Carving Her Signature – Score Short Reads

During the 1830s, famous luthiers like Johann Stauffer and René Lacote started collaborating with guitarists such as Luigi Lagnani, Fernando Sor to create what would be the world’s first signature guitar. For nearly two centuries since then, signature guitars have allowed players to sound more like their idols.

As guitarists became more popular, more people wanted to emulate them. Guitar manufacturers have released more signature model guitars in response to that demand so that people can try to emulate their favourite guitarists on guitars bearing the artist’s name. The world of signature guitars has mainly been male dominated so far.

But things have started changing now and a lot of great female guitarists have emerged. Here are some of the best signature guitars endorsed by incredible female guitarists.

Nita Strauss – Ibanez JIVA10 Nita Strauss Edition

This sleek, aggressive, built for speed signature guitar is a perfect axe for the star metal guitarist Nita Strauss. The JIVA10’s core is a combination of nyatoh topped with quilted maple. A maple/purpleheart neck and smooth ebony fingerboard rounds up the fantastic tonewood of this guitar.

The 3-piece Nitro Wizard neck and Prestige fret-edge treatment provides excellent playability. The 25.5” scale length comes equipped with 24 jumbo frets which are easily accessible through the cutaway.

The versatile HSH (Humbucker-Single Coil-Humbucker) configuration offers up thick, tight lows; punchy, open mids; crisp, smooth highs; plus great sustain and harmonics. The Ibanez JIVA10’s Edge-Zero II tremolo gives you the fast response and snap you need to pull off sharp bends and vibrato. The Beaten Path EKG-style fingerboard inlay completes the transformation of the JIVA10 into a serious sonic weapon. The JIVA10 is ideal for long sessions of fast and aggressive playing without going out of tune, just the way Nita Strauss likes to rock.

**Nita Strauss** – *Ibanez JIVA10 Nita Strauss Edition*

Orianthi – PRS SE Orianthi Edition

This guitar is perfect for anyone who wants awesome quality, versatility, and great looks at an affordable price. The legendary Orianthi Panagaris has been PRS since 1997 when she traded acoustic for electric guitar after seeing Carlos Santana in concert in her native country of Australia. Orianthi has jammed with and supported such legendary musicians as Carlos Santana, Steve Vai, ZZ Top, and Michael Jackson, cementing her place as one of the most iconic female guitar players of all time.

One of the first models to feature PRS birds, the SE Orianthi Model SE is based on the celebrated PRS Custom 24 model with several unique appointments, including a Korina back, Red Sparkle finish, and Orianth’s signature O at the 12th fret. The 25” scale length has 24 frets.

**Orianthi –** *PRS SE Orianthi Edition*

Sarah Longfield – Strandberg Boden Metal Sarah Longfield Edition

Sarah Longfield is very well known for her incredible eight finger tapping skills. She is extremely popular on YouTube through her own work and collaborations with other popular YouTube guitarists such as Rob Scallon.

Strandberg, the brand famous for its headless guitars, has taken its Boden body style and given it the full Sarah Longfield treatment, available in six, seven and Longfield’s preferred eight string format.

Each guitar in the Boden Metal Sarah Longfield edition comes with a chambered basswood body with a quarter-inch maple top. The body features the distinctive Boden contouring with arm, torso and heel carves, onto which a roasted maple neck with carbon fibre reinforcement is bolted on. The ebony fretboard comes with 24 stainless steel frets (which is really awesome).

The guitar comes with Fishman Fluence Modern pickups, with an alnico pickup in the neck complementing its hotter ceramic counterpart in the bridge. There’s a three way selector, a push/pull control on the master volume for coil splitting and a push/pull on the tone for toggling between pickup voicings.