Do signature series guitars lure you?
 

This is my first post here (hello all) after lurking for quite a while. After seeing ad after ad in a popular guitar magazine, I wondered how many people buy a guitar because it's a signature series. For me, it just seems gimmicky.

Actually, I find it a turn off mostly. I really wouldn't want someone else's name on my guitar.

Welcome, fz... glad to have you here. A signature series is meaningless to me. I think it's about sound and preferences vary for all of us.

Unless its Hello kitty.

However, the (John Hiatt , Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley or Donovan) J45's intrigued me.

It usually means a price hike, but unfortunately they sometimes have the specs you want.

I’m a bit of a Steve Earle fanboy, so I have one of his signature Martins.
It happens to be a great guitar. A limited quantity were made, which was also attractive to me.

Not generally, but one of those Teles handpainted by Jimmy Page would be pretty cool...

I have owned two, one of which I still have but I have modified to remove some of the "signature" aspects. I both cases I bought the guitars because I liked them, not because of the namesake.

It’s generally a turn off for me.

Exceptions include old Gibsons where the signature is the model - like Les Paul or Barney Kessel - and the Gretsch Chet Atkins. Those don’t bother me at all. But I’ve never gotten the appeal of a “Buddy Guy Stratocaster” or an “Eric Clapton OM” - why not just get a Strat or an OM that doesn’t have someone’s name written on it. But god do I love my Barney Kessel!

I do have and love the Collings Julian Lage model, but the only difference is his name isn’t on it (the model name just has JL) and it’s an entirely different set of features.

I have zero interest in signature series guitars.

NO !!! I would not pay for a name, and possibly inferior quality compared to the regular model. There apparently is at least one notable exceptions (on the acoustic side), though.

Only if they're really unique. I recall thinking the Gibson Jackson Browne sig model was cool bc it wasn't a typical J45. I oftentimes like guitars that remind me of my heroes or have qualities I like of their guitars, but I typically avoid them.

However, there are some that have become so ubiquitous it's acceptable: the Les Paul, the Gretsch Chet Atkins models, the Gibson Chet Atkins acoustic-electrics, and I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of.

+1 on this. I wouldnt personally buy one, even if it was an artist I was a huge fan of. But each to their own.

Only it’s a truly great instrument at the right price and I needed another guitar. That hasn’t happened yet. :D

I played two D28's at a Martin "Roadshow" a few years back.
One was a John Lennon autograph model. The other was not.
The "other" sounded better. Other folks felt the same way.
That's it.