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Let's not make two guitars that are shaped the same or anything...

S

stubhead

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Peaveypurf.jpg


http://www.peavey.com/products/instruments/electricguitars/session/index.cfm/item/117590/Session%28tm%29%20Guitar-Metallic%20Red.html

Washburnpurf.jpg


http://www.washburn.com/electrics/xm-series/Page-2.html

It's actually just about a perfect shape, Ibanez has been sniffing around there with their "S" series too. Though, the subtle asymmetry of the lower bouts is what cranks the Peavey and Washburn. Too bad their more expensive guitars aren't shaped as well... :icon_scratch: And I won't get involved with the Jackson Warrior/Ibanez Xiphos/BCRich Stealth crisis.
 
It's just the way the guitar world works my friend. It's hard to be original with anything anymore, without jumping completely out of the box. Everything is about subtlety.
 
None of that matters to Me.  Give me a Strat, Tele, Soloist, or LP shape any day. None of the other guitar styles interest me.
 
All I'm seeing there is two standard super-Strat shapes with slightly offset backs. Mayones has been doing that shape with less pointy horns/cutouts since the 80s, ESP has been doing it since the very early 90s. Meh.
 
I think it shows just how popular the strat shape is, kind of hard to improve on
You know
tele
strat
335
jazzbox
Lp
are probably;y the biggest selling shapes in guitars there are, and for a reason, they work
after that you go into smaller niches
JazzMaster
SG
the X shaped guitars
the V shaped guitars
I am sure the list can go on
But truely how many shapes can you have before they are all just a copy of each other?
Do we fault PRS because they are Strat shapes with carved tops? Or  do we class guitars by how sharp the cutaways are?

Just thoughts, I think it is hard to make fresh ideas in a market that has been filled with so many tries.
And Yes, I fell a lot of them just blend together. It is hard to stick out.
 
I think guitar bodies are like colors. You can't really come up with a completely new one that nobody's seen before. At least not one that most people will find appealing. I don't think there are really any "classic" looking guitar shapes that haven't been done yet. With so many companies out there trying to come up with the next big thing, it always seems to just come back to the tele / strat / LP, etc.

Oh, and I don't know how long Washburn and Peavey have been making that exact guitar, but I would bet Ibanez's S series has been in production longer. Ibanez's Roadstar series has been around since the early 80's, maybe longer? Not 100% on when it was started... Then came the JEMs and the RGs, and the SZ series too.
 
Jay
Washburn is the oldest USA maker of guitars
and before they ruined their rep with cheap guitars, made Axes that were thought to be  better than the classic Gibson
I have some old washburns that are pieces of art with 7 to 10 layer inlay and dovetailed set necks
It worries me how they could have lost the forefront with bad marketing decisions
 
Those guitars look nothing alike. They have different headstocks, different headstock finishes, different inlays, different contouring, different control layouts, different knobs, (And one having recessed knobs.) different pickups, different bridges, a different number of frets and different shades of wood for the fretboards. Just because the body shape is the same, and they are both the same color, doesn't mean there is any significance to that fact. Look at all the Strats, Teles, LPs, SGs, Jazzes, Ps, etc. that exist... Everyone's been using the same shapes for years, and no one cares.

BTW, stubhead, you never replied to my PM. :icon_scratch:
 
I agree, they are very different..
I do love carved top strats though.. my Fender Elan is probably my favorite non-W guitar..
 
JaySwear said:
I think guitar bodies are like colors. You can't really come up with a completely new one that nobody's seen before. At least not one that most people will find appealing. I don't think there are really any "classic" looking guitar shapes that haven't been done yet. With so many companies out there trying to come up with the next big thing, it always seems to just come back to the tele / strat / LP, etc.
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. I think there's a lot of scope for innovation in guitar shapes, but the problem is that they're very rarely brought to market because guitar players tend not to be very accepting of new ideas that are too different to what they're used to. Case in point, the Klein guitar shape:
klein_guitar.jpg


This guitar is incredibly comfortable, with support in all the right areas, but because it's so different to a Strat / Les Paul, most guitarists will call it butt ugly. It also doesn't look pointy, aggressive and evil enough for people who are specifically looking for a butt-ugly guitar. Hence, most guitarists have never even seen one.
 
Kadmium said:
JaySwear said:
I think guitar bodies are like colors. You can't really come up with a completely new one that nobody's seen before. At least not one that most people will find appealing. I don't think there are really any "classic" looking guitar shapes that haven't been done yet. With so many companies out there trying to come up with the next big thing, it always seems to just come back to the tele / strat / LP, etc.
Click to expand...

It also doesn't look pointy, aggressive and evil enough for people who are specifically looking for a butt-ugly guitar. Hence, most guitarists have never even seen one.
Click to expand...
:laughing11: :laughing3: :laughing7: :icon_thumright:
 
Kadmium said:
klein_guitar.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow. That guitar is butt ugly. It also doesn't look pointy, aggressive or evil enough. I've never even seen one like that before.


Ovation_Deacon_Sm.jpg


Well, unless you count the butt ugly, blunt, wimpy Ovation Breadwinner... <grin>
 
LOL. This thread has taken a wrong turn. It started out with nice guitars and has ended up with melted things-on-sticks  :icon_jokercolor:
 
Well to add to the original subject, I'd like to say that the ESP Horizon III is by far the best of the offset super-Strat shapes

fdyah5.jpg


Though it does look prettier in blue-pink flip-flop paint. C'mon Warmoth, any chance of adding flip-flop/chameleon finishes any time soon?
 
Ace Flibble said:
C'mon Warmoth, any chance of adding flip-flop/chameleon finishes any time soon?
Click to expand...

I have heard that it's a possibility - a few showcase bodies have gone out the door with Chameleon finishes. It's not a regular option, but I'm sure they could help you out if you gave them a call :).
 
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