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25 Iconic Guitar Body Shapes

BC RichCharvelErnie Ball Music ManFenderGibsonGuitar Gear Improvements and PrototypesGuitar Gear ResourcesGuitarsIbanexIconic GearPRS GuitarsRickenbacker+-
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2023-GPX-Guitar-Body-Shape-Index-V2-700.jpg

Much like my recent ’Ergonomic’ Headstock feature - this was another labour of love really - and essentially the second half to that exercise.

 

The remit is slightly different here - where this curated selection is a mix of universally held iconic classic guitar body shapes, sprinkled with a few of my own idiosyncratic favourites. I don’t expect your own selection to be entirely the same - while surely there should be a 80-90% overlap or thereabouts.

 

This exercise has been done by many before - but typically more in silhouette fashion. While I wanted to include some iconic artist-related editions here - not always the most obvious, but each eminently worthy - you can hazard a guess first as to who those guitars are signature instruments for - before cheating and looking at the list below.

 

I wanted to have as broad a mix as possible and include some representatives of the Metal family of guitars - and I could not think of a better pointy-style SuperStrat candidate than Steve Vai’s Signature JEM Evo. Supposedly the second best selling ’Signature’ guitar of all time - after the Les Paul! The earliest guitar referenced here is from 1951 (Telecaster), while the most modern is the Ibanez ’X’ from 2021 - a span of 70  years!

 

I believe I’ve included all the obvious shapes here - do let me know which ones you would swap out - and for which models.

 

There may be some controversy over some shapes / preferred shapes - for instance you could argue that the PRS Santana is very similar to the Les Paul Junior Precursor - while there are some deft touches that Paul has made to improve on that templat as far as I’m concerned. I also felt that it was enough for Gibson to have 6 candidates here!

 

I hope you enjoy this selection in any case!

 

Here follows the Overview Reference for each Model pictured:

 


OVERVIEW :

  • Fender Telecaster - since 1951 - George Harrison Rosewood Edition pictured
  • Fender Stratocaster - since 1954 - Nile Rodgers ’Hitmaker’ Edition pictured
  • Fender Jaguar - since 1962 - Johnny Marr Edition pictured (very similar to Jazzmaster!)
  • Fender Mustang - since 1964 - Kurt Cobain Daphne Blue Edition pictured
  • Gibson Les Paul - since 1952 - Peter Frampton ’Phenix’ Edition pictured
  • Gibson ES-335 - since 1958 - BB King ’Lucille’ Edition pictured
  • Gibson SG - since 1961 - Angus Young Edition pictured
  • Gibson Explorer - since 1958 - The Edge Natural Edition pictured
  • Gibson Flying V - since 1958 - Marc Bolan Edition pictured
  • Gibson Firebird - since 1963 - Tom Petty Edition pictured
  • Ibanez JEM Evo - since 1987 - Original Steve Vai Signature Edition pictured
  • Ibanez Destroyer (Modded) - since 1975 - Eddie Van Halen Carved-up and Modded Edition pictured (Original an Explorer Clone!)
  • Ibanez Iceman - since 1975 - Paul Stanley Cracked Mirror Edition pictured
  • Ibanez ’X’ Xiphos - since 2021 - XPTB620 Edition pictured
  • Ibanez Artist AR Standard - since 1974 - AR420 Edition pictured
  • Music Man Axis - since 1991 - Eddie Van Halen Edition pictured
  • Music Man Albert Lee - since 1993 - Daphne Blue Edition pictured
  • Music Man Majesty - since 1991 - 20th Anniversary Edition pictured - John Petrucci Signature
  • Music Man St Vincent - since 2016 - Ltd Neon Orange Edition pictured
  • BC Rich Warlock - since 1981 - Stranger Things ’Eddie’s’ Relic Crackle Edition pictured
  • BC Rich Mockingbird - since 1976 - Extreme Exotic SM Edition pictured
  • PRS Custom 24 - since 1985 - Private Stock Bahamian Blue Quilt Edition pictured
  • PRS Santana - since 1988 - Classic Santana Yellow Edition pictured
  • Millimetric MGS3 - since 2015 - Copper Edition with Gold Foil Pickups pictured
  • Rickenbacker 330 - since 1958 - 330/6 Fireglo Edition pictured

2023-GPX-Guitar-Body-Shape-Index-V2-700.jpg
Stefan Karlsson
Posted by Stefan Karlsson
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