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Unfortunately, the majority of licensed FR vibratos are made from cheaper, inferior materials. These detract from the precise fit and operational stability. They also wear out more quickly.
In the specific case of Ibanez, they have used a variety of FR-licensed designs. Of these, the only one I consistently like is the original Edge. This has its fair share of cast zinc parts but manages to remain stable - even after thirty five years.
The most frustrating FR-licensed vibrato I have experienced is the infamous Jackson JT6. I have one on a Charvel mongrel. I dare not change it for fear of altering the guitar's sound for the worse.
Years later I bought the nearly identical Jackson Elite which had active high output pickups. I could not get a usable (for me) tone playing live so sold it for that reason.
So 90% of these 'metal or trad' differences are about looks & style, with a few practical differences here & there. I did use the FR for about a year, but eventually blocked it up because it was frustrating not being able to do double stop bends (the strings detune and go flat when you try). They are great at what they are designed for but if you dont need that, then leave them alone. If you buy one and dont get on with FR, its easy enough to disable by blocking the trem cavity.
metal guitars will have a flatter radius meaning it is easier to set up a low action without strings bottoming out on bends and it will generally feel flatter , a lot now have a compound radius which means you get a more rounded handful at the headstock for chord type stuff and flatter higher up for lead playing.
i do love pointy guitars (well pointy head stocks ) Jackson ,bc rich ESP .
Metal guitars covers a span of instruments that may have aesthetic looks or hardware specs that suit a particular sub genre of metal.
There are a lot of subgenres of metal so there's no one typical metal guitar.
A pink Ibanez RG with Floyd Rose is metal (80s/glam/hair).
A black baritone 6 string might be aimed at the nu metal crowd.
Something with 7 or 8 strings could be aimed at the djent music crowd, or could be prog players who use the whole range of the instrument.
One of my favourite recent metal bands are Loathe, and from what I understand they play Squier Baritone Jazzmasters. It's really about how you play rather than the instrument itself, but having the appropriate spec definitely helps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srGBy5HPiSQ
Then the 2009's metalcore surge came about where more bands started drop tuning down to A and the double bass drum would match up more to riffs and breakdowns. More syncopation rhythmically with a mix of singing and screamo.
I think Baritone guitars came about more with such low tunings, with the longer neck adapting better to thicker strings.
Never played an Ibanez or a Jackson, etc, Jim Root uses a Tele/Strat for 'metal' so why not haha.
Vai, Satriani, Gilbert etc really brought them to life and established their place in the world. That stereotype is a bit unfortunate since today it is a cliche and they are actually very good and very versatile guitars.
They are very different from a strat - the wizard neck is one of the thinnest in the business, the fingerboard radius is wide and flat, it has two humbuckers and a single coil and the inbetween sounds, whilst a little strat like are actually pretty different and higher output than a strat. They can never quite do that jangly thing a strat does.They have more contouring on the body, including white a deep heel cut.
The Floyd is by far the most stable trem system I've ever used. But changing the strings is a bit of a pain - one at a time, you need to snip off the ball ends, release the nut locks and lock them in at the trem end. But once they are in they literally never go out of tune.
Back in the day, Metal guitars were BC Rich Warlocks or Jackson Vee's. So for me, metal guitars tend to either be be pointy, have ESP on the headstock and / or have active pickups etc. and (increasingly) have 7 or more strings.
My band, Red For Dissent
As I don't own a tremolo equipped guitar at the mo, would a guitar fitted with a Floyd Rose be a reasonable place to start? Then I can do the whole pointy thing plus tremolo all in one. :0)
Les Pauls seem to just get Active Pickups installed.
Hotter or more feedback resistant Pickups
Thinner faster necks
Bigger frets
More stable vibration systems
Cool colours or graphics
Traditionally the metal guitarist is looking for greater technical proficiency in their music so requires a guitar that will makes that easier, the above refinements to a Strat will possibly make it easier, obviously changing anything about the design will change the sound.
these days a metal orientated guitar will have more strings, active Pickups and prob fanned frets and multiple scale lengths, as the demands of the music evolve so do the demands of the instruments.
Absolutely.
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/134583/james-trussart-steeldeville-gator-with-bigsby-and-tv-jones-powertrons/p1
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/114929/trussart-deluxe-steelcaster-cream-on-steel-gator-with-piezo/p1
Compound radius fretboards coupled with the Belcat pickups in the entry level JS series which have more fire in their bellies than the low end Ibanez efforts.