Dante
Well-known member
the point of this thread is to let people define "metal guitar". anything goes, as long as you mean it. no referring to other posts or criticizing. just post what you think a metal guitar is/should be.
it's just supposed to be an outlet for what people expect from a guitar, not a discussion. if you happen not to play metal, but want to tell us what you expect (in any sense of the word) from a metal guitar, let us know on which side of the fence you are.
The Arrogantly Short list:
EMGs, mahog+ebony or ash+something, tone-o-matic/Floyd Rose, awesome cringeworthy shape, hangs almost vertical, flat thin neck with 24 frets, black. or white. or trans black. or ruby! a modified 20th would go a long way for most lead players. or timid headbangers.
the boring ****:
a metal guitar is a guitar with high output humbuckers which sound best going thru really heavy distortion. emgs are my favourite. although a part of me just wants to follow the trend and say that mahogany+ebony with a 81/60 set are the best, listening to jeff loomis (Maple+ASH!!!) makes me realize that alot can be done with any wood and pickup choice.
it should stay in tune extremely well. having a locking trem is a way of having great tuning stability, although a tune-o-matic fixed bridge is my favourite as it's saddles snag the string, which changes the tone, making it "snort" more on the low strings. but if i had to choose a guitar to gig with, without the option of having someone tuning my second guitars, i'd go with the floyd.
metal guitars designed for lead guitarists are more frequently (compared to rhythm players) conservative in design. because of the solos, the guitar hangs higher and spiky ends are avoided. for the rhythm player, different rules apply. the guitar needs to perform well but needs to look the part too. as a rule of thumb: if it makes old people cringe, it's in the right direction. performing isn't just art, it's entertaining as well.
for lead players, anything loosely based around the classic double cut design will work. V shaped guitars are also fret free in most cases. Asymetric Vs lock easilly onto the right leg when standing, pushing the guitar to the left, which allows even better access to the upper frets. double cuts do the same but without the locking, simply resting upon the leg.
other than the V, the X shape(ironically, also pioneered by the same makers of traditionally minded guitars), is also frequently used as a base template for metal guitars. this is my fave, although the original model has severe performance problems. modern variations on these model have been very successful. there are also hybrid models, combining the shape of X and V models.
the guitar should hang close to vertical for the picking hand's sake.
EBMM has 3 different tones of black, 2 whites and 1 silver, trans black and ruby, more than enough to keep most metal fans happy. no need to go there =)
it's just supposed to be an outlet for what people expect from a guitar, not a discussion. if you happen not to play metal, but want to tell us what you expect (in any sense of the word) from a metal guitar, let us know on which side of the fence you are.
The Arrogantly Short list:
EMGs, mahog+ebony or ash+something, tone-o-matic/Floyd Rose, awesome cringeworthy shape, hangs almost vertical, flat thin neck with 24 frets, black. or white. or trans black. or ruby! a modified 20th would go a long way for most lead players. or timid headbangers.
the boring ****:
a metal guitar is a guitar with high output humbuckers which sound best going thru really heavy distortion. emgs are my favourite. although a part of me just wants to follow the trend and say that mahogany+ebony with a 81/60 set are the best, listening to jeff loomis (Maple+ASH!!!) makes me realize that alot can be done with any wood and pickup choice.
it should stay in tune extremely well. having a locking trem is a way of having great tuning stability, although a tune-o-matic fixed bridge is my favourite as it's saddles snag the string, which changes the tone, making it "snort" more on the low strings. but if i had to choose a guitar to gig with, without the option of having someone tuning my second guitars, i'd go with the floyd.
metal guitars designed for lead guitarists are more frequently (compared to rhythm players) conservative in design. because of the solos, the guitar hangs higher and spiky ends are avoided. for the rhythm player, different rules apply. the guitar needs to perform well but needs to look the part too. as a rule of thumb: if it makes old people cringe, it's in the right direction. performing isn't just art, it's entertaining as well.
for lead players, anything loosely based around the classic double cut design will work. V shaped guitars are also fret free in most cases. Asymetric Vs lock easilly onto the right leg when standing, pushing the guitar to the left, which allows even better access to the upper frets. double cuts do the same but without the locking, simply resting upon the leg.
other than the V, the X shape(ironically, also pioneered by the same makers of traditionally minded guitars), is also frequently used as a base template for metal guitars. this is my fave, although the original model has severe performance problems. modern variations on these model have been very successful. there are also hybrid models, combining the shape of X and V models.
the guitar should hang close to vertical for the picking hand's sake.
EBMM has 3 different tones of black, 2 whites and 1 silver, trans black and ruby, more than enough to keep most metal fans happy. no need to go there =)
