Guitar Does NOT Equal Genre

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There’s a common thread in the types of guitars musicians use for their specific genre.

Country artists need a cowboy hat, boots, and a Telecaster. A headbanging metal guitarist shreds anything with humbuckers. And a jazz musician needs a big hollow-body guitar to fit in with the other large instruments at the jazz club.

It’s the typical status quo, but that doesn’t mean you need to stick to it. A guitar does not equal genre. Guitars are easily interchangeable and still sound great no matter which style they’re playing in.

This video from Music Is Win conducts an experiment proving the statement above. He tests out three types of guitars with an “unlikely” genre.

1. Gibson SG for country — Telecasters are the go-to for country tunes and may almost seem illegal to use anything else. It makes sense; they have a natural “twang” to them and perfect for different picking styles. But can the opposite guitar, a Gibson SG pull it off too?
2. Stratocaster for metal — Metalheads tend to use a guitar with a more aggressive and fat tone. Guitars with Humbucker pickups have the capacity to create the big tone they’re seeking. But the single coils of a Stratocaster can be just as aggressive…if not more aggressive.
3. PRS for jazz — The bigger hollow-bodied guitars typically are played in jazz music. And it’s probably the first guitar you picture when you think of jazz music. They have a ”nostalgic” sound and look to them. But what would happen if you used a “modern” sounding and looking guitar — in the video, he uses a “PRS custom 24 with a Floyd Rose bridge and pickups that would make your mother cry.” In other words, a solid body guitar with a tremolo bar and a heavy tone.

When you’re looking for your forever guitar, don’t let the genre you want to play hinder you from getting what you REALLY want. There’s no need to limit yourself. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different guitars and create new sounds that work with the genre. After all, the tone is just in the fingers not in the guitar.

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