While any guitar can work, there are a few certain guitars that are iconic for blues. They just have that blues sound. So what are the best blues guitars?
Fender Stratocaster 
Played by: Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton
The strat just has that tone. Whats interesting though is that the single coil pickups really allow a great deal of individuality in tone. The strat is my number one guitar and I use it often for the blues. It really shines on the neck pickup.
Gibson ES-335 & ES-355 
Played by: BB King, Chuck Berry, Freddie King, Eric Clapton
Huge huge blues tone coming out of these semi-hollow guitars. Whats great about these Gibsons is that you can achieve some fat tones in the upper registers. The ES-335 & ES-355 can be described as the definitive clean blues tone.
Gibson Flying V 
Played by: Albert King, Jimi Hendrix
Some people may see this as an odd choice, but if you are a fan of Albert King, you know that he got some incredible tones from the flying V. As well, Jimi Hendrix would often use the Flying V in the last year of his life when he would play live versions of Red House, considered one of the best slow blues numbers ever.
Fender Telecaster 
Played by: Muddy Waters, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan
A lot of the time when I think about the electric blues, I think of Muddy Waters and the incredible tone he got. And he was using the Tele for the most part! Some may look at the Tele for the country twang, which it does well, but it also has no problem playing the country blues.
So there you have it, 4 definite blues guitars. What do you think is the best blues guitar?
GuitarToneTalk.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
still prefer harmony guitars above both brands got all of the upper guitars(accept the flying V) but when I play blues I stil prefer harmony
Yes, harmony guitars are awesome, and great for the blues! thanks for reading 🙂
I don’t think the Flying V belongs in the top 4. How can you leave out the Les Paul when you consider Duane Allman, Clapton, Reverend Billy G, and Jimmy Page?
I agree, though we thought the Les Paul faired better as a Rock guitar, definitely great for blues rock. Albert King really pushed the V into the list.
All good, but some of Buddy’s most toneful 70s tunes (Hold That Plane) were on a Guild Starfire IV. Freddie King’s earliest & best (Freddie King Sings The Blues) were on a LP w. P90s, and maybe a Gibson GA40 amp.