Shred Guitar, Shred Guitar

While one critic argues that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ...whammy-bar abuse" History of Shred: Uli Jon Roth Chris Yancik December, 2001 http://house-o-rock.com/HouseofShred/features/shredhistory/history_1201.htm , several guitar writers argue that rather than being a musical definition, it is a fairly subjective cultural term used by guitarists and enthusiasts of guitar music. It is usually used with reference to hard rock and heavy metal guitar playing, where it is associated with rapid tapping solos and special effects such as whammy bar dive-bombs. The term sometimes used with reference to playing outside this idiom, particularly country, jazz fusion, blues. Lewis, Luke, The Story of Shred, Total Guitar , March 2004, p38-41 Govan, Guthrie, Play Faster Now, Guitar Techniques, November 2007 p16-26 , and some modern variants of bluegrass.

Progressive rock, heavy metal, hard rock and jazz fusion have all made use of and adapted the style successfully over the past two and a half decades. In general, however, the phrase "shred guitar" has been traditionally associated with instrumental rock and heavy metal guitarists. This association has become less common now that modern, evolved forms of metal have adopted shredding as well. In the 1990s, its mainstream appeal diminished with the rise of grunge and nu metal, both of which eschewed flashy lead guitar solos.

Some shred guitarists use elaborately-shaped models by B.C. Rich or Dean, as well as modern versions of classic radical designs like Gibson's Flying V and Explorer models. Double-cutaway superstrat style guitars give performers easier access to the higher frets. Some shred guitarists, such as The Scorpions' Ulrich Roth have used custom-made tremolo bars and developed modified instruments, such as Roth's "Sky Guitar, that would greatly expand his instrumental range, enabling him to reach notes previously reserved in the string world for violins." History of Shred: Uli Jon Roth Chris Yancik December, 2001 http://house-o-rock.com/HouseofShred/features/shredhistory/history_1201.htm Some shred guitar players use guitars with seven, eight or 12 strings to allow a greater range of notes. Most shred guitar players use a range of effect such as distortion and compression to facilitate the performance of shred techniques such as tapping, hammer-ons, and pull-offs, and to create a unique tone. Often, shred-style guitar players use high-gain vacuum tube amplifiers such as Marshall, Carvin, Peavey, Mesa Boogie, Laney, Hughes & Kettner, and Randall.

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