The electric guitar has intrigued countless people over the last fifty years or so. The sound, feel, and the complexity are irresistible to most musicians. Yet it's the simplicity of the electric guitar that attracts music lovers of all ages and all music styles from every corner of the globe. But the sound alone isn't the only catch. The appearance of the electric guitar can be almost addicting. Guitarists have become brand loyal sometimes based on the appearance, and more specifically, the shape of an electric guitar. Over the last few decades, many guitar manufacturers from all parts of the world have designed and produced electric guitars in all types of styles and shapes. Most of these unique designs have faded into oblivion, however a certain few have stood the test of time. These popular guitars are forever linked with their original manufacturers.

There's a select few of these shapes that stand out in every musician's mind. The guitar shapes have actually adopted their model names as trade names. The Stratocaster, the Telecaster, the SG, the Explorer, and the Flying V are some of the most popular guitars ever produced. These guitars have been copied and mass produced by various guitar manufacturers throughout the years in an attempt achieve the same success the original instrument architects acquired. Some manufacturers made the mistake of copying the guitar designs almost exactly and then faced the music themselves thanks to civil suits due to trademark infringement. As a matter of fact, some pre-lawsuit guitars are actually considered by many to be collectibles today. Then there are the modified versions of these popular shapes. Some manufacturers have made repeated attempts to slightly modify the most popular guitars in history only to settle for a fraction of the success that their predecessors would realize.

Then there were the guitar shapes that never really took off. Major manufacturers like Gibson released the Firebird design which was popular enough to remain in their lineup yet not quite popular enough to gain any type of cult following. Then there was the Warlock design which almost took hold back in the eighties, but saw its popularity falter following the downfall of hair metal. Guitar manufacturer Dean has seen some success with the MXL model which somewhat resembles an Explorer. This guitar shape seems primarily to interest musicians in the heavy metal market. This design is popular enough to stay in the manufacturers lineup yet not popular enough to classify it as a legend. The X shape and the star shape are two more examples of failed guitar designs. These were interesting attempts at introducing a new design yet they failed to capture any real interest.

It's hard to imagine that the few popular shapes that still survive today may be the only guitar shapes to ever thrive. The big names like Fender and Gibson have capitalized in these guitars by introducing models varying in color, construction materials, electronics, tremolos, and even modified head-stocks, but the one thing that can never be altered is the shape that we've all come to recognize from a mile away.