10 Iconic Rock Stars' Guitars
8. Mick Ronson - Stripped Gibson Les Paul
Mick Ronson was the ultimate glam rock guitar icon. He was the perfect visual and sonic foil to enable David Bowie to realise his unique vision. Ronson was not only a fantastic guitarist, he was also a skilled producer and arranger, working on some landmark albums. When Ronson joined Bowie's band he basically had a Marshall stack a Cry Baby and the '68 Les Paul Custom that he employed for the duration of his tenure with Bowie.
The finish on Ronson's Les Paul was the result of stripping away the original colour to leave the wood underneath. Randy Rhoads was so influenced by Ronson that he not only borrowed the cream Les Paul and Marshall combo but his hairstyle as well. Ronson played a blue Fender Telecaster in the later years of his life and proved the old adage to be true about sound being all in the hands, as his sound wasn't much different than when he was wielding the Les Paul.
These days most major league rock guitarists go on tour with a veritable shop's worth of guitars, but back in Ronson's heyday he was pretty much a one guitar guy. Incidentally, if you want to channel the Ronson mojo, Gibson make a signature model for a mere $7000.