List of guitars


This list of guitars details individual guitars which have become famous because of their use by famous musicians; their seminal status; their high value; and the like.

Guitars

0–9

A

  • Arm The Homeless, a heavily modified electric guitar hybridized from several different makes and models used by Tom Morello, best known for his time as the guitarist of Rage Against the Machine. Morello first received the guitar as a custom order in 1986, however would continue to replace parts until 1990 by which point the only original part remaining was the Stratocaster body. Arm The Homeless has since become an iconic feature of Morello's career, named after the message carved onto the front of the body alongside four cartoon hippos Morello had doodled onto it and a small hammer and sickle sticker, while the back side has variously been seen featuring similar slogans such as "Fuck Trump" or "Pro-Choice".
  • Amos is a 1958 Gibson Flying V.

B

C

  • Chrome Boy, an iconic and then-unique mirror-finished Ibanez JS2CH prototype guitar was Joe Satriani's primary touring instrument for a number of years during the 1990s until the guitar was stolen in 2002. It has not been recovered.
  • Clarence, a two-tone Fender Telecaster, once owned by Clarence White. This is the original B-Bender guitar, built by White and Gene Parsons around 1967, designed to allow the guitarist to manually raise the guitar's 'B' string one whole step to play pedal steel style licks. Marty Stuart bought this unique guitar in 1980 from White's widow.
  • The Cloud – the name given to Prince's custom guitar built by Dave Rusan in 1983. An asymmetric, cloud-shaped body with two controls, a long curved arm roughly parallel to the neck, and a unique head. This was one of three guitars that Prince used frequently through the majority of his career, and the one most iconically associated with him. The original Cloud was donated to the Smithsonian Institution and forms part of the collection of the National Museum of American History; a later version was sold at auction in May 2024 with a hammer price of US$ 910,000.
  • The Concorde – the name given to Randy Rhoads' custom guitar built by Grover Jackson. An asymmetric V-shaped body with pointy "wings", revamp of the Gibson Flying V. This prototype evolved into Jackson Randy Rhoads model and led to the creation of the Jackson Guitars brand.

D

E

  • Eden of Coronet (guitar) a Gibson SG guitar with 11,441 diamonds and 1.6 kilograms of white gold.
  • Epiphone Supernova – A customised electric guitar featuring a distinctive union flag design given to Noel Gallagher of the English rock band Oasis as a present by his now ex-wife, Meg Matthews. A tribute to the original was manufactured by Epiphone. The original guitar is now on display at the British Music Experience in Liverpool.
  • Evo – the name that Steve Vai has given to his primary stage and recording guitar, an Ibanez JEM7VWH. It was co designed by Vai and guitar manufacturer Ibanez in 1987.
  • Eye of Horus – a custom bass guitar made by Jens Ritter for Phil Lesh, it was acquired by the National Museum of American History in 2011 and is in the museum's permanent collection.
  • "Eet Fuk" – James Hetfield's ESP guitars MX-220, used extensively on the "Damaged Justice Tour" for the 4th studio album "...And Justice For All", James has since retired this guitar from stage use; however, it is still used for recording, as it was seen in the making of "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired... To Self Destruct".

F

G

  • The Gish Guitar – Billy Corgan's yellow Stratocaster from the early years of the Smashing Pumpkins. It was stolen in 1992 from a gig at Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, and rediscovered 27 years later in 2019.
  • The Grail – Zakk Wylde's 1981 cream Les Paul Custom with black bullseye paint. It was once lost in Texas when it fell from the back of a transport truck, but brought back to Wylde later.
  • Going Electric – Bob Dylan switched from an acoustic to electric guitar sound in 1965, causing controversy. At the Newport Folk Festival, he used a sunburst Stratocaster which sold for $965,000 in 2013. For the following world tour, he used Robbie Robertson's Telecaster which sold for $490,000 in 2018.
  • Green Meanie – Steve Vai's self-modified Charvel superstrat. This was Vai's main guitar when he was a member of the David Lee Roth band in 1986 and 1987. The guitar has a maple fingerboard, a basswood body painted in Day-Glo green, three pickups, a 5-way switch and a Floyd Rose locking tremolo. The guitar's bridge post mounting collapsed during a soundcheck for a Madison Square Garden show and the guitar has since been retired. Many features of this guitar are replicated on the 1987 Ibanez JEM777 model, Vai's first signature guitar.
  • Greeny – A 1959 Les Paul previously owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore, and purchased in 2014 by Kirk Hammett for $2 million. Has one of the pick-ups magnetically out-of-phase, giving it its unique tone.

H

Hage – Pata's 1955 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Its Goldtop paint is rubbed down to the wood, giving the guitar its nickname. Its pickups and tailpiece were already altered when he acquired it, the former having been swapped out for humbuckers.

I

Ichi-Gō – Pata's yellow 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, also called his "Honsai". Although he still uses it for recording, it has been retired from live performances since 2008 due to its value, which is reportedly enough to buy a house.

K

L

M

N

O

  • Old Black – the name given to the main Gibson Les Paul electric guitar used by rock musician Neil Young.
  • The Old Boy – a left-handed SG-lookalike that was built by John Diggins and that served as Tony Iommi's main guitar for many years. It has since been retired and remains in Iommi's possession.

P

R

S

T

W

  • Wild Child – a custom Jackson RR model used by Alexi Laiho. Black paint and gold hardware including Floyd Rose tremolo, single Jackson J-50BC pickup with JE-1000 gain boost circuit, yellow pinstripe bevels, "Wild Child" sticker with yellow letters. Stolen in September 2002 after the Spinefest show and since lost. "Wild Child" is also a nickname to Laiho and reference to a W.A.S.P. song. Jackson limited RR 24 and his later ESP signature models are all based on this guitar.
  • Wolf – Also known as "Wolfie", this is another of Jerry Garcia's custom guitars made by Doug Irwin, it sold at auction for US$700,000 in 2002. The total price was US$789,500 per the buyer's commission fee.
  • Woodstock Stratocaster – a 1968 Fender Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix played at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The body is finished in Olympic White, bearing the serial number #240981. Sold to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and now rests in the Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle.