Shred History

In 1974,
the German band Scorpions used their new guitarist Ulrich Roth for their album Fly to the Rainbow, for which the title track features Roth performing "... one of the most menacing and powerful whammy-bar dive bombs ever recorded".^[1] A year later, Roth's solo guitar playing for the album In Trance "... would become the prototype for shred guitar. Everything associated with the genre can be found on this brilliant collection of songs — sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished minor harmonic scales, finger-tapping and ... jaw-dropping whammy-bar abuse".^[1] In 1979, Roth left Scorpions to begin his own power trio, named "Electric Sun"; his debut album Earthquake contained "... heaps of spellbinding fret gymnastics ... and nimble-fingered classical workouts."^[1] In 1978, a "heretofore unknown guitarist named Eddie Van Halen" from Los Angeles released "'Eruption', a blistering aural assault of solo electric guitar" which featured rapid "tapping", which "had rarely been heard in a rock context before." Chris Yancik argues that it is this "record, above any other, that spawned the genre of Shred."^[4] Randy Rhoads, and Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen incorporated classical influences with complex guitar compositions.

GuitarPlayer.com's article "Blast Into Hyperspace With The Otherworldly Power Of Shred" reviews the book Shred! and states that the pioneers were "Eddie Van Halen, Al Di Meola, and Ritchie Blackmore; 1980s players like Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Steve Vai, Tony MacAlpine, George Lynch and Randy Rhoads; and contemporary guitarists like Dimebag Darrell." This fast playing style combined with the heavily distorted tone of heavy metal music resulted in a new nickname, "shred"^{[citation needed]}. 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. Nevertheless, underground acts like Shawn Lane and Buckethead developed the genre further.^[5]

In 2003, Guitar One Magazine voted Michael Angelo Batio the fastest shredder of all time.^[6][7]

In the same year (2003), Guitar One Magazine voted Chris Impellitteri the 2nd fastest shredder of all time followed by Yngwie Malmsteen as the 3rd fastest shredder.^[6][7]

[edit] Equipment

Shred guitar players often use electric solidbody guitars such as Ibanez, Gibson, Fender, Kramer, Carvin, Jackson, Charvel, Schecter, B.C. Rich or ESP. 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. Guitars with double-cutaways give performers easier access to the higher frets. Some shred guitarists, such as 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."^[1]

Some shred guitar players use guitars with seven, or eight strings to allow a greater range of notes.^[8] Most shred guitar players use a range of effects 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, ENGL, Laney, Hughes & Kettner, Krank, Randall.