When buying an electric guitar, are lead and rhythm guitars different?

[oddsocksuk]

Are lead and rhythm guitars compleyley different, or can u just buy a simple or normal (i there is such thing) guitar?
I play aucoustic now and have done for a year.
I'm thinking aof buyin' an electric guitar and I don't really know what type, or if you can only play certain things (like lead) on certain guitars.
I know I sound dum but I honestly don't know.
PLEASE HELP
THANX

[Bongo Boy]

Originally posted by oddsocksuk
I know I sound dum but I honestly don't know.It's a perfectly valid question--welcome to iBreathemusic!

If someone can answer this, would you mind talking a little bit about how guitar setups might differ for rhythm vs lead--if that makes sense. Perhaps there are typical preferences folks have for action, string selection, etc. when going between the two applications?

[EricV]

IMHO,
you can use pretty much every guitar to play both lead and rhythm ( well ok, the 5 fret-guitar Scott Ian owns might be different... ).
What you have to decide is: what sound do you wanna go for ? What style of music you like ?
A Strat i.e. can provide some very nice, "glassy" clean sounds, like i.e. funk-sounds etc. This is mainyl due to the single coil pickups most Strats have.
A regular Strat has 3 single coils and a five way switch, so you can dial in five different sounds ( and alter those even more with the volume- and tone knobs ).
Now, if you want some hot lead sounds, some agressive, thick sounds, you might wanna use a humbucking pickup for that. An option would be a Strat with a humbucker in the bridge-position and single-coils in the other positions. Such a setup ( certainly also depending on the amp, your style of playing and the pickups used ) can provide a wide variety of sounds, from clean rhythm sounds, to crunch rhythm, to hot lead sounds.

It really depends on what kind of sound you´re looking for.
Eric

[oddsocksuk]

thankx
so how dya know what style ur betta @?
i like nirvana, foo fighters, queens of the stone age and would hope 2 play that type of music.
I prefer strumming chords, not fingerpicking

[Bongo Boy]

This is a wee bit off-topic, but I've been practicing with my hollow body electric almost exclusively for months now, and thought hey, I should pull out the ES-135 (semi-hollow that looks like a 175 but half as deep) and see how different it sounds.

Wow--what a shock! I putzed with it for a while and came to understand why reviewers called it "very versatile".

Anyway, you may want to pay attention to performers' instruments and notice the variety of guitars that are played in a variety of styles. You might think that a big-*** hollow ("pulled up to your chin", as Eric would say!!) is required for jazz. But at least one very well-known, respected jazz guy uses...get this...a Telecaster.


NP: You Sexy Thing, Hot Chocolate

[EricV]

Originally posted by oddsocksuk
thankx
so how dya know what style ur betta @?
i like nirvana, foo fighters, queens of the stone age and would hope 2 play that type of music.
I prefer strumming chords, not fingerpicking

Well, if that is the music you like, the music you wanna play, then you might wanna look at what kinda guitars those guys use, and try to get something similar.
That´s what I mean with "what kind of style"... if you i.e. like Heavy Metal, there are certain kind of guitars that fit well to that style of music ( both sound- and outer appearance-wise ) etc.
Eric

[oddsocksuk]

where can I find out what kind of guitars they play?
r u a guitar teacher?

[EricV]

Originally posted by Bongo Boy
variety of styles. You might think that a big-*** hollow ("pulled up to your chin", as Eric would say!!)
*Grins* Yeah, well, I was not only referring to that, I also was refering to someone who tries to pull off some neckbreaking guitar lick and when he´s done, his face is red, the eyes are bulging, the guitar´s right under his chin...
You know, that kinda thing
:)


But at least one very well-known, respected jazz guy uses...get this...a Telecaster.

Mike Stern, right ?
:)
Eric

[EricV]

Originally posted by oddsocksuk
where can I find out what kind of guitars they play?
r u a guitar teacher?

Regarding the kind of guitars those guys play, check out some guitar mags. I´d say that bands like the Foo Fighters have been featured quite a bit in guitar mags throughout recent years...
Or simply check out this LINK (http://www.foofighters.com/archives/gear.php)

Eric

[Bongo Boy]

Originally posted by EricV Mike Stern, right ?
:)
Eric

Maybe, except I see there's a Yamaha Mike Stern Signature Model Pacifica he endorses--looks pretty much like a Teleclone to my untrained eye. In any case, a bit unusual I'd say.

[Babsi]

I suggest a Fender Jaguar. You'll get weird tones from it. Trust me its a good guitar. The dude of Incubus uses one.

[phantom]

Dear Babsi,

That thread is about 5 years old - i guess that dude already found a guitar ;).

Besides that we don't do gear threads here anymore and suggest harmony central for that.

Oh, and welcome to iBreatheMusic!
See you around... and make you want to introduce yourself in the new member area! :)

Phant

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