Top 10 Guitar Trends That Should Be Brought Back

Guitars are one of the most iconic instruments of the last 100 years. Since the birth of the blues in the early half of the 20th century, you’d struggle to find a single track without one of our six-stringed friends featured in one way or another, and hasn't music been all the better for it. Guitars have come and gone in many incarnations, with many weird and wonderful trends, modifications and quirks.

Some of these additions became staples that have defined the guitar since their conception, making life better for players and listeners. Others were difficult to use, ugly, or downright dumb. Between the haves and have-nots, however, some trends made a splash at the time but were wrongly relegated to the history books or perhaps were only rewarded with a cult following.

It's about time that these inventions and cultural quirks were brought back into the spotlight and given a second chance to take their rightful place in guitar culture. Of course, this list is subjective. If there are any guitar trends that we have missed that you think should make a comeback, let us know and we might just make a second list with your suggestions.

#10 weird shapes

Starting with the Gibson Flying V in the late 50’s the trend of outrageous guitars didn't really take off until the 80s big hair era. It seemed for a time that guitar companies were fighting with each other to come up with the weirdest guitar shapes that they could. Ibanez was one of the first to predict the trend with the now iconic ‘Iceman” released in 1975, followed closely by B.C. Rich in 1981 with the release of the ‘Warlock’, a multi-pronged nightmare that would shed chunks if dropped and was too big for any standard guitar case.

As we rocked into the 90s odd incarnations of the classic guitar became commonplace, with weird paint jobs to match, but this was only a taste of what was to come. Head into the 2000s and things got really wild. You couldn't walk into any guitar store or browse any music magazine without pawing over a sea of experimentation. Dean released the Razorback with the help of Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrel, B.C. Rich released the Beast, the war beast, the beast v, beast everything, almost all of which had a see-through acrylic version.

Soon though, it was embarrassing to be seen with one. Turning up to practice with a glittery silver beast v that weighed as much as your amp would get you laughed out of the band. Slowly over the next ten years, things started to settle down. Guitar manufacturers had learned what they could do and what they probably shouldn't, so reverted to subtle but beautiful guitar designs.

While this return to normal was probably for the best, it's easy to feel a pang of nostalgia for a guitar industry that kept you guessing and made standing out cool. There are still a few outliers that will sell you gorgeous monstrosities under the ‘Extreme’ section, but largely, this era of guitar has been long forgotten.

#09 Guitar Synths

Need drums? No problem, a piano for this part? You got it. Once again we are transported to the 80s with the guitar synth, the ultimate tool for your inner Depeche Mode. It came in many forms but the perhaps best example was the Roland GR-700.

This icon came as an attachment to your existing guitar with only a few modifications needed to turn your instrument into whatever you wanted it to be. It's worth remembering that this particular gadget came from a time when sony walkman was still relatively new and digital technology was only just coming into the mainstream.

It's easy to see then, just how revolutionary this tech was. Yeah, it wasn't particularly practical, and there were better ways to emulate different musical instruments, but oh boy was it fun.

This little black box could inspire you to create whatever you wanted. While there are similar products available today, they don't get the hype that they should, relying instead on a small market of musical adventurers, unafraid to see what this prehistoric feeling tech has to offer.

#08 Lipstick Pickups

These chrome classics were truly ahead of their time as far as eco-conscious goes. Originating in the mid-’50s with Danellectro’s range of affordable guitars often sold by high street names such as Sears, they take their namesake from their intended purpose. To save costs, and keep in line with the competition, Danelectro managed to pack killer sounding coils into surplus lipstick tubes which were then mounted into a hollow body made of compressed wood fibre.

The result was an affordable, cool-looking, fantastic sounding pickup that stood the test of time. Pickups like this have found themselves in the talented hands of everyone from Jimmy Hendrix to Seasick Steve, but are a rare find nowadays.

What needs bringing back here isn't just the sweet-sounding pickup itself, but also the ethos behind it: take something industrial that another company doesn't use and turn it into something good, and something affordable.

It would be wrong to say that the lipstick pickup doesn't exist anymore, it does. Danelectro still makes them as they have done for decades and Seymour Duncan makes a particularly good, higher output version, better able to compete with Fender's famous single coils. But they hold nowhere near the esteem that they once did, instead being relegated to the ‘something different’ category. Bring lipstick pickups back to the mainstream, and the resourcefulness that created them.

#07 The Talkbox

If you've ever put your face in front of a desk fan and made weird shapes with your mouth, then you've basically used a talk box. Appearing in many an 80’s anthems such as Bon Jovi's ‘Living on a prayer’, the talk box was a kind of gross contraption that would shift the tone of your guitar sound, allowing the player to perform all sorts of emotive acrobatics with nothing but their mouth, a plastic tube, and a pedal. While it's not the kind of thing you would want to let any of your bandmates borrow, it did create a sound unlike anything else.

With its origins way back in 1939, the talk box was first commercially marketed a few decades later by Kustom Electronics with their pedal ‘The Bag’ it became a performing guitarist staple for years to come with use by legendary musicians from Peter Frampton to Mick Mars.

I think it's fair to say that this was left in catacombs of guitar history mainly due to the gross factor and the development of tech that could do the same thing but without the need to cover the stage in saliva. This is another trend though that should be brought back simply for the fun factor. Who wouldn't want to take the ‘waaa whaaa’ of air guitar and combine it with some real skill on the strings?

#06 Instructional Videos

In the late 80s early 90s, if you wanted to cement your status as a real guitar legend it seemed that the best way to do it was through an instructional video. Everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to BB king had some form of grainy video nectar for aspiring rockstars to feed on. The excitement of finding that you could have a sit-down guitar lesson from your favourite guitar god was unparalleled.

Imagine being 15 again, sitting in front of a bulbous tv screen with your fake strat and the hum of a VCR machine, then all of a sudden being transported to a quiet studio with Kirk Hammet, who has decided to sit down and take the time to teach you ‘master of puppets, finally putting your tone-deaf friend's version (which you were pretty sure was wrong all along but didn't have any better suggestions, and besides, they had been playing the guitar for like 2 more months than you) to rest, because you'd been taught by Kirk Hammet after all.

This isn't to say that the modern equivalent: paid, short format guitar lessons from youtube greats don't get the job done, it's just they don't have the same awe factor as the originals. While the medium is certainly outdated, the format was solid. This is definitely something that record companies, musicians and studios should bring back. In the meantime, keep an eye out next time you browse the shelves of your favourite thrift store, you might just find kirk Hammet in there.

#05 Guitar Off’s

Picture the scene, your the best guitarist in town. You haven't spent your time socializing like your peers, instead, you’ve spent every waking moment practising scales, you've got your theory down, and your technique is on point; no dead notes here. Out of nowhere, some punk rolls into town with a beaten up fender jaguar shooting his mouth about how unbeatable he is. What do you do? That's right, it's time for a killer guitar off, a bare-knuckle battle to defend the crown.

One room, amp vs amp, raw skill vs raw skill. for a while there this was the way to settle your musical feud and boy was it exciting. There was nothing quite like going full crossroads on a best friend.

With the dawn of modern media though, this way of settling things seems to have disappeared in favour of cross-continental video battles. It's still phenomenal to witness, however, I would argue that it's seriously lacking in vibes. Pinging videos back and forth is all well and good, but it gives your opponent too much time. Surely the best thing about an in-person battle was the raw skill it took to be taken off guard but respond immediately with an epic, face-melting lick.

So get back in a room with each other (safely of course) and partake again in the ancient feeling ritual of a real-time guitar off.

#04 Self-Modified Guitars

Brian may’s red special, Eddie van Halen's frankenstrat, Yngwie Malmsteen's scallop fretted fender, all are examples of true innovation. There was a time, before the dawn of the internet, and the mass production of decent, affordable mass-produced guitars when if you wanted something really special on a budget, you had to put it together yourself. It was this kind of innovation that gave birth to some of the best sounds to come out of the latter half of the 20th century.

There is something about the sound of a custom guitar that can't be matched, making the instrument often just as famous, if not more so than the artists that wielded them. In a world of tonewood, the sonic properties of duct tape were proved time and time again.

The lack of engineering skill never took away from the desirability of these guitars though. Yngwie Malmsteen's faded yellow Strat was for a time, the single most popular signature guitar on the market, and the replica EVH Frankinstrat currently sells for thousands of dollars, fake rust and all.

now I'm not suggesting that you take a chisel to your player series and start seeing what goes were, but don't be afraid to dig out the old Encore, throw in some new pickups, maybe a new neck and see what happens.

#03 Chorus Pedals

some of the sweetest and most surreal sounds to come from an amp have done so with the help of a chorus pedal. Through a series of complicated electronics, the chorus manages to duplicate tracks, play with the pitch modulation, and spit out a harmony capable of mellowing out your sounds or making them sparkle.

Taking off in the 70s with the Boss CE- 1, the chorus effect played a key role in many legendary tracks; Nirvana's Come As You Are, Prince’s Purple Rain, not to mention Guns and Roses Paradise City. Without the chorus music just wouldn't be the same, but despite this, chorus heavy tracks are a rare find these days.

It may be the reason it's so hard to find a good chorus forward song is that it was so distinctive, and so it's hard to create a sound that doesn't emulate something that has already been done, but there must be some life left in the old girl yet.

As guitar tech moves forward, effects pedals become more accessible, and music leans toward an 80’s revival, the best of the chorus may be yet to come

#02 One Pedal to Rule Them All

Why spent thousands on pedal board and all the things that go with it when you could have everything you'd ever need in a single, well-designed package? As we passed into the 21t century, effects companies were all too pleased to answer this question.

Line six had the floor pod, Zoom had the GFX and Boss had the ME-50. Now don't get me wrong, I love a boutique pedal as much as the next guy, but there’s something so convenient about being able to pick up every pedal and every preset and pop it in your rucksack.

They weren't perfect by any means. Some were a little ambitious and as a result, sounded a little off, but if you got a good one, you need never buy a pedal again. If you weren't hauling an ‘all in one’ from gig to gig and were perhaps a young bedroom guitarist wanting to emulate your favourite rockstar, you could do that too. All manor of presets awaited those who read the instruction manual which, if we’re honest never really worked that well, but boy did it make those pentatonics feel so much better.

The modern equivalents are good with better modulating amps than ever before and better software, but nothing has the same ‘best of both worlds’ feel that the multi pedals did. The options for this type of pedal today are lacking.

#01 Self Worn Guitars

So this one isn't strictly a trend, but nevertheless, something worth mentioning. A road-worn guitar was once a cool aesthetic perk reserved for only the most experienced musicians. It showed a dedication to the craft that few could muster.

These instruments hadn't sat in a wardrobe or gathered dust on a wall, they had been dragged from gig to gig, state to state, from country to country. To find a genuine road worn instrument in a music store was a rare treat. They held a sort of mystique or folklore. Holding a true traveller, you could almost hear the din of dive bars, the rattle of the back of tour busses, and the buzz of crowds now in their 70s.

To be fair, the lacquer of old was much easier to lose than the modern-day equivalent, and so wearing down a new finish is bound to take more time, if it happens at all. So an argument could be made that real road worn is a thing of the past and fakery is the only way forward. This, however, is not an argument that I am willing to make.

The desirability of these guitars was unquestionable, and so it seemed an easy sell for the likes of Fender, but this muddied the waters slightly. Now the next time you see someone with a beaten up black strat, you’ll have to ask yourself: did they earn it?