Ill be clearer, i sought alternatives to gibson esp jackson by posting here. By metal I mainly mean loaded with hot pickups stock from factory. I tried somes on my way and Im finding esp' and prs way too sober. They are built and sound awesome for anything but its way too hifi or clean sounding. I miss the gibson dirtyness. I bet I'll buy a les paul classic with 500t ceramic or another explorer. :)
as for custom built ones I rather step aside such things. Done it once with a custom explorer that ended into a metal machine but you never know the sound of those before its built and there you already paid even if you don't like it. Adding Im a gas freak so Im selling alot and custom built guitars are loosing a lot of their initial value when sold secondhand in France.
I would go custom (oh wait, I did go custom!), so clearly my advice on that front isn't up your street (although in my case, I got everything I had hoped for and more from my custom build).
BUT: whatever guitar you get, why are you talking as though the pickups can't be changed?????? Just get a good axe and whack some BKPs in it (or organise this with your luthier at the design stage if going custom, as I did).
Why bother with stock pickups when you're spending that kind of money? Madness! (Unless the stock pickups are okay, but still, these are the BKP forums, what do you *think* we're going to say??!).
I really don't want to use the phrase "more money than sense", but if you believe that changing pickups is a big deal and would rather spend a LOT of money on another guitar instead, I may be forced to use it...
:)
Roo
