I've been playing guitar for about 2 years now and i'm still playing a fender squire strat. Having tried out a few guitars in shops i'm really leaning to buying a new guitar. My price range is up to £500 although i'd like to keep it £300-400. I play mostly metal (trivium, in flames, racer x) although i often play indie/rock/pop as well.

In short i don't really have a clue what i'm looking for. I'd like 24 frets and a locking system but other than that i don't really know. One guitar which stuck out after trying a fair few (i didn't like most of the ones i tried) was the Jackson dxmg (i think). I've looked in both my city and a neighbouring one, the sale assistants haven't been that helpful. Was kind of hoping any guitarring massassians could point me towards some more guitars to try.

Hit me

First thing to look for in a metal guitar is humbucker pickups. These will give you the megacruch you need to wail. Next, look for either rosewood or (top choice if you can afford once you find) ebony fretboard. Either is superfast and good for soloing, if you have the right strings(back to those later). The body if useually maple, but if you can find mahogany, I feel it provides a slightly fuller sound. If you find something you like, pick up some slightly heavier strings (10-46), and always DiAddario or Elixars. Me and most my friends have had bad experiances with Earnie Balls. Corroding too easy, streching out of tune more often than other brands, ect.

I personally don't play metal, stick to pop-punk style, but a setup like that (if you can find some) should have you headbanging in no time.

Oh, here's your Jackson DKMGT on Musician's Friend.

Hope this helps...geez I went on a rant there...

Cheers that was helpful. I take it humbucker picks are the double ones right? My friend mentioned something about those.

Humbucker pickups look like either two single coil pickups next to eachother( usually four total), or two metal "boxes", either chrome or gold. While they do offer a more "crunchy" sound sometimes, so can single coil ( the ones you probobly have in your squire strat ). As you get more advanced, as well as your effects and amplification become more advanced, the difference is more noticable. Keep in mind though, they aren't everything if you want to get that sound. Yngwie Malmsteen, Larry Lalonde, Eddie Van Halen, Eenor, and Hendrix have all used single coils throughout their careers, and are able to get some of the most metal tone out of them.

The beautiful thing about electric guitars is that they're infinitely maleable as far as sound goes. Through effects, you can make them sound however you want really. What you really want to look for really, is playability and tone. Does it really sound nice? Can I move around the fretboard fine? Do I have to stretch a lot? Do the strings feel far away from the fretboard? Is it comfortable?

Don't think to play metal you have to have a Jackson, Ibanez, or whatever. Or to play classic rock you need to have an LP. Find whatever guitar feels and sounds good to you, and is well made.

I agree. the guitar market these days is so wide you have a lot of stuff to choose from. just pick what feels right and if you're going to keep it for a while, spend some good time hunting and comparing and ask questions. unless your store-clerks suck :p