Yes I know this topic already exists on here but I'm approaching it from a different angle. The other thread was mostly about what guitar people thought produced the best sound for black metal but what I want is recommendations for the best guitar for tremelo picking. I'm talking about a guitar with no damn volume or tuner knobs getting in the way of your picking hand when you're playing the higher strings, a fixed Bridge with none of the strings at an angle and no raised or pickups in the middle getting in the way of playing fast and wild. So basically the opposite of a Stratocaster.

I've been playing this Taylor t5 acoustic/ electric at a local guitar place here and wow is it ever easy to play fast on this thing: https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/electric/t5

Of course I'm not looking to spend anywhere near what this thing costs, any of you guys have any cheaper suggestions?

My recommendation would be going for an Ibanez guitar. They're versatile enough that they're used in Jazz as well as genres like Black Metal (i.e. Emperor), they play exceedingly well (low action, decent pick-ups, locking tuners and a floyd rose) and you can usually get a decent guitar fairly cheaply.

You could play Black Metal on any guitar i.e. Euronymous used a Gibson Les Paul. I don't really play a lot of BM any more but my Gibson SG with mini humbuckers always sounded great.

Truth is though you can play most genres on most decent guitars these days. If Tremolo picking is your absolute focus though I'd got an Ibanez as they're super easy to play. Unless you want that kind of surf-rock twang haha, then I'd go for a Strat like Dick Dale.

Thanks I've actually already got a couple Ibanez guitars and they are my favorite to play however Ibanez guitars always have the volume and toner knobs in the same spot and I'm looking for something that has both those knobs far away where my picking hand strums

have you considered removing the knobs from your guitar? some guitar shops do rewiring for very cheap.

Usually, having knobs you can reach while playing considered a feature, not a flaw. You can always remove them.

After years of exploring gear, I think the best way to find a guitar is to play all the guitars you can find, especially off-brand and unusual ones, and find one that suits you best.

Yea that's what I've been doing is playing all kinds of guitars that's how I came across the Taylor...I can easily reach the knobs in many places on guitars that aren't directly in the path of my picking hand, like the placement of the knobs on the Taylor I linked for example. When playing long tremelo parts with my wrist and forearn locked onto the guitar and skipping strings it becomes an obstacle to avoid the knobs

I actually haven't thought of that thanks!

It really depends on what sound you are going for. If you just want a typical 'bedroom black metal' shitty sound then yeah, anything with humbuckers will do. But you don't need to break the bank to play metal music, any Ibanez or ESP/LTD guitar for around $400 or up should suffice for recording, live gigging as well.

There are some good Les Paul knock offs getting around as well. My old landscaping boss bought a couple, but I can't remember the name of them.. it was a knockoff brand, maybe it was Tokai or something.

Les Paul all the way.

Tokai Les Pauls are great. Some of them are better than modern Gibsons.

They're about the same price nowadays, especially after you swap the Tokai stock pickups for something equally good as the Gibson stock ones. Used Tokais tend to go for less than Gibsons, though.

Having the volume knob really close to the bridge pickup seems to be a trend held over from the superstrats of the 80's (and traditional strats of course) but the modern trends are finding them further away. The newer Charvels have moved them further away, same with Caparisons. Some of the Ibanez metal-oriented guitars are doing it such as the RGD. A bunch of the non-superstrat ESP/LTDs have the knobs out of the way.

Best thing to do is go to stores and shop around of hit up the websites of major guitar retailers, looks at some pictures and make notes of what looks suitable to you.

I used to hate having the volume knob right by my picking hand but after a few years of collecting and using 80's superstrats I've gotten used to it. Worst case scenario, you can remove the tone knob from the guitar and put the volume knob in it's place. I've done this on a few guitars. You can leave the volume knob hole empty or possibly install something cool in there like a kill switch.