The Most Desirable Custom Shop Guitars

Signature model guitars have a special allure: the aura of a certain artist’s musical magic. But which are the most alluring?

Judging by the reactions of players at trade shows, festivals, auto races, and other events visited by the Gibson Custom Shop’s traveling 40-foot exhibit trailer, the five six-string Signature mojo machines that draw the most interest are:

Zakk Wylde Les Paul Bullseye

This Bullseye beauty is a hard-core rock guitar with active pickups, an EMG-81 and an EMG-85, and an unfinished maple neck — Wylde’s variation on the Les Paul Custom. Since it was first issued in 1999 the guitar’s been a magnet for Ozzy and Zakk influenced shredders.

B.B. King Lucille

B.B. personally oversaw the development of this refined take on the classic ES-345, including the elimination of f-holes to reduce uncontrolled feedback, a TP-6 fine-tuning tailpiece, and ebony good looks. Typically these guitars are plucked off their display mounts by older players who grew up on blues, but lately the genre’s been reaching a younger audience — and so have Lucille models. This guitar sports its name on its headstock and has stereo/mono jacks. And of course there’s the Vari-Tone, a six-position midrange notch filter. The Lucille is a larger bodied guitar, yet its lighter weight and burnished tone make her loveable for fans of Les Pauls and SGs.

Johnny A. with Bigsby

This guitar is a real attention getter on its own terms and offers some fairly unique characteristics. The fully hollow body is one-piece mahogany and the inside is flat in the back to increase natural projection. The Bigsy vibrato tailpiece that A. uses is optional, but not so the guitar’s distinctive 25-inches long scale neck abetted by double cutaway horns. And the neck’s profile, at A.’s insistence, is slightly flatted in the back for easy playability. When the guitar’s on display jazz, blues and rock players all relate to its blend of tone, feel, and light weight. And this six-string, birthed in 2003, is often described as “art deco” for the modern-yet-classic look of its crown shaped inlays, angular pick guard and singularly shaped f-holes.

Slash Les Paul

Although there are several Slash Les Paul models available, the granddaddy — and big draw in the Custom Shop’s traveling display — is the dark tobacco burst model introduced in 2004. Slash, of course, was almost single-handedly responsible for the skyrocketing popularity of Les Pauls in the ’80s. But this is a distinctive beast, with a pair of Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups and a Fishman Power Bridge to provide an optional acoustic guitar sound. A mini three-way switch between the rear two pots — one a third volume control, for the level of the acoustic setting — allows toggling between acoustic and electric settings. But most players who pick up the Slash model wanna blast — and often the classic intro to “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”

Peter Frampton Les Paul Custom

When players pick up this baby, it really comes alive. The Frampton Paul has three humbuckers and a chambered, lightweight body. And it’s unusually wired to get that distinctive out-of-phase style Frampton sound. The middle pickup is always on, but has a dedicated master volume knob so it can be dialed in or out. That tone should theoretically appeal more to players influenced by classic rock, but the variety of tones this black beauty produces captures the ears of just about anybody who hears or plays it.

Full-Scale Stratocaster® Guitar Rock Band™ Controller

In a case of videogame art imitating musical life to near perfection, you can now get a Rock Band™ videogame controller that has what is in effect a real Stratocaster® guitar body.

Available as of September 2009, the Rock Band Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster guitar controller is an actual wooden replica of a Stratocaster guitar and is compatible with all three versions of the hugely popular top-selling game—Rock Band™, Rock Band™ 2 and the Beatles: Rock Band™ (and other rhythm and music video games). The controller was co-developed by Fender and San Diego-based Mad Catz® Inc., which is the official third-party developer of Rock Band™ peripherals and accessories.

The device is a full-scale replica of the real instrument, with a body, neck and headstock made from real Stratocaster wooden “blanks” and bridge and tuners built using genuine metal parts and fittings. The controller is assembled at a Fender facility comes in hand-painted gloss Three-color Sunburst—perhaps the most classic Stratocaster finish—buffed and applied to each model in the same manner as a real Stratocaster. The “fingerboard” boasts a high-resolution “rosewood finish” decal, concealing two sets of premium fret buttons.

On the front of the controller, the tremolo arm (or “whammy bar”) sits near the “start” and “back” buttons, which are disguised as volume and tone controls. The premium fret buttons and strum bar deliver quiet operation and reliable game play, and the traditional Stratocaster ¼” output jack can connect to an optional Rock Band™ overdrive pedal. The back of the controller has a headset jack for online play and communicating with friends.

The Rock Band™ Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster guitar controller (the only wooden replica controller compatible with Xbox® gaming systems) uses the same secure wireless technology found in the official wireless Microsoft Xbox® 360 controller. It connects directly to the system and doesn’t require an external dongle or adaptor. Finally, the controller comes with three AA batteries and an official Fender guitar strap.