If you have ever been to any live concert or watched any of these bands perform like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden and guys like Steve Vai, Slash, Mark Knopfler and Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman, you would have observed that all of them have one guitar in common. The common guitar is the metal guitar.
Observe closely any of the guitar performers in these bands and you will see one of them playing insanely on the fretboard, this is called shredding where the guitarist uses complex techniques to play some part in between the song.
Ritchie Blackmore, the founder of Deep Purple Band was the first guitarist who invented this type of guitar playing technique.
If you are the type of guitarist who loves the hard type of music which is dominated by high pitched guitar sounds, then you are the type of person who is into heavy metal and the bands or players mentioned above will appeal to you greatly.
So, now what happens next is you decide that you want to pursue your dream and go about finding the right type of guitar for this type of music.
The first thing to remember is that not all different points and shapes of the guitar will be a great guitar for heavy metal music, the most important factor you will have to bear in mind is that you will need to have the best in sustain, tone, and resonance.
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A lot of this depends on the build quality of the guitar itself, the body and neck of the guitar from the materials used in building this guitar.
Further, you will need the hardware to support the guitar a good amplifier and other gear to make your music sound great.
Let us look at some of the guitar used to play heavy metal music.
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Best Guitar for Metal
ESP LTD EC-1000 Review
This guitar comes from the house of ESP Ltd who is known to have built some good quality guitars since the 90’s and they cater to the needs of an amateur to a professional guitarist.
If your preferred style of playing is Rhythm or lead then this guitar will appeal to you, the neck is made of mahogany wood and the body of solid wood.
The fingerboard is made up of rosewood. The locking bridge and tuner combined with Active and Humbucker’s of EMG, Seymour Duncan will allow you to play an array of musical sounds from Rock N Roll to sweet melodious music.
This guitar is a mean machine, build for rugged use and perfect for shredding, this guitar is priced pretty reasonably.
Features:
- The Body is made up of solid wood
- The 24 Fretboard is made up of Rosewood
- The pickup configuration on the bridge is made by EMG for excellent gain in heavy metal music; the active circuitry built in is quite capable of cutting off the sound when not in use
- This is a 6 string guitar with a modern feel and for that perfect soloing the set neck fretboard feels solid which means you can glide through the 24 frets like a breeze
- This guitar also features a Tonepros Locking Bridge system; this means you can use the screws on each of the sides of the bridge and tailpiece to secure the bridge solidly in place. This will ensure your guitar tonal quality, intonation and sustain are better
Things We Liked:
- Tone
- Locking Bridge System
Things We Didn’t Like:
- Bridge setting is quite high
Jackson Pro Series King V KV Review
The design of this guitar is what makes this so special. It is sleek, glossy and has sharp contours.
Any professional solo guitarist wanting to purchase his/her first guitar is likely to think of Jackson as the first name. This because of the niche they have carved for themselves in heavy metal /Rock genre of music.
Features:
- This guitar features a 24 fretboard built of solid mahogany wood for that space and room if your goal is to play more solo, giving you the freedom to explore and create your type of heavy metal music
- The guitar body is made of mahogany wood and has a thru-body neck of maple wood for that amazing sustain
- 2 Seymour Duncan JB pickups, In the bridge position the pickup is great with high output by the TB-4 Humbucker and at the neck ’59 SH-1N Humbucker the vintage-voiced model, however for great sounds it is recommended that you use with a high gain amplifier
- For professionals who like to play fast, they will find the compound-radius ebony fretboard great. It measures from 16” at the neck to 12” at the end with a 24 fret in between. This is a perfect layout and positioning for the heavy metal soloist
- Shark fin keyboard inlay makes this guitar look ferocious
Things We Liked:
- The design and outlay of the keys on the guitar make it look like Heavy metal guitar
- A wide array on the fretboard makes it easy to play fast solos
- The neck-thru 1 piece body allows for sustain
Things We Didn’t Like:
- None
Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HH Floyd Rose Review
If you are the person who loved the heavy metal/rock music of the ’80s and ’90s then this guitar is the perfect choice for that genre of music. This guitar was used by the famous Solo Guitarists in the music industry Eddie Van Halen, Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi in the ’80s and 90s.
Modeled and built by Wayne Charvel who used to work with the leaders in acoustic and electric guitars.
Charvel guitars became famous for maple necks and graphics on their guitars. The rocket red neon finish makes the guitar look like it is ready to race. You can connect it to the amplifier and you not only have the red colored beast but it spits fire when shredded.
Features:
- A solid body with a double cutaway made of solid Alder wood and a gloss finish to spice up the guitar
- The guitar boasts of San Dimas shape made from 1 piece quarter sawn 2 piece maple neck, oil finished neck with 25 ½ “ scale length
- There are 2 pickup’s at the neck T6-6 distortion and at the bridge
- It has a Master volume switch with a 3-way toggle switch for a pickup and a jack mounted at the top for sound output
- It has 24 strings with 22 jumbo frets
Things We Liked:
- 22 well-spaced frets and the 25 ½ scale length is sure to light up the eyes of the guitar soloist
Things We Didn’t Like:
- A little overpriced
Conclusion
Your choice of a good guitar for heavy metal/Rock depends on the tone. Mahogany makes for an excellent choice as the loud notes can be crisp and sharp and the lower sounds can sound deep.
Mahogany necks are much better as compared to maple. Mahogany will offer you strong notes for modern rock music, while maple neck will add a punch to the sound and are preferred to classic metal and rock.
Your choice on the type of wood used in the fingerboards too depends a lot of what type of music you wish to create. Maplewood necks are great for hard rock and shredding whereas rosewood is great for heavy music.
Finally, if your style of music would involve a lot of shredding then you could look at the Charvel brands of electric guitars.
While an electric guitar will look bright and out of this world finish, it’s vital that as a player you look and pay close attention to the woodwork, the fretboard, the strings, the bridge as all this will not only make your guitar look good but also sound good.
Lastly, make sure you have the accessories to back your guitar purchase like amplifiers, shredders, etc.
Hopefully, we have helped you in this review of guitars for metal music, so go out and flaunt your style…HAPPY STRUMMING!
