Looking for a great guitar $500-1200

Hi guys,

can anyone reccommend to me some great guitars. Im looking for a professional level one that stays in tune and is in between $500-1200 US (no floyd roses, I change my tuning heaps). Some schecters look good but half of them seem to get terrible reviews.
And no brand predjudice guys, if somethings good whether it be fender or gibson reccommend it.Thanks

well, it would help if you told us what kind of sound you'd be looking for. like what style of music.

but, I'm still going to recommend a gibson sg special faded. nice guitar, stays in tune for me, even when I put it in it's case, throw it in my trunk, drive like a maniac over this one road with a bunch of speedbumps, then take it out of the trunk, carry it upstairs, open the case, and it's still in perfect tune.

you may want a new bridge pickup in it though, I haven't changed my bridge pickup yet, so I can't recommend one, but I hear good things of the dimarzio tone zone.

guitar - $690
pickup - $60
____________
Total - $750

Thanks. Im looking for a kind of kyuss/black sabbath sound (josh homme before qotsa), kind of mellow yet heavy. I hope that helps.

Originally Posted by: catboyThanks. Im looking for a kind of kyuss/black sabbath sound (josh homme before qotsa), kind of mellow yet heavy. I hope that helps.

You could probably go with 6strngs on the SG. That is what Tony Iommi rocks.

I can recommend you one for metal, but not from experience. Merely based on lots of research. The ESP MH-400. only $629. All the goods. Solid Mahogany w/ flame maple top. Emg 81-85. Neck thru. 24 xj frets. Grover tuners. Licensed floyd rose ( the only flaw ) and killer looks. Of course you can always go with a gibson Les Paul, very versatile. Standards starting at $1000.

www.parkerguitars.com


look around....you could probably get a nitefly or one of the p-series for within your price range and is some of the best, most advanced guitars.

get a nice baritone

Originally Posted by: catboyThanks. Im looking for a kind of kyuss/black sabbath sound (josh homme before qotsa), kind of mellow yet heavy. I hope that helps.

ok... now I'm definately recommending the sg!

Thanks. Yeah ive played a sg in the store and loved the sound. Its just theres so much bad press about its life expectancy and how fragile the neck is. Does the sg special sound the same and is it a bit more durable with a bolt on neck? The other option is a lp studio, im guessing it sounds pretty similar to the sg.

Both would be great. I have a Gibson LP myself. If you have a guitar store near you go play all the Axes you can afford and take the one which is the best fit for you home. It might not even be any that have been posted here.

Originally Posted by: catboyThanks. Yeah ive played a sg in the store and loved the sound. Its just theres so much bad press about its life expectancy and how fragile the neck is. Does the sg special sound the same and is it a bit more durable with a bolt on neck? The other option is a lp studio, im guessing it sounds pretty similar to the sg.

the way I see it is, the special is just a stripped down version of the standard. much the same way a lp studio is a stripped down version of the standard. it's just got less cosmetics, but the same sound. the paint job used is much cheaper, and thinner, thus lowering the price of the guitar ALOT! but it's still the same guitar. same kind of wood used, same neck pickup, the bridge pickup used is a bit different, and in fact I don't like the bridge pickup on the special, but this isn't too expensive of a fix.

as for it being fragile. mine hasn't broken on me, or even come close. I think that for normal wear and tear, it can withstand as well as any guitar. but if you were to lean it against an amp or something, and it got knocked over, it wouldn't withstand as well as another guitar might. but mine hasn't broken. as long as you buy a hardshell case (the special only comes with a gig bag) for transporting it, and you put it on a guitar stand when not in use, then it will be just fine! I gig with mine, and it has held up perfectly for me. and in the rare circumstance that the neck does become unglued, I'm sure it wouldn't be too expensive to take it to a luthier for a reglue. but in all honesty, unless you are throwing the guitar across the stage, then it will hold up fine.

Why thank you very much. Sg it is. Im no maniac and i can learn to be careful so screw the fragility issue. In the end it for most of us it comes down to versatility and the sg seems to pump out a pretty wide variety of sounds. Thanks all and have a happy Christmas/hanukkah/kwanza/Divali and a solemn and respectful Ramadan.

Well since your max is 1200, IMO a nice amount of money to spend on a killer guitar, you may want to go to a local privatly guitar store and avoid the Guitar Center's and Music123's...

The reason im saying this is cause if you go a local music store, they will offer many high, high qualitie guitars (hand build) that will cost about around your thousand dollar buget. And another thing, with a big budget like that, you may want to avoid big name guitars and settle for a guitar company run by a family owned business that wont rip you off. Also, if you go to a privately owned store you have a chance to bargin the price a bit and get some freebies like a gig bag and stuff.

Also one last thing, you can get alot of benefits from a privatly owned store such as discounts on your second purchase since your already a customer, and you can order custom guitars off your vender.

Family owned guitar stores will offer you a much exculive range (higher end) of guitar companies you havent heard of, but they will blow you mind away.

IMO, I think a reason celebrites play big name guitars are cause of endorsment deals... but I dont know much about the industry... :confused:
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my pennys

Im sure youre right. But I live in a misty land where guitars are very expensive because of import prices and huge price increases from the music shops. If I imported a guitar from music 123 it would end up being cheaper even after packaging and customs etc. Thanks for the advice though.

its what you want. I mean, you could use a tele or like a grestch hollow body for metal. but yes, i would reccomend the sg, i like them more than an lp