New Guitar...

Well, I'am looking to buy a new guitar since I've been using the same squier strat for 8 years (ha!), don't misunderstand, I love it...but, y'know...

Was wanting to branch possibly into Ibanez guitars, RG series, JS series. Wondering if someone could give some advice.

But what I've been thinking about is, I am very partial to my Blues and my Jazz as well as some shredding n' tapping, so will buying an Ibanez, like an RG, be suitable for more styles than just the rip roaring normality? Will I get brandished as an out and out shredder?!

Who cares.... If you buy a tele are you gonna be banished to playing country all your life? If you get a PRS are you gonna be a moody, brooding, Nu metalist?

A guitar is just that...a guitar... strings and wood...
If it feels good to you and comfortable to play, then by all means use it...

Frank Gamble plays jazz/fusion and uses Ibanez guitars. Wicked, wicked player he is... I myself have a mid eightiest RG550 in nuclear yellow. It was my first guitar after my frankennitro. They are great guitars. I like the JEMs a little better because of the basswood body. Much nicer to play a few hours with one of those strapped on your shoulder...
Of course I only play my Kramers now....

Ice, take some time to look at some yamahas.

For the past years they have come up with really good guitars. I term of sustain they are far above the rest considering the price (at least mine is). I've played Ibanez and don't get the hype. Those guitars never impressed me as far as quality goes. Just like Gibson you're kinda buying the brand more than the quality.

Just don't get caught in the Trade mark game. Try some other "cheaper" guitar first. You'll be surprise.

If you're ready to choke down the money needed for an Ibanez go for it if that's what you want, I'm just thinking about your wallet ;)

I recently bought a new guitar myself. My main guitar is a Gibson SG, but I wanted a 2nd guitar for different tunings, etc. I bought an OLP Axis for $175 at Guitar Center that absolutely rocks! It plays fantastic and sounds great. I'm not trying to talk you out of Ibanez guitars, because I really like them too. But for under $400, you could buy an OLP and an EMG 81/85 set and have a guitar that smokes! If you have the cash, another great sounding guitar is the $590 Gibson Worn SG Specials. They don't play very well, but sound amazing. Happy searching!

I love my RG570 Ibanez but then I got it second hand so it was much cheaper than it would be normally. I just dig having a floydd rose and it's reasonably stable even if you give it some welly. You can always get features added to your guitar later if you want; I got an EMG 89 splitable stuck on mine along with a kill switch which I can (depending on pickup selection) use as a straight on and off or as a tone/boost switch (quiet and midsy to LOUD and trebly). I'm not so sure about the playabillity thing though, yeah I can shred manically on it but the most playable necks I've ever tried are Fender necks and you can get them with Floydd roses and 24 frets... That'd tempt me but they probably cost a bomb. I'd want to try Schecter and Patrick Eggle guitars cause they're not such famous makes. Eggle's look beautiful and any guitar that's good enough for Shaun Baxter should be good enough for anyone.Another slightly obscure make I'd want to try is Carvin, Allan Holsworth plays them and he's a phenomenal guitarist.

Carvins are really good, but they are a bit expensive. Schecter is good also and they have good prices.

Carvin is a little bit of a Hybrid type...

They make their guitars pretty similar, but you get to customize things as color, split coils, what kind of neck, what kind of headstock, what kind of finish, humbuckers or single coils (sometimes), etc.

The AE185 is the most virtuous in differencialities in tone, i would have to go with that one as my pick for best Carvin...

Unless your into Shred or something.

If you are happy with your Squire, then maybe you wanna try a mex strat. Unless you want a change. I just bought a Gibson Lp and I am loving it...costs a lot, but worth it in my opinion. Just try out lotsa guitars till you find THE ONE. I dont really like Ibanez, except the s and sa series ( and ofcourse, the Jem and Js ones ) But maybe you find a Rg that you love. look around. One word of advice...If you are not 100% sure, keep the money firmly in your wallet. Dont buy a guitar you wont love.

Originally posted by PonyOne
AE185 all the way... the tone on that thing is just plain unbelievable... I don't really like the acoustic-style bridge that much, but since that's part of what makes it sound so good you can't really naysay.

FTR, it's a tele-style neck through hollowbody with active pickups and a piezo. Really nice. It's not much of a shredster in the metal sense but for blues shredding and pretty much everything else it's great.

I thought it was cool, in the sense that you can switch it to full acoustic sounds, play open chords (bob dylan style), and when you want to solo, turn it to full electric, and you're off. It's as if you switched instruments!

I might have Alembic do my next guitar, they do a superior job (for a hefty price though), or i might have Moriarty Guitars do it...or if i choose to go full hollowbody, with a solid body size, i'd go with Artinger Guitars.

Basically, I'm going Custom.

You can't get Carvin to do 13 piece necks, "Hippie Sandwhich" woods like Cocobolo, Vermillion, etc.

But Carvin doesn't charge $10,000.

i got myself a yamaha guitar.... got it under $400 but i fell in love with it... i dont go for brands myself.. but it think that you should consider yamaha in ur search....

Lordathestrings is the famed Yamaha user on this board, and i think Benoit has one as well.

Myself?

I'm a Gibson man.

I myself have been pklaying a ibanez s540 as my main guitar for years ( plays any and all styles) and I love it. But I also play an ibanez s370 with emg's and an old style floyd rose that I built. and I also play a jackson with a reverse headstock dinki neck with emg's and a custom frankenstein guitar I built to resemble eddie's and a hot rodded hamer destroyer style . so go to guitar center or wherever and play 10 guitars and like the other player said ifn it feels good and sounds great.........get it

yeah...im a yamaha freak myself....

ibanez's are cool, I know many people who love their RGs, but I tell you, STAY AWAY FROM THE JS-100!!! Built like a $150 guitar, sold for $600 cuz it's got joe satriani's name on it. I guess the same goes for any of their basic signiture series'. I know people who have the higher model steve vai jems though, they seem to like them.

If you really think you need to get some advice from someone else, search out the best guitar tech in your area. You're going to want to get to know them anyway, but right now, you're looking for some insight into which guitars are well-made, which ones come from the factory ready-to-play, which makers show consistently excellent quality, which line-ups are best suited to any kind of music.

My favourite guitar guru is doing a set-up on my old 'Brand X', a 1984 Yamaha SBG1000 that I hot-rodded (D'Addario EXL-115W strings, lock-down bridge, DiMarzio SCHB, DiMarzio Dual Sound, phase & S/P switching), and modifying a stock 1984 Yamaha SBG (previously known as 'The Stocker') with a DiMarzio PAF Pro and a DiMarzio Tone Zone (I shall rename this axe 'The Stalker'). He's setting both of them up for D'Addario EJ21 strings (.012"). I like [u]substantial[/u] strings. :)

He always spends some time playing his client's guitars when they first come in, so he can get a feel for what that particular guitar has going for it, and to discuss details of the set-up with the customer. He was strokin' on 'Brand X' for a lot more than the ususal few minutes, and he had this distant, dreamy, kind of look on his face. (I think he likes it). :D

Anyway, when we got down to talking about about what I had done to 'Brand X', and what I wanted him to do to 'The Stalker', the subject of factory build quality came up. Now bear in mind that this guy has 24 years' experience, keeping working professionals up-and-running, as well as smoothing out some rich-folk's guitars that are worth more than most new cars. And before that he was a working professional himself - he says "It's very hard to buy a bad Ibanez or Yamaha"

I don't think Incidents Happen would enjoy hearing what this man has learned about Gibsons over the years.

And don't forget that Lordatherings(or Lordathestrings to the rest of you)is about 50 years old.Generally speaking,when a guy who bought his first guitar in 1968 talks,I tend to listen.And if what he is talking about is his tech guru(assuming he's not a dummy who hasn't picked up anything tech over all these years),then you should tend to listen.
I think.

Originally posted by PonyOne
...look at these things...
[Edited by Lordathestrings on 06-30-2003 at 10:06 PM]

I just tidied-up the vB URL codes a bit... :)

L.

I got my RG(cant recall the model)in a beautiful violin brown quilt top for 300 bucks...exellent guitar.I'm dead sick of the floyd bridge,but for what I paid cant complain."pricey" and "expensive" arnt with the Ibanez name IMO,unless your shooting for a $800/$1500 prestige or signature model.The RG's are great for pretty much any style.The different models have varied pickup configurations so theres plenty of choices.

Schecter are great guitars for the money
After I got my ESP Viper 301 I thought "For $50 more I could have got that schecter stealth Ive wanted".
In the end a little patience and that little bit more money can get you the guitar you wished you had got.

Originally posted by Lordathestrings

I don't think Incidents Happen would enjoy hearing what this man has learned about Gibsons over the years.

lol:D

We've been through this one, Lord, and I totally agree with the fact that Gibson's are overpriced, can be "Used and sold as new", and that they are not always consistant, but I can't deny that sweet sweet tone.

Around my 18th birthday, I will be getting a custom guitar ($6000, or so, with everything to my specs), but until then, I want a guitar that I love the tone on, and a 2nd axe when I get my custom (not gibson custom- an actual custom guitar, i'm probably going with http://www.moriartyguitars.com , Matt knows what he's doing... young guy, moved from some place to New York City, getting his shop open again). I'm not sure if his site is up yet.

I have an uncanny ability to save money, and my plan is to have an awesome recording studio in my bedroom by the age of 17, custom guitar by 18 (or 18.5, by the time i graduate).

The price of the recording studio should be around $3000-$4000 or so; It will be computer interfaced; Then, i'll buy a nice studio vocal mic ($600-$700); I haven't decided if i want a direct connection with my computer from amp (bypass mic's for guitar), or not, depends on how well it can handle it...The majority of direct connections sound too thin and tinny, and alot of them don't process effects.

Either way, I'm prepared to take the bite out of my wallet.