The 28 Most Recognizable Guitars

We salute rock & roll's most iconic tool of the trade since stuffed spandex — the multinecked, fur-lined, flame-throwing masterpieces that remain as influential as the shredders who strapped them on.

28. Artist: Buck Owens
Instrument: Red, White and Blue acoustic
Description: Built by Semie Moseley of Mosrite Guitars (also favored by unlikely bedfellows the Ramones), the Country Music Hall of Famer had his guitar painted red, white and blue to express both his patriotism and his love for the genre he called "American music." (You probably call it "country.")
Factoid: Owens, guitar in hand, scored big as host of the 1969 TV show Hee Haw, the country... uh, "American"... music counterprogramming to NBC’s popular, and pop music-centric Laugh-In.
Shining Moment:...well... Hee Haw.

27. Artist: Les Claypool, Primus
Instrument: The Rainbow Bass
Description: This fretless, six-string Carl Thompson bass is composed of stripes of curly maple, padauk, purpleheart, ebony and cocobolo wood.
Factoid: Shortly after receiving Rainbow, Les realized that the balance of the body was off, so for a quick fix Thompson chopped off the horn of the bass at the top of the neck. Before alterations were completed, Primus filmed the video for “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” which featured the damaged hornless bass.
Shining Moment: At Woodstock ’94, Claypool galloped around the stage playing “My Name Is Mud” as a rain-soaked crowd of thousands hurled mud at the bassist and his band. Having to leave the stage to clean off the Rainbow Bass, Les returned to say, “I sure opened a can of worms with that one.”

26. Artist: Michael Angelo Batio
Instrument: The Reverse Double-Neck
Description: With a right-handed and left-handed neck formed in a V-shape, this Dean guitar is as unique as it is uniquely unplayable for people not named "Michael Angelo."
Factoid: Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave) was a student of Batio’s in his early days.
Shining Moment: The two-handed tapping technique known simply as “the over and under,” which ranks among the more hilarious human musical achievements on YouTube.

25. Artist: Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters
Instrument: Dan Armstrong/Ampeg ARMG-2
Description: Made of transparent Lucite, these guitars debuted in 1969, making the claim that Lucite had better sustain and lighter body weight than wood.
Factoid: Calling it one of his favorite guitars ever manufactured, Grohl owns four Lucite Ampegs that are all tuned differently for various Foo Fighter songs.
Shining Moment: This rare axe is featured in three of the Foo Fighters' most popular videos: “All My Life,” “The One” and “Times Like These.”

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