Why do most rock bands have 2 guitar players? Like, are they 2 different types of guitars?

Answer 1

There are usually two guitars as one guitar plays Rhythm, while the other guitar plays Lead or solo.

If you listen carefully, you'll notice two guitars playing at the same time. On the other hand, some very talented guitar players will do both. They will play rhythm, and then play a solo with just the bass and drums behind him or her if it is a trio like Rush, Green Day, Triumph, or Police. But in the studio, even these trios record several parts and play them over each other.

To get a real good idea of rhythm guitar versus solo or lead guitar, listen to Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The first notes you hear is the rhythm guitar, he keeps repeating this throughout the song while more guitars are layered over it as well as the lead guitar.

Answer 2

Probably, one is a bass and one is the lead guitar. Some bands even have a guitar player that plays rhythm, just depends on the band and the type of music they play.

Answer 3

Most rock bands will have the bass or the guitar that lays down the rhythym and the electric or acoustic guitar which is the guitar that lays down the melody.

Another popular way to set up a rock band is with a bass, a rhythym electric or acoustic, and with the electric or acoustic melody line.

Answer 4

because the first guitar is the lead guitarist. A lead guitarist typically plays solos, riffs and fills.

rhythm guitarists some sort of edge to the rhthym and foundation of the song. i also think that when the lead guitarist is doing a solo, there's not just this high pitched sound but also another guitar keeping the rhythm [besides drums] for the lead.


for me, i think bands are better with two guitarists, not just a guitarist and a bassist.. =)

Answer 5

I occasionally play out with a trio that has a very talented lead guitarist. He likes to have a second guitar so he doesn't have to "fill" he can solo and improvise whenever he feels it. We cover stuff from Skynard to the Stones and Beatles to The Clash to SRV and a lot of that stuff has 2 guitars in it originally so the sound is fulller and truer to original with a 2nd guitarist. Yes we have a bass guitar also.

Answer 6

Guitar Hero! Way better tracks. Also Rock Band is a cheap ripoff of Guitar Hero, but except a lot more expensive. Choose Guitar Hero. Way more original. Way better.

Answer 7

Generally, your arrangements dictate the number of players you need for a live performance. But plenty of bands hire sidemen to do tours instead of adding more people to the band.

Why does an established band have 2 guitar players on permanent roster? Because they both contribute something critical to the music. Or they contribute something to the band's good spirits. For example, Joe Walsh was hired to be a 3rd guitarist in the Eagles not because they needed more guitar lines, but because he was a cut up and everyone in the band loved him. His good nature held the warring band together for another 3 years.

The answers are different for each group. They are there because the band wants them there.

Answer 8

if there is only 2 guitar players one will be rythym and lead the other will be bass. if there are three guitar players which is very common one will be lead (or solo) the other will be rythym, and the third will be bass. in some bands, for example king diamond, slayer or nevermore, the two 6-string guitar players will take turns soloing and on rythym, which is cool too, while the third player will play bass.

Answer 9

I beleive the Bass is -not- one of the guitars you're talking about.

The other two guitars are the same instrument, but play different parts of the song (at the same time) - lead and rythum (which I couldn't spell if my life depended on it).

Answer 10

Almost always, one guitar is on the rhythm, and the other is on the lead or the melody. I have seen bands with 3 guitarists in it, it just depends on how much guitar melody you want in the song.