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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Metallica On Stratocaster?
Posted by: seagull May 14 2008, 07:02 PM
Hey y'all guitarfreaks!
I was wondering if playing Metallica (and the likes) on a Stratocaster is completely insane?
I mean, some of my buddies have ESP's and they say it's a lot easier to play stuff like "Battery" and "Master of Puppets" on ESP guitars as the strings are more tense when in standard tuning.
I must admit that the low E string is bouncing a little too much for me to get "Battery" tight, so I wondered if this because of the strings tension and such. After all the stratocaster IS a more bluesy guitar and the ESP's are rock-machines. 
Well, I hope someone can enlighten me.
Cheers!
Posted by: Nighthawk May 14 2008, 07:08 PM
I was wondering if playing Metallica (and the likes) on a Stratocaster is completely insane?
I mean, some of my buddies have ESP's and they say it's a lot easier to play stuff like "Battery" and "Master of Puppets" on ESP guitars as the strings are more tense when in standard tuning.
I must admit that the low E string is bouncing a little too much for me to get "Battery" tight, so I wondered if this because of the strings tension and such. After all the stratocaster IS a more bluesy guitar and the ESP's are rock-machines.
Well, I hope someone can enlighten me.
Cheers!
What string gauge do you use ? For dropped d tunings or even lower it's always better to use a heavy gauge to avoid the bouncing string you mentioned
Posted by: coffeeman May 14 2008, 07:08 PM
Mmmm is not insane at all , I think its more a question of guitarrist than it is of guitar.
Posted by: Enucleation May 14 2008, 07:08 PM
I don't know for sure if your friends are right or not, I mean ESP is a more metal guitar but I know Kirk uses Strats sometimes.
Posted by: ZakkWylde May 14 2008, 07:09 PM
Just put gauge 10 strings on your strat and there you go with the tension. The problem is not the string tension but the pickups. Strat Coils dont deliver that ruff distorted sound with all the palm mutes and downstrokes...
Posted by: DeepRoots May 14 2008, 07:13 PM
Yeh changing string gauge should solve that little "bouncing" problem. Maybe some hotter pickups if your after the metallica tone?
Posted by: seagull May 14 2008, 07:16 PM
Well, I used to use .10s, changed to 9.s though... But it was the same back then...
@Coffeeman: I know it CAN be, but this time it isn't...
@Enucleation: Yeah he does, but those are ESP strats...for all I now at least, and he doesn't use them on that heavy rhythm playing. 
@ZakkWylde: Yeah, I know, the pickups aren't metal at all, but it was also more of with the general string tension.
I can get a decent sound out of my Hot Rail bridge pickup and some pedals, it more the problem with the string-tension. They're damn bouncy 
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 14 2008, 07:41 PM
I think playing on any guitar is just a matter of personal preference. If you don't feel comfortable with strat guitar playing Metallica, then maybe you should purchase ESP too.
btw, from my point of view it doesn't matter on what guitar you play, as long it has humbuckers it is good for metallica
Posted by: Gus May 14 2008, 07:46 PM
Guitars have very different characters. You were asking about playability but I think sound makes the most difference... Pickups are definitely a big part of it
If you ask about playbility I think it is easier to play metallica in a strat than a Les Paul, because of the thinner neck. But I would choose the Les Paul over the strat, because then I can get closer to metallica sound
For rock sound I would choose humbucker over single coil anytime. Mainly in the bridge. So a fat strat would do the job
About the normal strat, with 3 single coil, I always found myself using it for clean songs. However, some people get really good distortion out of it... (not really metallica alike. Think of green day distortion)
Posted by: seagull May 14 2008, 07:56 PM
If you ask about playbility I think it is easier to play metallica in a strat than a Les Paul, because of the thinner neck. But I would choose the Les Paul over the strat, because then I can get closer to metallica sound
For rock sound I would choose humbucker over single coil anytime. Mainly in the bridge. So a fat strat would do the job
About the normal strat, with 3 single coil, I always found myself using it for clean songs. However, some people get really good distortion out of it... (not really metallica alike. Think of green day distortion)
Yeah, I have a Hot Rails pickup up in the bridge position, so I can come closer than with the standard pickup. It's a humbucker in single coil format, and it's really HOT!
But I'll just go practice it even more...But the gallop-technique in Battery really makes the E string bounce 'cus it's soo fast!
I can play it alright, but the bouncing....well, theres probably no solution for that.
Posted by: Pi38 May 14 2008, 07:59 PM
Yeah, just make due with what you have until you need to buy another guitar. Hooray for optimism!!! 
Posted by: seagull May 14 2008, 08:02 PM
Hehe, yeah, I definitely can't afford an ESP at the moment...
I can see Toni Suominen is reading this topic, I bet he can answer this question...
Posted by: at lights end May 14 2008, 08:15 PM
metal on a strat isn't insane, iron maiden do it (ok their sound isn't as distorted as metallica).
the type of guitar shouldn't determine the string tension it has. either you need a higher string gauge, maybe a 48 on the low E. or you could have a really loose bridge. it's all i can really think of.
Posted by: Hisham Al-Sanea May 14 2008, 09:24 PM
i dont think so the problem in strato or ESP guitars .if you have a good gear you can play what you want
finally the hand and fingers and feelings make every things
Posted by: shellshock1911 May 14 2008, 09:47 PM
I will never own any other guitar other than a strat, I may change the pickups, but I have played Ibanezes, Schecters, ESPs, Gibsons, everything and my fingers always get stuck or something and the necks feel really uncomfortable while the strings on those guitars always feel really weird, I don't know. When I pick up my Fender my fingers feel so connected to the fretboard and I can play endless licks so freely. I feel that my $400 MIM strat is an amazing guitar and a Fat Strat is one of the greatest guitars in the world.
Posted by: Bogdan Radovic May 14 2008, 09:49 PM
Nothing insane there Strats are great guitar and they too can sound heavy with some modifications
But no I can't imagine the James Hetfield holding one
Posted by: Juan M. Valero May 14 2008, 09:52 PM
Strats are great guitar and they too can sound heavy with some modifications But no I can't imagine the James Hetfield holding one
That's for sure, Marcus Lavendell has a really heavy sound and he has an Strato... well, with some modifications, but a Strato at the end
Posted by: seagull May 14 2008, 11:51 PM
Yeah, but as far as I know, he mostly plays lead stuff - not heavy speed riffs like in Battery. There lies my problem, not in the amount of distortion.
When I said insane I meant like if it is "useless to practice metal on a stratocaster". I KNOW that I'm not insane and that my guitar isn't either.
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 14 2008, 11:59 PM
I don't think it is useless to play metal on strat. It is universal guitar and with some mods you can make it sound whatever you like. Perhaps you should check with some luthier about that string bouncin' - maybe it's a problem or something 
Posted by: fkalich May 15 2008, 12:03 AM
There is nothing I agree more with than this. As Mick Jagger sang many years ago..."It's the singer, not the song".
edit: found a link to that old song.....
http://youtube.com/watch?v=U8-o0M1qDB4
Posted by: seagull May 15 2008, 09:59 AM
Well alright. I'll continue playing that gallop on my stratocaster then.
And don't get me wrong, I do know that it does take a lot of practice, and if I should say it myself I am somewhere around intermediate in my guitarplaying and I practice a lot, so it's not that I don't know how it works.
I just wanted to know it it was something fundamental about the guitar which caused the annoyance with the string bouncing.
But yeah, you're probably right, whoever said that about the picups and metal, even though it's a SD Hot Rails. I'll try an ESP whenever I get the opportunity and then I should be able to conclude this myself.
Thanks for the inputs...
Posted by: Marcus Siepen May 15 2008, 10:01 AM
You can play Metallica on ony guitar! If you think that the strings are too lose then switch to thicker ones and the problem should be solved, the rest is a sound question. A fender Strat with original pickups won't really deliver a James Hetfield lik rhythm sound, but you can also work on this by changing the pickups.
Posted by: seagull May 15 2008, 10:07 AM
Yeah, I guess you're right. Then I am just confused, because if Kirk Hammett can play the bad-ass riffs on heavy gauge strings, then how in the world does he solo with bends and such? Must be hard if you're playing with .12 or .13s.
But to make this a bit more clear I'll post a link to Battery, as it is almost the only song I'm having difficulties with:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oCE1NnvonF0&feature=related
The gallop here is just so fast and tight, and I don't get how it's possible.
Posted by: Pablo Vazquez May 15 2008, 11:48 AM
btw, from my point of view it doesn't matter on what guitar you play, as long it has humbuckers it is good for metallica
+1 I agree!
Posted by: OrganisedConfusion May 15 2008, 11:51 AM
I play Metallica on a Nylon stringed acoustic That is heavy metal lol
Posted by: Scott Gentzen May 15 2008, 12:32 PM
Harvester of Sorrow on a Strat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzdYAe0XSMM
It's been covered more above. I think if you're comfortable with your guitar and like its sound, there shouldn't be any reason not to be able to play Metallica tunes.
I'm a big fan of playing stuff with the "wrong" guitar. There's an industrial/metal band around where I live where the singer/rhythm player plays Telecasters and the lead player plays a Gibson hollowbody.
Posted by: seagull May 15 2008, 12:39 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzdYAe0XSMM
It's been covered more above. I think if you're comfortable with your guitar and like its sound, there shouldn't be any reason not to be able to play Metallica tunes.
I'm a big fan of playing stuff with the "wrong" guitar. There's an industrial/metal band around where I live where the singer/rhythm player plays Telecasters and the lead player plays a Gibson hollowbody.
Yeah, I can play that too, it's the fast riff in Battery which causes the problem.
Posted by: Marcus Siepen May 15 2008, 07:48 PM
Playing that fast and tight is no miracle, just a lot of hard work, and I guess James worked a lot
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 15 2008, 09:03 PM
Maybe if you could upload you playing battery on that strat we can see what could be the problem?
Posted by: seagull May 15 2008, 10:41 PM
Hehe, yeah, I guess I could work something out. The angle will be difficult to get though, but I'll try tomorrow.
And don't expect much, I've only played Metallica style music for a couple of months. Before that I mostly was a blues/Gilmour guy, so I was quite a leap to dive into heavy-riffing
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 15 2008, 11:03 PM
Don't worry, I'll try to give you advice how to become a mean riffing machine!
Posted by: Jenkinson May 16 2008, 06:12 PM
As previously mentioned, with some modifications a strat can sound mean, I was also thinking about Lavendell's sound. But you really need an H S S configured strat for this kind of modification. I also have a Mexican Strat but it has a S S S configuration. I played blues and classical rock for the first year and a half that I started. I was also learning Classical guitar, so I didnt have a huge desire to play chunky stuff. Eventually I joined a band that had alot of palm muting riffs, and my strat was so whimpy to deliver the desired crunch of a palm mute, so I decided to modify the pickups. I ended up going with a Seymour Duncan SHR-1 Hot Rail for my bridge position pickup. This definitely heated things up, but it still was insufficient. I ended up purchasing a Jackson Dk2M Pro Series, and all I have to say is... Wow. This guitar can sound like the most aggressive monster you have ever heard, and it still retains a bright crisp sound on the clean channels, although nowhere near as clean as my strat. To wrap it up, if you have a humbucker configurated strat, you can get some really crunchy sounds out of it, but it you are stuck with SSS, and you really want some crunch, you might want to look for a second guitar. I am very happy with my Jackson and my Mexican strat, I dont think I will need anything else for quite some time.
Posted by: seagull May 16 2008, 07:11 PM
Fantastic!
Heres my upload. On this take I played it better than I use to..don't know why..
But I guess theres still loads of technical mistakes...
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 18 2008, 01:54 PM
OK, I would suggest two things.
1. Get a thicker gauge strings.
2. Get your right hand relaxed a little. With that amount of drive you don't really have to dig in the strings so much. You right arm is very tensed up. (so is your whole body). So, play the riff lightly with your pick, it would not bounce as much.
Posted by: seagull May 18 2008, 03:25 PM
1. Get a thicker gauge strings.
2. Get your right hand relaxed a little. With that amount of drive you don't really have to dig in the strings so much. You right arm is very tensed up. (so is your whole body). So, play the riff lightly with your pick, it would not bounce as much.
Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely work on that...
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 18 2008, 08:07 PM
No problem man, anytime
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