Guitars have personality.

One of the most important decisions a guitarist makes it what guitar to buy. (Unless he is among the lucky few who can afford several guitars) As much as you might not believe it, it will define who you are and will influence where you go with your music. But how do you choose?

The music industry is heavily marketed, you will be swamped with advertising when you read a guitar magazine or go to a store, and they are not afraid of hyperbole. The best and ONLY way to pick your guitar is to have you, or someone you trust that is more experienced, try as many pieces of equipment out as you/they can.

If you happen to have a bit of money and are not afraid of the price, the other method is to look at what other famous guitarists (whose style you like) are playing. Not in the cheesy adverts, but on stage - where it counts. They will have used the above method to pick the guitar that they like the best, so you may save yourself a heap of time this way.

Below you will find links to the guitar pages of our legends and a selection of awesome guitars from Ibanez and Fender:

Ibanez Guitars

Ibanez has been making guitars for many, many years. They work with famous guitarists to come up with designs which suit their playing style, then produce these guitars for general publc use. You can find out about their entire range on their home page

Some very famous guitarists have created guitars with Ibanez: George Benson, Pat Metheny, Paul Gilbert and two of our very own legends:

Steve Vai

Steve has commisioned several guitars for Ibanez including the 7 stringed "Universe". His guitars are built to take a pounding on the stage while still staying in tune. There is nothing like the raw power of the JEM pickups combined with the floyd rose bridge.

Joe Satriani

The "Bald Master" has a more conservative approach to guitar design. While his guitar configurations are unique, only an experienced eye could pick up the subtle differences between models.

Fender Guitars

Fender is one of the most respected names in the rock industry. The classic Fender "Stratocaster" design has been around since the 50's and has not changed much since then. Visit them at their home page to bask in their glory. A huge number of guitarists have commisioned product lines, a mere few of these have been: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan and our very own:

Yngwie Malmsteen

While many guitarists consider their traditional design somewhat boring and restrictive, Yngwie chose to take tradition to the next level. He re-introduced an ancient classical technique of the scalloped fretboard. Rather than having metal frets, the actual fretboard itself has been carved with grooves embedded in it, to produce the same effect. Yngwie swears that this process creates a unique tone that cannot be matched by its metallic rivals.