If it aint broke . . .
And so, to "officially" celebrate my 600th post on Fret.Net, I decided to expound a bit on this topic:
new guitar designs. Thanks go to Jim for the inspiration.
jpfeifer said:
. . . I've always wondered why there weren't more variations on the basic design of the electric guitar. It seems that most guitar makers are sticking to the tried and true designs from the classic guitars that were developed in the 50s and 60s.
I think that answer is pretty simple: marketing. Today's companies are
still feeding off of all of the hard work done by Fender & Gibson years ago. The reason these guitars / designs are still prominent, and
relevant to today's music can be equated to the following: 1.) their huge following; 2.) that something similiar in style and design evokes those same feelings of tradition, and steadfast performance; and 3.) they SELL! As for the newer guitar designs, that's part of the reasoning behind manufacturers endorsing popular artists. You think Dean guitars would even be on the roadmap if it weren't for Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott? Probably not. Sadly, Dean is still posthumously milking the Dimebag legacy, and will probably continue to do so for years to come. For whatever reason, that doesn't sit well with me.
jpfeifer said:
The only companies that come to mind as departures from the classics would be Parker and Stienberger
Well, actually, there are
a lot of compaines that have designed guitars that are "departures" from the classics. It's just that most have suffered the same fate - limited, or non-existent sales. Besides the two that you've brought up, I'll mention a few more. First, there's Dean Guitars, which feature their trademark split-headstock design, and various metal-themed body styles, as popularized by Dimebag (see pic below). Next, Hamer Guitars, who thanks to the stalwart endorsement skills of Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, took guitar design to whole new level back in the late 70's / early 80's (*see Rick's custom below). Hamer does, of course, have two vintage-styled models, one patterned after the Gibson Explorer (which they call a "Standard"), and one after a Les Paul Junior (i.e. "Special"), so yes, they too have absconded basic designs from a major manufacturer. I'd be ashamed if I didn't mention one of my favorite players, The Reverend Billy G., who wields a rather unconventional axe. Originally introduced by Gretsch back in the mid 60's, the "Billy-Bo Jupiter" looks as just as far-out by today's standards. Couple that '57 Chevy Tail-fin look with The Rev's greasy Texas vibe, its a match made in heaven. The last manufacturer I wanted to mention was B.C. Rich, who back in the late 70's / early 80's put out the "Bich" and the "Mockingbird", both very cutting-edge designs for their time. Aerosmith's Joe Perry was the player tapped to bring these two models into vogue, and he did so with zeal on the band's chemically-enhanced '78 tour de force
Live Bootleg. Yes, the US-made versions were pricey, but taking a cue from Fender, there were more reasonably priced Japanese-made versions available. Overall, there are some pretty unique designs out there. It's just that there's so many versions, or models similar to the Les Paul, Strat, and Tellie, that anything else gets lost in the shuffle.
jpfeifer said:
It seems that with all the technology we have today, someone could take a fresh look at the whole thing and design an instrument and amp that would make all kinds of interesting sounds that no one has even heard of.
Yeah, that would be cool. But then again, when you have guys like Jeff Beck Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai doing that with regular guitars and amps, you have to wonder if there'd really be a market for it. One company that has attempted to bring newer technology to the masses is Line 6. They've done some interesting stuff with their Variax guitar line, and their POD was one of the first prominent amp modelers (
NOTE: I posted a Line 6 link earlier in this thread, and there are several others in my PODxt thread in the
Home Recording section of FN.)
All things considered, I think manufacturers are doing a good job of listening to their market, and coming out with some pretty decent gear. We've touched on a number of those great new products here on FN - the Squier '51, the Epiphone Valve Jr., Vox's Valvetronix amps - all are great pieces of gear within the reach of the average player. Yes, cutting edge technology is great - but in most instances, the hefty pricetag basically relegates it to studio use, or
haute couture of the rich and famous.
Which ultimately brings us back to the same question - why don't companies try / market some new designs? And that answer, too, is simple: Because they make plenty of money selling the "old stuff". If it ain't broke, it don't need fixin'!
R
