Naming your guitars

MikeS

My Wife names everything. Not just talking guitars, I'm talking everything. It seems to keep her happy, so I don't get involved. Recently bought a guitar from the forum that came with a name, which it may as well keep.

Funkfingers

timmypix said:

"Who's getting Daddy's love tonight? I love to make my girls scream".

The inference to be drawn from this that “Daddy” fits into a quarter inch orifice. 

prowla

Nope - I don't go for assigning gender or names to instruments.

In fact I find it a bit creepy when people call a guitar "she".

prowla

In contrast, one place I worked, my nickname was Rickenbacker!

Kalimna

thegummy said:

Kalimna said:

Ive only ever named guitars I've built, and mostly because they ended up in the hands of my two boys (now aged 7 and 9).

We have :
'Borish' and 'Seghetti', 2 ukuleles for when they couldn't say 'Brioche' or 'Spaghetti'
'Sneaky the Pheasant' a double-neck ukulele after my youngest's favourite garden visitor
'Raymond the Bass', because my eldest has a fluffy toy frog called Raymond.
'Dumbo' and ''Red Pheasant', 2 short-scale guitars named after a favourite soft toy and a favourite garden visitor.....

I already knew this was the most middle class forum on the internet but kids getting brioche before they can even speak properly :P 

I only shop in Waitrose, y'know

With our 2, anything they ate was a bonus!

thegummy

Kalimna said:

thegummy said:

Kalimna said:

Ive only ever named guitars I've built, and mostly because they ended up in the hands of my two boys (now aged 7 and 9).

We have :
'Borish' and 'Seghetti', 2 ukuleles for when they couldn't say 'Brioche' or 'Spaghetti'
'Sneaky the Pheasant' a double-neck ukulele after my youngest's favourite garden visitor
'Raymond the Bass', because my eldest has a fluffy toy frog called Raymond.
'Dumbo' and ''Red Pheasant', 2 short-scale guitars named after a favourite soft toy and a favourite garden visitor.....

I already knew this was the most middle class forum on the internet but kids getting brioche before they can even speak properly :P 

I only shop in Waitrose, y'know

With our 2, anything they ate was a bonus!

Tell me about it man.

andig

Yeah, named my first 2 and since then SWMBO has taken over the naming, she also manages to assign a gender to them, so first she'll instantly determine if they are masculine or feminine and then straightaway assign a name. I like it, it gives them some sort of history...and yes we name our car too.

skippy76

Growing up in Aus it was quite normal to name your car and ref to things (cars, tractors, surfboards etc) as she. Ive heard plenty or Kiwis and Saffas refer to things this way as well but that could just be in my experience.

That said I don’t have any names for mine, except my 56 Special, which is 56 special , she’s a real beaut mate

scrumhalf

prowla said:

Nope - I don't go for assigning gender or names to instruments.

In fact I find it a bit creepy when people call a guitar "she".

Are you accusing people of misgendering?

fretfinder

I’ve never usually named my guitars. But I bought a lovely vintage LP Special a few years ago and learned shortly afterwards that the previous owner had had to spend most of the money he got for the guitar on an expensive operation for his dog named Wilf. So naturally that guitar became ‘Wilf’. It’s sold now and I guess I should have told the new owner.

Also, I took the control cover off another guitar I have and ‘Betty’ was written on a piece of tape on the inside of the plastic cover. I found out that that was in honour of the previous owner’s gran so that name kind of stuck. But the rest of them? They’re just guitars with no name. 

Moloch

When I chose the finish for my custom-made Dennison I named it Khorne, after the god of blood, war and murder from Warhammer. I think it fits:

However, there was a very Fretboard danger there, as there are FOUR Chaos gods in Warhammer, so ever since I've found myself looking for the right three guitars in purple, green and blue.

edenfield99

My 72 Tele Custom is called Keef because I bought it because Mr Richards played one and everyone in my band at the time knew that’s why I’d bought it so it sort of stuck.
My white strat has a back cat sticker on it so it’s known as the black cat strat however since the cat pictured in my avatar died I’ve sort of half named it after him in remembrance.
The others are known as ‘the black gretsch’, ‘the other keef-esque tele’, ‘the acoustic’, ‘the one I bought instead of getting the front of my car fixed’ etc.

Sassafras

My guitars are non-binary.

steer

The Tele

The Gretsch

The Strat

The Acoustic

If I see an advert calling a guitar "she", or even worse a womans name, it makes my skin crawl.

GuyR

LastMantra said:

sgosden said:

LastMantra said:

People like to humanise everything. Look at all the cat and dog (or any animal) stuff all over the Internet. It's weird. 

Are you suggesting that pets shouldn't have names ? 

Ha   

No, just generally acting like they're little people. 
Look he's kissing his daddy! Either that or it's licking the salty oil off your face.

Using the tongue it has just been licking its arsehole with. But that's fine, it's so cute!!

westford

My travel acoustic is ‘Little Hoggy’ but I haven’t named the others.

Hurling_Fruitmig

I would never dare assume an instrument’s gender.

DaevidJ

I have had no issue with naming my guitars... Those that I have named I have had for a fair while compared with others... The Jaguar is “Blue” (kinda obvious as it is Sonic Blue) and the Mira is “Velouria”... At some point even the Novo might get a name

Clarky

Jalapeno said:

@Clarky ;

lmao... I don't understand people that don't understand.. lol

KevS

Japanese Candy Apple Red Tele shortened to Candy..Or the Magic Tele on account of it's Tone..

I have bought a New Body for a Tele that was known as The Boat Anchor..

It will now be known as the Thinline..

A Mexican Classic Strat,,,,or it started off as that that I have had for a long time,20 Years and has been through the wars a bit..
It is Lake Placid Blue is known as Old Blue..

Les Paul Standard in Transparent Amber called Amber..

Other guitars are known by Finish then Model or just Model..
The Sunburst Classic..Old 1960 style Les Paul Classic in lightburst..

Oh but then there is Petunia the Junia (Junior) in a New Yoik Accent..

It is a sort of Leslie West reference that though and a silly rhyme..I'm Scottish not from New York by the way..
Stock Pick up,Satin Finished economy Gibson..Complete Tone Monster..
Something that was cheap but good is the Wee 70s Tribute..Les Paul 70s Tribute with changed Pickups..
I guess there is less wood there,so it's called the Wee,,never analysed that till now though..
Petunia also gets called the Wee Junior..
Most of my Electric Guitars have changed pick ups....

So most of the names are shortened ways of naming them if I have more than one Tele say.,
or affectionate names...
I do Love some of them though and if I lost those I would be devastated.. 
Sometimes you pick up a guitar and you know it is a really good one right from the start....
You spend a lot of time with your guitars,so there is that attachment..
I tend to take mine out of the cases when using them as I have a dehumidifier in the room they are in.
.I actually lost one because of humidity and nearly lost others..
I remember and get excited at what good guitars they are when they get into my hands,,I feel so lucky to own them..S
ome I am more luke warm about,,they serve a purpose....
You get Good Strats,you get decent Strats,You get OK Strats say..
You of course get Amazing ones too..My Mexican Classic ,Tone and Feel wise kills A USA Standard Strat I have..
Old Blue is in many ways now a mongrel though,,refretted with a 9.5 camber etc..
I have some guitars that play so well for me,I treasure them more than the expensive ones..
I wouldn't swap them for 4 times what they are worth,maybe not at all,,a good guitar is a good guitar..
That means more than how high it is in the line or it's financial value..
My Les Paul Standard is good,but my Les Paul Classic which was cheaper is outstanding..
Changed Pickups again on both..
So is that 70s Tribute..Those special guitars if I lost them or had to let go would devastate me..
So you get Amazing,Good,Luke Warm and then duffers of the same model,,regardless of price..
Every Guitar is different,,even ones that are only divided by one serial number..
So often the coolest looking only get as far as the luke warm category,or Lower in the case of a Gretsch I owned...
So yes,,I do love some of my guitars..
They are much more lovable than plenty of Human Beings,in fact they can act as an antidote to many Human Beings..

Some I am a bit more careful with than others,some have a fair old bit of playing wear and are even better for it..
I can understand people naming guitars I suppose if they are special ones..
I know they are just bits of wood,but the plainest bit of wood can end up being a really special guitar..
There seems to be an element of chance as to how a guitar turns out..
They are what they are..
The flashest looking can often be real duffers..

Just my experience. of course..