MusicRadar

We wouldn’t expect to break olympic records wearing the same Puma running shoes as Usain Bolt, or score an obscene amount of goals just because we happen to own the same pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly football boots as Cristiano Ronaldo.

Similarly, it will take much more than an Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster to sound like old Slowhand. Just ask Pete Townshend – he plays one, and he sounds like, erm, Pete Townshend.

That said, though the phenomenon of signature gear isn’t confined solely to rock 'n' roll, it’s big business for manufacturers and artists alike. For us guitar players, it’s nice to feel that little bit closer to our idols.

Most signature instrument collaborations make perfect sense: an artist’s legion of fans clamour for their very own version of the guitar that their hero plays, complete with all the little tweaks and idiosyncrasies that set it apart from a standard production model.

Then occasionally, a signature instrument comes along that makes about as much sense as a chocolate oven glove. Here are 10 of the most perplexing…

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