“People use them for fashion and shock factor. Your guitar is your workhorse, but on stage, it’s also your prop”: Phoebe Bridgers is playing B.C. Rich. Willow and Pete Townshend are picking up Jacksons. Have metal guitars gone mainstream?

Something in the guitar world is stirring. Perhaps it’s the inevitable result of the great post-streaming genre-blur, or someone left a portal to the Upside Down open – but metal guitars have been creeping into the mainstream. As such, we’re now in an age where pop stars are making B.

C. Rich Warlock’s shimmer like semi-hollow Gretsches and bebop guitarists are ripping Wes Montgomery on Jacksons. Meanwhile, metal’s leading stars are swapping angular war machines for vintage-styled gear.

So, what’s flipping the guitar world upside down, and what does this mean for the industry? Are metal guitars going mainstream while becoming an endangered species in the genre they were built for? From Phoebe Bridgers donning a B.C. Rich Warbeast on to , Ladyhawke’s Jackson affinity, and Jacob Collier’s surprise , metal guitars are an increasingly common sight in pop.

But why? For Helen Phillips, Director of Sales & Marketing for Jackson, EVH, Charvel, and Gretsch, there are two important factors to consider: Aesthetics and comfort. “We see a lot of people using metal guitars for fashion and shock factor,” she says. “You want to be different and a guitar onstage is a tool for that.

Your guitar is your workhorse, but on stage, it’s also your prop.” Phillips also acknowledges that the slender genetics of metal guitars are well-suited to the biology of the female player. “They can feel more comfortable for ladies,” she believes.

“We don't want to be carrying around.