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Find The Best Guitar For Metal

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Heavy metal is a demanding music genre. While mainstream society paints metal players as a bunch of screaming maniacs, bashing away at their guitars with little intent aside from making as much noise as possible, the truth is that the best guitarists spend years honing their chops. If you don’t have the tone, speed, precision, and skill, you just aren’t going to make it as a metal guitarist.

There are many factors to consider when choosing a guitar for metal, including brand and which subgenre of metal you play. Let’s look at all of the components on the guitar you need to consider so that you can make the best choice for your situation.

If you are just starting out, there are some excellent metal guitars for beginners, that cost about $200.

You can find instruments at this price. When combined with a decent starter amp, they make a solid first setup for an aspiring metalhead.

For serious beginners who are into metal, check out the Jackson’s JS Series. Jackson is a big name in metal, and they build affordable versions of their classic guitars for newbies and players on a budget.

If you are looking for a pro-level guitar, you can spend thousands but it’s not necessary. 

It’s all about your skills and attitude. Great players make average guitars sound great!

ESP 6 String LTD Arrow
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Jackson JS Series
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Ibanez Standard RG421MSP
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Legendary Metal Guitars

 

Gibson Flying V

Gibson Explorer

Jackson Rhoads

Jackson King V

Dean ML

B.C. Rich Warlock

Charvel Star

Ibanez Destroyer

 If you prefer a traditional style, look at single-cutaway body guitars like the Gibson Les Paul. There are also many Les Paul alternatives, like the ESP LTD EC-1000. These guitars often feature mahogany bodies and necks, which produce a dark tone that’s perfect for metal.

Double-cutaway guitars, like the Gibson SG and PRS Custom 24, feature the same metal-friendly tonewoods with different body styles. All of these guitars are great for heavy music.

Another common double-cutaway guitar is the Fender Stratocaster. The Strat is sometimes used in classic metal, but many players prefer playing a superstrat, which is a hot-rodded Strat-style guitar. Some popular superstrat styles are:

Charvel So Cal

Charvel San Dimas

Ibanez RG

Ibanez S

Jackson Soloist

Jackson Dinky

You can also upgrade a Fender Stratocaster yourself. A stock Stratocaster is one of the best guitars for rock, but it can be upgraded to metal quality, with hotter pickups, and a double-locking tremolo.

ESP LTD EC-256FM
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Ibanez S561 S Standard
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Jackson X Series Kelly KEXS
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Best Tonewoods for Metal

Tonewoods are among the most debated aspects of electric guitar design. Some people feel they make a big difference when it comes to tone, where others disagree, insisting it really doesn’t matter what a guitar is made from.

It does matter which wood a body of a guitar is made from, and each species affects your sound in different ways. These days many guitar companies are using alternative tonewoods to cut down on costs and comply with import regulations. Don’t let it be a deciding factor when it comes to choosing a metal guitar.

Some of the most common woods are:

Mahogany: Warm and resonant tone, and a good choice for metal players looking for deep, guttural tones. The Gibson Les Paul is an example of a guitar that employs a mahogany body.

Alder: A brighter tonewood with moderate resonance. Good for shredders and classic metal players. The Fender Stratocaster is an example of a guitar with an alder body.

Basswood: Warm and resonant; not quite as articulate as mahogany. An example of a guitar built with a basswood body is the Ibanez RG.

Neck

Guitar necks can be made from any of the tonewoods mentioned above, though mahogany and maple are the most common. Les Paul-style guitars usually feature mahogany necks, and Strat-style guitars typically have maple necks.

Aside from wood, there are a few more things to think about when it comes to necks. One is the scale length. This is the distance from the nut to the bridge in inches. Six-string, standard electric guitars typically fall into one of three categories:

Gibson scale length = 24.75”

Fender scale length = 25.5”

PRS scale length = 25”

Scale length influences the feel of the strings, and has an impact on tone. A guitar with a shorter scale length will feel looser, and will have a warmer, and deeper sound. A longer scale length will feel tighter, and will give off a brighter and twangier sound.

You also want to consider how the guitar neck attaches to and interacts with the body of the guitar. These are common build styles:

Bolt-on: The neck is literally bolted right to the guitar body, as with a Fender Strat. Guitars built this way tend to have a little more pop to them, but a bit less sustain.

Set-neck: The neck is set and glued into a pocket of the guitar body, as with a Gibson Les Paul. This type of build typically has good resonance and sustain.

Neck-through: The neck extends to a block that runs the length of the body, and the two pieces of the guitar body or “wings” are glued to each side, as with a Jackson Soloist. This kind of guitar has outstanding sustain and resonance.

Jackson JS Series Rhoads
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Dean ML Select
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Dean Guitars Exile Select
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Fretboard

There are several types of guitar fretboards, each made from a different species of wood. As with the body and neck, the fretboard wood has an effect on tone. These are common fretboard wood types:

Maple: Bright and crisp with a somewhat more percussive attack.

Rosewood: Notes ring a little softer and warmer.

Ebony: Somewhere in between rosewood and maple, with a crisp attack.

Metal players should also look at the frets. Jumbo frets are the tallest, widest fretwire available, and make bending notes and leading playing smoother. They are preferred by most metal guitarists, especially shredders.

The fretboard radius is the measurement of the curvature of the fretboard across its width. Some guitars have flatter fingerboards and some rounder.

The term compound radius describes a fretboard with a rounder measurement at the nut and a flatter measurement near the guitar body. This type of fingerboard is often preferred by shredders and metal guitarists.

Bridges & Tremolo

There are several different bridge types found on electric guitars. For metal, you want either a hard-tail bridge or a tremolo bridge (whammy bar).

Hardtail bridges, like the Tune-o-Matic found on the Les Paul, don’t move. This makes it easier to keep your guitar in tune. 

Tremolo bridges, like those found on a Fender Stratocaster, can be manipulated by a tremolo arm. When utilized, the tremolo tightens or slackens the strings causing notes to go sharp or flat. In the hands of a skilled shredder, it can be used to create some amazing dive bombs and other guitar tricks.

The tremolo action causes the strings to move at the nut and bridge saddle, which can make the guitar go out of tune.

This problem is solved by using a double-locking tremolo system such as a Floyd Rose. These systems lock the strings at both the nut and bridge so they can’t move when the tremolo arm is engaged. This is important if you want your guitar to stay in tune.

Pickups

Pickups are essentially magnets wrapped in wire. They create a magnetic field around the strings, and when the strings vibrate they disrupt that field, sending a signal to the guitar’s electronics and ultimately to the amp.

Most metal players choose humbuckers over single-coil pickups. Humbucking pickups were designed decades ago literally to eliminate the hum caused by single-coils pickups. They have a thicker sound compared to single coils, and most players opt for “hot” or high-output humbuckers.

A stronger signal can drive a tube amp harder, and improves sustain and harmonics. This is desirable in heavy music. The two common types of humbuckers on guitars built for heavy music are active and passive.

Passive pickups are standard output pickups. They can be relatively hot, but sound more organic.

Active pickups utilize a battery to increase the output. They are hot and aggressive, which makes them a great choice for heavy music.

Schecter Omen Elite-6 FR
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ESP LTD MH-203QM
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Ibanez RG Standard
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7-String and Extended Range

Metal players have used six-string guitars since the dawn of the genre. Some musicians tune their guitar down a full step or more to get a heavier sound. For most metal players, a six-stringed guitar gets the job done.

A 7 string guitar is for more experienced players. If you are a beginner, it is better to concentrate on the fundamentals  before making things more complicated. A 7 string is great for skilled players. It allows you to extend the range of your notes, without having to adjust the tuning.  Itgives you more choices for chord shapes and finger placement. These were designed for heavier styles of music. They produce the deep, menacing sound of low-pitch open strings, and the ability to move around the fretboard easier.

What is best for you?

These are some of the most popular brands of metal guitars:

Jackson

Ibanez

Charvel

ESP-LTD

Schecter

B.C. Rich

Dean

Your style of music and skill level, should be considered, to find the best guitar for you.

 

Beginners: The Jackson JS Series is great for beginners and intermediate players on a budget. They’re affordable and they look and sound great for the money.

Classic Metal: For old-school, classic metal it is tough to beat a Les Paul or SG. They have a deep, dark sound that just growls with an overdriven Marshall amp. This is the sound of classic metal and hard rock.

Thrash: The Jackson King V or Rhoads have a combination of a nasty attitude, great sound, and speed you need for that genre.

Shred: For shredders and ‘80s glam metal players, Charvel is your best bet. I’d consider one of the Pro Mod models, either the San Dimas or the So Cal.

Power Metal: Modern shredders and power metal guys might check out the Ibanez RG and S Series guitars. These are fast, well-made guitars, from one of the best metal brands in the industry.

Death metal: If you are into extreme metal, check out the Schecter Hellraiser and some of the guitars in the ESP LTD lineup. 

There are many other brands and styles available. Finding the right guitar can be a fun learning process, and will have a big impact on your playing.

Jackson JS32 Warrior
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Jackson JS Series Dinky
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PRS SE Custom 22
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