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Recommend me a Guitar

sabyulsabyul Registered User regular
edited December 2008 in Help / Advice Forum
I want a new electric guitar to move on between beginner and intermediate. This will be my second electric. My first was the Jackson JS1. I liked the price, fast action, the heavy sound of the 2 humbuckers, and the (inverted!) bad-ass scroll. I didn't like the kind of shoddy build (cable jack and knobs always needed screwing) and the fact that it kind of always had the same sound. Here is what's important to me, sort of in order of importance:
  • Easy to play (low action)
  • Versatile
  • Light
  • Solid construction
  • Cool-looking scroll (i don't really like rounded shapes)

Here are some restrictions:
  • NO floating tremelo
  • NO tuning lock
  • NO neck-thru construction (I dunno, feels weird to me)
  • NO active pickups
  • Price range aroudn 500-800ish

I used to like hard rock a lot, but now I'm playing more bluesy stuff. So, hit me with recommendations!

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sabyul on

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    OskiOski Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    blues? id recommend a strat or a tele. you can get fender highway one strats and teles for about 700-800 and your choice of a maple or rosewood fretboard. not just that you can have either sss or hss and it comes with a nitrocellulose lacquer finish which is really nice for the tone.

    Oski on
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    romanqwertyromanqwerty Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Go down to you nearest guitar store and play a bunch of different guitars to see what you like the feel of. I absolutely love the feel of a Les Paul and can't play on a Fender neck. Everyone is different, find out what kind feels most comfortable to you.

    If you do go for strat or tele, try to get a HSS one, so you have the versatillity to use both single coils or humbuckers.

    romanqwerty on
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    garroad_rangarroad_ran Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I'm assuming when you say "scroll" you mean the headstock? I've never heard of any part of a guitar that could be called a 'scroll.'

    Oski mentioned Fender axes, but you might find them not to your liking if low action is a priority. Fenders tend to have 9.5" fretboard radii, which means you'll never be able to get the action as low as with the 12" radius on your jackson. That being said, if you're into bluesy stuff, super-low action might be detrimental to the sound.

    Also, for versatility you can't really beat a strat! Strats are used in every kind of music... ever.

    I'm not sure what you'd say is too light or too heavy. Frankly, with the exception of Les Pauls which rightfully have a reputation for weighing a ton, and some disgusting BC Rich instruments which I had the bad judgment to actually try once, I've never felt a guitar was much heavier than any other.

    Unfortunately, I don't know of any specific axes in your price range since I haven't looked for a guitar in that price range in a long time.

    If I were you, I'd start by looking at the guitarists you really dig, and finding out what instruments they're playing, then go to music stores and try those out.

    garroad_ran on
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    pots+panspots+pans Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Gibson SGs are normally lighter than most guitars, and come with two humbuckers. Personally, I don't like the necks on them but as romanqwerty said, everyone has different tastes, a friend of mine loves them. In your price range you could get the SG special or special faded, but make sure you try them out first as Gibson have a reputation for quality control issues.

    pots+pans on
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    acidlacedpenguinacidlacedpenguin Institutionalized Safe in jail.Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    bluesy + maybe some hard rockin' eh?

    check out an Epiphone DOT hollow body then put like, p90 p'ups on it and call it a day. I know these things can seem a little bulky in theory, but in practice they might feel very comfortable for you.

    DOT will run you ~$400 the p90s will be no more than $300 for the set, probably more like $220 to $250.

    that leaves you with between $100-$150 wiggle room, which you could use to get a nice blues overdrive pedal or something.

    acidlacedpenguin on
    GT: Acidboogie PSNid: AcidLacedPenguiN
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    SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited November 2008
    check out an Epiphone DOT hollow body then put like, p90 p'ups on it and call it a day.

    D:

    No.

    *slaps wrist*

    No!

    Some recommendations:

    stargazer_cg.jpg

    Schecter Stargazer

    Link

    Viper-400_BLK.jpg

    ESP LTD Viper

    Link

    Sheep on
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    sabyulsabyul Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Thanks guys. I decided that I ought to go with and HSS, if for no other reason, that I already have an HH guitar. I'm heading to Guitar Center today to try out some guitars, mostly to see how good my left hand feels around the necks.

    Anyone have experience with http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Jackson-DK2-Dinky-Electric-Guitar?sku=511668 ? I feel like playing another Jackson will be a really easy transition. I just wish the headstock was inverted like my JS1! (yes, that is what I meant by "scroll"... I think they're called scrolls on violins, right?)

    I'll definitely check out the stuff you guys mentioned if it's in the store. I'll get back to you all on that.

    sabyul on
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    KhavallKhavall British ColumbiaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I use a Hag Ultra Swede.

    I fucking love the thing. Real thin neck so I can play forever with no cramp, actions really easy. Les Paul body but a lot lighter. And then it has my favorite thing in the world: Coil tap switch. It's HH, but the coil tap takes the humbucking coils out, making it SS. It sounds beautiful, especially for jazz things. I only have two complaints. One is that the tone range is more limited than, say, a Gibson. The other is that the volume and tone knobs are just silver textured knobs with no numbers. I'm about to take off my Epiphones old knobs and throw them on this one.

    I'd recommend asking at least about one. There are parts of it that I prefer over my dads Gibson SG.

    Khavall on
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    sabyulsabyul Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Wow, a coil tap sounds like an awesome feature. When I first saw that guitar I thought it'd weigh me down as much as a Les Paul... if I can find one today I'll play it a bit.

    sabyul on
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    wasted pixelswasted pixels Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Sheep wrote: »
    check out an Epiphone DOT hollow body then put like, p90 p'ups on it and call it a day.

    D:

    No.

    *slaps wrist*

    No!

    What's your rationale here? DOTs aren't bad for the money.

    wasted pixels on
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    SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited November 2008
    The p90's.

    Sheep on
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    sabyulsabyul Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    All right, played a bunch of guitars. Didn't realize that I've actually become picky about the body shape... not in terms of looking nice, but lots of guitars just don't sit right on my leg.

    At the end of the day, this is the one I had the most fun with: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Schecter-C1-Hellraiser-Electric-Guitar?sku=518451

    even though it violates a lot of the restrictions I had, haha. I always thought my dream guitar would be a Jackson DK (DKMG, DK2, even DXMG) but compared to this Schecter they just sounded... boring. This one felt really great, and it has 2 coil taps (one for each humbucker). What do you guys think of it?

    sabyul on
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    MitsuhideMitsuhide Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Haha. Funny how you mention the blues but you're into Jacksons and Schecters! :P
    And for anyone else considering the DK2, I've played my friend's extensively and it was pretty great. Nice, thin neck, but not too thin like an Ibanez. The whole guitar is super comfortable, and the stock Seymour Duncans are great.

    Mitsuhide on
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    acidlacedpenguinacidlacedpenguin Institutionalized Safe in jail.Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Sheep wrote: »
    The p90's.

    what's wrong with them? They'll be way better than stock, that's for sure.

    acidlacedpenguin on
    GT: Acidboogie PSNid: AcidLacedPenguiN
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