Electric guitars

To add: Ibanez AS73/83, Carvin DC127 and California Carved Top, Ed Roman QuickSilver, many more ESPs (MH series), PRS SE series?, Gibson ES335, Gibson SG Faded, Heritage Prospect, Epiphone Dot, Epiphone Les Paul, Epiphone G400, Schecter C-1 Artist.

Short list: Yamaha AES650/AES650HB, ESP M-200FM, Fender Custom Telecaster FMT (with Duncans), Schecter C-1 Artist, Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany, Ibanez ARC100, Ibanez ARX100, Ibanez SZ320 Weathered Brown, Ibanez RG321 Mahogany Oil, Ibanez AS73, Heritage Prospect.

Really, I should have a few different short lists.

Mahogany set-neck solid-bodies: Yamaha AES620, ESP LTD EC400, Fender Custom Telecaster FMT with Duncans, Schechter C-1 Artist, Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany, Ibanez ARC100, Ibanez ARX100, Ibanez SZ320 Weathered Brown, Gibson Les Paul Raw Power, Gibson SG Faded, Carvin DC127, Carvin California Carved Top, Roman QuickSilver, etc.

Strat-style guitars: Ibanez RG-321 Mahogany Oil, Fender Standard Mexi-caster, Fender Lite Ash Stratocaster.

Semi-hollow guitars: Ibanez AS73/AS83, Peavey JX or whatever, Epiphone Dot, Epiphone WildKat, Yamaha AES620HB, Gibson ES335 Satin, Heritage Prospect, Gibson ES335 reissue.

Hollow-body guitars: Ibanez AF75/AF105, Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II, etc.

I wanted to like the ESP LTD EC1000 and H-1000, especially the variations with Duncan passive pickups. They have all the goods: solid mahogany, nice build quality, a little lighter than a Les Paul, a little body contouring for comfort, and excellent pickups. They are just ugly as sin. The gaudy body binding and overdone finishes make them look like tarted-up whores. The worst of the 1980s-style aesthetics of excess. The EC400 isn't as overdone, but I'd like it better without the binding.

They are clearing out the PRS SE series guitars. On the one hand, they seem cool: all mahogany, set neck, now as low as $300. But they have a wrap-around bridge/tailpiece that looks totally non-adjustable. How can one possibly intonate a guitar like that?

My aesthetics regarding the look of guitars is apparently quite different than that of all the guitar makers. I like to look at the natural beauty of wood. They like to paint it over with automobile-like finishes, and/or cover it with plastic pickguards. There are few mass-market guitars that I really like the look of, and unfortunately many of them are "economy" models like the Dean Vendetta. The Lite Ash Strat looks great except that 30% of its face is covered by a white plastic pickguard. The Ibanez RG321 Mahogany Oil finish looks good, but that guitar seems oriented at metal chuggers and has a maple neck. If only Gibson's Les Paul Vintage Mahogany had a clear finish instead of fake-cherry and fake-walnut stains. There is a Les Paul Raw Power that's pretty interesting, but it's expensive and I've never seen one personally. The best looking guitars tend to be made by Carvin, which features your choice of woods and finishes on pretty much all of their models.

In the broad market, for me it's a choice between guitars whose visual aesthetics have been ruined by their finish. Fake stained mahogany on Les Pauls and SGs. Big plastic pickguards on Strats, and you're lucky to find one that has a natural finish under the plastic. Translucent colored finishes are the best you can hope for with most Les Pauls, the Fender Custom Telecaster FMT, and guitars by PRS, Schechter, Ibanez, Yamaha, etc. You decide which abomination you can live with, or you decide not to care what your guitar looks like at all.