The Top 5 famous guitars

From a utilitarian view, it’s a collection of wood, metal and electronics that when strummed and plucked produces a sound pleasant to the ear. But to guitarists the world over, the guitar is far more than that. It is the object of our collective affections. The sleek smoothness of the wood grain and that tight tensile touch of fingertip to metal string can send shivers down the spine. It has an incredible range; smooth, easy chording and delicate stream of notes when running through a riff or a solo to the blitzkrieg crunch of metal shop shredding or the heart-aching wah and wail of the blues. It has the additional effect of simply being a beautiful instrument to look at as well. The round fullness of the curves to the angular strike of the neck, the guitar is a masterful example of form following function and delivering the goods in a beautiful package as well.

In the world of rock and roll there have been as many powerful instruments as there have been players making them sing. But there are a few standouts. Instruments that are legendary. Ones we know by name as much as by sound. Here are what I consider to be the top five.

5) B.B. King’s Lucille Gibson ES-335.
Okay, I know that technically B. B. King is not a rock and roll musician but f you follow the thought that “the blues had a baby and named it rock and roll”, B.B. King and the rest of the blues pantheon are the forefathers. And the ES-335 is the instrument of choice. The king of the electric blues guitars, the ES-335 is a piece of semi-hollow genius with its humbucking pickups and Tun-o-Matic bridge. It’s unmistakable clear and concise tones that easily cross genres from jazz to rock settled at home in the blues and B.B. King made it a household name. If you want to hear the sweetness of ‘Lucille’ in performance, check out a live version of ‘The Thrill Is Gone’. It will sell you on this guitar if it’s blues tone that you’re looking for.

4) Jimmy Pages’ Gibson EDS-1275 Double Neck.
By the time Jimmy Page decided to use the famed double neck guitar for Stairway to Heaven, Gibson had discontinued the instrument. However being a rock star has its privilege and he custom ordered the instrument that ended up becoming synomous with the player. The guitar was essentially the fused bodies of two Gibson SG’s with the bottom neck being a six-string set up and the top neck being a 12 string. Page wanted the dual neck to avoid changing guitars in the middle of the song. The guitar was the perfect instrument for what has become rocks ultimate anthem (although it did make other appearances in Zeppelin songs such as Houses of the Holy, The Rain Song and The Song Remains The Same.

3) Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Frankenstrat’.
No other guitar captures the identity of it’s player (and creator) quite like the Frankenstrat. Eddie wanted to combine the powerful sound of a Gibson with the functionality of a Fender Strat. Being the enterprising sort that he was he purchased a Fender Stratocaster body (a second – not cosmetically perfect) for $50 and a maple neck for $80. He equipped the beast with a Gibson PAF pickup that he had removed from his ES-335 and installed it into the Strat body potting it in with paraffin wax and modified the controls ever so slightly to give the guitar a unique sound and playability. Working within a limited budget, he made the original pick guard out of an old vinyl album. The custom paint job was done by Eddie by painting the guitar black and then masking it off and applying paint on for the red and white stripes. To complete his creation he used large eye-hooks to lash his guitar strap onto the guitar. The Frankenstrat went through many additional modifications and changes through the years and has ever garnered a tribute model by Fender. Looking at it now, it’s hard to imagine that this creation would have actually set the tone for hard rock guitar for years to come. But just listen to the early recordings and it’s not difficult to hear the reasons.

2) Stevie Ray Vaughn’s ‘Lenny’ Stratocaster.
In the early days of his career, Stevie Ray Vaughn was like most struggling musicians. Living on a prayer and the bucks he could earn from gigging locally. As his 26th birthday approached, he and wife Lenora ‘Lenny’ Vaughn wandered into a pawnshop in his adopted hometown of Austin, Texas. Stevie found and fell in love with a Fender Strat that was hanging on the wall. Priced at $350, the guitar was out of his budget but that didn’t stop the desire to own it. Lenny wanted to buy the guitar for him so she set out to find the money. She approached 7 of their friends who all kicked in $50 a piece so she could buy the guitar for him. When she presented the guitar to him, he stayed up all night with it. When she awoke in the morning, Stevie was sitting on the edge of the bed where he played for her the song ‘Lenny’ that he had stayed up all night writing. Not long after, friend and Z.Z.Top’s guitarist Billy Gibbons presented Vaughn with a Charvel maple neck (with maple fingerboard) which he immediately installed on his new guitar and etched his name on it as a point of pride. Over the course of his career, Vaughn jumped back and forth between his ‘Number 1’ Strat and ‘Lenny’ both in the studio and on stage. But, at least from the stories that are still told about Stevie, he never played the song ‘Lenny’ on anything but the guitar that bore the name. The original ‘Lenny’ Stratocaster was purchased by Guitar Center in 2004 for $623,500 during a charity auction which raised money for the ‘Crossroads’ rehab facility in Antiqua.

1) Jimi Hendrix various Strat’s.

If rock and roll is an army, Jimi Hendrix was a general. His weapon of choice was the Fender Stratocaster and he wielded it like a true master. His love affair with the Strat goes back to 1966 when he purchased his first Strat from Manny’s Music in New York. It became his choice of guitars from that point as the lead in Jimmy James and the Blue Flames throughout the remainder of his career. Jimi, a left handed player, preferred to play right-handed guitars, flipping them over and having the volume and tone controls on top as well as giving him a rather unique approach to the whammy bar. He would reverse the nut and wind his low E string in the opposite direction around the farthest tuner to keep it from jumping out the nut slot. Hendrix played tuned down a half-step to ease his vocal duties. It is interesting though that two of his earliest hits, ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘Foxy Lady’ were actually played on a Fender Telecaster that he had borrowed from his band mate Noel Redding. But those iconic images of Hendrix on his knees hunched over the prone Strat, coaxing flames with a wave of his hand practically symbolize the true spirit of rock and roll.

Like all ‘lists’, this just boils down to an opinion. There are countless other guitars that could and should make the list. Slash’s Les Paul, a true monster of in your face tonality. David Gilmour’s black Strat that can make the music of fever dreams. Stevie Via’s Jem’s, artistry in both form and function and pure magic in the hand. Brian Setzer’s long standing love affair with the grand-daddy of Rockabilly rigs – the Gretsch, a true muscle car in the guitar world. Zak Wyldes Gibson Bullseye, a true beast of a guitar that growls and spits. Angus Young’s Signature Gibson SG – perhaps the only guitar that is as ornery as the man who helped make it famous. Or what about Tommy Emmanual’s beaten, battered and bruised Maton acoustic; a guitar as unique and warmly worn as the player himself. And lest we forget, the Fender Telecaster, rock and roll guitars forefather. So many players have played the Tele that the list reads like a veritable who’s who of six string slingers.

Suffice it to say, the guitar, the apple of our obsession, is more than a collection of materials. It’s the embodiment of our spirit. We take to it, cling to it, strum and pluck, making the music that is the soundtrack to our lives. They possess us as much as we possess them.

And every guitar speaks.

It’s just that some guitars are a little more outspoken than others.


source:http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37274

Revealed: The 5 Best Distortion Effects Pedals Of All Time

5. The Fulltone OCD V3

Fulltone have perfected the OCD over a number of years, not just a distortion pedal, but an amplifier emulator. Designed to sound, play and feel like an amplifier, with harmonics that chime like a bell.
It has a tiny footprint on your pedal board, and comes at the very reasonable price of $159, it's no wonder you voted it as the fifth best of all time. It's a fantastic pedal.


4. ProCo Rat

Despite being first produced in the late 70s, this pedal really started to dominate the musical landscape in the 1990s, with James Hetfield, Thom Yorke, Kurt Cobain and James Dean Bradfield all using the Rat to great effect.
The op-amp circuit is simple yet beautiful, and provides a dirty and powerful distortion which can be heard on thousands of hit records.
You voted it as the fourth greatest distortion pedals of all time.


3. Wampler Sovereign

One of Wampler's smallest pedals - the Wampler Sovereign is a distortion pedal with a vintage feel. The Sovereign is a 'simple' distortion pedal, no gimmicks, just a pure dedication to authentic vintage distortion tone.
For the rock and roll players out there, this pedal is almost a pedal board requirement, offering a brilliantly complex and multi-layered gain in the high mids, and as all guitarists know - the high mids are where it's at!
You voted the Wampler Sovereign at number three, but which pedal came in at number two?


2. Boss DS-1

It's the original distortion pedal, it's been around for decades, and it takes its rightful place towards the top of this list. From pure historical value, the DS-1 came along and changed the way guitarists thought about distortion.
Guitarists could get high-gain levels at much lower volumes, and original 1970s models of the DS-1 now sell for ridiculous amounts of money in guitar stores and on eBay.
We recently did a bitesize review of the DS-1, as part of a series of Boss reviews, which you can watch here.
But if the Boss DS-1 came in at second place, then which pedal took the crown?





AND THE WINNER IS...

1. Wampler Triple Wreck
Well if you're looking for distortion, then the Triple Wreck really does offer you a serious amount of gain. It can go right up to full-on scooped high gain tones, with rib-breaking bottom end and a real growl in the mid range.
But it can also do vintage distortion tones, the type of sounds used by the likes of Brian May, Jimmy Page and Gary Moore. It's billed as being a pedal that offers a serious amount of gain, but it's also a pedal that offers a serious range of gain tones.
Modern vibes, vintage vibes, bluesy crunch. It packs it all in. A boost stomp with a mid-range control allows you to have a decibel boost for solos too - it's a serious all rounder.
So congratulations to the guys at Wampler, particularly Brian, who has managed to build a full range of incredible sounding distortion pedals, two of which made it into the top five.
They may not have been around as long as some of their competitors, but it's clear that Wampler are becoming leaders in the effects pedal market, and your votes prove it



source:http://www.sonicstate.com/amped/2013/03/24/revealed-the-5-best-distortion-effects-pedals-of-all-time/5/

The Top 10 Best Guitar Effects Pedals Under $100

By Gabriel Tanaka

Guitarists are always looking for new effects pedals. It becomes an obsession for many tone hungry guitar players. And finding the best gear at the best price makes is all the better. We’ve come up with a list of the top 10 best guitar effects pedals under $100 to help you discover some awesome pedals you may have missed. And no, these aren’t second-rate budget pedals either. We’re talking the best of the best. Whether you’re a beginning guitarist or a veteran of the road, there is a pedal on this list that will make a nice addition your pedal collection.

10. MXR Dyna Comp

Rounding out our list at number 10 is the MXR Dyna Comp. This classic pedal is the premier choice for more famous Nashville studio players than any other guitar compressor pedal out there. With only two simple controls, the Dyna Comp allows you to fatten up your sound and smooth out the dynamics for a very musical compression sound. This is one those subtle effects that makes a world of difference in sculpting your perfect sound. Whether you’re getting down with some chickin’ pickin’ licks or adding some sustain and even dynamics to your solos, the MXR Dyna Comp is where it’s at. Try one out. Once you hear how your tone comes alive with this pedal in your chain, you may never play guitar again without it.

9. Ernie Ball 6180 VP JR Volume Pedal

Performing guitarists know the bane of not being heard in the mix, and a solid volume pedal like the Ernie Ball 6180 VP JR is a surefire essential for on-stage volume control. Whether you’re boosting for solos or just finding the perfect volume level to find your place in the mix, the Ernie Ball 6180 is the rugged companion of choice for volume control. And don’t forget about those smooth volume swells. This volume pedal is relied on by more pro players than any other and deserves its coveted spot on our list. If you’re playing with normal passive pickups, get the Ernie Ball 6180 VP JR. If you’re using pickups that require a 9-volt battery like EMGs or Seymour Duncan Blackouts, get the 6181 instead.

8. Boss CH-1 Super Chorus

There’s nothing like a good chorus pedal to add depth and movement to your sound. The Boss CH-1 Super Chorus is one of the best, and we really like it’s warm flavor. Whether you want ambient cleans or massively thick stereo metal tones, the CH-1 does it all. And that’s not to mention the tremolo, flange, and Leslie-like sounds this pedal conjures up. A tried and true effect on pedalboards everywhere, the Boss CH-1 Super Chorus is a reliable workhorse. It’s just the right pedal to fulfill your chorusing needs.

7. MXR M-101 Phase 90

The MXR M-101 Phase 90 needs no introduction as its signature sound has come to define just what a guitar phaser pedal should be. Guitarists everywhere have been using the Phase 90 for over 30 years to get that perfect phased sound. Players like Eddie Van Halen and Zakk Wylde even had signature versions made, but we still prefer the more affordable classic orange version. Just set the speed and go. That whooshing phased sound will take your solos to new heights and add unmistakeable character to anything you play. Don’t settle for anything less. After all these years, the MXR M-101 Phase 90 is still the best.

6. Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor

The Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor may not seem like much, but its impact on your sound is not to be understated, especially if you’re a high-gain player. Other noise gate pedals may suck the life out of your tone, but the Boss NS-2 only suppresses what you don’t want: noise, hiss, and hum. A vital effect if you play metal or any style of music with tight stops. Your audience’s ears will thank you for adding this to your effects chain. Also, try using the send and return jacks of the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor to tame a beast of a distortion box like the next pedal on our list.

5. Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Another long-running classic that made our list, the Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi blurs the lines between distortion and fuzz for a signature noise maker that countless guitarists have used to saturate their sound. Want massive walls of Muffed-out fuzzy distortion? Want singing sustain for smooth solos? Nothing sounds quite like a Muff. This just might be your go-to choice for thick distorted fuzz that can only be found in the Electro Harmonix Big Muff pi.

4. Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

Love it or hate, the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone is a classic. Even with successive extreme distortion pedals released by Boss, the MT-2 remains the number one choice for gain-obsessed players who want to carve out their perfect metal tone from a single pedal. It’s all thanks to the MT-2′s dual-stage gain circuit and deep tone-shaping controls. And it’s great to have around if you find yourself with only a clean amp around but want to play dirty. The Boss MT-2 Metal Zone is one of the most popular extreme distortion pedals out there and will be for a long time to come.

3. MXR Micro Amp

This humble-looking little pedal may not look like much, but the MXR Micro Amp houses a powerful ability to shape your overall sound. Use the Micro Amp to kick an amp into overdrive to wake those tubes up. Dig in and listen to the sound of your guitar come alive with even more harmonic overtones and clarity. Punch it for your solos and fill the room with a natural-sounding boost in volume and dynamics. Few pedals pack as big of a sound as the MXR Micro Amp. It’s one of the best.

2. Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah Wah Pedal

Did you really think we’d miss this one? The Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah Wah Pedal is arguably the most famous guitar effects pedal of all time. While there are over a dozen models to choose from, the Original Crybaby is still made to the original Thomas Organ 1966 specifications. This is the sound of wah right here. If you want that famous crying/talking/wah sound, this is the one to get. The Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah Wah Pedal will undoubtedly continue to shape the sound of electric guitar for as long as people continue playing guitar. If you don’t have one, get one.

1. TC Electronic Polytune Poly-Chromatic Tuner

The TC Electronic Polytune Poly-Chromatic Tuner tops our list. Yeah, it’s not an effect per say. But everyone needs a tuner, and this is the one to get. While other companies were busy adding a few more LEDs and marginal increases to tuning accuracy, TC Electronic changed everything we thought a tuner should be. With the ability to detect the intonation of all 6 strings at once, the Polytune renders all other guitar tuners obsolete. And that’s not to mention the Polytune’s beautiful screen with over 100 LEDs for the ultimate in on-stage visibility. And tone junkies will appreciate that the Polytune is 100% true-bypass. The new king of stompbox tuners is here in the TC Electronic Polytune Poly-Chromatic Tuner.




source:http://www.bestguitareffects.com/the-top-10-best-guitar-effects-pedals-under-100/