By Jason C Diggs
Over the years many guitar brands have come and gone, but there are some that certainly stand out over the rest. These are the brands that big named guitarists seek out because they enjoy the most and they are the ones that beginners look for because they know that they are reliable and offer the best performance in guitars. From Fender to Gibson and more, depending on what you are looking for in a guitar you can easily find it in many of the most popular and famous guitar brands.
Take Yamaha for instance. They are well known for their high quality and the fact that they such a wide variety of styles of both electric and acoustic guitars. They have a few original designs and they also have some copies of popular models that people really love. With a variety of classical style guitars they are one of the highest selling retailers of Spanish model guitars. Many of the most famous guitarists in the world will play nothing but Yamaha models and they are also one of the most common brands for beginners.
When it comes to popularity, not many can hold a candle to Gibson and Fender. Gibson dates back to the late 1890’s and is one of the longest lasting of the guitar brands. Gibson makes guitars for any different style of player such as acoustic, jazz model guitars, folk guitars and of course the famous Les Paul electric guitar is made from Gibson. Gibson has always been a name that is synonymous with quality and they continue to reinvent themselves as a famous guitar brand. Fender also has a long history. Although it was only founded in the early 1950’s by Leo Fender, this company has a famed history with guitars such as the Stratocaster and Telecaster. If you are the lucky owner of one of the early Stratocaster’s then you know you have a guitar worth huge amounts of money.
Ibanez may not be as popular with its name, but it is a guitar company that many people love because of their reasonably priced copies of popular electric guitars. With models inspired by the Les Paul and Stratocaster initially their main goal was to just make guitars that were affordable and looked great. Now however they are becoming more innovative and incorporating more unique elements into their designs. This includes radical new body shapes, flatter fingerboards, slimmer necks and bright colorful finishes, making this company very popular once again.
Finally you have the Jackson guitar brand. Although considerably newer than the rest, Jackson which was started in 1978 has become extremely popular with metal and hard rock music guitar players. The guitars that they build are decidedly more angled and have pointy headstocks along with very unique body designs. Initially Grover Jackson, the founder of Jackson guitars was also part owner in Charvel guitars but later merged the two companies, making quite a business for him self. With a more aggressive looking guitar they were an instant hit with the hard rock guitar scene.