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12 Best Guitars for Soul and R&B

Wednesday August 3, 2022. 03:57 PM , from Sweetwater inSync
Guitars Under $500Guitars Between $500–$1,000Guitars Above $1,000

When it comes to soul and R&B music, electric guitar is all about feeling the emotion and the rhythm. Having a guitar that feels right is the only surefire way to tap into the groove so that your guitar comes through with conviction. Several guitars on this list genuinely dominated the charts during the ’60s heyday of soul and R&B, while others come from relatively new companies with designs that breathe fresh air into classic features. We’ve split our choices roughly 50/50 between solidbody and semi-hollow electric guitars. Solidbodies generally pack a tighter, more focused tone and will tolerate rougher treatment. Semi-hollows, by contrast, have a warm looseness to their tone and must be treated with a little more care. A final factor to consider is that solid models will typically feel more compact, while semi-hollows tend to be wider and heftier, but not necessarily heavier, with a few exceptions. Let’s dive in!

Guitars Under $500

Squier Classic Vibe ’60s Telecaster Thinline

If you’re looking for vintage perks on a well-built instrument at a shockingly low price, then it’s impossible to go wrong with a Squier Classic Vibe like this Telecaster. The Squier Classic Vibe ’60s Telecaster Thinline is a semi-hollow take on the Fender classic, which many players still favor for its mellow, soulful tone. A semi-hollow Telecaster makes perfect sense as a soul or R&B workhorse. With two vintage-voiced single-coil pickups, a slick semi-hollow body carved from hardwood nato, and a shapely pickguard that radiates attitude, you’ll be ready to tackle a variety of styles and tones with ease. R&B and soul lift many elements from the blues, and countless blues forebears favored the Telecaster, including Muddy Waters. When Fender introduced a semi-hollow version, the Thinline, in 1969, soul icons like Sly Stone turned the Thinline into their go-to, and it’s still a trustworthy pick today.

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Ibanez Artcore AS73G

Want to dip your toes into semi-hollow waters on a budget? This Ibanez Artcore AS73G is a great way to do so without shelling out thousands on a luxury model. Since roughly 2002, the savvy Japanese craftsmanship of the Artcore line has broken boundaries and price expectations in the semi-hollow world; everyone from jazzheads to blues purists and neo-soul artists can be seen playing the Ibanez Artcore AS73G and for good reason! The Artcore AS73G is perfectly balanced in size and weight — it’s neither a teensy-tiny guitar nor a hulking, unwieldy semi-hollow titan. Tonally, it blends semi-hollow warmth with the wide range of two powerful Classic Elite humbucking pickups. These pickups can croon ’til your audience is weak in the knees then erupt with power that picks them up off the ground. A slim nyatoh carved neck and a walnut fingerboard ensure comfortable fretting up and down while a center block adds plenty of sustain and feedback suppression, so you can put this Artcore to work any way you’d like. Who knew tasteful power could be so affordable?

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Squier Classic Vibe ’70s Jaguar

Are you looking for something with attitude and a slightly modern edge? The Squier Classic Vibe ’70s Jaguar packs all that and more. With an offset design, a hot-rod finish, and hardware inspired by the horsepower of midcentury classic cars, the Classic Vibe ’70s Jaguar is as stylish as all get-out. Beyond looks, the Jaguar is a powerful R&B and soul machine with many tones onboard; there are two hot single-coil pickups paired with doubled-up options, thanks to the Jaguar’s distinct Lead and Rhythm Circuit switching. And, unlike many on this list, the Jaguar also features a floating tremolo system, a must-have for screaming Hendrix-style bends. Regarding playability, this guitar has a short-scale 24-inch fingerboard, which means it’s comfortable for younger students or adults with smaller hands and an excellent way for players to lower the strain on their fretting hand. A shorter fingerboard means fewer mile-long stretches, especially when making big leaps on the upper strings.

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Gretsch G2420 Streamliner

Gretsch guitars were everywhere in the ’60s. Bo Diddley favored one for much of his genre-spanning work, and session player Jimmy Johnson used them to back soul artists like Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin on countless iconic tracks. The Gretsch G2420 Streamliner is a full-hollow electric, which means extra resonance and tone dripping with warm sustain. Powered by two Broad’Tron humbucking pickups, the G2420 sparkles with an almost jazzy character that adds a dash of soul to anything you play. The Broad’Trons are incredibly dynamic. All three pickup positions have distinct personalities that range from sticky-sweet assertiveness to mellow and supportive tones perfect for rhythm. Plus, many features radiate old-school cool from a floating bridge paired with a stylish Gretsch tailpiece to a bold Brooklyn Burst finish that looks straight out of a club on the East River.

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Guitars Between $500–$1,000

Epiphone Riviera

Epiphone builds some of the world’s most acclaimed semi-hollow electric guitars, and this Epiphone Riviera is no exception. This guitar earns its fancy name with a suite of top-notch features and hardware and a stylish profile designed for comfort. Standout hardware includes a Graph Tech NuBone nut for better resonance, deluxe closed-back tuners, a rock-solid Tune-o-matic bridge, and Epiphone’s unique Frequensator tailpiece. Matching the hardware is a prim maple body that rings with buttery warmth powered by dual PRO mini humbuckers. These PRO pickups are a favorite around Sweetwater. They deliver warm, open tone when played clean but tighten up with impressive lockjaw fury when pushed with gain or through a dirty amp. The Riviera can do many things, but its bright warmth, versatility, and vintage Epiphone looks make this guitar one of our top picks for soul and R&B.

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Fender Player Strat

Is it truly a guitar list without a Strat? The Telecaster’s more famous sibling hit the scene just in time to make its way onto countless records of ’60s soul and R&B. The Strat’s glassy single-coil cleans fit perfectly for rhythm-heavy outfits: they’re clear and loud enough to be heard but not aggressive enough to bully the mix. This Fender Player Strat offers the essence of a genuine Fender at a modest price. The Player Strat boasts a classic alder body, a smooth maple neck and fingerboard, and three versatile pickups with a 5-way selector. In many ways, the Player Series Stratocaster outperforms its vintage counterparts. It features a modernized bridge that adds sustain and the comfort of a modern “C” neck profile. It delivers endless versatility and relentless playability all tweaked and refined to perfection by Fender. If you’re after classic looks and a playable workhorse that you can take to the grave, then the Player Series Stratocaster from Fender is just that.

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Schecter PT Special

There’s possibly no better tonewood for soul and R&B than swamp ash. The Schecter PT Special takes this staple of the central-southern US and turns it into a potent T-style guitar that packs lots of smoke. Swamp ash is getting hard to find, and it’s a rare treat to see it on such a well-made, affordable guitar. The PT Special is packed with hot twang that’s ripe for channeling the style of Southern soul innovators like Albert King. Two vintage-voice Schecter Diamond pickups do most of the heavy lifting for you; the bridge VT-1 single-coil puts muscle and brawn on display, while the P-90–style V-90 in the neck delivers a slightly more mature but equally meaty tone. The PT Special also features a push-pull selector that lets you switch the pickups between series and parallel. Series adds a little more volume and heft but is more prone to breakup (sometimes that’s good, sometimes not). Parallel mode lets you run both pickups simultaneously with cleaner output and a more defined top end. If you’re after vintage tone but with modern features that only Schecter can deliver, then the PT Special won’t let you down.

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G&L Tribute Doheny

This boisterous take on a California classic comes packed with vintage and modern features designed by Leo Fender himself. The G&L Tribute Doheny channels one of Leo’s first offset guitar designs, and it’s a good pick for serious or budding guitar enthusiasts who are big on tweaking their tone to perfection. Most electric guitars offer just a high-cut tone knob, but the Tribute Doheny features high-cut and low-cut tone knobs for more control. These let you shape either (or both) pickups like never before for incredible definition and versatility. Speaking of pickups, two large G&L Magnetic Field Design single-coils deliver classic California tone with mellow bass, surfy treble, and prickly mids. Such chirpy California tone is perfect for rhythm and leads. The Doheny’s body is comfortable with good balance and ample upper-fret access if you’re keen on ripping out solos. The Tribute Doheny features a fast maple neck with a vintage profile and Leo Fender’s innovative Dual-Fulcrum tremolo system for big bends with rock-solid tuning stability.

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Guitars Above $1,000

Harmony Silhouette

After something a little scrappy? Maybe something underappreciated but American made? The Harmony Silhouette may have your name on it. This sleek offset guitar is compact but boisterous with a 25-inch scale, gold-foil pickups, premium tonewoods (including an alder body), and locking tuners for stellar performance. Weighing in at roughly seven pounds, the Silhouette is a fun stage guitar that’s easy to maneuver onstage. It’s not quite a short scale, but it’s not not a short scale if you catch our drift. Two onboard gold-foil pickups pack lots of wily, warm tone distinctly ’60s in character. These pickups were first featured on cheap student models around the dawn of the electric guitar, but those in the know now prize them for their naturally filtered voice that’s bright and present yet mellow. If you’re looking to catapult your tone back to the past, then gold foils are your ticket to ride. And, if you’re a history buff, the Silhouette boasts some serious retro credentials. Each Harmony guitar is handbuilt in Kalamazoo, Michigan, just a short drive away from Sweetwater HQ. This same Kalamazoo facility churned out some of the 20th century’s most iconic guitars and has been an American staple for decades. Here at Sweetwater, we’re proud to offer guitars like the Harmony Silhouette that carry on such great traditions.

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D’Angelico Excel Mini DC

The D’Angelico Excel Mini DC is a soul powerhouse. This little guitar packs some outlandishly good semi-hollow tones in its small and snappy package. If standard semi-hollows feel too big or hurt your shoulders, then try the Excel Mini DC; you won’t regret it. The Excel Mini DC feels compact and focused. A body carved from maple pumps warm and bright semi-hollow tone that’s supercharged by two Seymour Duncan ’59 PAF-style humbuckers. The Excel Mini DC has a lively personality, hits countless sweet spots for our customers, and is downright fun to play. The neck and ebony fingerboard float like silk through your fingers, so it’s easy to pull off broken chords, walks, octaves, double-stops, and blistering solos. The Excel Mini DC’s looks are impeccable — there are art deco tuners, a Skyscraper truss rod cover, and D’Angelico’s magnificent signature headstock. All these combine for a vibe that’s straight out of John D’Angelico’s original workshop in Manhattan’s Little Italy.

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PRS Silver Sky

The PRS Silver Sky comes courtesy of one of the most comfort-minded manufacturers in the game. As the performance-minded, vintage-inspired brainchild of John Mayer and PRS, the Silver Sky was an obvious choice for our list. The Silver Sky boasts everything Mayer expects from a classic California guitar, including an alder body, vintage-voice pickups, a 5-way selector, a buttery tremolo, and dual cutaways for unfettered fingerboard access. We all know and love these features well, but the Silver Sky elevates each of them to new heights through PRS’s insatiable appetite for excellence. Fresh touches include locking tuners, a vintage-inspired neck, and an inverted PRS headstock for enhanced intonation and a superior string feel. Sure, you can opt for a vintage 3-pickup guitar if you want to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a clunky high-maintenance machine. Or you can grab a PRS Silver Sky that’s flawless and comfortable. The choice is yours!

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Guild Starfire IV

The Guild Starfire IV is like the final boss of the semi-hollow world but in a good way. This titan of tone (and size) picks up where Guild’s iconic Starfire line of the 1960s left off with modern features and an approachable price. Be forewarned: the Starfire IV is a big-bodied guitar. It may look intimidating, but it’s incredibly balanced and weighs just under seven pounds (no more than the average solidbody on this list). The Starfire IV rocks a unique personality. Its tonal magic comes courtesy of two LB-1 “Little Bucker” pickups, a spunky single-coil alternative first invented by Guild back in 1962. These pickups pack a lot of treble and a broader, more open sound than your average single-coil, making them perfect for assertive soul or R&B players. Pair them with the Starfire IV’s full-maple body, and these pickups can be snappy, clean, and supportive but can quickly pivot to be the star of the show when it’s time to crank the volume and take center stage. If you’re after something a little mysterious that’s time-tested but off the beaten path, then the Guild Starfire IV is worth a second (or third) glance.

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If you’re looking for the perfect R&B guitar for you, then make sure to call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700!
The post 12 Best Guitars for Soul and R&B appeared first on inSync.
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/best-guitars-for-soul-and-rb/
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