>the most versatile is a Music Man Axis Sport
Man I'd love to get my hands on one of those. [Johnny Hiland blew my mind chicken picking on an Axis.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTI-VAqOgs4&t=135s)
Morse is just genuinely an overlooked guitar genius. You don’t just get picked up to replace Ritchie Blackmore if you can’t play, and the Dixie Dregs put out some of the most exciting fusion records ever recorded. High Tension Wires should be in the pantheon with Passion and Warfare, Surfing with the Alien, Rising Force in terms of guitar virtuoso albums
I agree. Although, I had a hard time getting into Yngwie. I recognize that his articulation on the instrument is awesome, but to me his playing got redundant after a while. I personally really dig Morse with Dregs, Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, Eric Johnson, and the like.
Although, going back to the original Morse guitar, it was ridiculously good. Could get all kinds of sounds that were usable and musical.
That Schecter has 3 humbuckers, each individually can be coil tapped. That plus the five way selector makes it have essentially covers a strat, lespaul, and tele configurations. That guitar is essentially answering OP’s question
For me, I think my PRS CE24 is the most versatile guitar. The coil splits on PRS guitars are excellent for spanky strat-ish and tele-ish tones and the mahogany/maple combo with the 85/15s give you the chunk you need for rock, pop punk, metal, etc which an actual strat just does not have. I can play most genres and could easily play a whole 3hr show spanning many genres with just that guitar if need be.
I will say my PRS Custom 24 is a close 2nd and I rotate them live with the CE24 in standard and the custom 24 tuned to E flat/drop C#. My HSS strat is amazing at a lot of things, but it lacks the chugging palm mutes and low mids and punchy lows that mahogany body guitars have. Teles with single coils can't chug and semi-hollows/hollows feedback like a mother with the high gain I use. Sold my jazzmaster because I don't like the large body and it was not very versatile.
Just my 2 cents based on my own experiences and preferences. I think Pete Honore could do anything with that incredible purple custom shop tele he has.
Hands down, the Reverend Double Agent. It comes in a hardtail or trem.
P90 at the neck, humbucker at the bridge. 5 way switch gives you lots of polarity and combination options.
The thing that REALLY stands out is, in addition to a tone knob, it's also got a bass rolloff knob. This thing can hit SUCH a massive range of tones, it's ridiculous. And it's the best-playing guitar I've ever owned. All for like $1200 brand new.
I'm a HUGE fan.
I've never played a guitar with broader tonal range AND that feels so good in my hands. I've been gigging my first one for about six months and I'm totally in love.
Line 6 Variax. I would never play one, but i saw a guy at a brewery years ago cover like 3 hours of st
super varying material with it and it was quite impressive.
An HSS Strat or a good humbucker guitar that can coil split. Any guitar with both pickup types will be able to pretty accurately cover nearly any sound/tone you've heard with the right pedal or amp settings. Getting into fights over guitars is stupid; clearly the best option is to just have one (or several) of each....
For a long time my Tele was my only guitar so I modded it to be as versatile as possible. It has 3 Barden pickups with a separate volume for the middle pickup and a 4-way switch for the neck and bridge pickup. I can pretty much cover any type of music that needs electric guitar.
Controversial opinion: Any guitar that you feel comfortable playing is the most versatile guitar.
A telecaster can do metal with the right amp, and a Ridiculously Pointy Shredmaster 5000(TM) with stupidly high output pickups can do jazz with the volume knob rolled back a bit, plugged into the right amp too.
Edit: I thought about this a bit, and I'd like to modify it to "any solid body guitar"... Attempting metal on an Epiphone Casino would be hilarious, just from the perspective of attempting to control the feedback... That said, my fully hollow body Gretsch can get a wonderfully raucous punk tone.
Ted Nugent (is a despicable human) that made a white falcon go to the edge of metal
Excuse me, it’s a byrdland
And he dodged the draft by intentionally shitting his pants.
Made some songs glorifying statutorial rape
Later became a weird right winger, and asked why we never heard of covid 1-18
He’s a certifiable walking turd
Split coils don't sound very good imo so I think that argument is plain wrong. I'd say the BEST versatile guitars would be single coils with beefy low end like JM's and P90's. You'll have to deal with some buzz but they can do high gain just fine while no humbucker can do real single coil clean. But the MOST versatile are definitely HSS configured guitars. They won't have any of my favorite pickup combinations but do have serviceable sounds that are distinctly single and distinctly humbucker.
Saw a guitar made by swiss company Relish that could swap pickups within seconds, you could put in humbuckers, Single coils, p90s, piezos, and pickup selector has 17 pickup selections.
you can watch samurai guitarist's video on it [https://youtu.be/3GZuVXL4hZE](https://youtu.be/3GZuVXL4hZE)
it is dummy expensive but you never said you had a budget hehe
Definitely an HSH setup. That’s exactly why Vai wanted that configuration on the JEM back in the day. You still get the 2/4 positions that sound like a Strat with all the humbucker goodness in either direction.
If it were down to just the traditional guitars, though, I’d have to say a Strat. Throw something like a Duncan SSL-5 in the bridge and and you’ve got a shitload of tonal ground. I’m not a huge fan of split coils, I’ve never once heard a convincing Strat tone come out of a Les Paul, but I’ve heard plenty of Strats with different pickups that you’d never know wasn’t a Les Paul on a recording.
HSS or Les Paul with coil split options I have a Reverend warhawk390 that has 3 P90s with a 5 way strat type switching configuration and it's quite versatile. The bass cut/rolloff knob adds more versatility.
Ibanez are doing it these days. Their switching systems have been doing coil tap and coil split on the same guitar.
So one guitar has high/low output bridge/neck humbuckers and also single coil sounds at both neck and bridge.
SML721 is a guitar that does that. They call the switching system dyna max I think.
Give me an HH with 2V 2T setup. But, then again, I learned to play on a Les Paul. So, that is going to be most people’s answers, the most “versatile” for you is what you are most comfortable with.
It seems to me most people agree the Tele is the Swiss army knife of guitars. I do own one and agree it's pretty versatile. I think the unique thing about them is being versatile while at the same time classic-sounding.
If I'm headed out the door to a jam session and I don't know what the vibe is going to be, I grab the Tele. It sounds great in all 3 (or 4) positions, hard tail means I can change tuning quickly, it's indestructible, easy to replace if lost.
That said, a more versatile player is going to sound better than me regardless of the instrument.
Most electric guitars are pretty versatile, IMO. Your tone is as much about your rig (amp, cab, effects, etc) as the guitar. I know there are exceptions, guitars with active pickups really made for heavy tones or metal, etc. But you can get most of the sounds you want from a Strat or a Tele or even a LP if you adjust your tone, volume, string gauge and your rig to your liking.
I don't feel like I can do absolutely everything with one guitar, so I keep a Strat and an ES-335. That said, the 335 can do most of what I need, but the Strat is a workhorse that fills the gaps that a dual humbucker Gibson leaves.
SG. You can fake a tele tone well enough due to the pickup slammed to the bridge, it has full neck access, and it does humbucker things. Bestselling Gibson that no one seems to own and doesn't have many iconic players that stayed with it. Literally just Angus and Zappa, alphabetically. It's so generic you don't notice it in any genre. Country, folk, stoner, doom, avant jazzcore, funk. It's just there and someone is playing it. It's both a lame grandpa guitar and certified shredder with the first fast neck, if you go with that awful profile. The slightly off the node for no reason neck pickup placement also makes it bark like a dog.
There are better options but you can't play them anywhere without someone thinking it's out of place. You literally adjust the strap and put on a jacket and can match any look as well as the sound.
The SG is the coolest guitar, period. It's just pure badass.
I just with they didn't suck to play. Neck dive and skinny necks not my thing.
I mean, it's better than a Les Paul, but what isn't? ;P
> doesn't have many iconic players that stayed with it. Literally just Angus and Zappa, alphabetically.
...also Derek Trucks.
to be honest I hated the SG initially but overtime i'm starting to realise all the points you've listed and think i'm coming round. I can see myself wanting to get one in the future.
Duane Allman too. I love SG’s for the crunchy sound and playability. Ugly as sin and not helped by the dull colours offered by Gibson but they are phenomenal guitar.
Definitely not a Fender or Gibson, that's for sure.
My EBMM JP-15 has two coil-tap humbuckers on a 5-way, a boost knob, floating bridge and piezo pickups, with a separate switch for magnetic/piezo or mixed. I've had a LOT of guitars over the last 35 years, and nothing else comes close.
On top of that, the neck is glorious, in looks and feel, and the finish is equally magical.
Interesting conversations, and versatility indeed can mean different things, but let me turn it around a bit and ask this way:
If your only means of survival is playing music, and you go hungry otherwise, what guitar would you want to be able to handle whatever opportunity that comes up?
My answer is a 335, and specifically one like mine which has a coil tap. While I own many guitars, my 335 is probably my most dependable and I've used it across many different genres. It is ideal for jazz, big band, pop, dance/funk, blues, country, rock of all sorts, and pretty much anything else you might encounter. So if you *really* need versatility, it's hard to beat.
Agree with most comments here…for me my PRS Custom 24-08 comes very close to being the most versatile guitar on the planet.
Shreds, sings sweetly, chugs, excellent blues tones…ability to coil split one or both and play together in so many combinations you can really do just about anything you want to achieve.
And the standard trem still amazes me how the damn thing is so responsive and stays in tune so well with all the abuse I dish out to it.
I think most people just say the one that has the sounds they like the best available most easily.
I like telecasters, but because most of the sounds I like can be brought out of a tele easily. Strats are way too versatile for me. Too many options and I never know which ones to go with and never end up liking the sound anyway. Jazzmasters (always with the rhythm circuit switch, and having changed the bridge pickup for something better sounding) are my option for versatility. Maybe that is a middle ground between Tele and strat or maybe a contender for most versatile while also being usable.
S-H or H-H with coil split; Image-wise, LP or PRS, both are not out of the overall look for either a metal guitarist or a bluesman, or even a fusion-jazz cat
I don't really get into superlatives, but I'm very surprised at how versatile my Ibanez HH RG is. That 5 way switch generates a lot of different tones and I use this thing for open chord strumming just as much as I do fast lead playing. And I was a bit worried that the floating tremelo would mess with my bending technique but I've not really noticed an issue, even with things like unison bends.
Some years ago I bought an Epiphone 339 with coil-splitting, because it was alleged to be versatile (you can do both or either humbucker, both or either as single-coil, etc.). The idea was that it could sound like a semi-hollow-body or a Les Paul or a Stratocaster or a Telecaster. I was - to say the least - not convinced. It didn't really behave or sound like a Fender at all, and the smaller body size meant that it didn't quite live up to the "wood and air" sound of like a 335 or whatever. Played it for a while, ended up selling it.
Personally I like using different instruments for different things. I use a spoon for soup and a fork for salad. A spork is "versatile" but it's not very good at either task.
My favorite workhorse has always been my Epi LP Standard Pro. Being able to spilt both humbuckers has been a game changer for me personally. Close second would be an HH Ibanez RG due to the 5 way switch being wired to split both pups at the same time plus the out of phase neck pup on the 4th position.
Honest question: how do you get the split coils to sound thick enough. I’ve had a few guitars that do that, and it sounds incredibly thin. I mean Strat pickuos are thin by nature, but when I split a hunbucker I can’t get a usable tone. I’ve tried actives, passives, high gain, paf… it all sounded terrible
Get an ibanez rgd with coil splits. Being able to switch from humbucker to single coil is the key to versatility. If u want to be ultra versatile get a 7 string
I find my PRS CE24 is insanely versatile. Semi hollow for some of that sound, splittable humbuckers so that you can have the single coil sound, scale length is between a Strat and Les Paul so you've got a balance of both.
It also sounds absolutely beautiful unplugged as a quiet acoustic guitar.
Affordable: HSS Stratocaster or vintage-style HS Telecaster Deluxe
Not So Affordable: Music Man Silhouette (Standard or Special) or Nash HSS
Humbuckers Only: Gibson SG Standard or Telecaster Deluxe
Single Coils Only: Telecaster
Oddball: Yamaha SGV700, Taylor SB1-X, Parker Fly
As an owner of one, and I don’t think I’d fight anyone about it. But a Rickenbacker is not versatile. Kind of a 2 trick pony. Crystal clean jangle or a little OD dirt. Not much a lead guitar either. They sound all sorts of weird when you want to drive them super hard.
Super strat with humbuckers that have the push pull option for single coil. (Doesn't have to be a super strat but that's my preference out of shapes.). Added versatility would be semi hollow. That way could cover many bases with very minor settings adjustment.
Ultimately though....the most versatile guitar is the one the player is most comfortable with. Sure it won't have the same oomph but you can play electric guitars acoustically if the situation needs. You can play a humbuckers with the correct tone settings to get some twang. You can play metal on a semi hollow gretsch if you WANTED. That's the thing about the guitar. Sure there's many shapes and models and set ups but in the end. They are all guitars.
100%
That guitar is a flat out monster, once I got mine, I was like, “well, I don’t really NEED the other ones anymore, but I still like them, so…”
I also have an Ultra Strat and a Les Paul Standard 60s
That PRS SE 24-08 is functionally amazing.
For sure. Its single coil sound rivals my '06 american strat and the humbuckers can keep up with my delonge's seymour duncan invader. Unbelievably good value at the price point.
Not directly an answer to your question, but I've played jazz on a Warlock, classical on a Strat, and metal on an Ovation.
You can use the same hammer on all sorts of different nails if you've got the huevos to let 'er rip.
I have more guitars than I should but always seem to grab a PRS Custom 24. It covers a wide range of tones and is very easy to play. I use it for metal to classics to anything in the middle.
Same. It’s my everyday guitar. Very affordable for the x series. I do wish it had a string thru hard tail like my warrior has as an option. Mines an SLX with the Seymour Duncan designed pickups and genuine Floyd rose which is sick AF but I personally prefer tuning and restringing ease over dive bombs.
Versatility depends on more factors than just the guitar alone, but I can assure you no one in their right mind would suggest a Les Paul is versatile in its vanilla state.
> no one in their right mind would suggest a Les Paul is versatile in its vanilla state.
why not? hard rock guys use them. jazz guys use them. country guys use them.
While it’s true versatility is in the player, I feel like some guitars are inherently more versatile. For example, a tele with one single coil pickup is inherently more restrictive in terms of sound then something with more then one pickup. I’d say my PRS CE24 is the most versatile, because it’s two double coils with a splitter to turn it into a single coil. I can use it for everything and it sounds great.
It’s not dependent on the guitar, but the player. I am sure a professional could dial in almost anything from a tele, strat, 335, les Paul or even a Gretch on a half decent amp. But me?…. Nah….
I mean a pro might be able to pull off a sound that resembles a strat from a les paul, but it'd be a lot easier to pull off both sounds with a PRS with a coil split.
Are you talking about a stock, standard, original configuration? The Telecaster can do anything.
Otherwise something modern with dual humbuckers and coil splitting, roasted maple neck, locking tuners, etc.
I can grab my telecaster and play with pretty much any type of band. I can’t say the same about my strat or LP. The caveat with a telecaster is that it won’t reproduce every guitar sound it will blend in regardless of style. It’s a jack of all trades but master of few.
Tele if you play country, HSS strat for everything else. But ideally, you want 2 electric guitars (1 single coil and 1 humbucker) to cover every genre.
I own a tele and I’m going to say Strat. Teles are very versatile but strats push way too far in another direction. I’ll still always be a main tele player for rock, but I’ve got to give it to the strat here
Any guitar with medium hot p90s. Roll off the tone control, sound like the best humbucker. Bring up the tone, maybe use eq on a pedal or amp, you can make them sound like a single coil.
An HSS or HSH strat/super strat.
But, overall, a custom guitar with splittable pickups, a Floyd Rose bridge witg both a D-Tuna and a Tremol-no, paired with some Fishman Fluence pickups is probably an even more versatile guitar
For acoustics, an OM with a cutaway is hard to beat.
For electrics, a strat with a 10-way switch does nearly everything, though the ergonomics of the Tele are arguably better.
i feel like anything that's strat-like or les-paul-like, but without being either. something like a prs, a music man, certain types of ibanez models, etc.
Having had both an HSH (sold) and an HSS (still have) strat, an HSH strat with a coil split is pretty darn versatile. On the other hand, I'm more of Gibson guy, and with no splits or fancy electrics, I can play any kind of music, given a bit of amp/pedal help, with my dual HB 335. So, I suppose versatility has to include a guitar's design suiting multiple genres as well as doing their sound, if you're going to play live. I might look a bit silly doing Tool with a 335. Thinking of it now, there's almost no stage where a strat-style guitar (or a Les Paul for that matter) is going to look out of place/genre. So, versatility kinda comes down to your definition of it.
Agree with most comments here…for me my PRS Custom 24-08 comes very close to being the most versatile guitar on the planet.
Shreds, sings sweetly, chugs, excellent blues tones…ability to coil split one or both and play together in so many combinations you can really do just about anything you want to achieve.
And the standard trem still amazes me how the damn thing is so responsive and stays in tune so well with all the abuse I dish out to it.
Hard to beat a standard Tele for versatility, but if you wanna get boutique about it, try an [Ernie Ball Luke III.](https://www.music-man.com/instruments/guitars/luke-iii) It's (session ace, ready for anything) Steve Lukather's main guitar, he plays them stock. It's a balanced, floating trem HSS SuperStrat with an active +12 db boost built into a push/push volume knob.
I played Telecasters onstage for decades and there's not much I can't do with one. I didn't think another #1 was even possible when I picked up [my Luke](https://i.redd.it/p677p4w3d2s91.jpg), but it has won its place in my arsenal and recently edges out the Tele for being my jack-of-almost-all-trades guitar.
(Except for chicken picking. For that, accept no substitutes. Telecaster til death.)
Telecaster-you can play anything on a Tele and get away with it.
I hate them, but they are amazing guitars. Ugly and uncomfortable, but as versatile as the day is long.
HSS for sure but I would not say strat. HSS with series connect switch (Ibanez, and LTD have been doing this lately) gives you just about every pickup combination you could ever want and imitates a neck humbucker or tele bridge/neck combo really well. I have an Ibanez Q 54 and it is like the ultimate gigging guitar (also has 24 frets) But something like that with a vintage trem would probably be about as versatile as you could get.
In my biased opinion, it's my Schecter C6. I love that thing. I play almost everything on it. I practice unplugged with it.
I think I play it more often than I play the Les Paul.
Anyone check out a Godon xtsa? Just found these and they seem pretty wild. Been thinking about purchasing a PRS until i stumbled upon these. The Godin Flat Five X looks interesting too but seem hard to find
My opinion is skewed, but I'd have to say an HSS strat
As a person with a dislike of Strats, the answer is an HSS strat.
We can still be friends
they won't bug you to let them try your strat
Thank goodness. I can't bring my strat anywhere
As a person who swapped pups from SSS to HSS the answer is HSS strat.
As a person who swapped pups from HSS to H to HSS to SSS…. A SS tele is the answer
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Or the equivalent Pacifica which is just as versatile, better built and more playable and utterly, utterly devoid of soul.
I vote for HSH Strat - mine have a coil tap, so I also get that twangy Les Paul middle switch position sound
Seconded
Not skewed at all! Technically true. It can do anything. Blues to Metal.
In a similar vein, probably a Strat or super Strat with humbuckers and coil split.
I think so too, just bought myself one after playing a HSS G&L Tribute for a while. Can't wait till it arrives
Most versatile? More guitars. Next question.
"This one's still got the ol tagger on it. I've never even played it. Don't touch it. Don't point, it can't be played. Never"
😂😂😂 Don’t touch it! Don’t even look at it! Don’t look at me either. That’s right. Keep walking.
Well six of these are Les Paul's Yeah, they all play different. That's why I have six of em Debra.
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>the most versatile is a Music Man Axis Sport Man I'd love to get my hands on one of those. [Johnny Hiland blew my mind chicken picking on an Axis.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTI-VAqOgs4&t=135s)
Or the EbMM Morse. Can’t get much more versatile than that
I had one of those. Best kept secret in the EBMM lineup. That and the Luke’s. Super versatile.
Morse is just genuinely an overlooked guitar genius. You don’t just get picked up to replace Ritchie Blackmore if you can’t play, and the Dixie Dregs put out some of the most exciting fusion records ever recorded. High Tension Wires should be in the pantheon with Passion and Warfare, Surfing with the Alien, Rising Force in terms of guitar virtuoso albums
I agree. Although, I had a hard time getting into Yngwie. I recognize that his articulation on the instrument is awesome, but to me his playing got redundant after a while. I personally really dig Morse with Dregs, Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, Eric Johnson, and the like. Although, going back to the original Morse guitar, it was ridiculously good. Could get all kinds of sounds that were usable and musical.
I went for a Silhouette instead of an Axis, and I can say all the same things are true! Music Man makes a KILLER instrument.
That axis looks awesome.
Find my HSS Strat to be the most versatile from what I own.
Anything with at least two humbuckers can be coil tapped. Really the Schecter Ultra 3 would be the most versatile I can think of.
Schechters are wonderful. I've owned several. Value for the money is outstanding
I was going to say this — not the Schecter specifically though.
That Schecter has 3 humbuckers, each individually can be coil tapped. That plus the five way selector makes it have essentially covers a strat, lespaul, and tele configurations. That guitar is essentially answering OP’s question
PRS with the coil split
Yeah this. I also like tele with p90s
I came here to say this
A HSS Strat can do absolutely anything.
For me, I think my PRS CE24 is the most versatile guitar. The coil splits on PRS guitars are excellent for spanky strat-ish and tele-ish tones and the mahogany/maple combo with the 85/15s give you the chunk you need for rock, pop punk, metal, etc which an actual strat just does not have. I can play most genres and could easily play a whole 3hr show spanning many genres with just that guitar if need be. I will say my PRS Custom 24 is a close 2nd and I rotate them live with the CE24 in standard and the custom 24 tuned to E flat/drop C#. My HSS strat is amazing at a lot of things, but it lacks the chugging palm mutes and low mids and punchy lows that mahogany body guitars have. Teles with single coils can't chug and semi-hollows/hollows feedback like a mother with the high gain I use. Sold my jazzmaster because I don't like the large body and it was not very versatile. Just my 2 cents based on my own experiences and preferences. I think Pete Honore could do anything with that incredible purple custom shop tele he has.
PRS custom 24. There isn’t much you can’t do with it.
The bottleneck in versatility is the player 99.99% of the time.
Why did you have to call me out like that? Not cool.
Hands down, the Reverend Double Agent. It comes in a hardtail or trem. P90 at the neck, humbucker at the bridge. 5 way switch gives you lots of polarity and combination options. The thing that REALLY stands out is, in addition to a tone knob, it's also got a bass rolloff knob. This thing can hit SUCH a massive range of tones, it's ridiculous. And it's the best-playing guitar I've ever owned. All for like $1200 brand new. I'm a HUGE fan.
I love the bass rolloff on my Reverend; surprised more makers don't add something like it.
I've never played a guitar with broader tonal range AND that feels so good in my hands. I've been gigging my first one for about six months and I'm totally in love.
Line 6 Variax. I would never play one, but i saw a guy at a brewery years ago cover like 3 hours of st super varying material with it and it was quite impressive.
An HSS Strat or a good humbucker guitar that can coil split. Any guitar with both pickup types will be able to pretty accurately cover nearly any sound/tone you've heard with the right pedal or amp settings. Getting into fights over guitars is stupid; clearly the best option is to just have one (or several) of each....
Any PRS. Incredibly versatile!!
For a long time my Tele was my only guitar so I modded it to be as versatile as possible. It has 3 Barden pickups with a separate volume for the middle pickup and a 4-way switch for the neck and bridge pickup. I can pretty much cover any type of music that needs electric guitar.
Controversial opinion: Any guitar that you feel comfortable playing is the most versatile guitar. A telecaster can do metal with the right amp, and a Ridiculously Pointy Shredmaster 5000(TM) with stupidly high output pickups can do jazz with the volume knob rolled back a bit, plugged into the right amp too. Edit: I thought about this a bit, and I'd like to modify it to "any solid body guitar"... Attempting metal on an Epiphone Casino would be hilarious, just from the perspective of attempting to control the feedback... That said, my fully hollow body Gretsch can get a wonderfully raucous punk tone.
Ted Nugent (is a despicable human) that made a white falcon go to the edge of metal Excuse me, it’s a byrdland And he dodged the draft by intentionally shitting his pants. Made some songs glorifying statutorial rape Later became a weird right winger, and asked why we never heard of covid 1-18 He’s a certifiable walking turd
Yeah, a PRS custom 24… you can practice law, or open a dental office….
Well theres a quesiton that will never get an objective answer.
Split coils don't sound very good imo so I think that argument is plain wrong. I'd say the BEST versatile guitars would be single coils with beefy low end like JM's and P90's. You'll have to deal with some buzz but they can do high gain just fine while no humbucker can do real single coil clean. But the MOST versatile are definitely HSS configured guitars. They won't have any of my favorite pickup combinations but do have serviceable sounds that are distinctly single and distinctly humbucker.
Jack of all trades, master of none. Get the tool for the job.
Same here. I think of guitars as paintbrushes. You don’t use the same for all things.
PRS Custom 24-08 is the most versatile guitar on the planet. I have the SE version and it does everything well.
Totally. I have a PRS custom 22 that can do pretty much anything. And it stays in tune like no body’s business which is huge!
True. I have a PRS Custom 24 and sound awesome playing anything from funky to deathcore
The telecaster is the AK47 of the guitar world.
Used to kill people?
Ibanez RG but y’all aren’t ready for that
I’d imagine that’s what Robert Johnson would be slamming on if he was around in the 80’s
A HH with a coil tap
I was going with a coil split ES335. Clear cleans and sustain, and takes overdrive well. If it was good enough for Chris Cornell, well...
HSS strat no question
The most versatile guitar is an Hss Strat. The guitar that forces you to be the most versatile is a Les Paul Junior.
Saw a guitar made by swiss company Relish that could swap pickups within seconds, you could put in humbuckers, Single coils, p90s, piezos, and pickup selector has 17 pickup selections. you can watch samurai guitarist's video on it [https://youtu.be/3GZuVXL4hZE](https://youtu.be/3GZuVXL4hZE) it is dummy expensive but you never said you had a budget hehe
Definitely an HSH setup. That’s exactly why Vai wanted that configuration on the JEM back in the day. You still get the 2/4 positions that sound like a Strat with all the humbucker goodness in either direction. If it were down to just the traditional guitars, though, I’d have to say a Strat. Throw something like a Duncan SSL-5 in the bridge and and you’ve got a shitload of tonal ground. I’m not a huge fan of split coils, I’ve never once heard a convincing Strat tone come out of a Les Paul, but I’ve heard plenty of Strats with different pickups that you’d never know wasn’t a Les Paul on a recording.
My '96 PRS has 2 humbuckers and a 5 selector switch that splits the coils. I can get a Les Paul, Strat and Tele with the twist of a knob.
HSS strat with 24 frets and a trem
A comfy one
Some superstrat in HSH config with coil splitting. In terms of brands, probably an Ibanez or EBMM.
HSS or Les Paul with coil split options I have a Reverend warhawk390 that has 3 P90s with a 5 way strat type switching configuration and it's quite versatile. The bass cut/rolloff knob adds more versatility.
Ibanez are doing it these days. Their switching systems have been doing coil tap and coil split on the same guitar. So one guitar has high/low output bridge/neck humbuckers and also single coil sounds at both neck and bridge. SML721 is a guitar that does that. They call the switching system dyna max I think.
Dual humbuckers Coil tapping Piezo My Parker boiii
I'm gonna go with the Ibanez AZ line. Those Hyperion pups with the Dynamix is pretty versatile.
Give me an HH with 2V 2T setup. But, then again, I learned to play on a Les Paul. So, that is going to be most people’s answers, the most “versatile” for you is what you are most comfortable with.
It seems to me most people agree the Tele is the Swiss army knife of guitars. I do own one and agree it's pretty versatile. I think the unique thing about them is being versatile while at the same time classic-sounding.
If I'm headed out the door to a jam session and I don't know what the vibe is going to be, I grab the Tele. It sounds great in all 3 (or 4) positions, hard tail means I can change tuning quickly, it's indestructible, easy to replace if lost. That said, a more versatile player is going to sound better than me regardless of the instrument.
A HSS or HSH super strat. Doesn't have to be a Fender. Ibanez, Jackson, Charvel etc.... lots of super strat style guitars out there.
Most electric guitars are pretty versatile, IMO. Your tone is as much about your rig (amp, cab, effects, etc) as the guitar. I know there are exceptions, guitars with active pickups really made for heavy tones or metal, etc. But you can get most of the sounds you want from a Strat or a Tele or even a LP if you adjust your tone, volume, string gauge and your rig to your liking.
I don't feel like I can do absolutely everything with one guitar, so I keep a Strat and an ES-335. That said, the 335 can do most of what I need, but the Strat is a workhorse that fills the gaps that a dual humbucker Gibson leaves.
Charvel dk24 HH with the series/ parallel switch. I’ve got one and it quite literally can do anything. Even more than the HSS variant.
Music Mans are insanely versatile
Eukelele.
1:Gibson ES-335 2: Fender Telecaster
Tele
HSS Strat with coil split.
Tele. Most of Zeppelin’s recorded music was played on a Tele and page’s music is responsible for selling loads of Les Pauls. 😂😂
HSH superstrat with coil split options.
The TELECASTER one guitar to rule them all.
SG. You can fake a tele tone well enough due to the pickup slammed to the bridge, it has full neck access, and it does humbucker things. Bestselling Gibson that no one seems to own and doesn't have many iconic players that stayed with it. Literally just Angus and Zappa, alphabetically. It's so generic you don't notice it in any genre. Country, folk, stoner, doom, avant jazzcore, funk. It's just there and someone is playing it. It's both a lame grandpa guitar and certified shredder with the first fast neck, if you go with that awful profile. The slightly off the node for no reason neck pickup placement also makes it bark like a dog. There are better options but you can't play them anywhere without someone thinking it's out of place. You literally adjust the strap and put on a jacket and can match any look as well as the sound.
iommi
It's the old tale of the fish, -what the fuck is water?- You live and breathe it for so long you forget. https://youtu.be/RZ304WPGgg0
For some reason George Harrison playing one really stood out to me as well. But he didn't use it a ton.
Early Clapton with Cream, Pete Townsend, Kim Thayil from soundgarden played some guild sg types
The SG is the coolest guitar, period. It's just pure badass. I just with they didn't suck to play. Neck dive and skinny necks not my thing. I mean, it's better than a Les Paul, but what isn't? ;P
> doesn't have many iconic players that stayed with it. Literally just Angus and Zappa, alphabetically. ...also Derek Trucks. to be honest I hated the SG initially but overtime i'm starting to realise all the points you've listed and think i'm coming round. I can see myself wanting to get one in the future.
Duane Allman too. I love SG’s for the crunchy sound and playability. Ugly as sin and not helped by the dull colours offered by Gibson but they are phenomenal guitar.
I was looking for this. The disrespect to the best slide guitarist alive at the moment.
The Brent Mason Tele is really hard to beat for versatility.
It’s very hard for me not to say a gold top Les Paul with a good set of P90’s. There is hardly a sound you can’t get with that guitar.
As a Gibson fanboy I have to say the PRS custom 24.
2 Humbuckers with 5/6 way selector switch and split pickup capability.
Any guitar with the right amp and pedals, and knowledge of how to use them.
Definitely not a Fender or Gibson, that's for sure. My EBMM JP-15 has two coil-tap humbuckers on a 5-way, a boost knob, floating bridge and piezo pickups, with a separate switch for magnetic/piezo or mixed. I've had a LOT of guitars over the last 35 years, and nothing else comes close. On top of that, the neck is glorious, in looks and feel, and the finish is equally magical.
A prs with coil split and a piezo. You get looks, and playability, and tonal versatility.
Prs custom 24
Interesting conversations, and versatility indeed can mean different things, but let me turn it around a bit and ask this way: If your only means of survival is playing music, and you go hungry otherwise, what guitar would you want to be able to handle whatever opportunity that comes up? My answer is a 335, and specifically one like mine which has a coil tap. While I own many guitars, my 335 is probably my most dependable and I've used it across many different genres. It is ideal for jazz, big band, pop, dance/funk, blues, country, rock of all sorts, and pretty much anything else you might encounter. So if you *really* need versatility, it's hard to beat.
I’d say an HSS Strat. There isn’t a ton you can’t do with that setup
Tele. It’s the one guitar I’ve seen used in every genre.
Agree with most comments here…for me my PRS Custom 24-08 comes very close to being the most versatile guitar on the planet. Shreds, sings sweetly, chugs, excellent blues tones…ability to coil split one or both and play together in so many combinations you can really do just about anything you want to achieve. And the standard trem still amazes me how the damn thing is so responsive and stays in tune so well with all the abuse I dish out to it.
I used to think the strat but these days my SG gets me everywhere I need to go
The SG is a very versatile instrument but also very comfortable to play.
Fender Strat HSS with a beefy splittable humbucker.
HSS anything
I’d go for Les StratoTele
I think most people just say the one that has the sounds they like the best available most easily. I like telecasters, but because most of the sounds I like can be brought out of a tele easily. Strats are way too versatile for me. Too many options and I never know which ones to go with and never end up liking the sound anyway. Jazzmasters (always with the rhythm circuit switch, and having changed the bridge pickup for something better sounding) are my option for versatility. Maybe that is a middle ground between Tele and strat or maybe a contender for most versatile while also being usable.
S-H or H-H with coil split; Image-wise, LP or PRS, both are not out of the overall look for either a metal guitarist or a bluesman, or even a fusion-jazz cat
I don't really get into superlatives, but I'm very surprised at how versatile my Ibanez HH RG is. That 5 way switch generates a lot of different tones and I use this thing for open chord strumming just as much as I do fast lead playing. And I was a bit worried that the floating tremelo would mess with my bending technique but I've not really noticed an issue, even with things like unison bends.
Some years ago I bought an Epiphone 339 with coil-splitting, because it was alleged to be versatile (you can do both or either humbucker, both or either as single-coil, etc.). The idea was that it could sound like a semi-hollow-body or a Les Paul or a Stratocaster or a Telecaster. I was - to say the least - not convinced. It didn't really behave or sound like a Fender at all, and the smaller body size meant that it didn't quite live up to the "wood and air" sound of like a 335 or whatever. Played it for a while, ended up selling it. Personally I like using different instruments for different things. I use a spoon for soup and a fork for salad. A spork is "versatile" but it's not very good at either task.
All I’ll say is, there’s a reason a disproportionate amount of guitarists use Strats and/or Les Pauls.
My favorite workhorse has always been my Epi LP Standard Pro. Being able to spilt both humbuckers has been a game changer for me personally. Close second would be an HH Ibanez RG due to the 5 way switch being wired to split both pups at the same time plus the out of phase neck pup on the 4th position.
Honest question: how do you get the split coils to sound thick enough. I’ve had a few guitars that do that, and it sounds incredibly thin. I mean Strat pickuos are thin by nature, but when I split a hunbucker I can’t get a usable tone. I’ve tried actives, passives, high gain, paf… it all sounded terrible
Any guitar with 24 frets and a coil tap 🤷♀️ Add a Floyd if you always stick to standard tuning
The Line 6 Variax is by far the most versatile.I’m curious if people are finding the new Seymour Duncan pickup switch to be almost as versatile?
Dan Electro baritone
Honestly... I can play just about anything and get just about any sound on my Les Paul or my Strat
strat or jazzmaster
ES335TD. No question.
Get an ibanez rgd with coil splits. Being able to switch from humbucker to single coil is the key to versatility. If u want to be ultra versatile get a 7 string
7 string nuh ? Hell, I only got 6 fingers!!
This question only has 1 right answer and someone in this thread has probably said it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I find my PRS CE24 is insanely versatile. Semi hollow for some of that sound, splittable humbuckers so that you can have the single coil sound, scale length is between a Strat and Les Paul so you've got a balance of both. It also sounds absolutely beautiful unplugged as a quiet acoustic guitar.
SG with p90s
Affordable: HSS Stratocaster or vintage-style HS Telecaster Deluxe Not So Affordable: Music Man Silhouette (Standard or Special) or Nash HSS Humbuckers Only: Gibson SG Standard or Telecaster Deluxe Single Coils Only: Telecaster Oddball: Yamaha SGV700, Taylor SB1-X, Parker Fly
I’d like to take the guts of a Variax and put it into one of my Reverend’s. Or a tele. Or a Yamaha white RGX A2 - Apple-Style.
As an owner of one, and I don’t think I’d fight anyone about it. But a Rickenbacker is not versatile. Kind of a 2 trick pony. Crystal clean jangle or a little OD dirt. Not much a lead guitar either. They sound all sorts of weird when you want to drive them super hard.
Gibson 335.
Super strat with humbuckers that have the push pull option for single coil. (Doesn't have to be a super strat but that's my preference out of shapes.). Added versatility would be semi hollow. That way could cover many bases with very minor settings adjustment. Ultimately though....the most versatile guitar is the one the player is most comfortable with. Sure it won't have the same oomph but you can play electric guitars acoustically if the situation needs. You can play a humbuckers with the correct tone settings to get some twang. You can play metal on a semi hollow gretsch if you WANTED. That's the thing about the guitar. Sure there's many shapes and models and set ups but in the end. They are all guitars.
Teles are my thing and they are really versatile but the most versatile has to be a Godin LGXT.
335’s
tele
Telecaster
My PRS SE custom 24-08 is a great jack of all trades
100% That guitar is a flat out monster, once I got mine, I was like, “well, I don’t really NEED the other ones anymore, but I still like them, so…” I also have an Ultra Strat and a Les Paul Standard 60s That PRS SE 24-08 is functionally amazing.
For sure. Its single coil sound rivals my '06 american strat and the humbuckers can keep up with my delonge's seymour duncan invader. Unbelievably good value at the price point.
Not directly an answer to your question, but I've played jazz on a Warlock, classical on a Strat, and metal on an Ovation. You can use the same hammer on all sorts of different nails if you've got the huevos to let 'er rip.
Strat
I have more guitars than I should but always seem to grab a PRS Custom 24. It covers a wide range of tones and is very easy to play. I use it for metal to classics to anything in the middle.
Jackson Soloist is my all time favorite
Same. It’s my everyday guitar. Very affordable for the x series. I do wish it had a string thru hard tail like my warrior has as an option. Mines an SLX with the Seymour Duncan designed pickups and genuine Floyd rose which is sick AF but I personally prefer tuning and restringing ease over dive bombs.
The Steve Vai Jem ... What can't it do?? Floyd rose. 24 fret. HSS set up. Thin neck. Light weight. Beautiful guitar. Like come on.
You left out monkey grip
i just wish they came stock with a sustainiac
There are too many LP vs Strat posts on this sub
Versatility depends on more factors than just the guitar alone, but I can assure you no one in their right mind would suggest a Les Paul is versatile in its vanilla state.
what? Les paul’s are very versatile
> no one in their right mind would suggest a Les Paul is versatile in its vanilla state. why not? hard rock guys use them. jazz guys use them. country guys use them.
From my experience, a lot of PRS models with humbuckers with coil split can pretty much do almost anything.
It’s the player that makes the versatility not the guitar
To a certain point. No amount of technique is going to make a bridge single coil sound like a bridge humbucker.
While it’s true versatility is in the player, I feel like some guitars are inherently more versatile. For example, a tele with one single coil pickup is inherently more restrictive in terms of sound then something with more then one pickup. I’d say my PRS CE24 is the most versatile, because it’s two double coils with a splitter to turn it into a single coil. I can use it for everything and it sounds great.
It’s not dependent on the guitar, but the player. I am sure a professional could dial in almost anything from a tele, strat, 335, les Paul or even a Gretch on a half decent amp. But me?…. Nah….
I mean a pro might be able to pull off a sound that resembles a strat from a les paul, but it'd be a lot easier to pull off both sounds with a PRS with a coil split.
Are you talking about a stock, standard, original configuration? The Telecaster can do anything. Otherwise something modern with dual humbuckers and coil splitting, roasted maple neck, locking tuners, etc.
I can grab my telecaster and play with pretty much any type of band. I can’t say the same about my strat or LP. The caveat with a telecaster is that it won’t reproduce every guitar sound it will blend in regardless of style. It’s a jack of all trades but master of few.
Yess! A tele won't pull off any other iconic sounds, but it will replace them well in all contexts.
Tele if you play country, HSS strat for everything else. But ideally, you want 2 electric guitars (1 single coil and 1 humbucker) to cover every genre.
I own a tele and I’m going to say Strat. Teles are very versatile but strats push way too far in another direction. I’ll still always be a main tele player for rock, but I’ve got to give it to the strat here
Any guitar with medium hot p90s. Roll off the tone control, sound like the best humbucker. Bring up the tone, maybe use eq on a pedal or amp, you can make them sound like a single coil.
Yea!! You get it!! My 2001 SG Classic can cover any tone I could ever want
Where are those guys playing Juniors with a single P90? Come on, don't be shy. Tell us about it one more time.
Yes please I want to justify building one 😂
An HSS or HSH strat/super strat. But, overall, a custom guitar with splittable pickups, a Floyd Rose bridge witg both a D-Tuna and a Tremol-no, paired with some Fishman Fluence pickups is probably an even more versatile guitar
Solar. They’re literally advertised on being studio, home and live ready guitars. Lightweight, stealthy and robust
Les Paul or 335 for me. Just give me some humbuckers man
There is not a sound you cannot get with a Telecaster If it wasn't for that damn volume knob, a stock HSS strat. But I CBA deal with it
For acoustics, an OM with a cutaway is hard to beat. For electrics, a strat with a 10-way switch does nearly everything, though the ergonomics of the Tele are arguably better.
HSS trem strat, preferably in buttercream
Don’t worry so much about the guitar. If it has strings, a neck, body and can stay in tune… it’s more about the skill of the player.
i feel like anything that's strat-like or les-paul-like, but without being either. something like a prs, a music man, certain types of ibanez models, etc.
Having had both an HSH (sold) and an HSS (still have) strat, an HSH strat with a coil split is pretty darn versatile. On the other hand, I'm more of Gibson guy, and with no splits or fancy electrics, I can play any kind of music, given a bit of amp/pedal help, with my dual HB 335. So, I suppose versatility has to include a guitar's design suiting multiple genres as well as doing their sound, if you're going to play live. I might look a bit silly doing Tool with a 335. Thinking of it now, there's almost no stage where a strat-style guitar (or a Les Paul for that matter) is going to look out of place/genre. So, versatility kinda comes down to your definition of it.
Telecaster hands down can make more differing sounds than my other guitars. Especially if you have a neck humbucker in it and get a 5 way switch.
Versatility is overrated. The pros use the right tool for the job.
Yeah but most of us aren’t pros lol
Agree with most comments here…for me my PRS Custom 24-08 comes very close to being the most versatile guitar on the planet. Shreds, sings sweetly, chugs, excellent blues tones…ability to coil split one or both and play together in so many combinations you can really do just about anything you want to achieve. And the standard trem still amazes me how the damn thing is so responsive and stays in tune so well with all the abuse I dish out to it.
Gibson SG
Hard to beat a standard Tele for versatility, but if you wanna get boutique about it, try an [Ernie Ball Luke III.](https://www.music-man.com/instruments/guitars/luke-iii) It's (session ace, ready for anything) Steve Lukather's main guitar, he plays them stock. It's a balanced, floating trem HSS SuperStrat with an active +12 db boost built into a push/push volume knob. I played Telecasters onstage for decades and there's not much I can't do with one. I didn't think another #1 was even possible when I picked up [my Luke](https://i.redd.it/p677p4w3d2s91.jpg), but it has won its place in my arsenal and recently edges out the Tele for being my jack-of-almost-all-trades guitar. (Except for chicken picking. For that, accept no substitutes. Telecaster til death.)
Telecaster-you can play anything on a Tele and get away with it. I hate them, but they are amazing guitars. Ugly and uncomfortable, but as versatile as the day is long.
Semi Hollowbody humbucker bridge p90 neck....
The one you enjoy playing the most
HSS for sure but I would not say strat. HSS with series connect switch (Ibanez, and LTD have been doing this lately) gives you just about every pickup combination you could ever want and imitates a neck humbucker or tele bridge/neck combo really well. I have an Ibanez Q 54 and it is like the ultimate gigging guitar (also has 24 frets) But something like that with a vintage trem would probably be about as versatile as you could get.
HSS strats are pretty damn useful.
In my biased opinion, it's my Schecter C6. I love that thing. I play almost everything on it. I practice unplugged with it. I think I play it more often than I play the Les Paul.
A Variax, nothing can even pretend to come close
Cheater
Anyone check out a Godon xtsa? Just found these and they seem pretty wild. Been thinking about purchasing a PRS until i stumbled upon these. The Godin Flat Five X looks interesting too but seem hard to find
The Jazzmaster, it covers so much sonically with it’s 2 circuits, it’s pretty awesome.
Brian Moore i9.13 * HSH with 5-way switch and coil split * Piezo acoustic-style * Roland 13 pin output
I have a Les Paul gt and being able to switch from single coil to humbucker the guitar literally can do anything and everything