List of Signature Guitars Used By Famous Musicians

Zakk Wylde’s ‘Bullseye’ – Gibson Les Paul

Mr. Wylde’s name is one of the music industry and heavy metal’s most well-known names from the modern era. ‘Bullseye’ – his axe of choice – is nearly as famous as the man himself! This particular Les Paul has extremely unique looks, characterized by what is an instantly-recognizable black-and-white pattern on the body of the guitar which looks like a bulls-eye (hence the name!) – a graphic and a guitar which went on to be associated with Zakk Wylde. You’ll need to shell in excess of $6000 for the Gibson Signature Zakk Wylde Les Paul.

Angus Young’s Signature Gibson SG

Angus Young, the legendary lead guitarist of ACDC fame, has been (and still is) a lifelong Gibson fan, having used many Gibson guitars – specifically Gibson SG’s – throughout his career to make some of the best music out there – I’m talking hits like Back in Black, Thunderstruck, All Night Long, and Hell’s Bells! The Gibson SG is and has always been a great guitar in its own right (perhaps undeservedly playing second-fiddle to the Les Paul it’s whole life, but that’s a story for another day). The Angus Young Signature ‘Back in Black’ SG has a pickup designed by none other than Mr. Young himself – called the Angus Young Signature Humbucker, and also has lightning-bolt inlays. MSRP is $3617.

Kirk Hammett’s ESP KH-2/KH-3/KH-602

Kirk Hammett is and has been the genius behind Metallica’s success, as well as some of their best songs and riffs for a good 4 decades now! He has used a number of ESP guitars during his time with Metallica, including (and most notably) many different custom and signature KH-2 models. ESP have produced a number of signature Kirk Hammett models, as a way to commemorate their partnership with this thrash-metal icon, such as the KH-20 (modified KH-2) in 2007 to commemorate 20 years of association. While the KH-20 was a limited edition axe (only 40-odd were made, which went for $9999 a pop!), other signature versions the KH-602, for instance, can be had easily. The 602 is a great guitar that features Hammett’s trademark skull-and-crossbone inlays on an all-black body, costs $899. The Kirk Hammett Signature ESP KH-2 goes for around $2299.

Keith Richards’s Signature ‘Micawber’ Fender Telecaster

For a man who’s used a huge range of guitars throughout his career, has a collection that comprises of more than 3000 guitars, and who said ‘he could make any guitar sound the same’, you might, for a second, be hard-pressed to find a signature Keith Richards guitar! The legendary Rolling Stones guitarman, however, was a big Fender fan, used many Fenders, and one of the most iconic guitars that he’s used is the butterscotch ‘Micawber’ 1953 Telecaster. This was one of Richard’s main stage guitars, and was used to (and still is, during live performance) play some of their most well-known songs like ‘Start Me Up’, ‘Honky Tonk Women’ and ‘Before They Make Me Run’. A MIJ (Made in Japan) signature replica can probably be had for around $800.

Yngwie Malmsteen’s Fender “Play Loud” Stratocaster

A devout Stratocaster fan and player, heavy metal guitarist Malmsteen’s axe of choice was the Fender Stratocaster, an Olympic White electric guitar now known as Yngwie Malsmteen Stratocaster. It had an alder body, maple ‘C’ shaped neck, rosewood or maple fingerboard, 21 frets, Seymour Duncan single-coil pickups x3 (neck, middle, bridge), an American vintage sync tremolo, chrome hardware and a 3-ply white/black/white pickguard. A Fender Custom Shop Yngwie Malmsteen Tribute Strat – Fender’s tribute to the rock and roll legend – can be pickup up for around $12,500(!) today. This limited edition guitar looks exactly like Malmsteen’s axe, and its mind-blowingly-good finish even features all of the original’s dents, scratches, worn-spots, and ‘battle scars’.

Joe Satriani’s Signature Ibanez JS (JS1000, JS1200)

Satriani, an extremely accomplished rock and instrumental guitarists, who has been a teacher and a mentor to many of the most famous musicians of today, is also a life-long Ibanez guy. He’s used Ibanez’s JS Series guitars his whole career, and hence has a long-standing association with the brand. The JS (short for Joe Satriani) are custom-designed by Ibanez, and the ones that Satriani has extensively used – the JS1000 and the JS1200 – come with a sculpted Basswood body, a rosewood fretboard, and used to come with DiMarzio humbucker pickups – the DiMarzio PAF Joe in the neck and bridge till 1993, after which he switched to a DiMarzio Fred for bridge. Presently, Satriani and his signature Ibanez axes use Mo’Joe in the bridge and the PAF Joe on the neck positions. All JS series guitars also come with double locking tremolo bridge. A JS1200 Satriani Signature Guitar, with an excellent Candy Apple finish, currently goes for just around $2000.

Jimi Hendrix’s 1966 Fender ‘Hendrix Stratocaster’

Hendrix was one-in-a-million. The man has probably had the most profound effect and influence on the music industry in the shortest span of time. Hendrix’s weapon of choice, on and off the stage, was the Fender Stratocaster, a guitar just as iconic and legendary as the man himself! The Olympic White finish Strat was first played by Hendrix at Woodstock ’66, and from there on became a part of his persona and his performances. However the Sunburst-finish Strats – of which many were destroyed by Hendrix on numerous occasions and were restored by Frank Zappa – have come to be associated with the man more than any other guitar or instrument. Since Hendrix was left-handed, and he only bought right-handed instruments, all his guitars had to be restrung. This had an interesting effect on the sounds of his Strats – due to the angled bridge pickup, the lowest string produced the brightest sound and the highest string had a mellow sound. Here is a list of all the Hendrix Strats, including the Sunburst Strat and Olympic White Strat.

Tony Iommi’s Signature Gibson/Epiphone SG

Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the forefathers of hard rock and heavy metal music, and the founding member of Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famers Black Sabbath, Iommi’s main guitars have been the Gibson and Epiphone SG-series, such as many custom SGs, Gibson ‘Monkey’ SG, Custom Shop SG, Epiphone P94 SG, etc. First used for ‘Heaven and Hell’, the SG guitars went on to become Iommi’s main guitars. The guitar used in Heaven and Hell was a Jaydee Custom SG, and was Iommi’s main guitar which had a 24-fret neck, custom cross inlays, 4 control knobs, and a red finish. The Epiphone Tony Iommi Signature G-400 was designed by the man himself, and features Gibson USA Tony Iommi Humbucker Pickups on the neck and the bridge, cross fingerboard inlays (like the Jaydee SG), black chrome hardware, and a whole lot of distortion and heavy-hitting sound!

Slash’s Gibson Les Paul

The legendary Slash has been a Gibson Les Paul player for most of his career, and called it the ‘best all-round guitar for himself’. Slash’s main studio axe has been a ’59 Les Paul Standard replica, an iconic guitar that he’s used to record every single one of Guns n’ Roses record! Slash can also be seen using an ’88 Les Paul during his live performances. He has no less than 11 signature Les Paul guitars! In fact, such has been the effect of Slash’s influence that Gibson has accredited him of bringing the Les Paul back into the mainstream! Signature models include the Custom Shop ‘Snakepit’ Les Paul Standard (plus Epiphone versions of the same), to name just one.

George Harrison’s Gibson Les Paul ‘Lucy’

Harrison received Lucy (named after comedian Lucille Ball) as a gift by Eric Clapton in ’68. The cherry-finish ’57 Les Paul is easily one of the most popular, widely-known and instantly-recognizable guitars in the world. It was used by Harrison to record the lead on ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, and also used it as one of the main guitars during his performances with The Beetles. The guitar also has quite an interesting story – it was stolen in the 70s from Harrison’s home, and eventually made it back to Harrison after changing owners multiple times and a lengthy negotiation.

Eddie van Halen’s ‘Frankenstrat’ Gibson-Fender Hybrid

Yes, you read that right. Van Halen’s signature axe, which he aptly named ‘Frankenstrat’, is a custom made (make by van Halen himself!) guitar, built or rather put together using different parts from Fender and Gibson guitars. It was Eddie’s attempt to ‘combine the sound of a Gibson, with the physical attributes of a Fender’. The original Frankenstrat was made from an ashwood Strat body, with pickups PAF humbucking bridge pickups. The body and the neck cost $130, bought at a discount price because the body had a knot in the wood. He then put this all together using  everything that was available to him, including bicycle paint. But what really made it stands out, and defines this guitar to this day, was its finish – black and white stripes on red, done by Van Halen using masking tape and wax, and the use of an old vinyl record as a pickguard. You can read more about the infamous Frankenstrat here. The guitar underwent various changes and upgrades (particularly neck upgrades) over the years.