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What's a guitar that can handle both rockabilly & "classic" metal in your opinion?

johnnyl80

By johnnyl80
in Electric Guitars

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johnnyl80 Newbie

johnnyl80

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Soundwise I'd need enough sparkle & clarity to do a decent rockabilly impersonification (my band's sound is something between the classic 50s tones and the more modern "revival" ones), and at the same time enough fatness & body for a hard rock/classic metal project I'm starting with a couple friends (think Accept, Judas Priest, Motorhead, etc.)...

And I need it to look "adequate" to both situations too - I just won't play a rockabilly gig with a neon green Ibanez RG! :lol:

 

... Does something like this even exist? :confused:

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csm Newbie

csm

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I need it to look "adequate" to both situations too - I just won't play a rockabilly gig with a neon green Ibanez RG!
:lol:

 

How about a red Jackson?

 

(I THINK it's a Jackson ...)

 

[video=youtube;kzuPIHaC5Wo]

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Edward Newbie

Edward

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A decent, regular SSS Strat or a Tele. Both have a long pedigree of being used as stock in that sort of classic rock/metal stuff, and for all people nowadays thing of Gretsches and the likes as "rockabilly guitars", many if not far more of the original rockabilly records were laid down with Fender's two biggies as what are now thought of as the (stereo)typical rockabilly guitars.

 

[video=youtube;qJK_RReJl2U]

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FoonkySteve Newbie

FoonkySteve

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I thought 'Tele' was the answer to everything?? :idk:

 

But yeah, i would go with a Black out H/H Tele

 

This one in black:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=0142002300

 

or without trem:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=0137702306

 

Blacktop - this is prob the best bet:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/blacktop/models.php?prodNo=014820

 

Cheaper option:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php/?partno=0327502506

 

I've got this in black transparent, a lil different, with p90s but it kicks fooking tits!

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/modernplayer/models.php?prodNo=0241202

 

:thu:

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BigTimeFun Newbie

BigTimeFun

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A decent, regular SSS Strat or a Tele. Both have a long pedigree of being used as stock in that sort of classic rock/metal stuff, and for all people nowadays thing of Gretsches and the likes as "rockabilly guitars", many if not far more of the original rockabilly records were laid down with Fender's two biggies as what are now thought of as the (stereo)typical rockabilly guitars.


/snip

 

 

This.

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johnnyl80 Newbie

johnnyl80

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Wouldn't HSS Strats, Superstrats, SG, Music Man, Axis be all too modern (esp. looking) for rockabilly?

Maybe I just give too much importance to this kind of details - I bet no one in the audience would ever care... :facepalm::lol:

 

The "right" looking Les Paul or a White Falcon would indeed be perfect, but they're both a bit too rich for me at the moment... Maybe a Bigsby'd Studio or something like that...

 

In the end, although I've never been a Fender fan, I must admit that the Tele or (S/S/S) Strat is maybe my main option at the moment... My only concern (being a PAF - and lately P90 - fan) are those "weak" single coils, although I know many players have used them with success in the hard rock/heavy metal realm before...

I've been even thinking about putting a mini humbucker in the bridge of a Tele, or directly getting the Yamaha Mike Stern model, but then I don't know if such a pickup setup would give me the right tone for rockabilly... :facepalm:

 

Blacktop Tele is a good one - and maybe some other humbucker or P90 equipped model... Hmmm...

 

(Please keep 'em suggestions comin' :thu:)

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Edward Newbie

Edward

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Wouldn't HSS Strats, Superstrats, SG, Music Man, Axis be all too modern (esp. looking) for rockabilly?

Maybe I just give too much importance to this kind of details - I bet no one in the audience would ever care...
:facepalm::lol:

 

No, I think that's important. Most things people on here go on and on about incessantly (tubes vs modellers, tyes of pup, sound, fingerboard material..... whatever), the average punter won't give a stuff about. Image, however - even if your image is that horrendously pretentious "I don't have an image, I'm just me" nonsense - really counts for an audience, and the biggest part of that is "looking the part". Just as some guitarists can hear how good a guitar is form the logo or shape of the headstock, many regular punters won't get you if your a "Fifties" band and don't "look sorta fifties" (course, the average punter has little lue of that with any accuracy, but that's another matter). Me, I've always liked the idea of being decidedly incongruous. Always wanted to start a punk band where we all go on stage in immaculate Thirties suits - but that won't always work for an audience.

 

The "right" looking Les Paul or a White Falcon would indeed be perfect, but they're both a bit too rich for me at the moment... Maybe a Bigsby'd Studio or something like that...

 

An LP certainly wouldn't be my choice, but then I don't really like them. Or humbuckers so.. :idk:

 

In the end, although I've never been a Fender fan, I must admit that the Tele or (S/S/S) Strat is maybe my main option at the moment... My only concern (being a PAF - and lately P90 - fan) are those "weak" single coils, although I know many players have used them with success in the hard rock/heavy metal realm before...

I've been even thinking about putting a mini humbucker in the bridge of a Tele, or directly getting the Yamaha Mike Stern model, but then I don't know if such a pickup setup would give me the right tone for rockabilly...
:facepalm:

 

The best thing about a Tele for rockabilly is the Tele bridge. Don't buy into the "weak single coils" argument - it's grade A bull{censored}. Page played stock Teles in the early Zeppelin days. The solo on Stairway is all Tele, and for most of the first couple of albums nobody, not even Page himself, can tell whether he's playing a Tele on those track or a Les Paul. Joe Strummer got plenty balls out of a Tele. A stock Strat bridge pup is, ime, slightly less ballsy than a Tele one (to do with the mounting, no doubt), BUT still plenty enough heavy stuff was played on a stock Strat - Hendrix, Blackmore - hell, Malmsteen plays 'em.

 

What you'll likely find trickier is getting hold of one amp that can cover both well, unless you're open to modelling.

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cephus Newbie

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In my opinion, the les paul is probably the best answer. I think any HH guitar would be best. A strat would be the worst. Just because buddy holly was seen playing one doesn't mean it is the go to rockabilly guitar. Most rockabilly guys back then played gibsons anyway.

 

I tried to play rockabilly on a strat for years and it kind of worked. But I find that the tone I wanted is the middle position on a HH gibson style switch. A tele can do that too, but I think the les paul would just be a whole lot easier to switch back and forth between things that rock hard and clean rockabilly stuff.

 

I think the essence of that rockabilly tone is the middle position (both pickups). It works even better if you have a volume for each so you can adjust the balance between them.

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johnnyl80 Newbie

johnnyl80

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I've always been a big Les Paul fan, it's one of my favourite guitars, so it's definitely an option - but IMO it should be either goldtop and/or loaded with P90s, Bigsby, etc. to look right... A "normal" Studio, Standard or Custom (not that I could afford the last two! :facepalm:) would kind of be out of place... But maybe, as I said, I'm just too obsessed with this kind of things!

 

What you'll likely find trickier is getting hold of one amp that can cover both well, unless you're open to modelling.

That's not a problem actually, I just finished a DIY 2x12" combo which is basically a 5F6 Bassman on one channel and a hot rodded Marshall type circuit (similar to the Laney GH, Ampeg VL and the likes...) on the other... ;)

... Thank you for the detailed answer by the way! :thu:

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noisebloom Newbie

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I thought 'Tele' was the answer to everything??
:idk:

But yeah, i would go with a Black out H/H Tele


This one in black:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=0142002300


or without trem:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=0137702306


Blacktop - this is prob the best bet:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/blacktop/models.php?prodNo=014820


Cheaper option:

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/search.php/?partno=0327502506


I've got this in black transparent, a lil different, with p90s but it kicks fooking tits!

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/modernplayer/models.php?prodNo=0241202


:thu:

 

I like these answers.

 

I think a Les Paul swings a little bit too far into the classic metal territory. I think an HH Tele is very close to right in between, right where it should be. It's bright enough for rockabilly, yet it can get heavy enough for classic metal.

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