what next?

[Dave Sloven]

Due to the woods, I imagine the SG would be a bit closer sonically to my Les Paul.

While SGs are mahogany they really don't sound like any other mahogany guitar (even an ESP Viper) due the the specifics of their construction, especially the thinness of the body and the type of neck joint.  SGs are generally more resonant, brighter, and more mids-focused.  A humbucker with a decent amount of bottom end helps a lot, as does a bit of a mids scoop.  For some reason though all P-90s seem to work really well in SGs.  I'm very happy with the Stockholm, Cold Sweat, and Warpig pickups in my SGs

[Slartibartfarst42]

Well, it looks like it's decision time as I have a buyer for my PRS. The SG I'm looking at is a 60's Tribute so am I being silly changing the PRS for this or is it genuinely a really good guitar?

[JacksonRR]

Haven't seen any recent bad reviews on the Strattish Chapman ML-1 and in trans-black... looks pretty nice... Mahogany body and a maple neck with a 25.5" scale... not too shabby, shreddy or metally....

[Slartibartfarst42]

I've pretty much decided that if I'm going to change, it will be for the SG. Looking at it more closely, it seems that for much the same cost I have the choice between a 2013 60's Tribute and a 2014 Special. The Special is actually about £60 cheaper but doesn't have the Min-Etune system on it, though that's not a huge deal as my LP doesn't have it either. Other than that, I'm unsure what the difference is between them. Does one model stand out as better than the other?

[Dave Sloven]

The 2013s don't have that horrible 12th fret marker that the 2014s have.

No Min-Etune I would consider that a plus.  The '60s Tribute has it? Most of them don't

Compare the necks.  The '60s Tribute has the '60s slim taper D-profile neck (my favourite).  Not sure what the Special has, sometimes they have the fatter 'rounded' profile or even the '50s baseball bat type.  Fatter necks also tend to be heavier.  It looks like the 2014 Special has the same neck profile as a 2013 '60s Tribute.

Maybe the '60 Tribute has trapezoid inlays?  Specials generally have dots.  The 2014 Special has a 24 fret neck


http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-60s-Tribute.aspx (I like Vintage Sunburst)

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2014/SG-Special.aspx

Would depend on the finish too.  I really only like those funny pickup rings on the 2014 Special with Desert Burst or Fireburst

Pickups on the Special are 490T/490R (not a fan myself).  It has the Kluson tuners, which are now made by TonePros and are quite nice.

Pickups on the '60s Tribute are Burstbuckers.  Standard tuners are Grover rotomatics, but I think you are saying this one has the robots.

All things considered I would probably go for the 2013.

My fave of the Tributes is the 2013 '70s though.  Slightly fatter neck with a volute and the Dirty Fingers pickups.  Although I tend to go for the '60s neck the '70s one is thin enough for me and the whole guitar just feels nice.

People have also said that the Tribute series have a nice low action and the neck angle is less steep than some older ones

[Slartibartfarst42]

Right, I've played both the 60's Tribute and the 2014 Special and while they were both good guitars, I really didn't find they inspired me. Frankly, my PRS is better. I was going to just keep the PRS but then I did find a couple of guitars that interested me. One is an EVH Wolfgang Special and the other is a Sterling JP100D. The EVH played really well and felt like a quality instrument but the Sterling wasn't in stock and nobdy around me has them. Does anybody know anything about these guitars and which would you say is better?

[Dave Sloven]

Not really but the EVH Wolfgang is the same design as the old Peavey Wolfgang, isn't it?

I would expect it to be darker than an SG.

A maple fretboard one might be tempting.

Also, wang or no wang?  Personally I'd go for wang, just because at present I don't have a wang.

[Telerocker]

Your experience with the cheaper Gibsons confirmed my idea about them.
The Sterling is a decent guitar for sure, so is the Yamaha Pacifica 611VFM. In that pricerange you've had a lot of choice like Ibanez's, Jacksons, ESP Ltd, Fender Lonestar, Guild Polara, Reverend, Fret-King Eclat, PRS SE, EVH, Eastwood, Hagstrom Swede etc.
I just wouldn't rush things as you didn't make up your mind  what you really want and need.

[Slartibartfarst42]

My Les Paul Studio is a 'cheaper' Gibson and it's incredible for the money. It feels like a quality guitar in a way that the SG options just didn't. I was very disappointed in them for sure. I was all set to just keep the PRS until I tried the Wolfgang but that one really did speak to me. It's a beautiful guitar. All except one of the Wolfgang Specials have the maple fretboard. The odd one out is the option of Stealth Black, which has an ebony board. I think I'd get a maple board for sure and I'd also get one with the whammy, just because I don't have that on my Les Paul. It's a shame the whammy will only move downwards but I don't suppose that's the end of the world and despite the locking trem, it doesn't look an obviously 'shredders' guitar, which appeals to me as I'm in no way a shredder.

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/evh_wolfgang_special_maple_fingerboard_burnt_cherry_burst.asp

Despite that, the Sterling is still there as an option but unfortunately, so far I've come across nobody who can tell me what it's actually like in comparison to the Wolfgang.

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/sterling_by_music_man_jp100d_john_petrucci_ruby_red_burst.asp

[Alex]

Cheaper Gibson can be hit and miss, there's probably less time that goes into selecting the woods and more variance.

[Telerocker]

Cheaper Gibson can be hit and miss, there's probably less time that goes into selecting the woods and more variance.

+1. I think the best thing to do when it comes to a good price-quality ratio is to look for a nineties Studio.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think I have this down to two possibilities. The First one is the EVH Wolfgang Special:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/evh_wolfgang_special_bch_2.htm

I've played this guitar and I really liked it. It was comfortable to play, felt very well put together and the pickups were great so I could sell the excellent pups I had installed in my PRS. It did, however, strike me that it is essentially a Mexican Fender with a different name on it and as a result I started to look at this:

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products ... 10-552.asp

I could easily change the scratchplate on this to turn it into an HSH configuration and as such, use the pups I had in the PRS. I could also have a P90 pickup made that is Strat-sized that I could fit into the middle position. Add coil splits and all of a sudden it seems like a very versatile guitar indeed. Unfortunately, this one is only by special order but I assume it feels and plays much like any other Strat.

The EVH would involve no messing around, has an extra fret and the compound radius neck; all of which appeals. Conversely, the Fender would end up more versatile and I'm wondering if it might hold its value a bit better, simply because it's a Fender and can be easily made to be all things to all men.

[Dave Sloven]

the second link didn't work

personally though I would go with the Wolfgang.  Maple fretboard, Floyd, good pickups, sounds like it could be a lot of fun.

They have a lot of fans out there on the net from what I can tell, as did the old USA made Peavey version

[Slartibartfarst42]

Ah, sorry about that. The link is supposed to take you to a Fender Standard Strat Plus Top with a Floyd Trem. It's in Aged Cherry Burst with a maple fretboard so quite the looker. Stock, it's HSS but I'd change it to HSH if I got that one. I can get it for £82 less that the EVH but in reality, that difference would shrink because I'd have to use the pickups I took out of the PRS rather than sell them and I'd need to change the scratchplate. I'm sure it would end up very versatile but it also seems like a lot of hassle when the EVH is fine just the way it comes.

On a side note, would I be correct in thinking I couldn't sell my pickups on this forum because they're not BKP? I can't recall if I've ever seen other pickups being put up for sale here before and I don't want to do something wrong.

[PK]

I'd say, get something totally different.
Seems like you're quite fond of your LP, so whatever you end up getting, you'll always compare it to that............
So my 2 cents would be: Get a Tele, I know, they are ugly as !#$%^@#!# but are quite useful and a lot of fun.