Do You Name Your Guitars?

[DudeManBrother]

 

[TedEH]

When I was in high school I thought naming guitars was cool. But that was also around the same time that I required everything I did to be "deep" and "meaningful", so names ended up being references to real people, who sometimes didn't respond super well to learning that an instrument name referred to them in some way. It's a quick path to embarrassing yourself.

That being said, do what makes you happy.

 

[Discoqueen]

I kind of feel silly naming my guitars because of the redundancy. I think if I had two guitars that looked exactly the same, or two of the same model, I would name them, for sure.

Im practical only in the strangest ways.

 

[MFB]

I think the only guitar I ever named was my Parker, Nitefly and I called him Peter, because I'm a huge nerd like that

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Yamete yamete!

 

[narad]

Cringin' so hard it's creating an event horizon.

 

[spudmunkey]

I don't even refer to the cat that lives in my home by anything deeper than "it" or "her cat."

My guitars are:

"the red one" (aka "the kiesel")

"the taylor"

"the chinese taylor" (AliExpress knock-off)

"the classical"

"the black flamed one" (aka "the carvin")

"the strat" (my Sam's Club Fender-branded "Starcaster", a metallic black Strat knock-off)

"the acoustic electric" (aka "the carvin...no, the other one")

I also recently acquired "the strat...no, the other one" which is a sunburst Yamaha strat-style guitar that I got for free...likely won't keep it.

And then there's, "the bass" which is, perhaps unsurprisingly, my only bass.

My next two will be known as

1. The next one will be "the blue-ish one" or "The Kiesel...no, the other one...the one with the F hole"
2. The next one after that will likely be "the strat...no the other one...no the other one...yeah, that one" which may or may not also be "the blue kiesel...no, the darker one...the one that looks like a strat, but 24 frets".

 

[Shoeless_jose]

I call my Gibson Les Paul.... my Les Paul, I call my Mayones, my sweet polish guitar, my schecter Banshee Elite 8, my 8 string, my epiphone Les Paul I call my epiphone, and my epiphone acoustic, my acoustic.... very deep and profound I know.

 

[hairychris]

If you don't?

• Why?

It's a special part of my guitar buying experience. And, I usually name my guitars even before I have them. I find it makes all of the guitars more special to me. It also makes them harder to let go of as well. No particular rhyme or reason for the names. Just names I like.

I'm not sure what it comes from really. But I think it has something to do my dad's guitar, which is a white Epiphone. I don't know the model, but it looks like an ES-350? Anyway, dad is big B.B. King fan and of course, Lucille. In relation to this, I give all of my guitars human names (rather than designations/titles/etc.)

I'm really bad* with names. I never named toys as a kid or anything like that. Why name anything if I know what they are? Seems completely irrelevant to me. Anyway, guitars already have names (model, etc) so someone else has done the hard part.

I mean I can see why you have to name kids** (at a bare minimum to tell them apart) but even that seems annoying. Plus people can give their kids really stupid names. Why? Pricks.



* As in brain not wired correctly bad. Just ask my shrink!

** Which I thankfully have precisely zero of.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

With the exception of my RG1527M (after some chick I hooked up with in Tokyo), I don't bother. And even that guitar is usually referred to as "the white one".

The store who tech's my guitars does give humorous names to them, with added small backstories based on their history with me. With over 12 years of service, I'd thought he'd have fun with the receipts.

EG:
Red RG570 - Ruby Waikiki "my old friend"
TM330M - Super Cute Blue Talman
XH300 Halberd - Ibanez X Japanmetal
RG620X - Sex Farm Radio Transmitter
RG1527M - Grotty white 7 String
RG750 - The one with the LED light
Xiphos RC - The one without the LED light
SR305 - That goddamn bass again
Dano Sitar - That broken buzzing bridge

 

[Fenriswolf]

Nope, it never appealed to me.
It's okay for renowned guitars of famous guitarists.

In the rig rundown for Warren Hayes I thought it was funny that his main guitar was Lester, and his tech said so over here we have Polyester and of course MoLester.

But I do think I need to name my Les Paul. My dad bought it for me about 10 years ago for an early Christmas present and I've played it enough that half the frets are wore down to where they're dead notes and the finish is coming off the back of the neck. And it actually broke me from buying new guitars. I'd play them for a couple hours, then it's back to my Les Paul.

The only pic of have of it from probably 3-4 years ago. If y'all want to help me name it, go ahead, it doesn't have the stickers anymore.

 

[Shoeless_jose]

In the rig rundown for Warren Hayes I thought it was funny that his main guitar was Lester, and his tech said so over here we have Polyester and of course MoLester.

But I do think I need to name my Les Paul. My dad bought it for me about 10 years ago for an early Christmas present and I've played it enough that half the frets are wore down to where they're dead notes and the finish is coming off the back of the neck. And it actually broke me from buying new guitars. I'd play them for a couple hours, then it's back to my Les Paul.

The only pic of have of it from probably 3-4 years ago. If y'all want to help me name it, go ahead, it doesn't have the stickers anymore.

View attachment 63324

That's a really nice Les Paul

 

[Fenriswolf]

That's a really nice Les Paul

You have no idea. My wife thinks I'm crazy because I told her I want to be buried with it

 

[Shoeless_jose]

You have no idea. My wife thinks I'm crazy because I told her I want to be buried with it

Good call haha, man I hate that I'm at work right now seeing the pic of yours just makes me want to pick mine up and just go on it all night.

 

[spudmunkey]

You have no idea. My wife thinks I'm crazy because I told her I want to be buried with it

I'm not saying I don't understand, and I'm sure you already have, but think about it this way: When you rot in your coffin, you're liquid human putrid flesh goo-sludge will ruin the guitar, and it, too, will rot. If you did find someone to gift it to, your father's gift can live on through yours, and continue to sing. If you auction it off (for charity or not), any money gained could be used to benefit a cause or person you care about.

 

[Fenriswolf]

I'm not saying I don't understand, and I'm sure you already havembut think about it this way: When you rot in your coffin, you're liquid human putrid flesh goo-sludge will ruin the guitar, and it, too, will rot. If you did find someone to gift it to, your father's gift can live on through yours, and continue to sing. If you auction it off (for charity or not), any money gained could be used to benefit a cause or person you care about.

That first part is pretty fucking metal. If one of my kids wind up being super into guitar, they might get it. But I've been at the point where my wife and kids are taken care of, but I might not eat for most of a week, and I've looked at my Les Paul and said fuck it, I'll starve.

 

[MickD7]

I only have one guitar out of my collection that is named. My RG852 is called “Cam” I got the guitar a few days before my sisters closest friend passed away, he lived next door to my wife when we went to high school together and it was the last conversation we ever had. He talked about motorbikes and I talked about that guitar.

That was Xmas day he passed away after being hit on his Motorbike by a drunk driver on the way back from his fitness and medical test to join the academy and become a police cadet 3 days into the New Year.

So since then it’s always been called “Cam” I have a bit of fluro tape on the back of the control cavity with the name written on the guitar. I’ve played close to 40 shows since that week and every time I pick that guitar up at a show that conversation hits me again. He was a damn good guy

 

[John]

No, I do not bother doing so.
It comes across as both a dumb waste of time, and as a cringeworthy thing to do, in my opinion.

 

[secretpizza]

My Aristides 070 is named ‘the best’ and my 080 is named ‘fuck you, you’re not good enough’.

 

[SlamLiguez]

Actual people names no. That's.... So early 2000s. lmao.
I prefer to name mine after the aesthetic or image I have in mind for a concept based around an album, song, or overall theme. Like if I have a black and green guitar I'd name it "Necromancer" or "Black forest" or something like that, kinda like a sig. I WANNA dub the kelly I just got the "Ritual Fire", but I'm deciding on what knobs/pup rings to get to compliment the name, ya know? Although it's for the most part a mental thing (you're rarely gonna "introduce" your guitars) t's all gotta come together