Lets talk 80's Hair metal guitars!!!

[PPPMAT]

Hi guys - I'm all sorted for classic sounds now and the next target on my LONG list of guitars I would like (sorry NEED) is an 80's hair metal type guitar....

I'm thinking double cutaway, floyd rose type, stupid colour and mad humbucker...

I don't want to spend a fortune - few hundred quid at the most but I don't want a dog. I was thinking on the lines of Kramer/Jackson sort of thing.

This guitar is just for a bit of fun - and I don't know that much about them. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Cheers

Matt

[murraymurray]

I've got a kramer focus 1000, theyre the japanese made ones, made in the ESP factory i think. still pretty good quality with OFR and single humbucker, mine came with a dimarzio superdistortion (swapped out for painkiller :twisted: )
they dont come in metal enough colours, but pretty easy to take apart and get painted if you wanted
they seem to go pretty cheap sometimes, just takes a bit of looking.

[Twinfan]

You gotta love Hair Metal gee-tars  ;)

My Road Flare Red Ibanez RG550s (two original 87/88s and an RG20th reissue):



My Pearlescent White Kramer Baretta (from 86/87):



You might get a beat up Ibanez for £200-£300 if you're very lucky, but I've not seen a neon one on eBay for a loooooooooong time.

My black Jackson in the pic above is for sale at £275 if you can live without the bright colour  ;)

[shobet]

The model series Charvels are another option. Jap quality at not much money.

[marantz1300]

My Ibanez S540.Floyd, humbuckers, pointy headstock and coloured like a tarts handbag. Kramers can be cheap.                                                                                                                                      

[Jonny]

You just missed an RG505 neon yellow on eBay.

Dunno if anyone bought it though so it might pop up again.

[Will]

I like the look of Jake E Lee's guitars for the 80's - as far as strats go anyway


Better pic showing pickup angles

[Philly Q]

You gotta love Hair Metal gee-tars  ;)

[cough] No you haven't! [/cough]  :P



Although some are better than others, I must admit.... my favourite is the Hamer Diablo.  A few times I've almost bought one, but ultimately the Floyd put me off.

Dave's black Jackson (Jackson's Jackson!) doesn't look too bad, actually.... 

[Denim n Leather]

This is a shockingly bad display of 'hair metal' guitars, 'cept for the Kramer Baretta which is badass.

I have no idea what you consider 'hair metal'. Personally, I don't even know what that is. When you find out, let me know. PDT_008

[murraymurray]

any bands that play metal, that also have hair? so pretty much all metal bands
my bandmates got a kramer nightswan, now thats a badass guitar

[Antag]

The problem with so-called "hair metal" guitars at the price you're talking about is the Floyd.  A decent Floyd (i.e. an OFR or a Schaller) costs nearly that much on its own, so a new guitar at that price is going to have a cheap clone made of low grade soft steel rather than a decent one - the cheap Jacksons (i.e. the ones made in India) are especially bad for this.

Realistically, I would trawl ebay/shops that have used stock etc - Charvels, Kramers etc from the 80s turn up from time to time & can be had for a decent price. A guitar that would have cost >£600 when it was new in 1988 will be a far better guitar, even with the wear'n'tear, than a new one costing half that amount now...

[Antag]

One other thing - guitars made today with "Kramer" & "BC Rich" on the headstock have absolutely nothing in common with the guitars that those brands made in the mid-80s...

[Twinfan]

Yeah, I wouldn't buy new.  You need to find an older one.  The Ibanez RG505 is a good bet if you can find one at a decent price.  I forgot they brought back Desert Yellow for a little while in the late nineties.

[PPPMAT]

Good advice guys - I like the look of the Kramer Beretta and the ibanez colurs look great. Its the price of the new Kramers that worried me. I'm not knocking cheap guitars but what can you produce for £100?

Looks like its an old Kramer then.....guitarguitar have a nice Jackson in a ridiculous orange which I quite like too.

Oh and hair metal - think spandex, think backcombed big hair, possibly eye liner,think chest hair, think David lee Roth - thats Hair Metal

[Philly Q]

Oh and hair metal - think spandex, think backcombed big hair, possibly eye liner,think chest hair, think David lee Roth - thats Hair Metal

I'm not really into definitions, but when I hear the term Hair Metal I always think of bands like Danger Danger, Trixter, Brighton Rock, Slaughter.... not as glam as Poison, not quite as poppy as Warrant, none of them actually very good (in fact being "not very good" was almost a requirement!  ).