EpiphoneĮpiphone Les Paul Standard by Yutaka Tsutano / CC BY 2.0 As they are built from some of the most premium materials in the world, the guitars can withstand a lot, and many original models from the 1960s will still sound as brilliant today as they did more than fifty years ago. As their guitars become more antique or iconic, prices can approach the millions.įinally, Gibson guitars are known for their longevity. There make the occasional model that dips below this price point, but it’s relatively rare. As a maker of premium, and in many cases, incredibly famous, guitars, Gibson’s prices are almost always in the thousands. The price is one of the major factors that keep many entry-level guitarists away from the Gibson brand. The Les Paul, for example, is their most well-known export, and uses that beautiful rounded shape and (often) golden colour to look beyond brilliant. There are a lot of guitar brands that just look like… guitars. Some may say that this is down to their appearance. As such, their ‘iconicness’ could be the most impressive thing about Gibson guitars. You’d be hard-pushed to find a famous guitarist who hadn’t used a Gibson at some point in their career, while the likes of Slash, Jimmy Page and Angus Young are known for their commitment to the brand. In terms of their place in history, Gibson might be the single most iconic brand ever. Of course, this is completely subjective there are millions who would prefer this feel to that of any other guitar. To some, myself included, this creates a slight learning curve when developing your playing with the brand. To play, Gibson guitars are typically a little heavier than their counterparts, while their necks are often slightly thicker than most.

As such, some might claim that Gibson guitars are well-positioned to have a good deal of overdrive added.

This also avoids hum, and allows the guitar to be a little louder in general. This comes from a few things.įirstly, Gibson guitars are typically fitted with humbucker pickups, giving off an incredibly warm, thick sound. They, as most guitarists would agree, have one of the best sounds in the world. Gibson is one of the most recognisable names in the entire music industry, and it makes a lot of sense why. Gibson LP Classic by I, Piso17 / CC BY 2.5.

This way, we have a semi-objective scale with which to compare each of these excellent instruments. Instead, I’ve selected ten of the most famous guitar brand names out there and looked at them in terms of price, appearance, tone, feel, and ‘iconicness’. We could go into detail on the ins and outs of every single guitar brand in history and what makes them so different and special in their own way for ever and ever.

Japanese guitar brands