Why Don't More People Play Aluminum Guitars? 

For all the angry British people in the comments, here in the States its Aluminum. There are two different spellings based on region, both are correct.

too light for heavy metal tones maybe. Sorry, that's such a bad joke.

I feel like the biggest difference is that you ARE playing differently on each guitar. Different brushes, different strokes. Great video!

Because they're way too expensive for most guitarists. Btw, teddy bear nugant used a lucite guitar with an aluminum neck waaaaay back in the seventies. I know it for a fact, because my dad owned it for a while. He got rid of it because it was BADLY balanced. The neck was really heavy compared to the body so it wanted to dive on you. Probably why teddy sold it to begin with. Anyways, an aluminum neck lucite guitar isn't a modern idea at all. Just thought I'd share the story.

It’s so cold here in the U.K. I wouldn’t enjoy a cold metal neck, especially in winter.

All you have to do is watch Oh Sees guitarist/frontman John Dwyer.

Jerry Garcia played a Travis Bean TB500 from ‘76-‘77 and that guitar featured an aluminum neck. Some of his greatest tones and performances came out of that guitar.

1931 Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" was the first electric guitar and had an aluminum neck and body.

Short answer: they are understandably expensive.

"I feel like I'm only hearing the pickups" Yeah, thats the same with every guitar. The rest is just merchandising.

Rhett's playing is always musically minded and not showy or even noodly. Reserved and thoughtful. Regardless of the guitar, the player is a keeper :) Good Job man!

I’m in a post metal band and I play all aluminum guitars. We also use aluminum drums. I play EGC’s and mine have a brushed neck which you don’t stick to. I will probably never go back. The clarity is awesome and the sustain is unreal. After they acclimate to the room they stay in tune super well. No trust rods in mine so set up is a breeze. Plus they are pretty hard to break obviously.

Keith Levine (of Public Image Ltd.) used to use guitars with Aluminum necks and his tone cuts through the mix like a saw

Dear Rhett just a note the nut doesn't affect the sound of fretted notes only the open strings. The saddle of the bridge are indeed very different thing

I wanted to hear you play glass and metal slide on that metal fretboard.

Is nobody adressing the elephant in the room? IT'S ALUMINIUM ! not aluminum... there is a second "i", dang it ! ;) Cool guitar though.

That neck pickup on the Aluminum guitar sounds like it would be perfect for jazz! I actually genuinely like the sound

That aluminum guitar actually sounds better than expected. It's not bad!!

I have Greg Lake’s (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) Travis Bean from 1977. It sounds superb and is an amazing guitar, but… it is very heavy and the neck does feel cold at first. I actually had problems with light strings in that when it was really cold there wasn’t enough tension to pull the neck into some level of relief. The body is solid koa, so doesn’t feel neck heavy.

As a guitar builder hobbyist i have been working on aluminum designs. Its a fun idea but i haven't moved on it yet due to cost and amount of work involved.

I wonder why they did a headstock with string trees rather than just having a pitched headstock... not like that is going to snap off if it falls backwards. When you say you're only hearing the pickups... I think it's more that the aluminium isn't robbing any frequencies out of the strings. You're hearing everything, much like what you do with a carbon fibre guitar.

Oh, people do play aluminum guitars, just in genres that scare away blues players

Ready for endless tone metal discussions!

I bet you that thing is great for ..........METAL...... sorry I'll leave now.

kurt cobain used an aluminum guitar on in utero!

when is the studio update coming???i cant wait for it!!!

Because they're fucking expensive. There, I just saved y'all 14 minutes, now go practice.

You gotta do A/B blind tests with guitars like this

Mark Farner(Grand Funk) played a Messenger w/aluminum neck from ‘69-‘72.The neck when taken out of the guitar was shaped from the end of the fretboard to the ending of the neck where it met the bottom of the body,like a tuning fork.Messenger info.said it was tuned to A 440 like a tuning fork.Farner retired it because it needed a fret job and as it was an aluminum neck he said he didn’t trust anybody to do a refret.He then switched to a Microfrets then to a Veleno which had an aluminum body and neck.

I had an EGC a few years ago - hands down the absolute worst playing/feeling guitar I’ve ever played, IMO. I hated it. But some people LOVE them…. I sold it in about 2 hours.

1) be sure NEVER to lend Rhett anything, lol 2) before watching the video, I am guessing that the answer to the question "Why Don't People Play Aluminum Guitars?" is going to be a) cost b) tradition oh yeah, and the complete absence of tone woods.

The other guitarist in my old band had an EGC. It was a very sharp/bright sounding guitar - it did that whole abrasive Albini/Levene thing perfectly (and it also made it difficult for me to find a good frequency range since he owned the highs). He'd let me play it occasionally and I hated the way that neck felt - and yeah, always cold. Personally, I respect wood.

I think it's a gimmick, honestly. Tonewood...or tone metal, in this case...is largely irrelevant. Most of the tone is a function of the pickups, the neck joint, and the scale length, among other things.

I'm just thinking why would you get an aluminum guitar? Like there should be some kind of benefit to it which I'd expect to be the weight, but in this vid you're saying it isn't even that light and it's quite neck heavy. So what's the appeal? Looking cool? Then I'd say it's more of a collector's item than a players' guitar which is fine, but not really appealing to a majority of players.

One of the great but currently obscure "concept albums" of the past decade was recorded with a Rick Toone Spearfish with aluminum neck: 2018's "Queen Of The Murder Scene" by The Warning. While the quote-unquote "libretto" follows a conventional operatic narrative of obsessive love leading to murder, madness, and suicide, the songwriting and execution far exceed the ages (13, 16, 18) of the Villarreal sisters who wrote and recorded it.

to my ears the guitar doesn't sound as 'warm'...but the sound isn't 'bad', just different.

Steve Albini’s Veleno is now in a museum, Kurt used it on In Utero. Has a really bright punk sound to it.

One of my favorite guitars is the Abel Axe. It’s the reverse of the Aluminati - this one has an aluminum body and a wood neck. Tone and playability on this is really nice.

It sounds good, it's just not very exciting, not very alive.

Aluminium....you American! :p

i can barely afford wooden ones

Saw Climax Blues Band in concert in July of 1977 opening for Bad Company. Lead guitarist was playing a Veleno aluminum guitar. I distinctly remember seeing that headstock and wondering "what the ...".

Do they play aluminium guitars though 😅

Brutally honest review but that’s how you operate and the company knew the risk. I’m sure there’ll be people interested in the design. Not my cuppa tea though.

To answer the title. I don't have any MONEY Rhett. Give me free stuff

I'm a LP player too. But the aluminum seems to have an interesting bright clarity to it.

Conjecture: A big chunk of any difference sound is the different guitars making Rhett play differently because of the different psychophysical feedback loops Rhett forms with them.

A ton of players do lol I come here for more bluesy stuff but i love metal and stoner doom stuff too, and stoner doom is where you see aluminum necks everywhere

Aluminati seems like a tool for a specific purpose. It made me draw a danelectro comp. I really liked it's smooth, silky sound.

The aluminum and composite based guitars I've played have all sounded more harsh at the start of the note.

Why Don't More People Play $2000++ Guitars? 🗿

Nice to see some aluminium featured on here Rhett! I ordered an EGC in 2012 which is all aluminium and hollow construction, I now have 2 more aluminium neck guitars, one SG shape with a wood body and one Tele shape with an acrylic body and I love the sound of all of them. Still dig my wood necks but I generally reach for the aluminium ones first, they're very versatile. They have an extra clarity across the frequency range without muddiness or harshness which I really enjoy, it's sort of like having a clean boost pedal always on. I like the feel of an aluminium neck, I don't get that sticky feeling you describe, possibly because mine are all brushed rather than polished. Also as you say these things are of course subjective, I personally always prefer really heavy guitars so certainly in the case of my acrylic one it's definitely that! I get no neck dive either due to the weight of the body, I don't think my other two have that issue either though to be honest. Anyway, ramble over! Just interesting to see something I'm personally very into on your channel so thought I would drop a comment, great stuff man!

Playing a metal neck wouldn't be practical. During outdoor events in some areas of the country during the winter the neck will be very cold and in others in the summer it will be hot to hold. If it's in a controlled environment it might be okay as long as it's allowed to warm up or cool down to be able to play. It could be heavy too. Especially the weight of the neck you have the neck dive problem. Travis Bean made the first ones in the mid 1970s. They were heavy and people that used them complained about not being able to play them on stage for very long without experiencing neck, shoulder and back pain.

Maybe the point of the video is, that after all these years, there just might be something to this Les Paul's have a unique tone thing? That's what I gathered from it. Lately this tonewood debate has gotten heated again. I've been getting a real kick out of some of these experts, that rattle off links to other videos as indisputable proof of thier new found beliefs. 3-4 years into thier guitar playing journey, and they think nobody could possibly be trying to sell them a dream? Think again. 90% percent of guitar gear is completely unnecessary, and in many cases only slowing the process down. The KISS principal is a valuable tool to always remember to fall back on.

Isn’t the bridge an Aluminati as well? You can buy those from them separately

aluminum neck guitars are interesting beasts... there's a quote from John Dwyer (from Oh Sees) saying that he needed to leave his aluminum neck ECG on stage for half an hour before playing so the metal could acclimate to the venue's temperature

You might check out Nude Guitars: handmade aluminium guitar made in Firenze/Italy. I have a baritone and it's the most amazing guitar I have every owned! Sound like a cathedral!

Sounds to me like the Electrical Guitar Company has the aluminum thing down a bit better. For reference, they are the ones that took over the Travis Beans officially as well create their own more modern aluminum guitars which don't really have the problems that this guitar seems to have. The EGC necks are way thinner than you could ever get with wood, and they are not neck heavy at all and very balanced. Just look up the people that play EGC's (John Dywer from Thee Oh Sees included, as someone mentioned in the other comments). I play aluminum because I don't have to worry about a lot of the problems you do with wood.

It would seem to me, that aluminium is just not the right material for the job - and as usual the electric guitar was perfected by 1960 haha. But I love that some people will love this guitar. Were all different :)

Art is always evolving. Some people still paint with horse hair brushes, while others paint using cutting edge technology. The keys with a musical instrument is 1. will it play the same note consistently over time. 2. does it help or harm the creative process. Everything else is just bonus stuff that doesn't really matter.

Is there something wrong in isolating the pickups from the rest of the guitar? Isn't it the pickup that gives the guitar the core tone of the guitar ? ie single, toaster, P90, humbucker etc ? If you are correct with this then would this guitar be a neutral 'model' guitar to test pickups against each other without the body/neck material interfering ? You could have discovered something here ?

Baum wingman is a great option if you want something quirky but more traditional.

I remember Travis Bean guitars back in the '70's.....huge marketing campaign.....complete flop.

The “ping” and treble of the aluminum guitar definitely comes through in the video

Resonance??? LMFAO!!!!!! It's to save weight, dawg!

Surprised this wasn't sponsored.. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to hear their guitar is cold, sticky and tinny sounding Marketing gold 🤑

I think you nailed it with saying that it would look good on stage . The way the light is reflecting off the neck in the video is cool as hell . I bet it would be pretty amazing under some colored stage lighting.

Only time one can APPROPRIATELY call a guitar 'cool'. People, drop fashionable parrotting.

They are so night and day, it's stupid. The Aluminum might be interested in a recording. I always said ............. If it ain't wood it ain't no good.

It’s hard and bolky in sound suuuuper clean you can tune low and use a lot of gain and get all the sustain and note definition ✌🏻

because most ppl call it aluminium

Perhaps the reason is the PRICE???? $2800 for the LEAST expensive model. Thats pretty lofty territory, I dont care who you are.

LOOKS? Like the most important factor in buying aluminum guitar? What about: SUSTAIN-i know it’s not that important for Rhett, but ask SUNN O)) DURABILITY- hoe much you loose with a broken headstock on an R9? How long can you jump around the stage in a punk rock band before damage your Gibson? You can slay zombies with your Aluminati HARMONIC CONTENT- check the video from Joe Gore about difference between wood and alu necks, on sane guitar. You can hear it… ZERO MAINTENANCE-ever, with a steel fretted alu necks. Maybe you have to clean your pots some decade later. I know there are drawbacks, neck dive for me is an absolute no-go, but looks as the most important factor is quite absurd…

Aluminum is pretty light.... not so great for "Heavy'' Metal i suppose..

If anything, this video is encouraging people to buy Lawler imperial pick ups. They sound fantastic.

Two of my favorite guitar players play aluminum guitars, Duane Denison of The Jesus Lizard and Agostino Tilotta of Uzeda. Bad ass players on bad ass guitars. They play EGC (British made) guitars. Not really made for blues rock imo.

Rhett! Love your videos!! Just this morning i was rewatching your older videos. We match our playing/recording style (and taste in music too) and i got immediately hooked up on your channel! Thank you!!

its just gimmicky guitar. not practical and unusable for long periods..

I have a Kramer bass aluminum neck. Sounds great for recording. Don’t use live.

They warm and cool different. Ken Andrew's uses an aluminum from he other main maker. Think he says it's a recording tool. But...I have seen him use it live. I've always wanted one...but..why?

Hey, Rhett. Just wanted to tell you that your note choice and “feel” has really improved since I started watching you several years ago. Not to say it was ever bad at all, but you’re really top notch these days! Keep it up man!

I used to work at a pretty big independent guitar shop for the city I live in and after working there for several years, I started saying, "Tone is in the eyes." That being said, my eyes tell me the Les Paul sounds better.

It just sounds bad, very loose, woofy and undefined, just plain bad sounding.

I'll stick with wood, thank you. It works for me and has worked for me since 1967. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Cool idea. Maybe put teflon on the back of the neck ....ya know, non-stick. Pam? Finger Ease spray? Butter? In all serious though, I think it definitely has a place in the guitar world. Just not exactly sure where that is though...

So, it’s ugly (sorry EB/St Vincent) , it’s neck-divey, sounds bad AND feels cold and sticky? I think I’ll pass. Great video about it tho!👍👍

I can answer the question, and the general question as why electric guitars have not really changed over 70-80 years…. Guitars are like men’s clothing- we like classic shirts and pants over time. Once in a while, they come up with radical attire (butterfly collar, or pointing guitar headstocks) But in the end, we want a standard, classic, clean look when getting dressed up…just like our guitars….😂😂😂😂that’s a fact, jack!

Only musician I know who plays an aluminum neck guitar is buzz Osborne from the Melvins

I know I’m going to get shit but…….. listening to Joe Glasser and Paul Reed Smith and from hands on experience I know personally that wood does effect an electric guitar. The sound will change based on wood, finish and metal on bridges . But but Jim Lill and blah blah blah. That’s my truth

The Les Paul definitely sounded prettier. Prettier isn’t necessarily better musically though. I liked both. The neck stickiness seems like it could be dealt with using wax, polish or maybe WD40?

Gee, Rhet, maybe we don't get FREE aluminum guitars the way you do?

Unless you're in KISS, I'd stick to the Gibson although there might be a song in a recording session where the aluminium may just be the perfect guitar.

Rhett I love watching both of your channels, but this review should never have happened. You have to learn to say no, dude. I don't like to being a negative Nelly. Please understand I'm a fan of yours. Thanks for 99.9999% of your content, ha.

I had a HeliArc aluminum guitar and I was never impressed with the sound of it. It was an expensive instrument. Mine was a B-52 model and I got better tones out of a $50 pawn shop Squier Strat, seriously. I don’t know if it was the Alumitone pickups or what.

So... aluminum guitars have never really been made at scale. I know Travis Bean made aluminum necked guitars in the 1970s and they have a following. I played an Olympic model Fender Telecaster back in 1996 and it was neck heavy and had a banjo quality t the sound acousticly. I've also read that some artists had issues with the aluminum being less stable playing live than their regular guitars. I'm not sure if that was Chet Atkins or someone else. That said I know lots if Doom players like aluminum necked guitars currently.

It's funny you mention brass nuts and brass saddles... I have an Ovation UK2 electric from around 1980 that is actually a plastic/urethane foam body over an aluminum frame, and it also has a brass nut and huge heavy brass saddles. But it has a wood neck and otherwise looks pretty normal, so it kind of is the opposite of the Aluminati. I think people back then thought the heavy brass would improve sustain?

I found the tone of the aluminum neck to be more articulate and snappy, even with the fuzz. That said, I hate neck heavy guitars.

Why don't more people play aluminum guitar? Imagine an outdoor festival, it's -10 degrees out there.

Varracro guitars are bring back aluminium guitars as well. Its being started by former kramer employees.

So, it there a difference between 6066 and 7075 aluminum? You know, the whole tonewood thing?