Schematics- Updated as I find new examples

This is a listing of guitarist with unique notable tones then seeing if they did it with mostly guitar wiring, rig effects, guitar type or combination.  Most standouts tweaked guitar wiring while some relied only on effects and rig equipment. 

Circuits- Grouped by guitar scale length

Short scale- less than 24.75" Gibson
Dave Navarro
Santana
Brian May

Scale length- 24.75" Gibson and others
Jimmy Page
Garcia- Tiger, Wolf and Travis Bean
Townsend
Zakk Wylde
Joe Perry
BB King
Mark Knopfler

Long scale- more than 24.75" Gibson includes Fenders at 25.5"
Billy Corgan
Bo Diddley
Clapton
Eddie Van Halen
Richie Sambora
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Trey Anastasio
David Gilmore and the SSL pickup
Jimmie Hendrix
Buddy Guy
Muddy Waters
John Mayer
Thurston Moore 
Jeff Beck
Curt Cobain
Dick Dale (classic surf strat)
George Lynch
Buckethead

Rigs and effects
Kieth Richards
Johnny Ramone
Stephen Stills
Mike McCready Pearl Jam
The Edge
Slash
Warren Haynes- varies with bands- Goverment Mule, Allmans, Dead, Other
(Hendrix should also probably be here)
   

Guitar scale length effects tone and comparison is toward the bottom of the post. Shorter scale lengths have softer/looser strings and easier bends.

Scale Lengths

In addition to table below:  

• PRS =25" 
• Schecter= 24.75" and Travis Bean TB 500 = 24.75
• Jerry Garcia's Tiger by Doug Irwin= 24.75 and a hefty 14 pounds compared to Les Pauls weigh 9 lbs now but were 12 lbs in the 50s and 60s
• Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein Guitar and Treys 25.5" same as Strat
• Buckethead 27" scale length 

Links are on most images. 

Short scale length guitars (shorter than Gibson)

Dave Navarro 25" Scale length PRS

Dave Navarro PRS

Santana- 25" scale length for PRS Guitars

Brian Mays guitar was a 24" scale length custom built by Ed Roman.  Romans other guitars are 25".

24.75" Scale length- Gibson and others

Sold to Jerry Isray Indy Colts owner 2002 for $950,000.  Guess it helped win the 2006 Superbowl.

Built by Doug Irwin and delivered 1973 with 2 versions to follow through 1993 when Tiger by Cripes arrived.  The Travis Bean was played early 80s and traded off with Wolf

 

Garcia Inspired

Townsend  - Les Paul

Joe Perry Gibson

Zakk Wylde Les Paul

BB King Varitone

Mark Knofler Wiring

25.5" Scale length - Strat and others

Bo Diddley 25.5" scale with 2 hum bucks and 4 knob setup- neck vol, bridge vol, master vol and master tone.  3 position switch neck, bridge and both.

Billy Corgan

Bo Diddley

Eric Clapton Strat with Board to Boost Midrange

Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein

Richie Sambora Strat

 

 

Stevie Ray 

Stevie Ray switch info

Buddy Guy Polka Dot Strat

Muddy Waters Tele

John Mayer Strat

Treys Wiring

David Gilmore

SSL-5 high output pickup

David Gilmour approached Seymour Duncan in the the late 1980s to enquire about getting a single coil with hotter output than standard Fender Stratocaster pickups.Gilmour's tone was so delicate that he wasn't willing to switch a single coil out of the Strat for a humbucker, and thus the Seymour Duncan SSL-5 single coil was born. It featured stronger magnets and was more aggressive than a standard single coil pickup, but cleaned up nicely and produced a mellow sound with the volume pot rolled off slightly on a Stratocaster..

In a blog on the Seymour Duncan website, Evan Skopp said:

"When the so-called SSL-1C, which was a one-off designed for Mr. Gilmour, eventually went into production, it became the SSL-5 Custom. The SSL-5 you buy today is essentially the same pickup as the SSL-1C that Phil Taylor [guitar tech for Gilmour] ordered from Seymour and which went into the Black Strat. "For Fender’s DG Black Strat reissue and as a tribute to this bit of guitar history, we stamp “SSL-1C” into the bottom flatwork of the SSL-5s that are installed in the bridge position of that guitar." David Gilmour spent years of his life trying to perfect the setup of his famed 'Black Strat', and he eventually stuck with the SSL-1C. He had previously tried PAF humbuckers, and a number of alternative single coils. It is now a guitar with one of the most recognisable tones in the industry.

Link to build of the Gilmore Strat:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?191286-A-4000-David-Gilmour-Guitar-for-less-than-750%85

There is a lot on the web on Gilmores black strat.  You can build a good mod or pay the $4000 from Fender Custom Shop

Here is one version of the circuit:

 

Hendrix Wiring

Thurston Moore Sonic Youth

Jimi Hendrix Effect

 Jeff Beck Wiring

Kurt Cobain Wiring

Dick Dale Surf Strat

George Lynch Single Vol knob guitar- strat

Guitars longer than 25.5 scale length

Buckethead Wiring Kill Switch- scale length  27" monster

Rigs and Equipment 

Kieth Richards

See link for guitars and info - amazing the stones had 65 stage ready guitars at every show

http://members.tripod.com/blue_lena/guitar2.html

Richards trademark is Macawber (Dickens character) a 53 Telecaster that has been reworked with a top loading bridge and a Gibson PAF in the neck position.  Tuned to open G with no low E string so only 5 strings and the same for his sunburst telecaster 'Sonny'  5 screw pickguard with a broken point between the neck and pickup. Bridge is brass with chrome striped. Flat top knobs with a strat switch knob.

Stephen Stills- Just a Gretch White Victory

Johnny Ramone

Pearl Jam Mike McCready Rig 1997

U2 The Edge Rig

Slash Rig

Warren Haynes

What he plays depends on the band and more details than can be listed here.  Links have the info and the second link is about the Garcia symphony tributes 2013 where he plays Jerrys 'Wolf ' guitar. Sold for $780,000 in 2002 so probaly most expensive instrument Warren has played. Original provided in 73 for $1500.

http://www.uberproaudio.com/who-plays-what/421-warren-haynes-guitar-gear-rig-and-equipment

http://www.gratefulweb.com/articles/warren-haynes-north-carolina-symphony-tribute-jerry-garcia

Relic Techniques

This section will give references for relic techniques and image examples.

My best reference is a natural relic 70 Stratocaster that I bought in the early 90s.  The previous owner played in a punk band in NYC and brought it into a local music store to swap for something else. I bought it right after he left. He played it hard, banged it up a little and apologized for sticking his cigarettes in the strings of the headstock when he played.   

The nitro colors are aged and dark. weather checking and wear are obvious and not overdone compared to the relics on the street.  

Weather Checking

Note original old nitro finish looks green under a black light and new nitro looks purple/blue

Taken from: Relic Deluxe - Vintage Relic Guitar How-To and 50s Pinups for Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, and Gibson Les Paul, SG, and ES-335 330 Guitars

"The last step is weather checking in the clear coat finish, where there are little lines like spider veins running along the finish. What causes this on original vintage instruments is the way the body wood contracts and expands over time. Being stored in differing climates over the years affects the wood; whether in a car, closet, studio, girlfriend's apartment, or whatever. To relic the guitar, we simply speed up that process so it happens in a matter of minutes. As with the other steps, be SUBTLE. The first few guitars I did were so checked they looked like puzzle pieces glued into the shape of a guitar!

Anyway, start by holding a hair dryer about an inch away from the surface of the body and moving it back and forth so that you're heating up about half the surface area on one side. After the surface is good and hot (maybe 3-4 minutes), hold your can of compressed air upside down and generously spray frosty liquid over the area you heated up. You will probably hear some light popping and cracking. The wood was expanded by the heat of the hair dryer, and the frost from the compressed air rapidly cools it down and makes it contract. The finish doesn't expand and contract as quickly as the wood, which causes the weather checking. After the frost I run the hair dryer over the same area again, which of course expands the wood again and increases the checking effect.

Now repeat this process on all parts of the body where you want the weather checking. It's probably more realistic to have it here and there as opposed to covering the entire surface of the guitar body. As soon as you've gotten it how you like it, polish the entire body's surface with a clean, dry cotton rag and some polish. This is because the frost liquid will leave a slight residue that resembles hard water spots you might get on your car if you washed it and let it air dry. For polish I use 3M Finesse It II, which was originally designed for cars".

Pickguard

New plastic pickguards are to shiney and if you look at actual guards from the 40s, 50s and 60s most are in good shape without much scratching but they are slightly dulled. The dullness is not usually from dirt buildup which is easy to replicate. They are dull from the uv light degrading the plastic surface evenly across the entire piece. Solvents and other chemical treatments do not work to give this effect. Steel wool or other abrasive pads will take away the gloss but show swirl or directional scratching. The best result is using Stewmac medium polishing compound followed by swirl remover polishing compound on a drill with a buffing pad.

I went back later and did more work to deglaze since it was still to shiny. Wet sanded lightly with 1200 micro grit paper then buffed with medium paste to get a little shine back.  Looks better and also better to make small changes and do not to much in the first step.  You can always go back and do more but you can not 'undo' things to easily.

One side note on repairing body play scratches like in the photo. They can be removed or greatly reduced with the same polishing compounds. Care must be taken not to polish through thin old finish coats. Weather checking will also be removed which is not prefered so I tend to leave them on but at times reduce them with a light buffing like on the guitar in the picture.

Metal Pieces

Many youtube videos and websites relic metal pieces by buffing them with steel wool, placing them in a box and shaking them to nick them up then acid treating to oxidize the surface especially in the roughed up spots.  These are way overdone if you look at the Fender Custom Shop series. 

The metal wear on the old strat is plenty of tarnish but still a lot of shine. No nicks and very minor scratching. The screw heads and portions of the bridge show heavier tarnishing. 

Here is what works to get this close with nickel plate hardware.

1. Don't bang it up or only minor nicks.

2. Acid bath headspace ov sealed container for 2 1/2 hours to oxidize the finish

3. Air dry or 4 hours without wiping or rinsing

4. wipedown with a damp paper towel or cloth

Parts in plastic tray over muriatic acid

New and shiny hardware

Final tarnished parts

Fender Custom Shop Relic Examples

They study old used guitar examples then reproduce them in their timeline series. These are 'right' based on wear compared to others that are more extreme and go into heavily used or slightly abused categories.

Some Examples Working on Technique