Suggestion for New Guitar - Rock / Metal style

HI Guys

I have been playing for a few years now and currently own an Aria (H-S-H)

I actually have two questions

1)

i am looking to upgrade and buy a new guitar and needed your suggestion

My fav bands - creed, Pink floyd, Iron maiden, pearl jam, GnR, AC/DC, Metallica

I know a lot of different sounds ... but what would be the best guitar you would suggest ?

My budget is $750 to $1k

2) Can someone teach me about the Pickups and how they work... i have been reading a lot about them and there are so many , humbucker, single coil, Duncen , P - 90 ??

i am getting more confused what is used for what and what should i look for in my new guitar

thanks in advance.....

I've purchased and subsequently donated away many guitars to a local childrens shelter before i settled on my ideal guitar, the ibanez rg1550m.

I've had a PRS SE, two different schecters, a fender squire, and an ESP ltd ec1000 and a charvel so cal

I'll never part with the 1550 because its the one I always went back to when the others just didn't feel right to me.

Anyways its a guitar suited for metal, as that is just its heritage. I play Metallica, megadeth, emperor, oasis, lots of stuff on it. It's got stock passive humbucker-single-humbucker. I use the bridge pickup for the metal stuff and switch to the neck for leads or jazzy type chords. Rarely use the single coil for much.

You'll want humbuckers for the most part if you metal is your thing. I have no opinion on active versus passive.

What I like about it is the thinness of the neck. It just feel super smooth. The other guitars I had felt a bit like holding a bat to me.

I also got an ibanez rg 25th anniversary with dimarzio pickups. To be honest I still prefer the 1550 with its stock pickups.

The PRS, schecters, and ESP had emg active pickups. The charvel had Seymour Duncan's, and I still went back to the 1550.

I play at bedroom levels through an engl screamer, so maybe I never got to push those pickups at loud volumes, but the 1550 is a keeper for my needs.

Check out the ibanez rg25th for $900 or the rg2xxv for about $450.

I own a couple Ibanez RG570's . You can pick them up for around $300 they are HSH You can get a wide variety of tones from metal to jazz including that strat-ish tone. They are great guitar for the money. My Main Guitar is a Yamaha RGX-TT Ty Taybor Signature series. These you have to search for on Ebay as Yamaha no longer makes them. They go For about $500 to $800. This is HSS Kind of. It has a Duncan Jeff Beck in the Bridge and Duncan Vintage Rails in the middle and Neck position. Technically the Vintage rails are humbuckers but they are in a single coil size and sound like single coils...kind of. The other advantage to this guitar is that it has a coil tap on the Jeff Beck meaning you can make it a single coil with the push of a button. It goes from Les Paul to Strat that quick. Because of the pick up configuration this guitar is the most versatile in my collection. That's why its my go to. It also has some really unique features. Fret Markers are on the TOP BACK of the neck where you actually need them. You can see where you are without looking at the front of the fret board. It has a Wilkinson Tremolo with a Removable Block. So it can be blocked for dive only or free floating. Truss adjustment is at the base of the neck. EASY ACCESS!. Sperzal Locking Tuners. Inset and up turned cable jack. This great if you have a wireless system. The Guitar is light but sustains very well. Easy to play all night long. Great Metal Tones, Rockabilly, Jazz etc. It really does it all. Lastly I own 2 Shecter Hellraisers. Active EMG's. HH configurations. They are really solid guitars for the money (around $500) and for sure more metal oriented than the other guitars. Really well built and feel really solid. I'm going to purchase another one with the Sustainiac in it. That Guitar will probably end up being my main Axe for anything other then my cover band. The RGX-TT will remain king there.

Problem with a question like this, you're going to get a zillion answers. I personally am a fan of Kramer. Damn good guitars that are less expensive yet solid built. Kramer was the king of the 80s, fell out of popularity, Gibson bought the company, yadee yedee yada. Anyway, the Kramer line is slowly making a come back.

Do they put the most top notch electronics in most Kramer guitars? Some yes, some no. The higher priced ones probably... However, that takes the fun out of it for me. I love to hot rod my guitars.

I have a $700 Ibanez S that i bought brand new at Guitar Center. It was stunning looking, fell in love had to have it. It's a great guitar, however it just hangs on the wall... Why? Because I don't like the feel of the neck.

I just bought a used Kramer Pacer Classic for $250. It will get played 50:1 against that Ibanez. Sometimes a guitar just speaks to you, some don't. Your best bet is to go to as many guitar shops as possible and try as many guitars as you can.

However, my suggestion, if you want to save a little money and still have an awesome guitar, check out the Kramers.