A few days ago, I started seeing press releases popping up on a few sites letting the world know that Ernie Ball Music Man Announces New St. Vincent Signature Guitar. I’m a big fan of Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent). I’ve written about here a few times on the site. I like her for a few reasons, but the primary reason, she plays guitar weird, and I love that. She has a style, she has a sound, and she’s really, really good at it. I understand that some of the music might not be for everyone, but regardless, you have to respect the player.
I found this cool video compilation of some of her great guitar playing by Danielle Bruinhof Check it out!
So she’s been working with Ernie Ball / Music Man on her new signature guitar. The guitar has an interesting shape, definitely non-conventional, just like her style. I thought it matched up with her personality perfectly. Normally, a new signature guitar, I wouldn’t look to hard at, but some of the comments I’ve been seeing about this guitar has got me thinking. What I’ve seen so far, the comments have been generally negative. Negative on the look of the guitar, and negative on Annie Clark, but what needs to be considered as well, which I feel isn’t, is how much of a badass you need to be to get a signature guitar. Think about it, how many other female guitarists to do you know that has their own signature guitar?
I hate bringing up the gender card, but sometimes I get sick of all the ‘dudes’ in the guitar world and the bottom line, it’s about the playing/creating that counts, and she’s top notch in multiple ways. This guitar, even though it may not be your style and even though you might not like her music, you have to say ‘good job’ for making this happen. For me, I’m very impressed of this accomplishment, and proud that her music is getting more and more accessible.
Let me know what you think of St. Vincent and her new guitar by commenting below!
