STRAT TELE LES PAUL

You're right when you talk about seeing the great bands and artists playing them.  People who are AC/DC fans often will gravitate toward SG's, SRV and Clapton fans toward Strats, and so on.  This is especially true when you see the "signature" models-there are many different "signature" Fenders and Squiers, and a good number of Gibsons and Epis too.  So you're right, a lot of it is "overexposure".

20 years ago in the UK a guitar shop might have been full of Jackson, Charvel and B.C. Rich guitars. There are trends in guitars like in the 80s headless Hohner (and was it Steinberg?) type guitars were cool, very hard to find now.

3 shapes you mentioned are practical shapes, which can't be said of the 80s guitars I mentioned, B C Rich is all pointy angles and Hohner reduced everything down to a stick with nothing to play against.

In 60s Britain real American instruments were expensive and hard to get. Guitarists made do with brands like Burns, Hofner, Vox, Hagstrom, Watkins; which were OK but somehow lacked the finesse of Fender and Gibson. European instruments appeared heavier, browner, less well thought out. American instruments had cool names, amazing colours and Western attitude.

In the 70s real Fenders started appearing but these were poor quality Mexican made and of course the Japanese began the copy craze. Good instruments got passed down from player to player even when heavily played, hence some of the over-loved but toneful guitars used in punk.

I also get the impression that in 2008 the only Fenders around are expensive Custom Shop specials and I haven't seen a Gibson for months. A little bird tells me that American distributors have very little interest in Europe due to the poor (for the US) dollar euro exchange rate. It ain't worth the USA to be exporting. All I'm seeing in several shops is Squier, Ibanez and PRS.

For me the strat is THE classic shape, it's the ultimate ergodynamicly.

With all do respects the reason why they or anyone bought the brands and models mentioned is because they were the only one's available.  Guitars at the time were hand made (with the use of electric machines) not on cnc machines like now.

Bootlegger.

As I wrote in this topic: why Fender/Gibson, NON ACOUSTIC GUITARS.
- 30 years ago in Europe, BELGIUM = every music store had these brands. At that time, I could only dream about these guitars, while my first guitar was a YAMAHA FG 300 (= 300$ in 1978).
- I remember that Fender's TELECASTER was 25% cheaper than a STRATOCASTER.
- My first electric was a GIBSON LP STUDIO, made on a MONDAY --> 2 songs = tune again.
- No reissues, no relics, no tribute guitars. Only the colours were different, also the price.
It's only since 20-25 years that more and more brands were available.
- GIBSON: LP STANDARD, LP CUSTOM and an SG.
I don't know 1 thing about Music Stores in the USA.

I think there's some truth to what the thread starter is saying. Sometimes we play a particular instrument (and pay more for it) because of perception when the reality is that there are some other instruments of equal (sometimes greater) quality. I recently bought an acoustic to step up from the Takamine acoustic I've played for the last 7 years. I've played for a long time so I know what I like. I tried about 20 acoustics and passed on the Martin's and other bigger acoustic brands for a Larrivee. I got it for $800 and I couldn't find any other guitar under $1500 that I liked more. I guess the moral of the story is that it's fine to get an idea for what you might want from seeing and hearing other people playing it, but you should go and play as many as possible and pick the one YOU think fits you best. Ultiamtely that's what matters most.

I think these guitars are popular because of the sound, body shape, playability and versatility.  Players can be influenced in guitar choice to produce a sound or a look, but have to like the way a guitar plays. The big 3 you mention are some of the best guitars made and therefore played by a lot of people for a long time.

And PRS is a high quality guitar that meets all those expectations. I would say that was a good trade and I would also say LP's are a bit over-priced. 

To your point, Kramer would not have gotten so popular, so fast if Eddie Van Halen didn't actively promote it.

There's no simple answer to this one. Take the Les Paul, in the 50s it was not as futuristic as the strat and the humbuckers didn't jump out and take the world by storm. It was only in the 70s that the new breed of hi-gain amps let loose the sustain lurking in those goldtops. 70s players weren't trying to ape 50s idols, John Lennon even had his LP stripped back to brown wood. Also with Les Paul's you need to differentiate between the Standard's with P-90s (a single coil type) and Customs with humbuckers, at least that's the general rule.

The telecaster is another guitar that did OK in the 50s but name a famous tele player? Telecasters lacked outright glamour which is why punk players like Chrissie Hynde and Joe Strummer found them great work tools.

Makers like Gretsch and Rickenbacker suffer from high price tags and limited quantities. Sure they have a following (the Beatles, the Jam) but it's the sheer ubiquity of Fenders that make them so well known.

Hallmark is an odd word RH, Fender were quality in the 50s/60s but fell markedly in the 70s. Even today when it comes to value for money non-big-name makers will give you more. I'm currently very impressed with Blade (Levinson). It's all a matter of if you want that Fender headstock. The net abounds with fake logo transfers for people who want the branding, even when they don't own the real thing.

Personally I try to ignore brands and logos. This is a tricky act to pull-off, we all have a lifetime of product images. But I find putting hands on real guitars speaks volumes. Since my fingers don't touch the headstock and my ears can't hear branding...

Hey Cytania,  I didn't feel like typing them all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Telecaster_players

I got my 1960 Gibson 330 in 1968 for $185. It looked like someone beat the crap out of it 6 nights a week. It has been my electric axe ever since. I pound hard on a guitar - playing rhythm lines like AC/DC and southern rock.
A luthier told me those fine line cracks in the finish let the real wood tone out and to polish but never refinish it.
A barroom fire popped open it's case as it went by and coated the old 330 black and blistered the back of the neck. Guitar polish removed the black. I plugged it up and it sounded better than ever.
My wife watched a Antiques Roadshow episode on old guitars. Certain model Gibsons the age of mine sell for $2,000 to $12,000.
Best investment I ever made. I wish there was a way to have my old 330 and my 1940 King tuba buried with me.

LOL Im sure one of these days those guys like Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill,  and Waylon Jenings will make it big enough for you to think they're famous.