What's the Best Guitar for Playing the Blues?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ส.ค. 2024
- What makes a guitar perfect for blues? Let's dig in and find out!
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*In this video I played a fender American Stratocaster, a Firefly semi-hollow body, an Ephiphone Les Paul, and a Gibson SG
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What guitar was your favorite blues machine?
Is there a different guitar you like for blues? if so, let me know!
Enjoy!
now.
Semi-Hollow body :P
i just love the model and the warm clean tones, it screams BLUES!
great video :D
cheers from argentina :D
Unfortunately for my wallet, all of them... However I have to say, the Tele is my favorite all around. Can't argue with Albert Collins or Muddy Waters.
Love your guitar playing in my opinion the strat does the blues the best.
You own nearly a dozen telecasters and you DON'T include them in a "what's the best guitar for the blues" video? Whassup with that?
The best guitar for “The Blues” , is the one ya’ got.
I would say the best guitar for the blues is the one you ain’t got and THAT gives you the blues… 🎸😢
Amen. My Schecter Omen FR has the sexiest single tone I've ever heard when you split the coils. Phenomenal guitar.
@@MrNeosantana
I second that. But with my Schecter PT Special with it's P90 and Single Coil pickups.
chopsddy3 No further comments necessary 🙏🏻
Agreed 100% Whatever guitar that makes you tell your story is a blues guitar.
It's not the guitar...
It's the player.
Always enjoy your playing, Darrell, particularly when it's the blues.
yeah, leave that smooth jazz stuff alone!!........kidding
🤦
Any guitar is best for blues if you believe Rory Gallagher: "Blues players don't mess around with the guitar - they hit the bloody thing."
Well, Rory knew how to hit it, for sure.
8:32 "I grew up with one really crappy guitar..." Well, you sure got over THAT!
Just get a Tele and never worry about genres.
Anmol Karki, Different metal genres. It’s not impossible but just plain stupid😂😂😂
U are right, teles are perfect
Genres, blues, metal? John 5 tele.
@@ImTyeDye Jim's Tele is modded to hell and back.
Just because that one dude put a W12 engine in his Gen 1 VW Golf doesn't make the entire model a race car.
Buy a strat
Some of the best blues ever played was on an acoustic guitar. Still is.
Toney Davis Any specific body style?
Goog luck bending
@@Zach-lv5qs the one you have
@@najmihakimkhairi1210 I can bend pretty well on my Ovation. In fact, probably just as well as my Tele. The action and feel of the strings is almost just like an electric. Super easy to play.
najmi hakim khairi bending isn’t that hard on an acoustic guitar.
The classic blues tone is in the heart, spirit and fingers of the player. That, and what they could afford at the time.
Yeah, but I want a better guitar
This is more of a personal preference, the best guitar for blues is the one that makes you feel more the music since blues is pretty much a ton of feeling
*Personally a Les Paul, nothing beats it for me*
You play really good guitar on your videos!
Hey!!! You didn’t mention Teles. How dare you!!!😂
Ikr !!
Not having tele's in here questions credibility.
Muddy Waters would not have approved! :(
I did.
How could you possibly not have a Tele?!! Blasphemous!!
SG over a telecaster? You lost me there.
Davivd2 slide blues
It’s considered the best guitar for slide
@@funnymanjustin5836
Cigar box guitar joins the chat. Lol
derek trucks ?
@@gabrielalejandroavilaquint8191 Allman Brothers/Tedeschi Trucks Band.
On a more technical note the Fender strat is easy to record because of its frequency bandwidth. It just sits away from other instruments reducing the frequency buildup that may have occurred. This also applies for live performance. You can hear it in the mix even at lower volumes.
How about a how to video on how to set your guitar and amp for a good blues tone, rock tone jazz tone CW tone. Without pedals or a modeling amp?
especially jazz from a solid-body
John OBeirne for us people on a budget. I have one amp one guitar and one cable. Lol.
@@keithbrown8368 that's enough to make magic ⚡
Apologies, I guess at the end Darrell does give some tips for a blues tone. My vocabulary of guitar terms is lacking though. I’d love a video explaining what different effects or attributes of tone mean. Delay, chorus, reverb are easy enough but what I’d break-up, overdrive etc.
I’m sure there are explanations on YT but I enjoy Darrell’s style and Canadian references. Feels like we speak the same language.
Keith Brown break up is pretty much the point where you just are barely driving the amp to distort, overdrive is just really light distortion
One of my favorite vids on all of TH-cam. I love the blues and have Les Pauls and Strats but also love BB King's tone too. This has helped me a lot. Thank you.
I have a Tele, a Strat, and a Les Paul. I play blues on all three of them. The Les Paul with a SD 59 neck and just a smidge of dirt sounds best to me.
Les Paul is best.
frank hall that is simply not possible
@@PetraKann why not?
So you just need an SG and a semi-acoustic and you're done! 👍
I decided that the best guitar I had for blues is the ones I have! Thank you for that advice! I was thinking about getting a new gold top or Casino but decided against it. I’m currently attending classes at Berklee College of Music for Blues. I decided that I’m going to use my 1978 Applause, 2013 Dean ML79, (very bluesy,) my 2008 Jackson Kelly JS32-T, and my new Ibanez Artcore AS53. Between these models, if I can’t find the tone I’m looking for…something is off. 😊
Hi, Is your teacher Tomo Fujita?
I have a strat, a Les Paul and an archtop and I use all of them for everything, including blues. The pickups have a bit more of gain, but I use an FBM1 Boss Fender Bassman pedal, which gives a warm tone. I love the way they all sound. : )
Tele - PERIOD!!!!
Oh, Ok .... my Hamer 335 copy with a little "dirt" ain't too shabby for Chicago stuff.
I recently played overdriven blues stuff on my Epiphone SG before I sold it. It's actually a very versatile guitar. I like the shorter scale length and humbuckers.
I would say the strat does the blues the best in my opinion.
It does everything the best 😂
I like the es-335 for blues, a tele for funk, jazz masters for clean atmospheric/jazz (of course) and a strat for rock.
Pros and Cons of each guitar:
Strat:
pros: very comfortable to play, irreplaceable neck pickup tone
cons: despite the 5 position switch, not the most versatile tones, tremolo bridge makes tuning unstable, especially if you play around with other tunings.
Tele:
pros: awesome tones in all positions, top loader bridge plays like butter, indestructible
cons: fussy intonation on traditional 3 saddle bridges, string through bodies can feel rather stiff
Les Paul:
pros: amazing depth of tone due to combination of maple cap and mahogany woods
cons: heavy, uncomfortable to play when sitting
SG:
pros: great upper fret access, comfortable to play, versatile tones
cons: prone to neck dive
Pros and cons of each guitar
Hollow bodies and semi hollows
Pros: very versatile perfect weight and weight distribution not prone to neck dive can play any genre might be prone to feedback but the feedback can be controlled and not prone to neck dive
Cons none
Solid bodies and chambered solid bodies
Pros: none
Cons not versatile prone to neck dive can only play 6 genres can be too heavy can be either uncomfortable to play or the pickups can be too high input less sustain when have a trem system and better off as wall decor
I played Blues with guys with LP’s, Fenders, and I used a Schecter with active 81 and 89R pups. These guys loved Gary Moore, and vintage sound. When I would fire up the Schecter it was so versatile and so over powering they loved the tones that guitar has! But the guitar is really just a part of getting a really good Blues tone!
The “best” guitar for the blues is the one that gives you the inspiration to play and fits your budget.
Darrell talks about the best guitars 🎸 for Blues doesn’t mention TELECASTERS!!! Time to grab some popcorn 🍿 S***s about to get real in the comments section 😎
I'd say it's the one that's been pawned the most times.
Few channels-not just guitar centered, but ALL of TH-cam- offer more value than this one. If you want to know ANYTHING about what guitars to consider, not to mention some cool chords and tricks, this is an AMAZING channel.
I really enjoy strat and teles for blues, but my favorite blues artists always uses a semihollow
The top on that LP.........
But where's the Telecaster?
And it's an Epiphone, too
Muddy Waters got some great blues sounds out his Tele!
Josh Smith
He is cheating on telecaster
I usually play blues on my Strat....a few weeks ago I tried out some blues songs on my Ibanez AZ...well - it's my fav guitar to play the blues on right now! Sounds amazing & I prefer the flatter fingerboard for bending.
The hollow body sounded wonderful 😉
Darrell, Thanks for the very informative advice. As it happen I've a Les Paul copy & a Strat copy which play quite well & am now looking forward to attempting the Blues.
Loved the blues-tones that Mick Abrahms (first Tull guitarist, later Blodwyn Pig) got out of his SG and its successors. His "Cat's Squirrel" says it all.
The best guitar to play the blues is the one you've got. The blues is not about the guitar at all, it's about your soul.
So glad that you gave some love to the blues. My Best blues guitar is my Strat but my favorite blues guitarists play Teles. As far as noiseless pickups go, Darrell I put Fishman Fluence Single Width pickups in my Strat and for the first time in 25 years of guitar playing I get the exact Stratocaster tone that I imagine in my head every time that I flick the selector. I haven’t tried their telecaster set, but those look cool as well.
After watching this video, I like my fender more
Me too
Up until recently, I was watching your videos purely for their content; and that held true also for the first time I watched this video. The second time I watched it however, it was purely to look at the cinematography - I'm looking for inspiration for some videos I want to make. It's absolutely amazing, the lighting, the color grading, the shot choices themselves, all of it very well thought out and deliberate in their execution. I just thought I'd share that. Congratulations, Darrel, this is really, really high quality work in my book. Thank you.
I have an american strat, gary moore les paul and a jms ibanez semi-hollow so I got the blues covered but I'm not a big blues player but those guitars are killer guitars for other styles too.
Darrell seriously needs to release an album of instrumental blues and an album of instrumental up-tempo rock or rockabilly.
I have a tele and strat but the one that surprised me is the Gretsch les Paul style with the filtertron pickups is amazingly versatile
I'm a Gibson Les Paul guy. That's my main weapon of choice. I have a few Fender Strats too. They're good. I noticed that the semi-hollow is a Firefly. I heard a lot of talk about those guitars. I have a couple of Epiphone SGs. I find SGs very SLIDE FRIENDLY. I have one of my SGs tuned in open D tuning for slide. Playing slide in open D is fun. I also have a couple Fender Deluxe Teles. Those are awesome. You should have mentioned those.
I learned from your video any guitar can do any genres, so I always play blues with JEM Jr, JCM800 combo and of course never forget the MT-2.
Alvin Lee did fine with a 335. 🤷♂️😎 Duane Allman did fine playing blues rock on a couple of LP's and an SG. And SRV had his Strats. Albert King even had a Flying V lol.
JST uses a Telecaster, but also uses LPs nowadays...
Les Paul. Can't beat that tone.
Les Pauls are expensive and overrated, no one can change my mind
Yes, PRS can destroy them....
Even most guitars over $1000 can do it
@@nehemiahzo_ you have either not played a Les Paul recently, or you have never played one at all.
Les pauls are terrible for a blues tone unless you have the right pickups.
They are the best of the best as far as tone goes, but the necks make my left hand cramp way too much. Then again, this is coming from an ibanez-playing metalhead that can only go as far as a telecaster for the neck, and sometimes, even that’s pushing it.
For the Blues I prefer my Duesenberg Starplayer TV Phonic and my Gretsch 50’s Edition. The Duesenberg has some amazing Pickups and the whole settings are very special
The correct answer is the one that feels best in your hands
This is BY FAR my favorite intro, Darrell!
Thank you for this video! The blues is what I play most, but this offered so many great and useful tips, and of course your class A playing is making an appearance!
In the movie, “Crossroads,” the kid plays a Tele and Jack Butler, the Devil’s guitarist, plays a red superstrat with a Floyd.
That’s Hollywood for you. Everyone knows the devil’s guitar is bright white with gold hardware.
Well yeah but I think that's only because they picked Steve Vai to play Jack Butler lol
Also, what Steve Vai played in the Crossroads duel was not blues.
Steve Vai played a Charvel/Jackson San Dimas model and you can totally play Blues with something like this,because they´re essentially just "Hotrodded" Strats. Adjust your amp settings and you´re good to go.
Oh and Vai played actually both his and Ralph Macchio´s guitar parts,minus the slide-guitar part which was played by Ry Cooder.
Technically speaking,Vai defeated himself in that guitar duel.
Telecaster bridge position with a little bit of dirt.
Robben Ford got one of the greatest blues tones ever using humbuckers, lots of gain and plenty of mids. Good blues tone is not just one thing
Eastwood Tuxedo works pretty good, I'd say. Mine is electric metallic orange, if you can dig it.
Way to trigger the Tele fans!
Yep what about the sweet tele neck pup!?!
Nice video Darrell! You should have left honorable mentions to the Telecaster (Albert Collins, Muddy Waters) and Flying V (Albert King), although I feel they are both guitars for more advanced players...
Wondering what Gary Moore thought about playing blues with a les Paul and some hard gain
😉how could you not mention the Telecaster? Sooo many iconic blues players played the Telecaster.
IMHO, blues tone and technique is more about the player though versus the name or model of the guitar. I agree a floating tremolo and hot pickups can create an untypical blues tone though
Roy Buchanan and Muddy Waters.
Albert Collins!
Good post and nice playing too. Another thing to note, the technology you put in "Don't" column tend to be more useful in large venues. Blues can be played anywhere but really hits it's pace in small venues.
I should have added - I also like Tele's for blues as well - mostly neck pickup
Somebody uses the neck pickup on a Tele? Bizarre. Roy Buchanan cut the ears off me live with the bridge pu.
@@melvynobrien6193 neck pickup on a tele is glassy heaven.
It's because of the two pickups combined, I swear! 🤨
@@earhornjones full on bridge pup is awesome with fuzz. But otherwise you really need that tone control.
"If it don't come from a pawn shop it can't play the blues." Old African American quote!
Lol, true
Man African Americans are so full of wisdom
When I was younger, one of my only guitars for a while came from a dumpster. The neck was broken and I glued it back to the body with some gorilla glue.
I guess I can't play the blues though, it wasn't a pawn shop 😂
Wut
I primarily play blues. I just bought a Fender Player Series Stratocaster from Guitar Center about a month ago, and then returned it last week. I preferred the feeling of my Les Paul's neck. The Fender was a great guitar, don't get me wrong. But it honestly didn't stay in tune that well. I had to re-tune it after just about every song, even with the strings broken in. I believe it may have something to do with the bridge. The tone was great though. I bought my Dad a 2001 MIM Fender Strat a couple years ago, and it stays in tune very well.
I love your Epiphone LP! It's a beautiful beast!
If you can play the blues, you can play it on anything,even a Sears. It’s all about your feel.
I've liked my Squier Strat since I bought it in 1986. I put a DiMarzio in the bridge, and still like the tone, many years later. I also have a Squier Tele with a set of Seymour Duncans that sounds pretty good, too. My lone guitar regret is the Epi Blueshawk Deluxe. I never used the notch filter, liked the shape, weight and tone, but it would not stay in tune, even with a bone nut, so I traded it. I wish I'd kept it and just bought a set of locking tuners. I also have an Eastwood Twin Tone with P-90s that sounds good. All I need to play like Joe or Derek is another 50 years of practice…
Locking tuners don’t really help a bad guitar stay in tune. They really just make strings changes faster. Most tuning issues stem from a badly cut nut. Some guitars just cannot be made to stay in tune, so you probably did the best thing by trading it and getting something that wouldn’t frustrate you to the nth degree whilst you poured money into it. What that guitar needed was a good luthier who could cut a proper nut!
I agree: low power pickups. I like regular single coils, but gold foils are my favorite. They are like P90's, but more balanced with less power.
The best tone I have ever heard, though, is Chris Cain's my mood (it's on TH-cam), who uses PAF humbuckers.
I think it depends on what your blues style is. I play blues with a bit more gain similar to Gary Clark Jr or Kingfish.
Same here. Humbuckers or p90s work better for that kind of tone
Ask Gary Moore about playing blues with higher gain.
Actually, don't ask him now.
My favorite guitar is whichever one you happen to be playing!!
Stratocaster for sure. No matter if I'm playing or listening I prefer the nuances and dynamics of single coils for the blues.
Ah okay, so every blues player before 1954 couldn' t play real blues because he had no stratocaster.
What a rubbish.
True story: my teacher played blues on a Jackson V with EMGs. Worked out surprisingly well.
All those guitars are great to play great blues. Nice video. Congrats.
Martin streetmaster for acoustic
(Robert Johnson)
Fender Strat for electric
(SRV)
You know, I'm no expert on this, but there are many different types of blues: Delta, New Orleans, Chicago, Texas, Country. I reckon some guitars might be more appropriate to certain styles than others?
my Squier CV 60's works for practically everything, fantastic guitar for the money
You are a great player, plus, I learned several things just in this video and I know quite a bit about guitars.
Is this a trick question? Obviously, a blue guitar.
While ac/DC played hard rock, Angus is a very blues based player. He rocks that sg
In my book these are the quintessential blues guitars bluesmen might use.
Not really saying much...
Fender
Telecaster
Stratocaster
(Real tough choice, depends on the specific blues sound you are looking for)
Gibson
ES-335 BB King
Les Paul
Swamp Blues
Acoustic and Electrified Acoustic
National Dobro
National Resonator
Check out Son House, Bukka White and modern day... justin Johnson
Delta Blues
Gibson L-1
Robert Johnson
It's what you can afford, what fits your hands and what speaks to you... what feels right.
Then you have your amps....
Utimately the hardware... relies on you. You are ultimately the foundation for your brand of blues. Its in you and what is in you comes out through the hands.
Bone tone..... its in your hands...
Yup.... same hands that you use to wipe your butt with when you're done with the brown sound.
Tragically descriptive but true.
Hope this helps.
Éric Clapton plays a strat with noiseless pickups even on his signature strat ! For me Clapton had a blues tone !!!
Darrell, I always enjoy your playing. I also find it helpful when you give tone tips regarding pickup and amp settings.
Thank you, Darrell! I think I’m picking up my first Gold Top! I’ve waited about 30 years for this moment. I’m picking up the JJN model. 😊
tele with humbuker is also warming sound
Thanks for the blues tone tip. Always a pleasure
Great video!! I'd love to see a video for how to get a "bluesy" tone using amp + pedals...
So...Darrell, You said to avoid active pickups, and didn't mention Telecasters (Mike Bloomfield, Muddy Waters, etc..). The combination of a Tele and (active) EMG RetroActive T-52 set or T-Set is an unbelievable combination for not only Blues, but just about every other genre as well. They bring out a richness that passive pickups just don't have.
I've been playing professionally for over 50 years, and own Turbocaster Electric Guitars, and make T-style and JM style guitars, so do know tone quite well. The EMG's are unquestionably the best sounding (and most versatile) Tele pickups anywhere. Rob (Founder, CEO of EMG) has finally agreed to make Jazzmaster pickups as well. I tried the prototype set, and Jazzmasters are gonna be a whole amazing new guitar when they go into production, and will be, among all they already are, a significant Blues machine as well!
You also failed to mention the importance of the amp, and PRACTICE!!!
All depends on my mood. Les Pauls are doing it for me at the moment 😊
normally i would have said the strat but once i heard Tom Bucovak playing a vintage Gibson 335 that sold it for me :)
Playing is definitely rooted in blues, my strat is the last guitar id ever get rid of.
For me, my 335 does the blues better than any other in my guitar collection, including my good old strat
I believe a good guitar for blues is my HB Tele "Cabronita" with "Filtertron"-Clone pickups from Roswell. ;-)
If it's a decent quality guitar and it's set up right, you're good to go. Just avoid super hot pickups!
Noiseless pickups... give Mojotone Quiet Coils a try in a Strat... they sound incredible and are in my main Strat. Even the most discerning listener can barely tell the difference. Love them.
Joe Misek Do you have the 58s or 67s? I’m leaning towards the 58s and will definitely be getting some.
Single coils are SUPPOSED to be noisy. Why ruin them?
@@shawnadams1693 58s, very happy with them.
What I don't like about them is that bulky bridge pickup that doesn't fit in a standard strat pickguard without having to grind the pickup cav first... 😒
Mate! Your channel is TOP!!
Depends on what sound you prefer. Single coils or humbuckers.
The SG. Les Paul. Peter green Garry Moore. . The 335 BB King. Can't underestimate the Humbucker.
So many great guitarists played blues with Gibson.
At least 95% technique, 4% pick-ups and 1% pre-amp colouration.
It’s why you can give Gary Moore a Bouzouki or a Moroccan Lute and he can extract a 12 bar riff from it.
Remember Jimmy Page was usually seen with a Gibson onstage with Led Zeppelin but the guitar solo on Stairway to Heaven was recorded using his trusty little Telecaster.
don t forget strings.... on my Ibanez RG, i've changed the .46 by a .52, and it changes the spirit of the guitar.
Didier desHautesPyrenees .....spot on. I was too generous with the pre-amp rating which should be around 0.87%
Strings 0.11%
Strap 0.01%
Pick 0.01%
I absolutely love this channel, anything I ever need to know, anything I want to learn, I get in a cool proffesional manner c
very good advice - been doing the low output and low gain - bump in volume for years. It captures the 'mood' of the blues as well in a sense:
Things may be hard (struggling against the volume and gain deficiency) but im still living and tryin and there's beauty in that. summed up in a word --> Blues
I have PRS Silver Sky (strat) - Sounds great for the blues also have an older PRS Hollowbody (Spruce Top), which is also great for blues. Thanks for letting me cop a few of your licks
PRS doesn’t make a strat!😬 Only Fender!😬
John Mayer approves lol
What about the Telecaster? Some great blues have been played on Teles.
Albert Collins is a fantastic example!
Muddy Waters played a tele too
What? No Tele? Im nauseous dude! Thats alright D,we know you cant test them all or it would be a two hour video. Love the slide playing,i need a lesson on that skill. Thanks Darrell bro, you Rooock!😉
that 335, and everything you played on it...super sweet
The one that gives crippling shoulder & back pain, that'll give you da blues.
That'll be a full-weight LP then...
Two of my favorite blues sounds are from BB King and Robert Cray. So I always seem to gravitate toward the strat and the semi-hollow bodies. Never thought of an SG. Interesting though.