[PurplePeopleEaters]

Just looking for some opinions on the best guitar brand for metal/hard rock music. I'm looking for a new guitar and i'm trying to narrow down options. Plus I thought it would be cool to see what people like and why. If you have another that you like then just say so.

[Dewy]

What?! No Bullseye Les Paul choice? No PRS? Parker Fly is also a great guitar for "Riffing" and fluid scale work.

Then again, some of the greatest guitarists did their "Shredding" on a Fender Strat... Eric Johnson, SRV, & Hendrix.... well... Yngwie too I suppose. Dave Murray and his dual Humbucker custom Strat... Or EVH and his Custom Strats and Kramers...

Again... the music is an extension of the musician, and the guitar is just a tool. Some more suited to specific applications, but hard rock has to start in the guitarist, not the guitar. Then you can rock hard on an acoustic.

[GT]

Originally Posted by PurplePeopleEaters

Just looking for some opinions on the best guitar brand for metal/hard rock music. I'm looking for a new guitar and i'm trying to narrow down options. Plus I thought it would be cool to see what people like and why. If you have another that you like then just say so.

It´s funny. You didnt posted Gibson (Les Paul/SG) and Fender(Stratocaster of course)
The old metal bands, the beginners, as Black Sabatt, Tommy with his SG and Richie Blackmoore of Deep Purple with his Strat are icons that are attached forever.
And if you say HARD ROCK, well baby, the Les Paul is the weapon of choice.
For the 80´s, yeah, Ibanez, Jackson and E.S.P. raised the flag for this kind of music.
Also, and may i say saddly, those guitars were cheaper than today and some of those guitars had a great quality. But not, Ibanez, cause their quality was not a constant on every model. Some of their axe´s were pieces of woods with strings..... but the RG series were the standard for many beginners and nowadays is a great axe that stills were it should be in quality with relation on the price. So, if its metal, you cant go wrong with Ibanez.

But ESP and Jackson are heavy artillery ...but expensive one...

[Stratrat]

I chose Schecter out of the ones listed in the poll because I'm impressed with their quality, but plenty of guitarists over the years have rocked it well on Strats and Les Pauls. There's also the Gibson SG - once upon a time there was a guy named Angus Young who played some pretty hard rock on one of those.

There are some cool pointy/shredder guitars out there, but don't overlook the classics either......with the right pickups, the right amp, the right effects and (probably most important) the right hands, you can play hard rock/metal on just about any guitar you can plug in. Heck, John5 (Rob Zombie's guitarist) does it on a Telecaster!

[SlickCat]

I voted Ibanez..they have thin fast necks with a flat profile.
However a lot of country guys shred on telecasters.....if you added distortion to some of those runs it would make Malmsteen look crippled.

[PurplePeopleEaters]

I meant to put gibson on there but I had no idea how to change the poll after I had already posted it. That's why I added the add your own option.

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by SlickCat

...However a lot of country guys shred on telecasters.....if you added distortion to some of those runs it would make Malmsteen look crippled.

You betcha! Find a clip of Brad Paisley playing "Nervous Breakdown" and you'll know exactly what SlickCat is talking about. Lots of other great country guitarists who are scary fast also.....and the hard part is that they're playing CLEAN, which means they don't have OD/Distortion to hide your mistakes! Playing clean leaves you naked - any imperfections are right there for everyone to see/hear.

[Stratrat]

Just found this YouTube clip - Greg Koch probably wouldn't be considered a "pure" country guy and he's not playing totally "clean", but he's definitely got some licks on a Tele:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQQIT4SJHpY

[jon_stggt]

Ibenez and Jackson are very popular choices.

[SlickCat]

Great Video...thats what Im talking about

[scott58]

Dean

[Chaotic Kittie]

Jackson or ESP for me. I could say Ibanez too I suppose, but I really, really hate the look of Ibanez guitars, particularly the RG-series. I always get the feeling that they're going to sound like guitar synthesizers right away, only because of the look. >.<

[hermanli_ibanezshredder]

Ibanez pride! Just like Satriani, Vai, Li etc.

[Europa]

Hmm I'd say Ibanez or Schecter, but it would be hard for me to narrow it down to one

[Alrightmax]

come onnn... where's the Fender Strat? Awesome guitar for metal.

Truth be told, I do have and Ibanez floating around somewhere, but it's just not as fun as my strat.