In 1958, Bo Diddley done had an odd guitar, and on his guitar he had some strings. Strings here and strings there. Strings on the box guitar everywhere. Go ahead and listen to “Hey, Bo Diddley,” if that thoroughly confused you. The originator that was Bo Diddley was certainly a bit unconventional in both his lyric and his tremendous influence on the blues, and his originality was not lost in his guitar.
In our vote we have experienced a tie between the double necked guitar that Jimmy Page continues to jam on and “The Twang Machine” of Bo Diddley. My vote is for “The Twang Machine,” because not only is it amazingly original but it is so different. Page put a guitar on a guitar, but Bo changed the shape of it completely and symbolically changed the shape of good old fashioned blues music. He was a pioneer and all of his history seeped into the rectangular shaped machine that always was adorned like the suitcase of some boxcar traveler.
When judging how “cool” a guitar looks many may look a little to hard into design. Yet, what Bo Diddley expressed in his twang machine was an element of simplicity. A simple box, four corners, no need for wild v necks or fire additions. The simplicity is striking and this adds to how impressive the guitar is. Impressive enough to trump all the rest of them. What do you think?
The Music Court 
BO DIDDLEY, hands down!