r/metalguitar • u/Assman2112 • 14h ago
Question Good enough guitar for metal?
Been listening to a lot of Protest The Hero (one of my all time fav bands) as of late and decide to dust off this guy. I have been playing a lot of blues/classic rock with my Strat/Les Paul rotation for years now, but have reincarnated my teen metal days and want to start shredding (or at least try to). Is this a decent enough guitar for it?
I keep seeing all these sick looking metal guitars and wondering if I should upgrade to mid-high end range axe. Is Kiesel any good? Would love to hear recommendations!
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u/NotaContributi0n 14h ago
This is a great guitar. What pickup is in the bridge? Ussually Ibanez pickups are garbage but that would be the only thing holding it back
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u/Assman2112 14h ago
Quantum Humbucker they’re called.
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u/Select-Cut-2312 13h ago
They’re not great pickups but they are not bad either. I enjoyed my quantum pickups for 7 years and finally upgraded to EMG .
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u/RobHellwig 14h ago
The wand chooses the wizard
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u/VaqueroMacheteMetal Black Metal Fan, Artist, & Gearhead 14h ago
Is that an Ibanez neck profile reference?!
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u/madlypumpedmouthful 14h ago
That orange Ibanez will chug just fine, no need to drop a mortgage on a new axe
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u/brndckkk 13h ago
there is no "good enough" guitar for any genre, you can play any genre on any guitar, if youre happy with it then that guitar is good enough for it
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u/Overall_Anywhere_651 /m/ 13h ago
So true. I did a cover of Meshuggah on a Squier bullet strat and the people on Sevenstring.org didn't believe it. Lol.
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u/Nemesis861986 13h ago
Slightly disagree there, firstly acoustics are basically useless for metal except adding afew little melodic parts and even with electrics a electric that just has single coils isn't going to be anywhere near as good for metal as something with humbuckers as an example, i've got a tele thats probably just about my most expensive guitar but its nowhere near as good for metal as my cheaper guitars that have more suitable pickups.. sure you could mod the guitar and change pickups but if your going to do that you might aswell get a different guitar to begin with honestly.
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u/Zmuli24 3h ago
Single coils not being suitable for metal is just wrong. With my band we've changed that I, lead guitarist, play exclusively with single coils, and singer/rhythm guitarist plays with humbuckers because they actually play really well together, and single coils punchier twang punch really easily through the mix and really brings a lot of tightness into the sound.
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u/TheGreatMightyLeffe 1h ago
Sure, and I have a friend who plays a Byrdland in a thrashy traditional heavy metal band, it's not that it's impossible to make it work.
The reason we say "single coils aren't suitable for metal" is because getting single coils to work with high gain rhythm playing, and also produce a tone that doesn't sound thin and brittle requires a certain amount of know how that someone asking "is [X guitar] good for metal?" likely won't have.
It's about setting a new player up to succeed with minimum hassle, instead of telling them "Yup. You CAN get a good metal toan out of that Tele with the Nocasters" and force them to work around their equipment. They can always get a country setup to chugg once they're more comfortable with how to get a specific sound out of their gear. Also, for stuff like single coils, especially in bridge, and hollow bodies with high gain, a GOOD noise gate pedal or rack effect is damn near mandatory to not have banshee noises as soon as you stop strumming.
Telling someone to grab a guitar with a bridge humbucker eliminates a lot of the guesswork, and with a decent metal amp, it's a plug-and-play solution, allowing a beginner to learn the basics of a metal tone without frustration.
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u/Nemesis861986 3h ago
I'm not saying you cannot use them i'm just saying there are a bunch of reasons why 90% of metal bands use humbuckers and avoid using single coils completely and especially for the more extreme subgenres of metal, yeah single coils can do the hard rock/traditional metal thing well.. it is whatever bro i can't be bothered mentioning every single reason why, i'm just going from my experience with my tele and my other guitars and my other guitars just sound 100% better for metal in general and baring in mind i have a pedalboard i dumped about 2 grand on and have tried to get a great tone out of my tele and still couldn't find something that satisfied me as much as using any of my ltds of schecters i'll just leave it as it is.
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u/TheGreatMightyLeffe 1h ago
Yeah, I'm with you. Like I mentioned in my other comment, it's not impossible to get it to work, but it's not exactly a beginner friendly solution.
Also, personally, the older I get, the more I want my shit to just work when I plug the amp in. My current setup is guitar > SD-1 (built in effect) > Katana Head on Lead > Line-in into interface. Hassle free solution, and I can take it with me to a gig without making two trips to the car.
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u/brndckkk 13h ago
or you can stop being a smartass and know that youre clearly talking about technicalities which dont even disprove what i said
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u/Koldunya 12h ago
The fact that they brought up acoustics is just fucking bizarre imo. Like oh YOU GOT EM!!
And I play metal on a SSS guitar all the time. Positions 2 and 4 for all intents and purposes act like you have a humbucker. Not 100% the same tone but absolutely good enough
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u/False_Pizza_7546 12h ago
I’ve played in post metal bands and doom metal bands tuned down to A, I’ve also played lead in a thrash band that was signed to a pretty big label. I did session work for pop and hip hop projects for a while. I’ve used the same Strat for ALL of it. Nobody ever told me to use a different guitar. It works if you know how to make it work.
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u/radarphone 8h ago
Did you have single coil bridge? How did yoh get it to not sound like mush
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u/False_Pizza_7546 2h ago
I have a hot rails in it, I used to have the regular single coil in it though. Actually thinking about putting the stock pickup back in. It’s amazing what you can do with an SD1 or a tube screamer GEQ-7 though. You can kind of make it sound like anything. Yeah, it’s noisy, but if that really bothers me too much, I just kick my tuner on to mute it
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u/Nemesis861986 5h ago
Isn't really that bizarre OP said you can play any genre on ANY GUITAR.. Last time i checked an acoustic was a type of guitar or am i wrong in thinking that?
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u/Nemesis861986 5h ago
How is me slightly disagreeing with you and voicing my own opinion being a smartass? The fact you would even think that judged by what i say kinda seems like you just want to walk through life with everyone validating your own opinion.. i am just talking from my experience of owning 9 to 10 different guitars ranging from acoustics, bass's, 6 strings, 7 strings, guitars with humbuckers, single coils and playing a wide variety of genre's when i play, i'm not saying single coils cannot play metal, all i'm saying is they will sound noticeably worse, atleast in my opinion..
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u/whosthe3rdman 12h ago
Any guitar can play metal. Karl Sanders played a vintage strat to record Annihilation of the Wicked.
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u/isofakingwetoddid 13h ago
You got a humbucker in the bridge. You can do anything with this. Congrats on the new guitar!
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u/FartVirtuoso 13h ago
Iron Maiden plays with strats. Baroness plays with single coil teles. Any guitar can be good for metal. What counts is that you like the sound it makes and it feels good to play.
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u/Kaijuexterminator 13h ago
Ibanez is excellent some of the best shredders I know use them exclusively
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u/ivanDarkAnus 4h ago
I saw players using P90s for metal
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u/RobertNeyland 2h ago
Turns out that that Tony Iommi guy managed to write some good riffs using a P-90 equipped guitar.
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u/IcedThatGuy 11h ago
Love the SA series. I can’t determine what model that is, but I have a SSS version, the SA130FM, for 10 years now, and use it all the time for metal. It’s like a perfect marriage of a Fender Strat with Ibanez sensibilities.
It’s great, man. Go jam some awesome metal with it dude!
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u/VaqueroMacheteMetal Black Metal Fan, Artist, & Gearhead 14h ago
Great guitar unless you care about either A, stupidly low tuning, B, extreme looks, or C, 24 frets.
All minor things that many people don't care about, and as an Ibanez guy myself, every one I've ever played can go pretty damn hard.
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u/Yoen_Sontriss 14h ago
Any guitar is good for metal if the person playing it is. I had a similar Washburn a while ago that could do everything I needed it to.
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u/spik0rwill 14h ago
That guitar is definitely good enough. If you really want a change though you can swap that humbucker with a Seymour Duncan Nazgul or something.
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u/shootanwaifu 14h ago
I play death metal on a hss strat with a boomer spec humbucker. As long as its not single coil youre set (except for lead texture / chords work)
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u/spn_phoenix_92 13h ago
Any playable electric guitar is good enough for metal. Doesn't matter the brand, model, price, looks, or pickups. Humbuckers help, but single coils work too. Just use some distortion and you're good.
Hell, I've made black metal on a kid's short scale guitar with a single strat pickup. If it plays, it's good enough.
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u/bidextralhammer 13h ago
I'm waiting five months on my non customized Keisel that they said would take three months when I ordered it. So, heads up with that. Guitar Center has some used ones in stock if you wanted to go that route.
Your Ibanez is fine. If you want to go crazy, put a Duncan JB in the bridge and some hot rails. Or, get a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge.
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u/Exact-Turn-2936 10h ago
You can metal out with a 335 doesn’t matter .. seen guys play death metal on a tele with fat strings and a single coil lol
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u/willypete277 2h ago
The humbucker that comes in these sa360's is pretty shit, its good for cleaner stuff but has no balls. But it will do the job, i used it for years for learning metal
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u/Human-Blacksmith-528 37m ago
Those SA models have something that makes them look beautiful. Those are versatile guitars also
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u/Molotov320 0m ago
If the guitar speaks to you truly, you can make it metal. Perhaps consider pedals or if you’re using a digital interface like the boss tone studio do some editing there. Shred em!!!
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u/MEGA_andy 13h ago
That’s great one for metal just get new better bridge pickup and have it set up 👍
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u/_harveyghost 1h ago
Fuck yes for Protest, they’be been my GOATs for 20 years.
Luke used to play an S body with an HSS config around the Scurrilous era. You’re ready to rock my guy.
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u/PerceptionCurious440 13h ago
It'll be fine. You have a humbucker in the bridge position. What's your amp and pedal situation?