What kind of electric guitar is played for classic rock?

I recently got this question...

"I noticed that guitars that were played in the 70's and the 80's sound alot different from today. And frankly, I think Rock music in the past is alot better. Just wondering what kind of guitar was played at that time?"

Great question. I’m going to give you a two part answer—you’ll see why in just a second.

First—Classic rockers, for the most part, played classic guitars—like Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters and Gibson Les Pauls, SGs, Explorers and Flying Vs. Any of those guitars plugged into a classic tube amp like a Marshall Stack or a Fender Twin Reverb (cranked to 11 or course) would sound fantastic!

Here’s the second part of the answer. The sound of today’s music isn’t different because different guitars are being played—many bands are still playing Les Pauls, Strats, etc. The difference is the TUNINGS they are using. The low E string (the lowest/heaviest string on a standard guitar) is traditionally tuned to … you guessed it, “E”. Today, bands are tuning that string down to D, and in some cases a C! And yes, there are some new guitars on the market that have added additional strings. These strings are even LOWER than a C. That is where that massive, booming, thumping bass sound comes from.

As a 70s and 80s rock fan—I agree with you in preferring the classic sounds. But if you ever want to play around with the “modern” sound, just tune your low E string down to D. Or drop it to a C and then tune the rest of your strings in accordance with that and you’ll get a big, thumpin, crazy fat sound.

Hope that helps.

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Pastor Brad
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