And the answer is… whatever you f-in’ want to use! <woof>
I’ve been on a roll lately with my snarky commentaries probably because after a very long hiatus, I started lurking and participating in guitar forums. 99.9% of the time, it’s quite enjoyable, but there’s always that minuscule amount where I run across utter nonsense. The good thing is that these particular situations: 1) Give me a good laugh and; 2) Provide me with material about which to write.
There must’ve been something in the atmosphere around the globe yesterday because I ran across several comments in different threads where people were telling others that certain guitars were meant for certain types of music. The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was this reply to a kid who wanted to choose between an ES-335, Les Paul Jr., and a ’57 Goldtop:
“If you play punk shouldn’t you opt for a telecaster? The 335 is a jazzy-bluesy dream, the goldtop and the lpj for classic rock / prog … maybe a gibson would entice you into something different”
I was reading this while I was having lunch at my desk in the office, and laughed out loud at this one, causing my office mates to give me queer, inquisitive looks. I just joked and said I just read something funny.
But the thing is… While that comment and comments like it are amusing to me, they’re also quite sad. Sad because the people behind them have drunk some kind of Kool-aid that’s lead them to believe that certain kinds of guitars should only be played with certain kinds of music.
That’s not to say that there is no such thing as a convention or iconic guitars for specific styles. For instance, think of jazz guitar, and you’ll probably think of an archtop hollow body. Think of punk, and the Les Paul Jr. comes to mind. Folk? A dreadnaught.
But let’s be clear: There is NO “right” guitar for a particular type of music. Despite that, people seem to continue to limit themselves; even those who probably shouldn’t be communicating that kind of limitation.
For instance, a few years ago, I was in a big box retail store that rhymes with “guitar center” 🙂 looking at some Les Pauls. The sales guy approached me asked if I needed help, and I declined at first, but then I saw a gorgeous Tobacco Burst high up on the wall that I wanted to play, so I asked the young man if he could bring it down.
He was quite gracious and retrieved the guitar and once he handed it over, I suppose he thought that that would be a good opening for him to start a sales conversation by asking me a leading question.
“So what kind of music do you play?” he asked.
I replied, “All sorts. But my latest musical endeavor is sort of a jazzy reggae.”
He lifted his eyebrows and said, “I’ve heard of Les Pauls being used for reggae, but jazz? Hmmm….”
When I heard that, I almost choked, but not being a vicious person by nature, I restrained myself from replying with a flip remark. But despite that, I guess I couldn’t completely hide my look of incredulity because the dude got obviously irate with my reaction. So I said, “Uh yeah… Maybe you didn’t know this, but the actual Les Paul who invented this guitar was a jazz player. So it has a long history of being played in jazz.”
I really didn’t mean to deflate the guy’s ego, but he moved on to another person… oh well…
But that wasn’t an isolated incident as the comments I ran across yesterday demonstrate. But case in point, several players over the years have bucked the conventions. Back in the ’70s, Ted Nugent played a Gibson Byrdland archtop guitar. I once saw a video of the aikido master, Steven Segal, who is also a blues guitar player, playing on a space-age-looking guitar that seemed more suited to KISS. Tommy Shaw of Styx plays a beautiful ES-335 (among many others) and he absolutely ROCKS it!
All that said, I always keep going back to this same advice: Get the gear that helps you make music. It can be cheap. It can be expensive. It can be any brand you want. It just doesn’t matter so long as it inspires you to create.
And lastly, while the opinions and perspectives of others can be useful, you don’t need ANYONE’s approval on what kind of gear you play.
Guitar Gear 
Good points. I find myself falling into this mental trap from time to time. But, if you never deviate from the conventional wisdom, then you never achieve breakthroughs.
Exactly, even musically. Years ago, my band was practicing a fairly slow ballad and the bassist was playing this smooth bass line. There was something that was bugging me about the song in general, but the bass line in particular, so I asked him to start slapping. He looked at me as if I was drugs, but I just told him to bear with me. There was a method to the madness. What that turned into was a collaboration on a completely new song. I wrote the lyrics on the spot and we performed it later that day. We all agreed afterward that thinking outside the box can lead to some really interesting things. 🙂
“I’ve heard of Les Pauls being used for reggae, but jazz? Hmmm….”
Congratulations sir! You found a thoroughbred asshole, and a prime specimen at that! Take a picture of it.
Now seriously, I absolutely agree. It’s that kind of mentality that turn people into compulsive copying drones that are constantly asking on every damn forum “what amp and strap color for Jimmy Page toanz?” I’m no Page myself, but my most creative moments tend to be when I just grab something to play and see where that combo takes me, instead of overthinking the whole thing.
And at the end of the day, doesn’t half the world still think it was a Gibson on Stairway to Heaven and a Fender on Another Brick in the Wall?
“You found a thoroughbread asshole…” HAHAHAHAHA! Actually, the kid was pretty nice, but he was young and probably had no idea of the Les Paul’s provenance. But I really pity the ignorance…
Then it is now your duty to show that poor kid the light.
Your first lesson should be to go back and buy that guitar, start with a strong example! Then immediately make him play it and before you suddenly leave, with the most ominous tone you can come up and without ever breaking eye contact, tell him “this guitar will some day be yours, for I know the day will come when I will be proud to call you my son”.
Then just leave and never return. Extra points for using a smoke screen. Oh, and make sure you pay first. We don’t want any trouble with the cops.
Right now my SS Jaguar is drop-tuned and chugging out metal riffs. Eat that, Surfaris.
Exactly! Curt Cobain played a Jaguar and rocked it!