Shred

In general, this term, or the phrase “shred guitar,” has been traditionally associated with a fast, virtuosic playing style combined with the heavily distorted tone of so-called “heavy metal” music resulted in the nickname “shred.” The evolution of the word is most likely derived from describing the act of playing very fast, virtuosic passages on a distorted electric guitar, thus the player is “shredding the neck.” Heavy use of whammy bar “dive bombs,” tapping, hammer-ons, and pull-offs all would constitute a “shred guitar” performance.