
Yep, I am Gibson impaired.
Although currently I own A Dean Evo and am quite happy with it.
The favorite guitar of mùy French guitar player is a Gibson, he says that his guitar is as a wife for him 🙂