Yes! 1500 quid to spend!

[hhcave]

Soooo, i have a Gibson Les Paul Custom Ebony and a Carvin DC135...

I play ALOT of different stuff - mostly Melodic Death Metal (In Flames, Lamb Of God), Instrumental rock (Satriani, Neil Zaza, Petrucci) and also Jazz Fusion (Shawn Lane, Al Di Meola, Wayne Krantz etc.)

Sooo, i use the les paul for the downtuned, heavy stuff - the metal and the carvin for the solo-y, instrumental stuff...

I would quitelik a guitar which can handle jazz fusion really well and also to be able to cope with the fast instrumental rock stuff - what do you recommend (i can save to aout 2000 pounds if there is a guitar really worth saving for)?

I've been looking at Suhr guitars, Tom Anderson and Blackmachine guitars (i know, they are made for metal!)


What do you guys think?

[Henk]

I have two jazzers, a MIJ late 70's Wasburn HB35 (335 copy) and a 125T gibson thinline with doggy ear. The gibson is more a blues guitar but anyway.

If your not into semi's i cant imagine how two improve on your guitars unless its an extra one like it, say a gibson standard or classic(an early 90's one then) with mules. Mules can easily do fusion and Jazz(unless its the archtop kind of jazz obviously).

I dont know which pickups are in you guitars now, or what amp you use, maybe its more rewarding to invest in those a bit?

[MDV]

If youre spending that amount of money you HAVE TO get a custom built guitar.

Have to.

You'd be a moron to get some overpriced 'name' factory guitar when you can have one handmade with perfect quality to your specs.

So, my answer to 'what guitar' is 'talk out the specs with the luthier before he builds it'.

[noodleplugerine]

I would say something like a Charvel San Dimas, or a Suhr/PRS/Tom Anderson, etc.

Also check out ESP Horizons, and perhaps some of the high end Lag Arkane series?

Other than that, get a custom built in the style of the above.

That's what I'd do for Fusion.

Look at Shawn Lane's charvel 750, that's the sort of thing.

[Dakine]

or buy my Limited Edition 2005 Petrucci with Piezo, MINT WITH set of BKP Painkillers AS well as orig. pups for;

1,000 quid and get drunk with your savings :)

[gorath23]

If I had that kind of money to spend I'd buy a Caparison, not sure if thats what you had in mind though. Are you looking for a more traditional jazz type guitar or a more modern fusion/rock type thing? If its the latter, definitely a Capa and then throw in a couple of BKP's.

[hhcave]

mm yeah well my carvin DC is basicaly a caparison dellinger   8)  so i think i may go for the Suhr custom! But that will cost up to 2 grand so im gonna have to say more but im thinking - Koa body and exotic woods for the neck! Nah, jokes but any suhr custom is going to cost a bomb!

[Stevepage]

What about a Valley Arts ? Coda Music have some for £799 and they look pretty sweet.

[Nolly]

Have you considered Vigier guitars? The playability and build quality is second to none.
Doug at Blackmachine makes incredibile instruments (I have my own on the way in July), but as you say, they are mainly designed with metal in mind. Being a custom luthier I'm sure he could make you a guitar that will suit your needs. Standard pricing for the B2s has gone up to over £2000 though.

[keith]

If I had that amount I would have no hesitation in going to Feline.
cheers
keith

[noodleplugerine]

Why the hell didn't I say Vigier Excalibur..

Or a Caparison Horus, both superb.

[Scotty477]

I know virtually nothing about Vigier but this looks bloody fantastic ....

[Nolly]

I really can't say enough good things about Vigier. You have to play one in order to appreciate the ridiculous level of craftsmanship.
The setup out of the box is amazing. Probably the best playing guitar I have held in my hands (apart from Blackmachines).
Not to mention that Patrice Vigier is an extremely modest and nice guy.

[Stevepage]

Vigier are in one word INCREDIBLE.

If I could afford one I'd get one. I remember playing the Excalibur Indus years ago and fell in love with it. I was only 15 at the time so I couldn't afford it (even though the shop was selling it for £250...wtf?) but I've always wanted one.

Machinehead in Hitchin are getting some Vigiers in stock next month.

[dave_mc]

If youre spending that amount of money you HAVE TO get a custom built guitar.

Have to.

You'd be a moron to get some overpriced 'name' factory guitar when you can have one handmade with perfect quality to your specs.

So, my answer to 'what guitar' is 'talk out the specs with the luthier before he builds it'.

I agree, mark.

the only guitar I've tried that got close to my legra was a tyler at £2700. Which was over £1000 more expensive, for a much-more-cheaply constructed (bolt-on versus neck-thru) guitar which wasn't entirely to my spec. EDIT: oh and a nik huber at like over £3000. set-neck, again a bit cheaper than neck-thru, i think. :)

Or a Caparison Horus, both superb.

i'd definitely look into getting a japanese shop to ship me a caparison, were i interested... the pound has fallen a bit in the last month, but you're still talking about half the price. they're very nice guitars for japanese prices... for UK prices, not so much.