Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

[GuyKawka]

ESP-MII Standard
Jackson-RR/Kelly
Ibanez-JS/Steve Vai/RG
Gibson-SG Standard

Which would be the best out of these and how much does the M-II Stan. cost? My limit is about 1110USD, I'm looking for a good guitar that will match Shred/Heavy Metal/and a little mix of Classic/Hard Rock.

And which pickup would be better: Seymour Duncans or EMG's? I'm guessing SD's are good for Classic Rock/Hard Rock/some Heavy Metal and EMGs-Shred/Heavy Metal?
Thanks. And I think I'm going to get an AVT20, will it be good?

 

[nuntius]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

best in what regards?

I haven't played the ESP or Jackson to my knowledge so i won't commen on them, but i do know the ESP has an original floyd on it which is IMO the best locking trem system but you cant go wrong with the ibanez Edge's really.

Which Vai/Satch/RG models you looking at?

im sure the cheap Vai is basswood and the expensive one alder so that would make a difference.. and the cheap one has a cheaper trem too which i wouldnt reccomend, if we're talking about the old trems. but they brought out new trems the other year so i dont know. I doubt you'll get the expensive one for 1100 dollars though

The JS is quite nice to play, my only niggle with it was the backrouted floyd but thats personal preference.

i have an RG 570 and dont like it anymore, the neck is too thin and the stock pups were awful.

SG's are nice, and hardtail which is a bonus! They can be a bit neck heavy though, and dont sound as full as a LP. Gomano shreds one though i think, so you could ask him.

 

[GuyKawka]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

I was kind of leaning towards the Gibby SG (Back when I was playing Heavy/Trash Metal and Hard/Classic Rock, and then I started shreddin like Becker/Vai/Satriani/Angelo/Romeo stuff, so I was thinking. Anyways if I get the SG I'm putting Duncans in it probably and if I get an ESP its not going to be as versatile (EMG's). Jacksons are Duncans and Duncans are pretty damn versatile, so I don't know. Oh and by the way, I'm thinking about taking the Ibanez's off of my list.

So in the mean time-I'm still leaning towards the SG and putting Duncans in it. What do you think and what duncans should I put in the SG? I barely know about Duncans but I heard the JB/TB4's are good...

 

[nuntius]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

well TBH you don't need a pointy headstocked thin necked guitar if you want to play stuff like that just because they do.

shredding is about technique.. YJM sounds amazing on his strat, a lot better than a lot of people ever will with their custom shop Jackson's and high end ESP's or Jem's.

The floyd is a personal thing. If you're going to use it, nothing works like one. If your not going to use it nothing p1sses you off like one

you have to understand with a floating floyd you cant really do alternate tunings.

have you ever considered a wolfgang? its one of the few production guitars i really like, sounds great (even the korean model) and the neck is really nice.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

The floyd is a personal thing. If you're going to use it, nothing works like one. If your not going to use it nothing p1sses you off like one

That's about the best way to describe a floyd. Couldn't have said it better myself.

As far as the question, there really is no "best" guitar for a style. Bodyshapes have been streotyped, however, and that may be why you're assuming one would be better than the other. It's all about how the guitar feels in your hands.

Don't automatically assume that Duncans are going to be mre versatile than a set of duncans - it's going to depend entirely on what duncans come in the Jackson. I'm willing to bet the hotter duncans are no more versatile than EMG 81s.

 

[Saggy]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

If you're going to be dropping $1,110 on a guitar and aftermarket pickups, you're not going to be doing it justice by using an AVT20. Through that amp, in some regards, you might as well be using a $200 guitar w/ aftermarket pickups. If I were you, I would seriously reconsider a more balanced distribution of my spending. The amp is a huge, HUGE part of your tone.

$200 guitar into $1,000 amp > $1,000 guitar into $200 amp

 

[Mr Wolf]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

There isnt really a 'best' guitar for certain styles. Its not so much the guitar you use for a certain style, its the way you use it. Find the one that your hands find best. The only really limiting factor in guitars is whether they take single coils or humbuckers and whether you want a floyd or not.

Im with Saggy, get a nice amp. After technique, thats where most of your tone comes from. I saw a kid with his PRS that his daddy got him play with his whiny nu metal band through an AVT 150, scooped mids. Sounded awful. AVTs can sound OK but not special IMO.

Try a Korean Wolfie as Nuntius said, i tried one not long ago and its neck was gorgeous and it sounded nice. Good bang for the buck. I recommend you go into a guitar shop and find a guitar that fits your hands, and try out some amps.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

$200 guitar into $1,000 amp > $1,000 guitar into $200 amp

Sorry, but your equation is totally wrong. A $200 guitar plays like a $200 guitar. It will ultimately get in the way of any sort of technical progression, and this guy wants to shred. You need a guitar that will let you play with low action, has a fast neck, and has good fret finishing. Why put $200 into a POS guitar you will only replace later anyway?!

Of all the guitars you listed, I would recommend the Ibanez Jem 7D or the ESP M-II standard. Street price for an M-II will be about $1k. The list price for it is $1600, I believe. These are both excellent guitars in your price range.

Stay away from the godawful Korean made Ibanez and LTD stuff.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

well TBH you don't need a pointy headstocked thin necked guitar if you want to play stuff like that just because they do.

shredding is about technique.. YJM sounds amazing on his strat...

Good point.

I was in a similar situation not long ago with just about the same budget. After trying a bunch of guitars and feeling generally underwhelmed I eventually decided on a guitar that was never on my list: a Strat. It absolutely nails the hard rock stuff (it practically wrote the book on it,) and with an added humbucker (Fat Strat, HSS, or whatever they now call it) I can get the metal stuff too.

 

[Davey]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

+1 to the jacksons

 

[nuntius]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

Sorry, but your equation is totally wrong. A $200 guitar plays like a $200 guitar. It will ultimately get in the way of any sort of technical progression, and this guy wants to shred. You need a guitar that will let you play with low action, has a fast neck, and has good fret finishing. Why put $200 into a POS guitar you will only replace later anyway?!

ok i agree and disagree with some of the stuff you've said.

a $200 will play like a 200 dollar guitar - i totally agree.

however Saggy was refering to tone, and amps are where its at.. most guitars are gonna sound amazing through your rivera (lucky bastid!) but any of your high line stuff through a cheap amp isnt gonna sound as great.


low action and fast neck are preference.. a lot of people dont like my guitars because i have a 3mm action at the 12th fret and i can "shred" to some extent on it.. the action is very stiff which i prefer.


I see your point however, a cheap guitar may not be able to be set low without buzz because of a poorly cut nut or whatever reason related to quality at that price.

I dont think Saggy's price quotes were perfect but he was making the point that the amp is more important than the guitar to some extent.

Stay away from the godawful Korean made Ibanez and LTD stuff.

well im not gonna argue with that!

 

[GuyKawka]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

Ok. I'm still kind of sticking to the AVT. My guitar teacher said that it will really be fine, he said its a pretty good amp. I'm kind of sticking away from the Fender Strats. (Not that I have anything against them). I've been playing a Squire Bullet Strat (yeah don't flame) that was pretty good for me, but now I don't really want another Fender/Squire. Take the Kelly off of the list for sure. I'm almost surre I don't want a Steve Vai Ibanez. But lately I've only heard good even great tings about the ESP M-II. So try and stay away from the amps/fenders. So now the list is like this:

ESP: M-II
Jackson: RR5
Ibanez: Joe Satriani/RG High End Model
Gibson: SG Standard

So which would you choose for Shred/Heavy Metal/some Classic and Hard Rock?

 

[GuyKawka]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

Oh ya and if I get an M-II I think I'm going to replace the pups with EMG's- should I?

 

[ChrisB]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

As some of the others have said and IMO, the amp is where most of the sound is shaped. Do NOT skimp on the amp. It took me years and lots of cash to realise this.

As soon as I bought a top quality (single channel 20 watt, 1 x 12) tube amp I was able to get any of the tones that I had been looking for. Set the amp for a crunch tone, roll down the guitar volume for clean and step on a od pedal to push it over the edge.

Do yourself a favour and buy a high quality 20-50 watt all tube combo and then get something like an old second-hand Ibanez RG550, and stick a Custom Custom in it. Best shreding setup I ever had.

 

[y2stevo]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

Do yourself a favour and buy a high quality 20-50 watt all tube combo, Best shreding setup I ever had.

I agree and Try out a peavey Wolfgang, best shredding guitar ive ever played, it deos everything great, great cleans and everything in between, ,IM the wolfgang felt much better than any high end RG ive played although im not a fan of the RG's shapes or WIzard necks..The Big plus on the Wolfgang is its a non recessed Floyd so you can easily change tunings and setup in no time..
I was also considering an Ibanez Satch model for a far in the future purchase but ona thought , i think there cool looking guitars but haven yet tried one..

Chris is see your up north, how it going up there?? :laugh2:

Oh and Yes what everyone said about the Amp, Honestly if you want the pricey guitar first then do not get an amp until you can afford a good one... :dance:

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

Go with the M-II; if you don't like the EMGs, swap 'em, but I can't see why you wouldn't like 'em. It's a monster guitar at a very good price ...

To the people offering advice about amps: He has an amp he's happy with! He wants a better guitar. Please keep this ON TOPIC.

 

[mr breaker]

Re: Which guitar brand is best for shred/heavy metal/and a little classic rock?

I've got a gibson SG and recently just put in a 59n/custom combo. The custom can nail hard rock/metal/classic rock tones no problem (with the right amp....I use a DSL)

Anyway...I get great tone from this setup and highly recommend it.


Off topic...I had been playing .9 gauge strings and just recently switched to .10's....they really beefed up the tone!