Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: jibidy on February 18, 2008, 03:18:45 PM
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Basically looking to sell some guitars and getting one more suited to me.
I play mostly metal but like all shades of music and enjoy experimenting so i want something that can handle everything.
But importantly i would like to achive great playability. I bought my Peavey V Type based on reviews that said it was a shredder. but i find the neck to thin and abit short.
I always end up bending the high E string off the frets and it sounds like im a terrible player but it doesnt happen on my seven string(which i will keep for lowlowlow purposes).
I've been looking at Ibanez and Jackson mostly. around £500 and should fit my miracle men set so two buckers.
Opinions and reccomendations please on your experience with similar guitars. Cheer All
Edit: I also down tune to D then down again to C so it is like drop C. :twisted:
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I would look at Schecter - Superb value for money, and great playing guitars.
I would definetly not look at Jackson, their cheaper stuff feels really plasticy.
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Yes definatly looking at schecter aswell. my seven string is from the schecter damien series. though it is not an expensive guitar at all it seem well put together and the neck is very good.
But the pups suck majorly.
Schecter, Ibanez, Any others?
Perhaps not Jackson?
Anyone got expirience with the new Hagstrom Super Swedes they sound great for the money.
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I'd say you want a 25" (PRS) or 25.5" (Fender) scale if you're drop tuning? I can think of:
PRS SE? Neck can be (too?) chunky, only 22 frets.
Ibanez RG? Wizard necks are quite slim though.
Fender Fat Strat? Used only 'Double Fat' model, trem, and only 22 frets.
Washburn N2? Locking trem, only 22 frets.
Jackson Randy Rhoads? Soloist HH? Dinky?
Lots of options. Do you want a trem? How many frets? Body shape?
This looks cool - a Washburn WM24?
(http://www.washburn.com/products/electrics/hm/images/zoom_wm24mr.jpg)
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Is that the same Schecter that Knopfler used to play in the early '90's?
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EDIT: just realised, i'm assuming you don't want a tremolo.
washburn x50pro is really nice for £300. comes stock with duncans (hey, you could sell them on since you have MMs), buzz feiten etc. really nice guitar for the money.
if you like thinner necks, maybe an ibanez rga121? marginally over budget (maybe £525 or £550?) but a nice guitar.
problem to me is that £500 is kinda in-between budgets... if you aren't willing to go any higher, that washburn i mentioned is as nice as (if not nicer than) about 95% of the guitars under the £500 mark. But to get quite a bit nicer there's a good chance you'd have to go to £700 or £800.
the guitar companies know a lot of people set their budgets in stone at a round figure (er, just like you've done with your £500 :lol: )... because of that they try (gross generalisation, to be fair) to get away with giving you as little as possible for that budget, as they know that a lot of people won't budge on the price, even for a better spec. it's amazing how many people will pay, say, £500 for something mediocre, but not £525 for something which is much, much better, which seems daft to me. then of course the company hopes you'll have to buy the better, dearer guitar from them later.
Not saying you're like this of course, i'm just pointing out what happens a lot of the time. It pays to be suspicious, basically. :)
Anyway, all I'm saying is, be flexible, and don't be afraid to try things over your budget, and under. That's the only way to see if something is good enough to, say, pay an extra £50 for, or if the one at £500 truly is £200 better than the one at £300.
obviously if you are willing to go second-hand, that opens a lot more doors. :)
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First off thanks.
I am definatly willing to work some more hours to save up more than 500 i was just using that as a rough guide.
Every guitar ive owned so far has had a trem apart from the seven.
But to be honest i never use them so im not really looking for a trem guitar. Ide rather have a hardtail than a bad trem.
24 frets definatly seems optimum for me. plus the longer the scale the better. With fender the radius seems to be abit to round for me, i played an Ibanez that had the 400 or 430 radius and it seemed sweet to me.
so long flat neck two pups maybe a single in the middle. im also willing to make modifications adding pots Etc.
My no.1 concern is playability and reliability. thats why Ibanez looks good to me.
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First off thanks.
I am definatly willing to work some more hours to save up more than 500 i was just using that as a rough guide.
Every guitar ive owned so far has had a trem apart from the seven.
But to be honest i never use them so im not really looking for a trem guitar. Ide rather have a hardtail than a bad trem.
24 frets definatly seems optimum for me. plus the longer the scale the better. With fender the radius seems to be abit to round for me, i played an Ibanez that had the 400 or 430 radius and it seemed sweet to me.
so long flat neck two pups maybe a single in the middle. im also willing to make modifications adding pots Etc.
My no.1 concern is playability and reliability. thats why Ibanez looks good to me.
The only Ibanez's around £500 for me is the S520, with the ZR Trem, which is a very nice guitar. My RG42DX is also a great plank, but not a full package, as the bridge definetly needs replacing.
I think what you'll find is, guitars in this budget will need upgrades in almost all cases. Since you allready have pickups for this guitar, I'd suggest getting a nice piece of wood with a bad trem for about £400, and then spend the rest on a good trem. Or a good plank with a hard tail around £500.
My RG42 cost £425, and needs new pickups and a new bridge - Otherwise I absolutely recommend it. If you're willing to spend another £150 on an OFR to make it £575, and stick your Miracle Mans in it - You'd have a superb guitar.
Personally I feel my RG outplays most Ibanez' I've played, and other than the hardware (which you can afford to replace) its a great guitar.
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To be honest ide rather buy a hardtail straight up than bugger about with upgrading the trem.
I thougth about it but considering how much i use a trem i dont think its worth it.
Anyone got or played Epiphone Firebird?
They look nice.
Opinions on Epiphones?
I got an SG which is nice and i don't think ill sell it. Its got a meastro vibrola that i dont use....but looks cool. Ha
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unless you're talking about MIJ epis i wouldn't bother to be honest... you can do a lot better for £500 if you ask me. (personal preference and all that, though)
rga121 would be my pick, new (and assuming you don't want to faff about with importing or second-hand etc.) and based on what you've said you want for the specs. all it really needs is new pickups, which you already have. though the MM may be a little bright in it, as it's a bright guitar (then again, it may be fine, depending on the tone you want).
the major problem is the fact that you'll be down-tuning and playing metal, and want a flat radius. There are guitars I'd rather have for £500 than that Ibanez but (a) they're likely to be second-hand and (b) are likely to be a lot more vintage in character.
i'm just waiting for someone to come up with a guitar at the £500 mark which is exactly what you want and great value so i have egg on my face, lol. :lol:
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Not really my kind of thing, but if you want 24 frets and a fixed bridge what about the ESP/LTD H series? They certainly look pretty:
http://www.espguitars.com/guitars_h.html
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What about the Ibanez SZ? Doesn't have 24 frets but it's a very very versatile guitar.
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Not really my kind of thing, but if you want 24 frets and a fixed bridge what about the ESP/LTD H series? They certainly look pretty:
http://www.espguitars.com/guitars_h.html
They're certainly good at £600 and above - But LTDs around £500 are lacking.
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^ thomann, maybe? i think the 400s are under £500 on thomann. but obviously that means buying without trying, which is rather dubious, especially with a big concern like thomann...
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I always think it is worth waiting for the Boss Gone Mad Sale at Guitarvillage - I know I have plugged it a few times but they have some absolute bargains there and the sale is EVERY April and October.
Last time I went they had a ESP LTD EC1000 for around the £570 mark - someone got there before me as well!!
The good thing about gv is that you can also order from their website @ sale prices when the sale is on. I know it's a bit of a risk buying without trying but this place is worth travelling to if you're not too far away.
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I know I always say it, and it's what I play, but the Dean Vendetta 4.0 is cheap, very well built and plays brilliantly.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/dean_guitars_vendetta_40_tiger_eye.htm
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The vendetta is nice but its alittle to OTT with the inlay IMO great sounding spec.
The RGA121 does look damn good and they have one at the local i think. i shall try it soon.
With the SZ's ummm whats happened they arent on the nez site. Discontinued? My mate had one and it was very nice....then i P.A. unit fell on its and snapped it where the neck meets they body, even though it was in a hardcase....and he wasnt Insured Ouch. He has not bought another guitar since.
ESP certainly do look nice and they seem to offer just what im looking for. ive never played one though and the unlucky guy above said he played his friends Viper400 and the frets cut his fingers???? Strange.
But i Really like the look of the firebird. Any good firebird models out there?
Tokai maybe?
Ide certainly look on 'bay for an MIJ
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i think you'd probably have to look second hand for a MIJ tokai firebird... the new ones are MIK, I think (could be wrong, though).
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The inlay's a lot more subtle in the flesh
http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7587