What is the Best Electric Guitar for Metal?

By: Vincent Dibona

For over 50 years, heavy metal has remained a beloved genre of rock music, with a fiercely loyal and passionate fan base that continues to grow and thrive. Driven by its raw intensity and massive sonic force, metal music has branched out from its early blues and psychedelic rock origins of the 1960s, evolving into a wide range of styles and subgenres. A major defining characteristic of the ‘heavy metal’ sound is the thick, loud, heavily distorted guitar tones. It simply isn’t heavy metal without the ‘heavy’ guitar sound!

It’s common for members of heavy metal’s passionate and loyal fan base to be inspired to pick up the guitar, driven by a desire to play their favorite licks and riffs, or even create their own. But for most just starting out, deciding what would be the best electric guitar for playing metal is not so obvious. In order to produce the signature heavy metal sound, the correct guitar with the right features is absolutely essential.

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What Type of Electric Guitar is Best for Heavy Metal?

When looking for the ideal electric guitar for playing metal, the abundance of makes and models can be overwhelming. However, to narrow down your search, it’s crucial to understand which key features are essential for metal and which ones can be left aside.

Key Features for Metal Guitars

  • Solid Body Guitars. Although it is possible to play metal using hollow or semi-hollow body guitars, it is often not recommended. A solid body guitar provides the enhanced resonance and sustain that is essential for the highly distorted tones of heavy metal. Most guitars that you will find that are designed for metal are solid body models, crafted from various types of wood.
  • Humbucker Pickups. Humbucker pickups are essential for any electric guitar designed to play heavy metal. Their high-output, low-noise characteristics deliver the heavy, high-gain distortion that defines the metal guitar sound. Single-coil pickups, while suitable for clean tones, can’t handle the output needed for the tight, punchy, heavily distorted tones of metal and often produce excess noise. Although single-coil pickups can complement humbuckers in some setups, be sure your guitar is equipped with high-output humbuckers for the best metal sound.

    Many popular brands of humbucker pickups designed for metal include EMG, Seymour Duncan, Fishman, DiMarzio, and many more. Try different ones out for yourself to determine which provides your preferred tone and performance.
  • Fast Neck and Flat Fretboard. Guitars with a flat, high-radius fretboard offer greater advantages when playing heavy metal, as it allows for smoother lead playing and feel. Having a fretboard with a higher radius will allow the guitar’s action (string height) to be placed lower, making playing metal riffs much easier in comparison to lower-radius fretboards. Even if you don’t initially plan on playing lead guitar, having a flat, higher radius fretboard is often preferred amongst the majority of metal guitar players. While not a hard, fast rule, look for a guitar with a fretboard radius of around 14 – 16 inches and your hands will thank you later!
  • Fret Size and Scale Length. While this one can come down to personal preference, higher frets (also called ‘jumbo’ frets) allow for the guitar’s action to be set lower, while also facilitating a greater grip on the strings when performing string bends.
    Scale length refers to the distance from the bridge to the nut of a guitar, typically measured in inches.

    While personal preference plays a role, guitars with a longer scale length, like 25.5”, generally produce a louder, thicker tone and are better suited for lower tunings. In contrast, shorter scale length guitars, such as 24.75”, often feel slightly easier to play. Test out different variations of scale lengths for yourself to find which would be preferable to your playing style and comfort.
  • Bridge Type. The two most common bridge types found on electric guitars designed for playing heavy metal are fixed or string-thru bridges and tremolo or ‘floating’ bridges. Fixed bridges are designed to have the strings pass through the back of the guitar’s body and then loop over the saddles of the bridge’s tailpiece.

    A tremolo (also known as a vibrato) or ‘floating’ bridge can move up and down along with the strings to change a note’s pitch through the use of a tremolo or ‘whammy’ bar. When the bar is pulled up or pushed down, the bridge pivots and will either tighten or loosen the strings to alter the pitch. Most of these bridges utilize a system that consists of balancing tension from the tuning pegs at the guitar’s headstock with springs in the back of the guitar pulling them in the opposite direction. This balance of tension creates a ‘floating’ effect in the bridge and allows for the use of really cool effects such as dive bombs, slight pitch fluctuations, and other features.

    The vast majority of modern metal guitars will have locking nuts at the top of the guitar near the headstock to make sure the guitar stays in tune when using the whammy bar. Although these bridges offer a lot of great benefits and features, they are often rather difficult to set up and require a bit of expertise to get just right. Having your guitar set up by a qualified professional is often recommended to ensure optimal performance.
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Best Beginner Electric Guitars for Metal

Now that we’ve covered the key features to look for when choosing your next electric guitar for metal, the next question is: where should you even start? With so many brands available, which ones are best suited to help you achieve that signature heavy metal sound and feel?


With countless electric guitar brands on the market—and new ones emerging regularly—it’s wise to start with the trusted names that have stood the test of time. Some of these well-established brands include:

  • Jackson
  • Ibanez
  • ESP
  • Schecter
  • Dean
  • PRS
  • B.C. Rich
  • Gibson

This list isn’t exhaustive, and many other brands offer fantastic guitars for metal, but these are excellent starting points. With decades of experience, these companies provide models for every skill level and budget.

If you’re a beginner eager to dive into heavy metal guitar, any of these brands will have options that deliver all the essential features without requiring a hefty investment. Of course, if you’re willing to splurge, they also offer top-of-the-line models packed with premium features as well!

Getting Started with Learning Metal Guitar

You’ve found and picked up your new electric guitar for playing metal—fantastic! But what’s the next step? Learning to play heavy metal can be a confusing and challenging journey, especially for many self-taught guitarists. Many players spend years trying to teach themselves through online videos and courses, often left wondering why they still struggle to master the style.

Having an expert guide and coach you through this process can save you many long years of frustration and roadblocks and help you reach your goals of creating and playing this awesome style of music. 

At Twin Cities School of Guitar, you can achieve your metal guitar playing goals more quickly and eliminate frustration through a focused, guided approach tailored to your individual aspirations.

For guitar lessons in Minneapolis or St. Paul, MN, call 612-470-7790 or click the button below to schedule your FREE introductory session and start pursuing your metal guitar playing goals!