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Post subject: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:18 pm
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Just to define the terms, an icon is a symbol which identifies and reminds one of an entire concept, or a whole class of similar objects. The Chevy Corvette (and Stingray) are iconic American sports cars; Jimi Hendrix is an iconic rock guitarist; fish and chips is an iconic British food item, etc. I know you guys all know this, but...

I am asking the, ahem, musical question: when most people think of an electric guitar, what do they see in their mind's eye?

The reason I am asking is I would like to know if others have the same types of experiences I have. One day I was struck by a comment made by a visitor to my home, and I realized I had heard the same thing a bunch of times before, by different sorts of people—many were musicians or guitarists, and some were just friends or friends of friends who had no interest or ability in making music. Since my music room is visible on the way to my living room/den, most people take a casual glance into it. At any given time I usually have at least four guitars on stands, ALWAYS a Stratocaster, a Tele, and a Les Paul; the fourth varies between a hollow body or an acoustic. Here is a rundown of any comments people have made, with the exception of “Boy, you sure like guitars, huh?” (All of you guys know what I mean!)

The guitar players and most musicians ALWAYS notice the Strat first, will usually ask if they can pick it up, and start asking questions about the year of manufacture, fretboard radius, pickups, string brand and gauge—typical guitar-geek stuff. Eventually they will ask if they can plug it in and play a little. If they comment upon the Tele or Les Paul at all, it's usually along the lines of, “Hey, nice!”

Now, here is the astounding part: the non-musicians (especially the women) will ALWAYS notice the Les Paul first, and a good number of them will specifically ask, “Is that a Les Paul?” When I say yes, they often go, “Wow, I've never seen one close up before.”

NOBODY ever comments upon the Tele first, but one woman once said, “Hey, that's the same kind of guitar Bruce Springsteen plays!” I would have asked her out, but she was there with her boyfriend, dang it...

So, why do the guitarists immediately focus on the Strats, and the non-musicians focus upon (and know the name of!) the Les Pauls? Keeping in mind that this is a really small sample, based mostly on the predilections of the people who visit me, I would really like to hear opinions on this subject, thanks!

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:28 pm
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In my experiences, whenever I had the guitars out anyone who came over that wasn't a musician typically wouldn't recognize a shape. The first thing they would notice is color. Not having a clue what they're looking at as far as quality, expensive, inexpensive, brand or shape, their favorite color would draw their attention first every time. Never fails.

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 8:02 pm
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Yes, color. If you want non-guitar-savvy ladies to notice, candy apple red.

Other than that, non-guitar interested people might not be able to tell a Strat from a Tele, but they might be able to recognize a brown SG as the guitar with devil horns from Wayne's World, and a red ES-335 as the guitar Marty played in Back to the Future. Maybe. I wouldn't hold my breath.


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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:13 pm
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Thanks to Jimi, the Stratocaster is the most iconic.

The Les Paul comes in second.


IMO.

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:00 pm
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Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?

The Fender Stratocaster!


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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:10 pm
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Maybe a little bias here (this is a Fender board, after all), but I'd have to say that the Strat is easily the most iconic design in the history of electric guitar. It's the most well-recognized, most popular and most copied body style among all guitars, bar none.

I'm guessing that your non-musician friends tend to notice the Les Paul more often precisely because the Les Paul isn't quite so ubiquitous as the Strat. To a casual -- and perhaps only semi-interested -- observer, there is often very little visually to differentiate between a $3000 Custom Shop Strat from a $100 Starcaster on sale at Wal Mart. So to them it's perhaps a little more humdrum?

A Les Paul, on the other hand, does possess a certain mystique in the public imagination. People who have at a little knowledge of rock music are likely to know at least that Jimmy Page, Slash and Ace Frehley play them. And a Les Paul into a Marshall stack is probably the most iconic guitar/AMP combination in history.

For what it's worth, I'd probably ask you about your Tele first! 8) But if I had to choose a picture to go along with the dictionary definition of "electric guitar," I'd have to go with one of a Strat.


Last edited by schnepf13 on Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:11 pm
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arth1 wrote:
Yes, color. If you want non-guitar-savvy ladies to notice, candy apple red.


Yup.

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:19 pm
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orvilleowner wrote:
Thanks to Jimi, the Stratocaster is the most iconic.

The Les Paul comes in second.


IMO.


+1!


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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:20 pm
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Relic G Man wrote:
Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?

The Fender Stratocaster!


Totally agree! :D


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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:20 pm
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I cast my vote for the Stratocaster.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 11:00 pm
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Because of SRV.... early 60s Strats (or reissues/relics)

Because of Hendrix 67-71 Strats and flipped reissues. (even though he has used earlier strats and other brands)

Not to mention 69 sunburst Les Paul thanks to Jimmy Page.

60s SG's thanks to Angus Young.

However that said....what is the most "iconic" is subjective.

On the subject I was youtube surfing this morning and stumbled upon one where Dweezil Zappa was showing off the actual strat that Hendrix burned at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival and gave to Frank. This one has been on magazine covers so that would certainly make it iconic in every sense of the word. I would think even in a lousy economy that one would be worth in the upper six figures and any diehard Hendrix fan/Strat lover would just about kill for it.

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 11:20 pm
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orvilleowner wrote:
Thanks to Jimi, the Stratocaster is the most iconic.

The Les Paul comes in second.


IMO.


I totally agree, I would just add that it seems to me that in 60s, 70s more people played strats than Les Pauls, it was just more visible.
Of course there was Jimmy Page, but not many played a Les Paul exclusively.
So we just have to look at the cheap neon signs in every bars window, they are mostly shaped like a strat, aren't they?
The undisputed Champ:

Fender Stratocaster


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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 11:37 pm
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Sev Grey wrote:
orvilleowner wrote:
Thanks to Jimi, the Stratocaster is the most iconic.

The Les Paul comes in second.


IMO.


I totally agree, I would just add that it seems to me that in 60s, 70s more people played strats than Les Pauls, it was just more visible.
Of course there was Jimmy Page, but not many played a Les Paul exclusively.
So we just have to look at the cheap neon signs in every bars window, they are mostly shaped like a strat, aren't they?
The undisputed Champ:

Fender Stratocaster


I would agree. However if someone is a guitarist and is a Zeppelin fanatic (or even GnR for that matter) they might say a Les Paul or even an SG double neck. But overall I think for several reasons the Stratocaster is undisputed....leaving Teles and Les Pauls a close second depending with SGs in third...although we can't over look the gibson ES-335's thanks to BB king. I think any blues/rock history buff who noticed would certainly consider that one pretty darned iconic.

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 12:13 am
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ebaysux wrote:
...although we can't over look the gibson ES-335's thanks to BB king.


BB's trademark guitar is an ES-355.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Which Popular Electric Guitar Is Most Iconic?
Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 12:51 am
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Sev Grey wrote:
Of course there was Jimmy Page, but not many played a Les Paul exclusively.


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