Guitar Naming Laziness

Why do so many guitar companies use letter/number combinations to name their guitars? Is it laziness? Is it easier to fit letter/number combinations on their spreadsheets? 

Look at the two most popular electric guitars of all time: the Stratocaster and the Les Paul. Would these have been as successful if they had been named the S-02CSB and the L-01BB? Doesn’t “I play a Strat” sound better than “I play an S-02CSB”? Leo Fender made up new futuristic words to match his (at the time) futuristic looking instruments. Leo was no dummy.

Acoustic guitar makers are, by far, the worst offenders. I own an Alvarez Yairi acoustic guitar but couldn’t tell you the model number without looking at the label inside the guitar. Which I just did. It’s a DY74C — how cool is that? Sorry, it is far easier and inspiring to say I play a Gibson Hummingbird. 

Come on guitar builders, a little imagination please! Make up some words if you have to like Fender. 

I do want to point out one smaller guitar company that does a good job of coming up with cool names for their guitars, Reverend. Their latest models sport names like Flatroc, Volcano, Buckshot, Jetstream, Double Agent, Club King, and my favorite: Tricky Gomez. Well done, Reverend. 

Please don’t make us say we play a GDC147S. How about a “Rail” or a “Skybird” instead?