I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to name all of my guitars. After spending so much time with them it just doesn’t feel right not to call them by a first name. I do it so much that now Evita will refer to my guitars by their names rather than by any other factor. I know of some famous guitarists that named their guitars. B.B. King comes to mind. All of his guitars are name Lucille I believe. Personally I prefer to take into account where the guitar came from and the character of its looks and sounds.
Laura
So, here are my instruments:
Valentina (an Italian classical guitar from Napoli – incidentally she is for sale right now…)
Laura (my Australian lattice braced Sheridan guitar – this is the one you have seen in the videos)
Amelia (my beat up classical that I had as a student)
Missy (the latest member of the family, a chocolate brown mahogany steel string)
Little B (my mandolin)
And, well actually I do have an electric without a name. She was from my teenage years when I had long hair and dreams of playing too fast. I will have to think about that one…
What are some of your guitar’s names? Tell us in the comments below.
-Simon
28 thoughts on “Naming your guitar”
I have never given much thought to naming my guitars but I think I will.My Recardo Sanchis classical that I bought in 2002 I will name Molly and my new guitar being finished by luthier, Thomas Knatt of Groton,Ma.,I will name Maggie. Both were cats i adored and miss terribly. Recently Maggie died at the age of twenty. When she died, four weeks ago,today, a part of me died with here. Naming the guitars for them will give added meaning to my memories of my two beloved felines.Peter
A friend lent me a Kasha/Schneider guitar. Richard Schneider, luthier, also named all his guitars female names and included a feminine scarf with each. Personally, I have always cringed at calling guitars “she” and giving them female names. I feel that instruments reflect the highest qualities of both masculine and feminine, just as music does. A guitar can be a King as well as a Queen, so I feel assigning gender is ultimately quite limiting. I have respect for those who choose to feminize their guitars, as well as their boats, but I have experienced so much masculinity from guitars and boats that it’s impossible for me (I have about 12 guitars and 4 kayaks)
First of all, that is amazing that you have 12 guitars! Awesome :)
I have to admit that I haven’t thought about the gender bias, which is absolutely there. I guess I have just been swept away by other people’s tendencies over the years. I agree with you about masculine and feminine tendencies and I for one will not be assuming a “she” for next time.
My 12 guitars cover a wide range: classical, steel string, electric, synth access (Godin nylon) and an 18th century German parlor guitar. I got a Hirade which seemed like a younger brother to my 1975 Kohno, and the masculine idea really set in. I just got a 1995 Richard Howell that is just superb, but no names yet. Funny thing is that neither my wife or & call each other by our given name, it’s always terms of endearment. I guess I feel the same about my instruments.
My classical guitar name is sweet angel.Because she make me happy all time.On the 31st August 2014 this coming Sunday 3pm I will be having a classical guitar recital in a chapel together with my students.
regards Francois.
I will now have to give some thought to naming my guitar having read your blog.
My guitar hasn’t been named but did have a poem written about it on its first day.
That was the day I’d bought it and promptly badly damaged it within an hour of getting it home.. it was upsetting to say the least so a dear friend of mine wrote the following ditty
Hollow wooden virgin – with strings attached
Picked up,played with and paid for..
We fell in love…….
….Then he f*****d me
The guitar, a ‘Manuel Rodriguez’ was repaired rather crudely by another friend and still lives on…and in my eyes despite the scars is as beautiful as ever and ‘she’ still performs beautifully
I named my guitar “Galatea” after the statue Pygmalion carved, fell in love with, and that then came to life. Like him, I lovingly bring her to life, and she sings to me her deepest secrets.
My classical’s called Rain, short for Desert Rain. My Fender acoustic’s called Count Bassy . . . Cause the last two strings sound like they have a tactile transducer attached . . . lol
I have a Silvertone SD3000 (this is actually my first guitar) that i got a couple months ago. I was reading on some stuff ab guitars and naming just because I was interested in some other perspectives on how to name a guitar. I named my guitar Brooklyn—for the first girl i ever loved.
My guitar was built in Thailand by Rungson, a Thai luthier who was a student of Jose Romanillos. The guitar’s name is ไพเราะ (pai reu). If you speak Thai, you know what the means.
I have two guitars that are nameless because i don’t feel anything for them, one is a knock off strat and the other a knock off western..
However I have a Martin that I call Lucy.. not because of George Harrisons guitar, but because I had a girlfriend once that was also called Lucy, she broke my heart..
Figured if I called my Martin Lucy, I would play her just as hard as Lucy once played me..
I have named my guitars and honestly didn’t think too many people still did this.
Kinsey May – Black Epiphone Special II Electric (poor man’s Les Paul lol) She’s my main piece. Have had her since 2012 and to this day she still sounds like she did when I brought her home.
Jessie Lynn – Sunburst Fender acoustic electric. One of my more recent guitars.
I also have a Gibson acoustic guitar that I haven’t named but got from my grandfather who bought it brand new in 1960. It’s the one he taught me on when I first showed an interest in learning how to play. Have a lot of sweet memories with that guitar and now to have it as my own, I would never let it go.
I named the first guitar i own myself, a breedlove, one of the organic series i believe, and is a pretty nice brown that fades darker round the edges of the top, and has beautiful wooden sides and back. She doesn’t quite shine, or reflect a ton, but is more like wood, which i love. I named it Topenga.
And I thought I was the only one! My lovely Almansa classical guitar is named Fernando after the great El Niño Fernando Torres, combining my love of the guitar with my love of football (the real football)—
I have a Squier Strat named Mary because she & I were both guitar virgins when we met. Then I bought Ariel, my acoustic because she relies on air to make her sound rather than electronics. Next I bought Betty, my black tele with black pick guard – she’s a combination of Black Betty & Betty Lou’s Gettin out tonight. I have a Les Paul being delivered by UPS today. She won’t be named until I get my hands on her and play her for a bit.
i named my guitar gamma v2, because its my second guitar and gamma is the 3rd letter of the greek alphabet. gamma is also considered to be one of the strongest types of radiation. Yae or nae on the name?
I have never given much thought to naming my guitars but I think I will.My Recardo Sanchis classical that I bought in 2002 I will name Molly and my new guitar being finished by luthier, Thomas Knatt of Groton,Ma.,I will name Maggie. Both were cats i adored and miss terribly. Recently Maggie died at the age of twenty. When she died, four weeks ago,today, a part of me died with here. Naming the guitars for them will give added meaning to my memories of my two beloved felines.Peter
Nice one Peter! I fine way to remember your loved ones.
Many years ago I bought my Khono which I still have. I called her Yoko. Get it? Put them together!
Oh no.
A friend lent me a Kasha/Schneider guitar. Richard Schneider, luthier, also named all his guitars female names and included a feminine scarf with each. Personally, I have always cringed at calling guitars “she” and giving them female names. I feel that instruments reflect the highest qualities of both masculine and feminine, just as music does. A guitar can be a King as well as a Queen, so I feel assigning gender is ultimately quite limiting. I have respect for those who choose to feminize their guitars, as well as their boats, but I have experienced so much masculinity from guitars and boats that it’s impossible for me (I have about 12 guitars and 4 kayaks)
First of all, that is amazing that you have 12 guitars! Awesome :)
I have to admit that I haven’t thought about the gender bias, which is absolutely there. I guess I have just been swept away by other people’s tendencies over the years. I agree with you about masculine and feminine tendencies and I for one will not be assuming a “she” for next time.
Thanks, Rian.
My 12 guitars cover a wide range: classical, steel string, electric, synth access (Godin nylon) and an 18th century German parlor guitar. I got a Hirade which seemed like a younger brother to my 1975 Kohno, and the masculine idea really set in. I just got a 1995 Richard Howell that is just superb, but no names yet. Funny thing is that neither my wife or & call each other by our given name, it’s always terms of endearment. I guess I feel the same about my instruments.
Hi Simon,
My classical guitar name is sweet angel.Because she make me happy all time.On the 31st August 2014 this coming Sunday 3pm I will be having a classical guitar recital in a chapel together with my students.
regards Francois.
Nice! Have a great recital with your students. What a fantastic thing to do.
I will now have to give some thought to naming my guitar having read your blog.
My guitar hasn’t been named but did have a poem written about it on its first day.
That was the day I’d bought it and promptly badly damaged it within an hour of getting it home.. it was upsetting to say the least so a dear friend of mine wrote the following ditty
Hollow wooden virgin – with strings attached
Picked up,played with and paid for..
We fell in love…….
….Then he f*****d me
The guitar, a ‘Manuel Rodriguez’ was repaired rather crudely by another friend and still lives on…and in my eyes despite the scars is as beautiful as ever and ‘she’ still performs beautifully
I named my guitar “Galatea” after the statue Pygmalion carved, fell in love with, and that then came to life. Like him, I lovingly bring her to life, and she sings to me her deepest secrets.
My classical’s called Rain, short for Desert Rain. My Fender acoustic’s called Count Bassy . . . Cause the last two strings sound like they have a tactile transducer attached . . . lol
my Guitar is called ” Merula” after the Bird, she needs to sing with the most beautiful voice I can give her
My Fender Strat’s name is Caesar, from planet of the apes. Is that too weird?
I named my new Telecaster Colin. He just seemed like a Colin… Is having a male guitar weird?
Carmelita, and Little Suzie are the names of mine.
I have a Silvertone SD3000 (this is actually my first guitar) that i got a couple months ago. I was reading on some stuff ab guitars and naming just because I was interested in some other perspectives on how to name a guitar. I named my guitar Brooklyn—for the first girl i ever loved.
3 ukuleles:
•Daphne
•Julia
•Gerald
Guitar:
•Ronlad
My guitar was built in Thailand by Rungson, a Thai luthier who was a student of Jose Romanillos. The guitar’s name is ไพเราะ (pai reu). If you speak Thai, you know what the means.
I have two guitars that are nameless because i don’t feel anything for them, one is a knock off strat and the other a knock off western..
However I have a Martin that I call Lucy.. not because of George Harrisons guitar, but because I had a girlfriend once that was also called Lucy, she broke my heart..
Figured if I called my Martin Lucy, I would play her just as hard as Lucy once played me..
I have named my guitars and honestly didn’t think too many people still did this.
Kinsey May – Black Epiphone Special II Electric (poor man’s Les Paul lol) She’s my main piece. Have had her since 2012 and to this day she still sounds like she did when I brought her home.
Jessie Lynn – Sunburst Fender acoustic electric. One of my more recent guitars.
I also have a Gibson acoustic guitar that I haven’t named but got from my grandfather who bought it brand new in 1960. It’s the one he taught me on when I first showed an interest in learning how to play. Have a lot of sweet memories with that guitar and now to have it as my own, I would never let it go.
I named the first guitar i own myself, a breedlove, one of the organic series i believe, and is a pretty nice brown that fades darker round the edges of the top, and has beautiful wooden sides and back. She doesn’t quite shine, or reflect a ton, but is more like wood, which i love. I named it Topenga.
Mine is ” VAJRA” it is a weapon of Indian god named Indra. God of thunderstorms. Its like mjolnir of thor but from indian mythology.
And I thought I was the only one! My lovely Almansa classical guitar is named Fernando after the great El Niño Fernando Torres, combining my love of the guitar with my love of football (the real football)—
I have a Squier Strat named Mary because she & I were both guitar virgins when we met. Then I bought Ariel, my acoustic because she relies on air to make her sound rather than electronics. Next I bought Betty, my black tele with black pick guard – she’s a combination of Black Betty & Betty Lou’s Gettin out tonight. I have a Les Paul being delivered by UPS today. She won’t be named until I get my hands on her and play her for a bit.
i named my guitar gamma v2, because its my second guitar and gamma is the 3rd letter of the greek alphabet. gamma is also considered to be one of the strongest types of radiation. Yae or nae on the name?
She’s an Esteve, so…Stevie.
My friend just named her guitar Melody. We thought it was pretty for a guitar since it has to do with music.