The Best Guitars For A Rhythm Player
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Baxter and Jonathan discuss picking a guitar if you are a rhythm player. What guitars sit in the mix the best, and who are the players we look to that play rhythm.
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I’m with Baxter on this, the versatility of the Strat is king, hence why it has been used so frequently by rhythm players 🎸👍
As long as its HSS. A regular strat is 100% useless to me as a metal rhythm guitarist
Totally agree
@@Ottophil I've used a strat with sss as a metal guitar and works great.but I do hafta have it in the 2nd position and tone all the way down.Which is basically putting on h mode.lol also,the amp tweaker metal pedal version 1 is awesome no matter what you're running through it.🤘👍🔥
Buddy Holly made it sound like an acoustic sometimes
I'm a Strat guy but when it comes to strumming I pick up my Tele every time. U-shape neck, 7.25 radius, tiny vintage frets, super low action... super easy to play rythm on.
I believe you can use anything; just depends on your settings and how you approach the instrument.
Right, this is letting the choice of paintbrush determine the skill of the artist
The trick is to approach it from the front. If you approach it from behind it could get scared.
@@DanielDJCRO 🤣😂👍 Good one!
I've been playing Teles for over 55 years, (longer than either of you have been alive)! To me, the rhythm is the basis of the song!
I have to go with Johnathan it's the Tele. If I'm in a band I'm happy with a Tele and a P-90 SG. But I was also thinking besides a Gretsch a 335 is hard to beat. I need both in my collection NOW!
I am almost exclusively a rhythm guitarist and I play a Tele with P90s in it. It's a best of both world's guitar. So good. I also have a Variax and Helix combo that gives all the sounds in one package.
Bob Weir is a monster rhythm player that usually gets overlooked
Agree completely on the Tele and Gretsch! A Les Paul Deluxe with mini humbuckers; middle position and volumes rolled back to around 7 does an amazing thing, too. Love the videos!
I have played Rhythm with a Strat, Gretsch, Duo-Sonic, Les Paul, along with Gibson, Martin and Seagull Acoustics, as well as both a Hollow & Solid bodied Ibanez Talman back in the day. My favorites are either the Strat or the Gretsch.
The Gretsch sounds different than anything else in the mix in all pickup selections & the five positions on the Strat allow me to blend/contrast in the mix. These two guitars are my most used.
I think the Tele is a classic Rhythm machine, but one of our other guitarists uses a Tele most of the time so I stay away from using one.
The Duo-Sonic is an HS with a split-coil & cool tones but sounds a bit too much like a Tele... the humbucker doesn't really cut, so I split back to SS, which is too much when the tele is in the mix.
Don’t forget the jazzmaster for rhythm. It’s a great and versatile guitar.
I was looking for this comment such an underrated guitar especially when compared to the Jag’s popularity
A late night post ... Casino Guitars before bedtime ... I can dig it. For me I can play rhythm guitar on any guitar-amp combination, maybe I'm weird.
I'll always be a Tele guy. I do love Gretsch Hollowbodies (and for acoustics I only rock Ranchers now days), but I can get everything I NEED from a Tele, and it fits me best from a playability standpoint. (probably because I'm really a bassist and I only vibe with P basses) That probably has a lot to do with it. I will say that Gretsch's do seem to be the most versatile in the sense that they have their own sound, but you can also cover a lot of ground between really shimmery and pretty and more edgy.
That great Gretsch sound! It does occupy a different frequency that just sits well in the mix.
I had a Rickenbacker 330 for years and it was an excellent guitar for rhythm playing, which is pretty much all I do. It had the good old single coil toaster pickups in it, and I think any similar Rickenbacker is an awesome rhythm guitar.
I love the name Baxter. I’ve never heard a person named that. I remember the day I met a girl (a human girl) named Bessie. It was the same type of thing. It’s a cute name
I think a 335 is a great rhythm guitar, and so is my GT with P90s. But you guys are probably right that the Tele is the easiest pick for best option.
And btw…. Valiant Thorr kills!! I just checked them out on my commute after watching this video the first time, and I love the first record. They are the right blend of Punk, Stoner, and Doom.
Got my 1st Gretsch solid body last year and loved the sound. So I got a hollowbody and it's even better. Perfect for rhythm playing.
Gibson Firebird is great for rhythm, as it sits well in the mix and is the best of both (Gibson/Fender) worlds.
Never played one but they look and sound super cool. I heard the strumming position is way different from other guitars.
@@drewlehtola3726 The Firebird may feel a bit awkward at first, as everything seems shifted about 6 inches to the left, toward your fretting hand. Depending on how much you play one, the awkwardness fades pretty quickly. I played a '64 Firebird III my friend owned in the early 1980s and loved the neck pickup sounds so much I put an old FB pickup into the neck pu slot of a Telecaster. It's been my #1 guitar for 35 years. A close second is a white 1991 Firebird III. You should check one out.
For me, Rhythm is Steve Cropper (T-type exclusively) and Pete Townsend (Ric, Strat, T, LP, SG). If I'm playing rhythm I'm using a Strat, Jag, Electric XII, Ric 650 or 660 or 360/12, Taylor 524 or 326 Bari-8 or, more recently my Vela.
Like Jonathan says towards the end, it's whatever fits. If I'm working with another guitarist I look at what the other guy is playing and pick something that contrasts... The benefits of a collection built up over 30+ years.
Same goes for lead. If the other person is on a something with humbuckers, I go single coil and vice-versa. Whatever works and keeps us out of the same frequency range.
I’ve been playing mostly Stratocasters, after I was gifted with a China crafted Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster, so in my opinion, the Strat is the best rhythm guitar, which I use mostly the middle or neck pickups for my rhythm playing.
Stone Gossard is one of the greatest rhythm guitar players in rock n roll. He wrote the majority of Apple by Mother Love Bone and Ten by Pearl Jam himself. Just saying. He is a bad ass.
I have to go with Jonathan on this one, the Telecaster is the love of my guitar life. I got my first one in 1972 in Connellsville Pa, a 1969 blonde, still have it today, still play it at most gigs, it's my trusty steed!
I’ve seen a lot of rhythm players use Rickenbackers? Thoughts?
ES330s and Casinos for me.
I've been using my Casino a lot for rhythm playing lately. But man, I just feel my Les Paul just gets me what I need for both rhythm and lead. I almost think you always need an acoustic even if you can't hear it. Always go Taylor.
Well this is a nice surprise!!! It’s 2am here eastern time zone and I’m usually waiting till 7:30 am to see your new video!
Also, love the podcast Casino! Always looking forward to it!! 🤙💪
Edit: I forgot to say, I love Tele’s, butterscotch and blonde. Classic.
Plus as a lefty that’s one of the 3 colors I can get anyway. 🙄😂
Gretsch sits differently in the mix especially the hollow bodies and can be scooped out to make even more room imo
I get the same effect from epiphone es339...wide fat warm tone that wraps around anything w a mid treble punch like a bun around a hit dog.. 😂🤘😜🎸🎶☮️
My Gretsch with soap bar p90s through my Vox ac15 sounds so good with my lead player using his Strat. They compliment each other well
I love a tele or a strat for rhythm, but my favorite rhythm guitar is actually a LP goldtop with p90s with the switch usually in the middle position. With a jumped plexi you can get pretty close to any tone, including tele bridge and strat neck.
I'm a proud Gretsch owner, and I think it makes a great rhythm and lead machine simply by virtue of sounding different. It really sits above the mix in its own little territory, and if you pop the gain up a little and switch to the bridge pickup, you get instant rock and roll. Rhythm becomes solid, and lead sounds wonderful.
I’m also a rhythm guitar player and play some lead. I’ve lately been playing a ‘72 Fender Thinline and it’s been pretty good so far.
The electric guitar sound on that new Lumineers album is fantastic
I started playing rhythm in a band at 17 using a telecaster because that's what I had at the time. Over the years I tried several others but I always went back to the tele. For me it's perfect.
Same
I played rhythm guitar for my first band when I was 17 years old. I absolutely loved the look of the Les Pauls, but being a broke teenager I could never afford one. Anyways I ended up buying a MIM Fender Strat from a local pawn shop for like $300 and I absolutely loved it. I moved away for college and left it behind and during that time my mom ended up giving that guitar away. Man I wonder where that strat could be :(
What ?! Your mom gave your Strat away ?! Wow, I would be livid.
feel you. in my case it is my grandma the one that throws my gear away :(
when i was 4 my grandpa bought me a used Casio keyboard for Christmas (after months of me insisting i wanted to be a pianist)
By April, the batteries had run out... so my grandma said it was "broken" and threw it away. I still vividly remember crying at the gate, looking at it sit on the top of all the garbage. The neighbors passing by.. She said "Stop crying, I'll buy you a new one tomorrow". She never did. :/
@@raytorvalds3699 Yeah I was pretty upset about it. 10 years later I can look back and laugh but the pain is still there :(
@@salpadilla48 Yeah, I bet :(
James Iha, of Smashing-Pumpkins-rhythm… SHAN’T be forgotten!
My 2 best rhythm players are easily the ‘72 Thinline Tele with the Seth Lover pickups and a ‘65 Melody Maker…Perfection. That is all.
The Telecaster is the answer to pretty much everything especially rhythym= slice. clarity , just the right amount of solidity. The perfect guitar.
I have a 1996 Gibson All American Pro2, with Gretch pick ups, and It does it all. Troy from Alantic City 🌆
John Lennon was a pretty decent rhythm guitarist. Knew a lot of chords and had a good right hand. Think the eight notes in "All My Loving" - watch him play it live on Sullivan.
A p90 loaded Gibson SG is really great for cutting through the mix, especially if you're playing with another guitarist using humbuckers. I think just about any guitar that is different than what the lead guitarist is using is a good choice. Even if they're both Les Pauls, one of them should be a Custom and one should be a Standard. Each guitar should have a different voice and using a different brand of amp and gain structure/EQ, etc. for each guitar helps, too.
To be honest a Rickenbacker 330 is a good shout, I own one use it everyday every gig every recording session genuinely amazing and very versatile.
Teles for just about any genre. I don't like Gretsches at all (but I have a cheap Junior Jet Club), so if I wanted something sonically different from a Tele/LP/Strat I'd use a Jazzmaster.
That John Lennon dude could swing.
I was a Fender guy, and still have a lot of them, but over the last year I have become a Gretsch convert. They can cut through the mix, but still have a bit of body to the sound.
On "Superunknown," Chris Cornell and Michael Beinhorn got those clear, crunchy, clanky rhythm guitars I love so much from two Gretsch semi-hollows and a Jazzmaster, played through a bunch of different speakers and pedals. Michael is very forthcoming about how that record was made, on forums and his blog and different places
i have a 1973 Gretsch Chet Atkins double cut country gentleman and its fantastic for rhythm or anything
Baxter, the next time I come to visit please give me a run down on the guitars in the studio. They sound amazing.
It depends. The most acoustic sounding solid body is the Stratbut maybe on par w P90 equiped solid , semi and full hollow body guitars with the volume rolled down. But a Tele works for a less scooped cutting sound. Dr Feelgood etc..
I may stand alone when I say the PRS SE Starla have one of the best sounds and response out there. Everyone is chasing the vintage sound and this guitar has it.
To answer Jonathon’s question, an acoustic can have a place as rhythm in a band, and with pickups and amps you can play with the sound. I play a lot in acoustic jams and for most the dreadnought bass line is the rhythm section. It fits well in the mix. I’d think that properly miked or amped you could do that in some electric bands too.
I am with Baxter on this. The Stratocaster is so versatile. In my gigging days, I played a 1985 made in Japan super Strat SSS with the System 1 bridge. I could sit in on rhythm guitar with a metal band, a 60s cover band, or a funk and soul dance band.
Telecaster! I've been playing a thinline lately.
Someone told me a long time ago that these basically two kinds of electric guitar sounds; fender sound and Gibson sound; basically a LP and a strat. I took the advice and had to have a strat style and a LP style guitar. I’m jonesing for a telecaster lately though. I used to think they were ugly but the simplicity and functionality are really appealing to me now
I’m missing a 335. I need one of them.
@@smelltheglove2038 yup, I want one of those too, or something like it
Best looking guitar ever built, looks like a 55 Chev
My new favourite guitar for rhythm is my Telecaster with Custom Shop TT pickups. Playing with the tone control lets this thing go from gnarly leads to great supporting rhythm.
I'm in the camp that a strat gets everything done well. I am actually thinking about putting a humbucker in the bridge of mine to try to get a lil more versatility. I rarely play just the bridge pickup but I do however use position 2 so it would suck to lose that but I think it would be worth it being as how most of my time is spent in position 4, I feel like the humbucker in the bridge would have me playing more heavier distortion stuff without switching to my LP or Dean. Anyone have a HSS strat and could give me some of your thoughts? Worth it, what pickup, do I split it, etc?
I’ve had two. One was a Texas Special with a Seymour Duncan HB in the bridge. It was great!! Nephew has that one now. Today I have a 60’s CV with Alnico’s and an Alnico HB in the bridge. Not as good but with a small bit of OD it cuts nice. Make sure to wire it right 👍✌️
put in a humbucker in the bridge. Rewire it to be a single or humbucker as an option..
Keep the single coils, use pedals to fatten it up
A Les Paul jr with the tone rolled off a little is great for rhythm
Tom Fogerty was a killer Rhythum Guitarist. He rocked a Rickenbacker while John played a Les Paul.
As a new falcon owner I am re examining my beliefs but right now … I’ve been rhythm guitarist for 30 years… and my 3 favs are telecaster, jazzmaster and les Paul standard..
@1:50 🤣🤣🤣 Baxter we gotta meet man. We would go off with jokes
As a rhythm guitarist in a classic rock band, anything with three pickups is what I want to play. If I had to be more specific, I would say any "Super-Strat" style of guitar with an H-S-H pickup configuration and coil tap switches for the two humbuckers.
I lean with Baxter on this, but I think it really depends on your style of playing. Do you play with a pick, are you a finger picker, combination of finger and pick, do you play with your thumb? How do you normally attack the strings? Also what sound does the song or band call for. But I do like the range of a strat.
The best rhythm guitar is a guitar that sits in the mix appropriately and is being played by a tasteful player with a great sense of time. So many notable rhythm players play vastly different instruments, from Prince to Al McKay to Nile Rogers to James Hetfield to Malcolm Young to Johnny Marr to Jimmy Nolen to Steve Stevens. Crazy how different all these players and their rigs are, all influential 'rhythm' players.
whoa! I have my dad's tracksuit! It's exactly the same one.
I have a semi hollow Jazzmaster with two TV Jones Power’trons (juiced filtertrons). It does everything you guys just said about the rhythm qualities of the Gretsch, Strat and Tele. Not a great lead guitar but does every rhythm thing you will ever need. Something about the 25.5 scale and those filtertrons just gets it done.
I'm a rhythm guy and I play a Telecaster, Stratocaster and also a 70s tribute Gibson SG. They are all excellent for what I do. If I had to pick one, it's the Telecaster so I concur.
My go-to combo for electric rhythm guitar has always been my early 70s Guild Starfire through a mid-70s Fender Twin Reverb, slightly overdriven.
I'm a Gibson/Epiphone fanatic, so I have to ask why you excluded the SG or the Firebirds? Ricks would be a sonic choice as well, I think. Remember the Byrds?
For electric, I'd definitely go Tele. For acoustic, I'm thinking the Martin D-18.
You guys are forgetting about the jazz master or jaguar rhythm circuit
Before I went full time on bass , I was a Rhythm guy in several bands , I used SG's and never had a problem . I think the thing is what the lead player is playing and that the 2 guitars are different but yet sound good together . Now if your the only guitar player and your playing both rhythm and lead that's obviously a different thing .
Nile Rodgers - the most successful rhythm guitar player of all time - the “Hitmaker” Strat.
A Jagstan, or Mustang with a Humbuckers in the bridge is a fantastic punk rock rhythm guitar. Teles are great too, but right now I'm absolutely in love with my G&L Fallout for rhythm,
Your video just popped up 3 minutes ago, great to see you!!!
Nile Rodgers and the hitmaker… love that rhythm tone. And I’m a tele guy!
True story: I play guitar in a six piece band and I'm kind of doomed, because I got to be the one to play all the solos. I don't want to, but it was a matter of 'natural selection' (unfortunately). I play my old Gibson ES-347 at least 90% of the time.
The other guitar player in the band became the rhythm guitarist, because he doesn't feel comfortable playing lead. Now, this guy has approximately 60 electric guitars (not lying). Most of those guitars are great guitars (he works really hard) and oddly enough, most of those guitars have the typical PAF-style humbuckers or the typical Fender-style single coils. I could never hear him play, because I literally sit next to my amp that is pointed towards me, because otherwise I drive the singers nuts with my volume. So I couldn't hear my rhythm playing friend. Never. Not really anyway. Never loud enough. This was until he bought a guitar from an unknown luthier. It's a Firebird-shaped bolt-on guitar with a set of good Filtertrons. He never played anything else again. I can hear everything he does and his sound is amazingly good. It cuts through without sounding too harsh or having to turn up his volume. It's perfect! We're two happy guitar players now, although I still need to play these freakin' lead parts.
Having said that, when I think of playing rhythm, I think of playing a guitar without a vibrato system and strung with a set of elevens or twelves and with this I love to be with the drummer and the bass player and take control over the dynamics. I love to be the driving force behind the band. As a lead guitarist you kinda need to be alongside the vocalist(s) at the front of the stage and interact with the audience all the time. It's a lot of fun, but sometimes I just want to be a part of that machine at the back of the stage. 😁
I'm just a strat guy!!!love that sound
If you’re only playing rhythm the whole gig a good hollow/semi hollow body like a ES-330/335 or a Gretsch like you guys suggested is the way to go ! But If you need to take a few solos the versatility of a strat will get the job done. but recently I’ve been using my jag and jazz masters for rhythm. They are different enough sonically to not get lost in the mix but still have that familiar bite / scream when you need it. Plus with all the added circuit wizardry they posses you can build interesting layers , rhythm shouldn’t be boring after all
Keef is unquestionably great but I'd put my money on Malcolm as the greatest rock rhythm player ever.
Malcolm was too much of a one trick pony to be "the best". He was a master of that one trick, no doubt.
To each her/his own. He did kinda stick to the same formula, I give you that. But if you only have one trick that's a hellava trick.
I use a Tele deluxe for rhythm playing, the wide range humbuckers fit well around a lead player
It's whatever guitar fits in the mix, within the context of the band, and fits the song.
Subjective, of course. All perspective and perception 😉
Thanks, y'all 🙏
I got to open for Valient Thorr for a couple of times and they were awesome. Cool dudes.
I have a solidbody D’Angelico that has been a game-changer for me…
G&L ASAT Classic S with either MFD or Alnico pickups is a 3 pickup "Nashville Tele" style guitar with a Push/Pull Volume pot for all pickup combinations. Strat and Tele sounds in one.
Love my Gretsch 5622. Semi hollow is so warm for rhythm.
Haha I forgot about Valient Thorr. I saw them in 2005 and their show was great
I will go with Gretsch too! The latest recording I did with my band the two guitars I used was a Broadkaster Jr. and a Power Jet. The other guitarist just got a G6120.
Brian Setzer, Chet Atkins, Reverend Horton Heat, Hillbilly Moon Explosion, or Rockabilly/Psycho-Billy in general seem to have no issues with Gretsch as rhythm and lead. It was my dream guitar growing up and there is something special about those. And the orange does grow on you...lol
Hear me out. Fender MusicMasters. Always loved them. Looking for another now in the Tulsa area.
Gretsch is not to be dismissed. Very versatile and indispensable.
Love my Gretsch for sure but the center position on my American Pro II Tele with the push knob is pretty special too!
I guess it depends on the type of rhythm I am going for. If I am going for brutal Death Metal high gain, I have a guitars with various Seymour Duncan Humbuckers/Active pickups. That being said I always have at least one Tele style guitar on a stand ready to play. Blues, Country, Jazz, Rock, Punk, Black Metal, you can literally do it all. Every guitar player should have at least one.
I have 8 guitars now. And the tele mixed with an HSS strat and a Gibson SG (with coil taps) are my main 3, tele can somehow do just as much variety as the other 2
In situations where there are two guitarists, I like them to play “opposite” tones; one humbucker guitar, one single coil guitar.
Baxter is not six foot tall. And Strats are best rhythm guitar because of the variety of recognizable sounds. And they make the best strummy non-note noises.
I know they can be hard to find and on the expensive side but don’t overlook Rickenbacker for the rhythm guitar/singer. Tom Petty, for example (there are plenty of other excellent examples) found his Ricky did not get in the way of Mike Campbell’s heavy lifting.
I'm now building what I hope to be truly great rhythm and lead guitars... because they are overlooked. This was a REALLY cool video, though... because it makes you think about music from other perspectives. I always thought of the Strat as THE LEAD GUITAR... but using it on the 2 and the 4 makes a lot of sense. Tele's are great for both, as well, as are Les Paul's. But the Firebird and Jaguar are solid options, as is the BC Rich Mockingbird and the 335. Ibanez used to make a heavier SZ with no paint on it that sounded like a dream for rhythm. I remember thinking it would be an upgrade to buy the tribal inlay version with the stained maple top and painted back. It wasn't. It just plain sounded different. Good luck on the search, everybody.
Rhythm guitar playing is huge in European folk music, but the instruments are acoustic-electric, semi-body. Can you recommend an American-made make and model for a professional musician in that class? I'm looking to buy a higher end gift. I'm not a guitar player. Thanks.
G.E. Smith says the tele is the ultimate rhythm guitar and he’s more qualified than all of us
My main guitar has filtertrons. Not a particularly great rhythm guitar if you want to sit under the lead guitar in a mix. There is nothing scooped about filtertrons, they may be the most flat frequency pickup ever made, strat pickups are scooped. Because of their high fidelity, filtertrons have an extended high end that exceeds that of even the bridge pickups on strats and teles. The reason it doesn't sound that way is that they have a wider frequency range overall, so strats sound higher because they have a narrower frequency range than a filtertron, even though it's not actually the case. In a band mix though the extended high end is very noticeable, also the individual string separation is quite extreme, such that it sounds very pokey I if try to strum underneath a lead part. Filtertrons clarity and extended high-end scream lead to me, although, with overdrive, the clipping shaves a little of the high end and smears the notes in a way that is pleasing for rhythm playing. I much prefer strats, Rickenbacker, or jazzmasters for purely supportive rhythm work.
I gotta go with a players edition White Falcon double cut for rhythm
A Telecaster with a PAF in the neck is superb but for me the perfect rhythm king is a Rickenbacker 360 or 330. So unique and so wonderful. Proven by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell
What's funny about this is all the talk about PRS, Gibson, and all the other brands, it still comes back to a Fender.