10 Most Metal Guitars

I’ve put together 10 guitars you see most metal bands play with. Chances are that if you put this list together you would use pretty much the same ones. There are a plethora of different guitars brands, names and shapes out there but these are some of the most common ones you see in a metal band. In no particular order, let’s begin…

B.C. Rich Warlock

You knew this guitar would be on here. For the longest time this has been a metal and rock icon guitar. From glam rock to metal, you’ve seen the Warlock a million times in videos and on stages everywhere. The bad thing about the Warlock is the balance of the guitar and sometimes you have to relocate the strap peg on the neck side to somewhere lower on the guitar body to get a good balance. If the body is a lighter, cheaper wood this makes the balance even more difficult to achieve.

Jackson King V

An amazing guitar by Jackson. Other guitar makers make a version of the sharp flying V, but Jackson has always been the standard. I owned one back in the late 90’s and I loved it. I didn’t play it very well and it ended up collecting dust. When my son was born times were tough and it became a pawn shop casualty.

Dean ML

Made famous by the late great Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, this guitar made a huge comeback after his death. The newer version the Razorback was designed by Dimebag before his death and has become very popular as well. Click here to see a modern razorback version of Dime’s Dean From Hell. Pretty cool, eh? It can be yours for 5 grand! Everything about the Razorback screams METALLLL!!

Ibanez

Ibanez strat shaped models and even the newer Xiphos have a sleek appearance to them and the playability of the D shaped neck along with the bright, cutting sound of the Ibanez make them a great metal guitar. I have an Ibanez RG Series (same as above) that sounds amazing and is a blast to play. I wish I had bought an Ibanez a long time ago.

B.C. Rich Beast

A slightly newcomer, the Beast just looks like an evil guitar. Although it has a very cool “Metal” shape to it, you don’t see it as often as one would think. Another balance problem guitar, the beast is big and uncomfortable to play and even the mid grade platinum models don’t sound as good as they should. Another guitar I have owned in the past and sold because it was not comfy to play.

Les Paul

Not really a cool, metal shape, the Les Paul is an amazing guitar to play. For both the sound and the playability. It is comfortable and smooth to play and the choice of so many accomplished musicians. However, the Les Paul can be a heavy weight guitar. Even the lower end models. But even some of the lower end models sound great.

Flying V

Wether it’s a Gibson, Epiphone (Yes, same company), a Dean, etc., the flying V has been a staple of metal and rock dating back almost 40 years.

Explorer

Gibson’s Explorer shape has been copied and modified by other companies such as Jackson’s Kelly and even B.C. Rich’s Mockingbird. Often mocked but rarely matched, the Explorers shape makes it a comfortable guitar with ease of playability.

Gibson SG

Where the hell would metal be without the SG. When you first saw Tony Iommi playing Ironman or Paranoid on this guitar, you know you wanted one. The shape looks sharp and heavy. Whether you hear the deep dark riffs of Black Sabbath or the leads of Angus young, this is another Iconic rock/metal guitar.

Fender Strat

Although not the sharpest looking guitar for the genre, the strat has been played by some great guitar players and has a great sound with different pick-up variations.

These are just a few of many I could probably think of, especially by B.C. Rich. Just about everyone of their guitars look “Metal” but are usually just variations or copies of other models.

The shape of the guitar is important to a lot of metal musicians but to some it’s the playability and the way the guitar sounds. it has to be comfortable to play night after night. It has to be durable and stay in tune. If it looks cool and does none of those then the guitar is almost worthless. If you have a favorite “Metal” guitar, let’s hear it.