blog
Guitar Names Please
Why do so many guitar companies use letter/number combinations to name their guitars? Is it laziness? Is it easier to fit letter/number combinations on their spreadsheet cells? Look at the two most popular guitars of all time: the Stratocaster and the Les Paul. Would these have been as successful if they had been names the S-02 and the L-01? Doesn’t “I play a Strat” sound better than “I play an S-02”?
Acoustic guitar makers are, by far, the worst offenders. I own an Alvarez Yairi but couldn’t tell you the model number without looking at the label inside the guitar (I just did. It’s a DY74C — how cool is that?) How much cooler to be able to say I play a Gibson Hummingbird. Come on guitar builders, a little imagination please! Make up some words if you have to. Fender did.
To give you a little inspiration, here are samples of some of the great guitar names out there: Stratocaster, Telecaster, Mustang, Jaguar, Les Paul, Hummingbird, Bluesbird, Flying V, Explorer, Emperor, Firebird, Casino, Revolver, Working Man, Songbird, Legend, Balladeer, and Backpacker. I am giving bonus points to newcomer Reverend for coming up with several cool names for their guitars: Rocco, Spy, Commando, Slingshot, and Avenger. Please don’t make us say we play a GDC147S. How about a “Rail” or a “Skybird” instead?




