Many iconic guitarists own many different instruments over the course of their career, and many—like Stevie Ray Vaughan, who called his most cherished six-string his "First Wife"—develop a deep love for that one special guitar. Whether it's a well-aged acoustic or a banged-up electric or an axe assembled from bits of this and pieces of that, some guitars just have that certain je ne sais quoi that makes them as famous as their owners.

Here are four pieces of gear that I have used personally and consider to be gear—among a mountain of other gadgets and gizmos—that has revolutionized the way we make, and experience, music.

Electric guitars are made with a myriad of options, with various pickups, bridges, fret sizes, tone woods, tuners and such all having an impact on how an instrument plays and sounds. But stripping things down to the absolute basics, there are three types of electric guitars to chose from: hollow body, solid body, and semi-hollow body.

The guitar acclimates to its environment. Sudden variations can stress it out and cause a host of physical damage such as warping, cracking, and chemical deterioration. When it comes to the guitar and weather, the rule of thumb is not to expose your instrument to any climate conditions that throw you yourself out of whack.