10 Australian artists who deserve their own signature instrument
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10 Australian artists who deserve their own signature instrument

Tal Wilkenfeld 

No Australian bass player has contributed more to the music industry worldwide than Tal Wilkenfeld. She’s played with; Jeff Beck, Chick Corea, Prince, Ryan Adams, Eric Clapton, plus a heap more, she’s also had her own pretty successful solo career, opening for acts such as The Who. Tal’s definitely a worthy contender of a signature bass. She loves Fenders, and we’re certain her many fans around the globe would love to funk out on a Tal Precision Bass. 

 

 

Ian Moss

It’s mind boggling that this renowned guitarist doesn’t have his own model yet. He’s co-written some of Australia’s most influential songs in Cold Chisel with Barnesy, and wrote his hit solo track ‘Tucker’s Daughter.’ He’s played little known brand Fryer Guitars for years, they could easily make him a signature model. I’m sure many pub bands across the land will be keen to get back to ‘Bow River’ with a Mossy Guitar. See him playing a Fryer Guitar below.

 

 

G-Flip

She’s relatively new on the scene compared to the other members on this list, but G-Flip’s still a worthy contender. She’s revived the singer-drummer superstar trope of yesteryear and has gotten a heap of fans around the world, and deserves to be rewarded for it. The best way to do this would be with her own signature drumsticks, after playing her own kit ‘Jeromo’ for years, it only makes sense that she creates her own! I’m sure that’ll lead to many of her younger followers taking up drums. See her playing ‘Jeromo’ below. 

 

 

Rai Thistlethwayte​

This name mightn’t be familiar at first, but there’s no doubt you’ve heard his music, most notably his band’s 2004 track, ‘In The Summertime’. Besides fronting Thirsty Merc since 2002, he’s had his own very successful solo career, playing jazz fusion on the piano and because of this, he’s been scouted by such acts as Knower and Joe Satriani to join them on the keys for their tours. He’s in high demand, and therefore deserves his own signature set of keys. See him rocking a Moog and Nord simultaneously while busting out the high notes on vocals below.

 

 

KRAM

Kram is Aussie music royalty. He’s been on the kit for bands like Spiderbait and The Wright, and has also become somewhat of a TV star, being a regular on shows like Spicks and Specks and Good News Week. He’s only put out one album to date, 2009’s Mix Tape, which was a great showcase of not only his drumming ability, but his songwriting and singing skills. As seen by the video below, he has a love for Ludwig drums, so his signature instrument should be some Kram Ludwig drumsticks. 

 

 

Kevin Parker 

It can’t be a top ten list without a mentioning this West Coast legend. After single-handedly recording the song of the decade, as well as every other Tame Impala song, we think he definitely deserves his own custom axe. He’s used a fair share of guitar brands, and even though that Rickenbacker is iconic, a signature Fender would be the best suit: the Kevin Parker Stratocaster has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? See him playing an old Roadhouse Stratocaster, one of his main recording guitars, in the 2010 performance of ‘Desire Be, Desire Go’ below.

 

 

John Butler 

Australia’s adopted son of acoustic soul is definitely in need of his own signature acoustic. As the leader of the John Butler Trio for 21 years and one of our best ever guitarists, Butler’s signature style has influenced hundreds of young punters around the world – how many times have you heard his style being butchered by some busker on the streets? He’s played heaps of different guitars in his time, electric and acoustic, but the most notable is the 12 string Maton he played in the video ‘Ocean’. Sure, he’s had a his fair share of custom guitars made for him by the iconic Aussie brand, but we reckon a signature guitar would sell like hotcakes. 

 

 

Courtney Barnett

Like the grunge and alternative rock legends that came before her, Courtney Barnett has become famous for shredding it out onstage with an array of Fender Jaguars, many of which feature dual humbuckers and a slick paintjob. The Melbourne singer-songwriter has also been spotted around the traps with a Telecaster, and we reckon that either model would make for a perfect signature guitar. 

 

 

Harts 

Australia’s answer to Prince deserves his own signature axe. He was invited to Paisley Park by The Purple One to jam. Much like Prince, Harts is a multi-instrumentalist, he’s recorded many of the instruments on his releases, and written everything he’s ever released. He’s penned some pretty cool songs in his time, like 2014’s ‘Red And Blue‘. He’s another Fender fan, and has been spotted recently rocking a vintage Squier Supersonic – Fender, if you’re reading this, a reissue of one of these would go down a treat. Slap Harts’ name on it, and you’ve got a winner.

 

 

Tash Sultana 

Easily Australia’s best fretted export in recent years, Tash Sultana’s unhinged creativity and choppy playing is definitely deserving of a signature model. Since captivating the mainstream conscience with their bedroom renditions of ‘Notion’ and ‘Jungle’ in 2016, Sultana has been shredding on stages around the world with an array of Fender guitars, with some keen eyes spotting a custom thin line Stratocaster that could very well be a prototype for a signature model. We’ll file this one in the ‘watch this space’ section for now…

 

 

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