A signature guitar is something to aspire to. It’s a dream among all guitarists, a stamp of approval, and instrument manufacturers' highest honor. In most cases, it means you get to work with master builders to spec out your dream guitar.
Instrument-defining players like Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Eddie Van Halen and younger artists like St. Vincent have been recognized with the high honor. These players have made invaluable contributions to guitar players everywhere and it's only right that they’re celebrated with a signature model guitar.
That’s why it’s fun for us here at Reverb to fill you in on some unexpected artists–even fictional characters–who belong to the exclusive signature-model club.
Kiefer Sutherland
If you’ve only got 24 hours to save civilization from a devastating attack, actor Kiefer Sutherland’s signature model gold-top Gibson KS-336 may just be the secret ingredient to such a quest.
Yes, you read that right: Gibson, a company prided in the tradition of guitar, abandoned the trademark nomenclature of its ES series for Sutherland, instead calling it the KS. Only 155 of these guitars were manufactured by the Gibson Custom Shop 2007. Keep your eyes open because there are typically a few here for sale on Reverb.
Fender Asuka Telecaster
Wondering why you still don’t have a signature model? It could be because the Fender Custom Shop has devoted some of their resources to building signature guitars for anime characters.
Neon Genesis Evangelion fans can celebrate the marriage of anime aesthetics and a guitar with the Asuka Telecaster, named after the show’s 14-year-old fictional main character. She’s probably the youngest and most imaginary person to have a signature Telecaster.
Tyler the Creator
When you headline and produce the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival like Tyler the Creator, then you can admit to your millions of Twitter followers that you gave up on trying to learn guitar in an hour (yes, Tyler really did Tweet this in 2013).
In 2018, Tyler followed up with an even better Tweet, replying to a fan that he "picked it up for 3 days, then gave it up cause i didn’t want ugly fingers."
What we’ve learned here at Reverb is: if you’re Tyler the Creator, you can still have a signature Fender Stratocaster... because, why not?
The special model shares the same specs as the Fender Player Stratocaster, but with an eye-catching blue finish that features flames. The guitar was included in the Clamp Flog Gnaw Festival Super VIP Merch package.
Jeff Bridges
If you’ve ever turned on your TV, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Jeff Bridges’ acting in films like The Big Lebowski, Iron Man, and countless other classics. What you probably haven’t seen is the Breedlove Jeff Bridges Signature Oregon Concerto Bourbon CE.
The acoustic-electric guitar features a fretboard inlay message that reads "All in this Together" and the guitar benefits the Amazon Conservation Team in partnership with indigenous colleagues to protect rainforests and traditional culture.
Gibson Custom Shop Goryo Yuto Signature Les Paul
Marking the most unexpected trend in signature model guitars, Gibson, too, has joined in on the fun by designing a guitar inspired by anime character Goryo Yuto.
The fictional Goryo Yuto is guitar-obsessed and can be seen walking around with a cartoonized version of a Les Paul. The Gibson Custom Shop brought the character’s favorite accessory to real life by releasing 25 Goryo Yuto signature models, which is essentially a Les Paul Standard in a Trans Blue Quilt finish.