shortly after my 30th birthday in November 2023, I made the leap to electric guitars. yup, I’ve been an acoustic player for two years, now sailing on the electric guitar cruise ship.
for electric guitar, I need four essentials:
- electric guitar;
- electric guitar strings;
- pick/plectrum; and
- amplifier
I isolated those four things in particular because as to tuners and cables, anything or any brand will do.
ELECTRIC GUITAR
to summarize, I have a very particular taste. I want a brutal yet suave sound (Danzig(!)). this kinda translates to a darker, bass-ier, black metal sound. considering that, obviously, anything made or touched by Fender is out of the equation, strats, teles, Fender amps, you name it.
further, as much as I love a Les Paul, I don’t want to carry a guitar that heavy. also, as much as I love metal-looking guitars like the flying v, explorer, and B.C. Rich guitars, I don’t find them practical. I can’t imagine how to just store them standing in a gig bag or sitting down during practice (but if I ever change my mind, I’d love to take a look at Jackson and LTD, ESP’s affordable alternative).
so, all these mean that I want a heavy-sounding, lightweight, practically-shaped guitar, preferably with a round end, but still with that metal look. I guess the SG shape ticks all the boxes.
so I got an Epiphone SG Special. got that Tony Iommi vibe.
ELECTRIC GUITAR STRINGS
I use gauge 11 on acoustic, but I prefer 10s on electric.
as for brands, I’ve been told that Ernie Balls rust easily. what was recommended to me was DR. I guess I’ll try DR or Daddario, the DR Pure Blues strings in particular. blues reminds me of AC/DC and Danzig so I guess that’ll fit the bill, for now.
PICK/PLECTRUM
.88 Dunlop Tortex in green is king. do remember that the .73 reminds me of Dave Mustaine, the .88 James Hetfield, and the 1.00 Slash. they also have Van Halen signature picks, absolutely lovely.
AMPLIFIER
last but not the least and in fact, probably the most important piece of gear, the amplifier.
I’m not sure but I think that whatever the feel of the sound you get depends greatly on the amplifier your guitar is plugged in.
the sound I prefer is described by the following adjectives: brutal. suave. dark. bass-y. black metal-y.
typically, Fender is known for clear, bright, clean tones.
Marshall is known for that British classic rock sound. it’s not exactly gnarly, more aggressive flamboyant (old school Metallica sound in Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning, Megadeth Peace Sells, and pretty much most of classic rock).
Orange has that modern metal growl but there’s something with its scratchy distortion/gain that puts me off. as I said, it all comes down to preference (e.g. The Pretty Reckless, Going to Hell).
there are other brands like Boss, Vox, and Laney, but I don’t know much about them, yet.
all that said, I chose Peavey, known for its 5150/6505 models made for Eddie Van Halen. did I not tell you I want that METAL sound? you need only browse Youtube or some other video platform to know that Peavey amps are made for metal.
if I want to play punk, maybe I’d go with a strat and a Marshall, but as for sound and feel, metal all the way.
sorta metal 