What Type Of Guitarist Are You?

Guitars - The older the better! Les Pauls and Strats are the way to go!

Sound - Cranked, 100 watts of anything beginning in an ‘M’ and ending in ‘arshall’

Favourite phrase - ‘I’ve got that on vinyl’

If your wardrobe consists of faded black band t-shirts and Dad jeans, then you might not need to read any further! The classic rock guitarist lives for pentatonic licks played fast at high volume. The Classic Rocker never tires of the wholesome and humble power chord riff or songs which tell tales of mythological quests or the good old fashioned sins of rock n roll!

You love the sound of a wall of Marshalls cranked to breaking point, the playing is as much about the attitude as it is the notes and technique. Your favourite guitar solos generally find themselves making full use of that magical pentatonic box with well phrased licks and melodies; to which stadiums of crowds have eagerly chanted along for decades. Your first inspiration was the grainy TV live footage of rock pioneers blowing minds during the dawn of the driven electric guitar revolution; long before the age of instant access YouTube videos.

If you maintain that nobody has had anything ‘good to say’ on the guitar since 1979 then you may find yourself at home in this group of like-minded rock aficionados.

Guitars - Reverse headstocks, sharp edges and shark tooth inlays!

Sound - ‘Excuse me, does this amp come with more gain?’

Favourite phrase - ‘Death to all but metal!’

If your jacket has more patches than pockets, your beard is majestic and your hair is the ideal stage length for circular head banging; then you probably already know you are an old school metal head.

If the riffs gallop and the leads melt faces you are there! Hearing a double kick drum makes you smile like it’s your birthday, and your favourite vocalists, strangely, only sing at opposite extremes of the vocal range. You can tell an old school metaller has been playing through your amp because all of the mids have suddenly vanished!

Back when metal was king! When the best riffs were down-picked with insane percussive accuracy and the solos were, not only the peak of shred shrediness, but combined the darker flavours of exotic Phrygian and Harmonic Minor lines. You like your metal guitar parts to go beyond the standard ‘verse/chorus’ format, and yearn for the symphonic, well-crafted pre millennium metal guitar master pieces. You also, staunchly believe that there is no guitar solo which can’t be made better with twin guitar harmonies!

Guitars - Sunburst and relic’d, F holes and vintage hardware.

Sound - Small tube amps max’d out, tube screamer optional.

Favourite phrase - ‘I’m all about the feel’

If you have a round rimmed hat which your wife or kids refuse to let you wear in pubic, if you tend not to take your sunglasses indoors; not only are you one cool cat, but you are very much at home in this category!

One note can say it all! Your vibrato shakes like a rattlesnake! Guitar playing, for you, goes beyond technique; this is about the heart felt licks, which never sound better than in the hands of a blues master. Dynamics, feel and touch are top priority. The rest of the world may hear the same 12 bar set of chords, but you hear a canvas for exploration, creativity and harmonic interpretation!

If your favourite albums crackle when you play them and every guitar solo is accompanied by the appreciative whoops & cheers of the crowd; you are officially a traditional bluesman (or blues lady!).

Guitars - Pink and pointy - ‘What do you mean - it doesn’t come with a Floyd Rose?!’

Sound - Delay on everything!

Favourite phrase - ‘Can I borrow your eyeliner?’

Maybe cowboy boots and double denim are your Sunday best. Or, do you always wait for the excuse of a fancy dress party to back comb a wig into the perfect big hair mullet and don the spandex?!

If your favourite band’s music videos involved any type of elaborate rotating drum kit, then this is more than a secret guilty pleasure; you are a hair rocker at heart! Your riffs of choice blend the fun of rock & roll guitar with bouncy power chords and cool pinched harmonic single note riffs. There’s so much delay on your lead guitar tone that you have disrupted the space time continuum and nothing ends a lick like a whammy bar dive (in fact, why wait till the end of the lick! That’s what Floyd Roses are for, right?!).

Maybe you can’t still fit into those skinny ripped vests, but you can always pull out the riffs! Admit it, every guitar player loves a throwback to the golden age when guitar showmanship was the mainstay of every long haired band on the planet.

Not sure if this is you? Let me ask you - do you still think of Sammy Hagar as the new guy in Van Halen? I rest my case.

Guitars - Multi scale, multi stringed, active pick ups and crazy heavy gauge strings!

Sound - Tight and punchy high gain

Favourite phrase - ‘Does this come in a 9 string model?’

Ok, so it doesn’t have to come with fanned frets and more strings than a suspension bridge! But, if the first note you see displayed on your digital guitar tuner is more than often a C#, then we are in the same camp.

If you enjoy the sonic possibilities granted by retuning your guitar; plus the full exploration of rhythms, odd timings, or simply riffs which percussively gel with the rhythm section and vocals like a single perfect heavy metal organism - then you have earned your modern metal badge! You joined the metal guitar scene long after anyone bit the head off a bat, you like the growly vocals but still dig those anthemic big choruses and melodic hooks. As for playing; you are a technique geek, alternate picking, sweep picking - you name it! You like your rhythm guitar sound tight, compressed and punchy with mid range clarity and definition.

If you frequently geek out on the complexity of your favourite tracks or have ever used the term ‘math metal’ in conversation, then welcome to the modern metal contingent!

Guitars - High end boutique and handmade, unpronounceable independent luthiers.

Sound - Expensive

Favourite phrase - ‘Mind …. blown!’

8 hour practise regimes are for amateurs! Despite the guitar being a stubborn instrument, you are determined to conquer it and master its secrets. Every time you encounter a new idea, technique or style, there begins the pattern of obsession until it is utterly assimilated into your playing. Metal, Jazz, Fusion, Pop, Country - you want it all! Having reached a point where you are practically some kind of half human:half sponge hybrid!

You are a technique geek of the highest order, you happily watch 2 hour videos on pick attack, note choice and how the knitted pleat of your cardigan affects your guitar tone. There are no dusty frets on your guitar neck and you want to navigate your way around that fretboard like a familiar landscape.

No challenge is too great. When watching your earliest guitar heroes your first thought was ‘I can do that!’.

Guitars - Modified Tele, Strats and Custom Shop

Sound - Tweed amps and handmade pedals

Favourite phrase - ‘Tone is all in the fingers!’

You love the godfathers & originators, but what really gets your guitar pulse racing are the new guys and girls of the blues. Big expensive guitar tones, fat sounding lead sounds, all combined with jazzy and country crossover lines and licks, subtle use of picking hand fingers, and time feel to die for. It’s the blues but it ain’t your Dad’s blues!

A sudden emergence of guitarists who are entrenched in the blues sensibilities of their forefathers, but bring to the table rock, fusion and a world of other influences. Your favourite players preach the virtues of following chord changes, are harmonically savvy and have redefined the art of blues rhythm guitar playing with chord inversions and patterns straight out of the funk guitar play book.

Oh … and you enjoy a good round rimmed hat as much as the other blues guys!