While this is FAR from a comprehensive list of the kinds of guitars you could use for blues playing…
I did my best to give you a little taste of some of the more common varieties and you can let your own ear be the judge.
As always, basic signal path of guitar into blues driver into eleven rack set as a Super Reverb… same thing I’ve used forever.
I hope this is helpful!
23 replies to "What’s The Best Electric Guitar For Blues?"
Your new system will not let me enter your site.
Great video! Nice to hear you using some ‘Lindy’s in your Tele rig. Lindy rewound the original pickup in in my 56 LP Jr. and it SMOKES! I like the ‘dirt’ sound from your rig!
Great video Griff, thanks. Thing is, where was this 25 years ago when I first got into guitar!? 😂
What you have produced here is not just a “which (electric) guitar for blues?” – it’s an essential primer for anyone just starting out in the world of (electric) guitars and guitar playing and musical genres etc. A guitar newbie 101 if you like, which, with the addition of a few other pointers such as indicating which pickup is “the neck pickup”, “the bridge pickup” etc would surely be invaluable for someone trying to figure out the ideal guitar to help them make a start (‘cos let’s face it, it’s unlikely to be the last! 🤣)
Suffice to say I think it’s a great piece of work 👍😎
Hi Griff Iam 84 years old had lots of guitars , great of you to show your guitars . Ihave found 2 in my time that are very good to great . fender strat 93 model super deluxe gold lace pick ups , when I play people ask me how I get the sound ,Eric Clapton had a bit to do with disign . Xhefris guitars are worth a look at . the other one a Hagstrom Jimmy around 1964 semi acoustic had great sound it had 2 switches 3 sound on each many combinations I will never forgive my self I sold it never been able to find another . I bought Modes disc of you a long time ago helped me to be a better player I still play every day & i am still learning thank you for you helping in you Emails I live in Australia
GH. Excellent. That guitar demo was a real public service.
Need all of them plus a few hollow bodies I’ve played. Trouble with you’re demo is you make them all sound so good. I believe the real sound is in the hands. I don’t quite have that and can’t buy it. There is also something almost everybody leaves out, the knowledge in the head. It is here somewhere in these lessons of yours. I’m too old to have time to sort it all out. You should have been here when I was eight years old and needed a teacher. That was 62 years ago.
Well, that was fun.
I will, however, disagree with 3 points, if I may, Griff:
1) To my ear, dirt boxes blur the differences, not highlight them. Kick it on and you’re hearing the box, not the guitar.
2) “An acoustic’s an acoustic”? The difference between, say, a rosewood and a maple acoustic, or between a jumbo and a parlor, are far greater than that betwixt a 335 & LP, or Strat & Tele – and while less so, between the singles & ‘buckers. The world of tones in acoustics is simply mind-boggling.
3) You left out THE blues pick-up – the mighty P-90! The finest blues tone I ever heard was Dick Vonachen of the Vanessa Davis Band on a 1959 ES-330-TD plugged straight into a silverface Super Reverb. And the late Mick Scott’s 1953 LP was the freakin’ Voice Of God.
Thanks Griff! Great sounds and insight!
I agree with a few others…The Telecaster!
I like my Squire Telecaster with a Humbucker.
Squire and Epiphone from Indonesia I feel, are the best made.
That is what works for my budget.
I would rather have more affordable guitars then a few expensive ones.
Now…just to play them all as well as Griff!
Nice video. Do you mind sharing what model Fralin pups are in the Tele? Thanks
I’m afraid I don’t remember the exact model… blues something. It’s been 15 years since I put them in.
I have Been building Custom electric guitar’s since 1998. I’m selling them on Reverb.com.
Just search, “DRAGONFIRE CUSTOM WERKS” . I have a Couple of Telecaster’s, with Guitar Heads Superpower Twank in the Bridge and A power twank in the neck. They have the 1960″ oil capacitor, tone bleed and all cts pots. I have a Strat, with Alinc v Pickups, there Hot round by hand. I have others for sale, With humbuckers, split coil, polarity reverse, push pull pots. Some of My guitars can be used for Blues< metal, or rock.
I have a Few at Hollywood Music Exchange. Soul Hudson ( Slash) Owns one, But only uses it for studio work. A Gibson Custom shop copy. HELP OUT YOUR OLD 71 YE.ARS YOUNG BGU PAL. . THANKS FRIENDS. ACE.
G’day Griff,
Love the demos here. For me I play a lot of different types of songs thus I have a lot of guitars. Mainly I have recently acquired a Les Paul Modern by Epiphone which has the Push Pull tone knobs to have the best of both worlds Humbuckers or Single Coil as well as phase between the pickup and Grover Tuners. Slightly lighter than the Gibson version.
So I have two Strats and two Teles both serve me well and I have a 335 Epiphone. So for Blues I now use the Epiphone Les Paul Modern & the Epiphone 335 for Chuck Berry type songs and sometimes a Strat or Tele for the likes of Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson, Stones, The Beatles etc I tend to choose the guitar that gives me the tone I am looking for for my cover version of a song. All great tips thanks for your time in sharing .
Strat and 335 for me had the most soul
I’m surprised: I really liked the tone of the 335! That, and the strat.
Really appreciate you doing this – always like to hear different guitars & pick ups. FWIW I really liked the Tele & PRS the best – thought it would be the 335 & LP! LOL!!
Interesting to hear all of these back to back. Nice show off of the tones available. Oddly enough I found that I liked the Tele, the ES, LP and the PRS the best. I own a couple of LP’s and a Strat and I just bought an American Tele. No idea why I haven’t owned one until now and I like it a lot. I’ve watched a lot of comparisons on YouTube, but I believe your “showdown” on all these was more honest. The advice at the end of the video is so spot on. I’ve advised anyone who intended to drop some large dollars on any guitar to not purchase one that you haven’t played. Peculiar side note, I have been dragging around a 1971 LP Custom, bought new, that gives some different tones than I can not get from any of the newer LP’s I have. Anyway, thanks for the great video.
For me, it’s the Tele for the win! 🙂
Thank you for justifying why you need at least one of each!!!
What’s my favorite guitar?
The last one I played.
Thanks Griff for the demo. I have a prs solid body single cut which is what I use the most it feels and sounds great. Also the 335 style semi hollow. I’ve been wanting to get a strat and listening today just confirms that. Going to have to get one in my hands though to see how it feels. I think how it fits in your hands is almost if not equally as important as the sound. Thanks
Thanks Griff. This is the best video I’ve seen to date showing how the various classic guitars sound when played in sequence. And I agree, it’s great to hear both clean tone and slightly dirty.
Most impressed with the Tele and the PRS. Like the variety of the Strat.
Thank you!
Great video! I would like to know what your set-up is for your Blues Driver pedal as well. I play a 60’s reissue Les Paul and a PRS hollowbody, and am still trying to find a better bluesy sound.
Start with all knobs about noon and adjust based on your rig. My drive usually goes down a bit and tone down a touch. Level at unity between on and off.