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“No one needs an exact copy”: Should guitar covers sound exactly like the original? Dweezil Zappa thinks so – but I’m not so sure. So I asked you what you thought

August 1, 2025

There’s never been more guitar content creators, and many of them dabble in covers to help get their chops seen by the world. But when it comes to such covers, how important is it that they remain faithful to the original songs?
It’s a debate that was kicked up earlier this week, when guitarist Dweezil Zappa – who also happens to be the son of late legend Frank Zappa – expressed his opinion that those who cut corners when covering classic songs exhibit “laziness”.
“There’s a lot of people that – and sometimes it just comes down to laziness – they’re like, ‘Well, I’ll just do my own thing.’ Because they hear enough of it, and they’re like, ‘I’m in the ballpark. I’ll just make my [own thing],’” he said.
“But to me, when I was learning songs, if it was Van Halen or if it was something that Randy Rhoads was playing, I didn’t feel like I was playing the song at all unless I played exactly what I heard them doing. And I wanted to learn the nuances. I wanted to try to get the sound. I wanted to do that. Because to me, that was the whole package of playing the song.”
Now, when I saw these comments, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Does it really matter?’ and ‘Isn’t the point of art interpretation, anyway?’ Perhaps it’s because I’ve dabbled extensively in online guitar covers myself, and that’s my bias – or even “laziness”, to indulge Zappa – talking.
But in any case, I thought I’d put the question out to you, our wonderful Guitar.com audience via social media, to see how much it really matters that guitar covers emulate the style and sound of the original tracks, or whether anyone really cares at all.
To my pleasure, the comments largely took a pretty measured approach to the whole debate.
“Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: Either nail it or do your own thing, anything in-between comes across as slipshod, half-assed, and lazy…” writes one user.
I can’t help but feel that there’s no point in creating a cover that’s exactly like the original, because why would someone listen to that when they can just listen to the original? And it seems to be a view many share.
“No one needs an exact copy cover that’s just the original with different vocals,” another person writes. “Take a spin on it!”
“Technique is overrated and emulation destroys creativity,” writes another. “It has been shown that most interesting artists in the past 30 years were not the most technical but someone that actually has something to say. Music is communication.”
“I’d rather see artists make it their own,” says another. “If vocalists could emulate the voice exactly, would he want that too? what would be the point? It’s already been done that way.”
“I absolutely hate hearing a cover song done by another band that sounds like a perfect copy of the original,” says another. “It’s not a tribute, it’s just a copy. Change the tempo, sing it differently. Make it minor. Make it exciting!”
Other commenters note that the difference between a cover version and an original is similar to that between a studio recording and a live version. Is there any point in going to see a band or guitarist live if it sounds exactly like the album version?
“Many guitarists like Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page etc always improvised when playing their solos live, so why shouldn’t other people when covering famous songs?” one person astutely notices.
“I am even bored when bands reproduce their own music live note for note…” another writes.
Perhaps an important distinction needs to be made between a dedicated tribute band – who might need to more accurately recreate the music of the artist they’re emulating – and an original artist creating a cover.
“If you’re in a wedding covers band, yeah absolutely agree [with Dweezil], if you’re an original artist covering a song you should put your own spin on it, otherwise what’s the fucking point?” says another.
Ultimately, no one’s holding a gun to any of our heads – I hope. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. If you get your kicks from studying and emulating a song exactly as it was recorded, then why not. But if you’d rather let the creativity flow and make it your own, who’s gonna stop you.
No one’s going to force anyone to listen to anything either, but it’s certainly an interesting conversation, especially amid the increasingly content creator-heavy online landscape.
The take away from all of this? Play – and listen – to whatever the hell you want. Thanks for coming to my talk.
The post “No one needs an exact copy”: Should guitar covers sound exactly like the original? Dweezil Zappa thinks so – but I’m not so sure. So I asked you what you thought appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.