Members Steadfastly Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 I've seen people ask about these on this forum a number of times. Although I think shredding is a poor form of music, if music at all, I was wondering, what makes a guitar a shredding guitar? Does it really have anything to do with the guitar since we all have different size hands and fingers and we don't all like the same neck style or radius as the next person. Wouldn't what one person thinks is a shredding guitar feel awkward in another person's hands? What are your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wartoxin Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 It's self explanatory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frettbuzz Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 does not matter on the guitar all comes down to the player.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zantor9 Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 I would say that if a shredder really didn't like the feel of a certain guitar he's playing, then he wouldn't want to shred on it. If you like a guitar, you'll want to shred on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sylvesterlowery Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 I think you can shred on just about any guitar out there. That being said, most of my collection is "shredder type guitars", i.e.:Superstrats. Just always been a fan of them, Ibanez RG's and S-Series guitars in particular. And the funny thing is, I can't really shred at all. I play stoner/doom metal. I just like thinner necks, modified Strat style bodies, and high output pickups. And sometimes, double locking trems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_gunslinger Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 does not matter on the guitar all comes down to the player.... This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Well, the standards are Ibanez, Charvels, Jacksons, ESPs etc... Some say that you can't shred on a traditional Fender Strat, but Malmsteen seems to do OK. Some say that you can't shred on a Les Paul, but Buckethead does. I can't personally name an actual, current shredder that primarily uses a 335 or a full hollow as his main guitar, but I've seen Brian Setzer play reasonably fast on one... I guess put me down for, 'any guitar that fits your hands, but there are definitely standard shredder guitars as well.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EADGBE Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 In my opinion shredders tend to be solid bodies. Usually have humbuckers. Especially at the bridge. Usually these pickups are high output. The frets tend to be higher than vintage. The fretboards tend to be flatter than vintage too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted October 16, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 So it seems to be more in the neck than in the body? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ferdinandstrat Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Absolutely nothing, any guitar can be a shredding guitar. I shredded a Les Paul, a Strat and even a Tele at one point and all were great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 So it seems to be more in the neck than in the body? Yes. It's the neck. Now I'm not saying you can't shred on just about any guitar, but there is a standard, and it's all built around flatter, wide fretboards, almost akin to Classical guitars, the "guitar wizard" genre to defined the late '80's and early '90's is heavily borrowed from classical playing. This setup allows a lot faster, cleaner, more accurate single note scales up and down the neck...but it does so at the expense of ergonomics for chords and rhythm guitars. Does that stop Jeff Beck from shredding on an Esquire or the baseball-bat neck on his sig Strat? No. But he is a exception to outright pre-dates shredding as a genre of music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members underivy Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Yeah, sure, if the guitar fits your hands well, you can shred it. Buckethead can shred the crap out of that huge LP of his.....but he's Buckethead. He can probably palm a basketball with ease. There is definitely a standard. Obviously, everything comes down to one's own personal preferences, but probably most people prefer to shred on a certain type of guitar, which is why we have "shredder-type" guitars in the first place. I'm not saying that people can't shred on "non-shredder" type guitars.....I'm not saying that a certain type of guitar is a requirement. I'm only saying that there's a standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkstorm Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 In my opinion shredders tend to be solid bodies. Usually have humbuckers. Especially at the bridge. Usually these pickups are high output. The frets tend to be higher than vintage. The fretboards tend to be flatter than vintage too. Yup agrees with that as the most common things. Necks a big part with high output humbukers as next main thing along with solid body instead of semi hallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TomCTC Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Absolutely nothing, any guitar can be a shredding guitar. I shredded a Les Paul, a Strat and even a Tele at one point and all were great. Yup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted October 16, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 One of the things that started me thinking about this is that I have large hands and not that I can shred as I'm still pretty much a beginner but I thought why would someone with hands the size of mine need a special guitar to shred. I guess, though, a wider neck would be actually beneficial to someone like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ac30guy Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Well, I have 2 guitars that I play mostly, one is an old american Kramer, which not alot of people know about, but IMO they're the best shredder guitars in existence...low low low frets, super low action, floyd, plays effortlessly...I wouldn't call the humbuckers high output either...they're JBs...sounds awesome, shreds itself...but then again, I can "shred" on my tele...can't quite get Tremonti riffs as clean on it due to higher action, but I can get around really fast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EllenGtrGrl Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 I got bored with shredding quite a few years ago, but I've only owned one so-called shredder guitar (a gibson Q-4000), and frankly I didn't find it any easier to shred on it, than any other guitar. But that's just me and my playing style. It may be different for other people. But, IMO, if you're comfortable playing a guitar, and you have the chops, you can shred on any guitar, even if it doesn't fit the sterotype for a "shredder guitar." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EADGBE Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 ...I wouldn't call the humbuckers high output either...they're JBs...sounds awesome, shreds itself... Well they're higher output than a PAF. And they're about the same as a super distortion. The JB is a great shredder pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 I play with quite a high action and thick strings - generally I play blues-rock music and this helps me to get the tone I like... When I borrowed someone else's strat due to my own string-breakage the other week I was shredding away with amazing ease. Similarly, when my LP arrived in the mail with 10s and a low action I was playing incredibly fast on that too!**** I guess it's all in the set-up. But, I have been thinking about getting another shred-dedicated guitar to string up with 9s. And if I did, I'd probably go looking at superstrats.... **** - edit: for me, anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Anyone who views "shredding" as a lower form of music are just whiny bitches who can't do! Seems to be the natural reaction for musicians. It's always "Why would I want to..." if you can't already. That said, I like strat-type guitars for solo work myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 You can shred on any guitar. It depends on your chops, not the type of guitar you play. But some guitars have a more "metal-shred" vibe than others, like the Jackson Soloist (imho). Something like this might help to put you "in the mood" for shredding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted October 16, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Anyone who views "shredding" as a lower form of music are just whiny bitches who can't do! Seems to be the natural reaction for musicians. It's always "Why would I want to..." if you can't already.That said, I like strat-type guitars for solo work myself. I wonder if it could be the other way around, in that people who shred can't play melodiously and whine at those who think shredding is not very musical? Since I know of some who fit this scenario I thought it could happen as well. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ferdinandstrat Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 I wonder if it could be the other way around, in that people who shred can't play melodiously and whine at those who think shredding is not very musical? Since I know of some who fit this scenario I thought it could happen as well. Just a thought. I think it could go both ways. I also think both are just complete whinos who are too damn lazy to develop these playing styles, who when post on a forum saying one is just a lower form of whatever are just trying to stroke their E-dicks and enlarge their damn ego. So instead of whining on the internet pickup the goddamn guitar and develop either speed or a {censored}ing sense of melody or whatever(FYI I am currently away from the guitar and whenever I am on the boards the guitar is one my knees and I practice it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HELSTRUME Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 Most shredders like tall frets also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shredder1 Posted October 16, 2010 Members Share Posted October 16, 2010 I tend to use an ESP for shredding, neo classic, sometimes my JEMs, mainly something with 24 frets and a floyd rose or dirivitive, superstrat style guitar, I think the type of guitar you use tends to dictate what you play and the mood you are in at the time, I tend to play more bluesy/rocky/harmonic on the Les Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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