I want to buy a new guitar

[CAlexanderParra]

.............. I hate you........... great guitar, I'm sporting a S series 520EX with a custom pickup one of my friends made.

Haha, they're not too hard to find around for cheap on ebay, plus those Sevenstring.org assholes have them all over the guitars for sale section most days.

S series is one of my favorite models though and I still don't own one yet but they are slick as hell and the ZR trems are beast.

[Focalor]

but I know next to nothing about gear.

Right now, I'm playing an old Kramer that I picked up at a garage sale years ago for like $40. Nothing special but it plays nicely and the Floyd Rose is probably worth that much by itself. Anyway, I've gotten bored of it and sick of dealing with a Floyd Rose. Looking into maybe one of the Epiphone SGs or even an Explorer. But truthfully, I have no clue what I'm doing in looking for a new axe.

Recommendations?

If you don't use a tremolo bridge that much, DO NOT GET A GUITAR WITH ONE. It isn't really necessary anymore. They're a pain in the ass to tune sometimes. The double locking floyd rose style are total piece of shit in my opinion. Locking the strings down at the nut on the headstock often deadens the shit out of the sound of the strings even when they are brand spanking new. A fixed bridge guitar is always way easier to initially tune up and keep in tune. Floyd Rose bridges float, and when you tune one string up, you end up having to tune the other ones up as well to compensate for the increased pressure. Just tedious and time consuming bullshit that isn't worth it unless you really plan on using the bar for insane dives.

A decent cheaper guitar is the Ibanez RG321. Mahogany body, fixed bridge, string thru body, 2 hum setup with 5-way blade switch selector. I think they retail around 300 bucks.

http://www.ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-RG321MH

[slut rag]

[quote="Focalor"][quote="Brian"]but I know next to nothing about gear.

Right now, I'm playing an old Kramer that I picked up at a garage sale years ago for like $40. Nothing special but it plays nicely and the Floyd Rose is probably worth that much by itself. Anyway, I've gotten bored of it and sick of dealing with a Floyd Rose. Looking into maybe one of the Epiphone SGs or even an Explorer. But truthfully, I have no clue what I'm doing in looking for a new axe.

Recommendations?[/quote]

If you don't use a tremolo bridge that much, DO NOT GET A GUITAR WITH ONE. It isn't really necessary anymore. They're a pain in the ass to tune sometimes. The double locking floyd rose style are total piece of shit in my opinion. Locking the strings down at the nut on the headstock often deadens the shit out of the sound of the strings even when they are brand spanking new. A fixed bridge guitar is always way easier to initially tune up and keep in tune. Floyd Rose bridges float, and when you tune one string up, you end up having to tune the other ones up as well to compensate for the increased pressure. Just tedious and time consuming bullshit that isn't worth it unless you really plan on using the bar for insane dives.

A decent cheaper guitar is the Ibanez RG321. Mahogany body, fixed bridge, string thru body, 2 hum setup with 5-way blade switch selector. I think they retail around 300 bucks.

[url]http://www.ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-RG321MH[/url][/quote]

haha, i have a floyd rose and pretty much hate it. i never lock it in tune anymore. also, i paid a luthier $25 last night to put new strings on it....because im lazy and want it done right for a recording session coming up soon. i shouldn't be so damn lazy and waste my money like that though. i really just need a new guitar badly.

[Focalor]

Shit, I wish I could pay someone to string and tune mine. I don't use the nut locks anymore either. A few of the allen screws that lock the strings into the bridge are rounded out on the insides so I have to use needlenose pliers and my masturbatory kung-fu grip to wrench those fuckers down tight. Takes a while to get it in tune. Then I gotta play on em about 20 or 30 minutes while pausing to re-tune them every so often to get them stretched out and settled in to where I can start recording without the damn thing going 5 miles out of tune in the middle of a track.

I think for my next project, I'm gonna use my old shitty BC Rich Mockingbird with flatwound strings for as much as I can get away with.

[slut rag]

[quote="Focalor"]Shit, I wish I could pay someone to string and tune mine. I don't use the nut locks anymore either. A few of the allen screws that lock the strings into the bridge are rounded out on the insides so I have to use needlenose pliers and my masturbatory kung-fu grip to wrench those fuckers down tight. Takes a while to get it in tune. Then I gotta play on em about 20 or 30 minutes while pausing to re-tune them every so often to get them stretched out and settled in to where I can start recording without the damn thing going 5 miles out of tune in the middle of a track.

I think for my next project, I'm gonna use my old shitty BC Rich Mockingbird with flatwound strings for as much as I can get away with.[/quote]

i had the same issue with the rounded out allen screws, so i had them replaced. i also had a lot of rust on the saddlebacks (think thats the right term, the pieces at the bottom of the guitar that holds the blocks/strings in on the floyd rose), so i had to pay the same guy a couple of years ago to replace them. im practicing tonight so ill have to fuck with the strings more than i'd like to get them to stay in tune. we start recording saturday, hopefully they'll be alright by then.

[Strange]

I'm totally with you guys on the floating trem hate.

I've owned a couple guitars with Floyds over the years and always wind up selling them because I hate Floyds. That said, if you hate Floyds but still want the option of whammy-bar madness, the Kahler cam-system trems are a lot more stable when playing and maintain a constant saddle height. But they're not as dependable for coming back into tune if you mash the bar all the way down to the body and bring it back from slack-town.

So yeah, I'm pretty much good with stop-tails and string-thrus from here on out.

[badcarburetor]

If you’re looking for shredder style guitars (as opposed to more rock n’ roll guitars like traditional Gibsons and Fenders) it can be hard to get away from tremolos. Personally, I have no use for trems, but still have a soft spot for the overall feel of Jacksons and have owned a bunch of guitars with Kahlers and Floyds. I just get my luthier to insert some wood blocks behind the trem that hold it in place. You can continue to use the fine tuners or take the locks off the nut. Done properly, it’s just like playing a fixed bridge guitar. I like this trend of more shredder style guitars coming with fixed bridges.


Here’s a guitar that I really dig. http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/ ... 2803059845
Yeah, I think Scott Ian is as much of a douchebag as the next person, but this guitar is exactly what I would design for myself (except for possibly the larger body and the stupid inlays) with a fixed bridge, single rear pickup and a classic coffinburst paint job. There’s also a big brother version with two humbuckers and a tremolo. I’m dying to play one. Anyone seen one in a store?

[slut rag]

[quote="badcarburetor"]If you’re looking for shredder style guitars (as opposed to more rock n’ roll guitars like traditional Gibsons and Fenders) it can be hard to get away from tremolos. Personally, I have no use for trems, but still have a soft spot for the overall feel of Jacksons and have owned a bunch of guitars with Kahlers and Floyds. I just get my luthier to insert some wood blocks behind the trem that hold it in place. You can continue to use the fine tuners or take the locks off the nut. Done properly, it’s just like playing a fixed bridge guitar. I like this trend of more shredder style guitars coming with fixed bridges.


Here’s a guitar that I really dig. http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/ ... 2803059845
Yeah, I think Scott Ian is as much of a douchebag as the next person, but this guitar is exactly what I would design for myself (except for possibly the larger body and the stupid inlays) with a fixed bridge, single rear pickup and a classic coffinburst paint job. There’s also a big brother version with two humbuckers and a tremolo. I’m dying to play one. Anyone seen one in a store?[/quote]

holy shit that guitar costs $ 2,666.65. THAT IS INSANE! one knob and one set of pickups?....weird.

[Strange]

If you’re looking for shredder style guitars (as opposed to more rock n’ roll guitars like traditional Gibsons and Fenders) it can be hard to get away from tremolos. Personally, I have no use for trems, but still have a soft spot for the overall feel of Jacksons and have owned a bunch of guitars with Kahlers and Floyds. I just get my luthier to insert some wood blocks behind the trem that hold it in place. You can continue to use the fine tuners or take the locks off the nut. Done properly, it’s just like playing a fixed bridge guitar. I like this trend of more shredder style guitars coming with fixed bridges.


Here’s a guitar that I really dig. http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/ ... 2803059845
Yeah, I think Scott Ian is as much of a douchebag as the next person, but this guitar is exactly what I would design for myself (except for possibly the larger body and the stupid inlays) with a fixed bridge, single rear pickup and a classic coffinburst paint job. There’s also a big brother version with two humbuckers and a tremolo. I’m dying to play one. Anyone seen one in a store?

If I had kept either of my Floyded guitars, I definitely would have blocked the trem. And I do like having the fine tuners, but I've gotten really used to the stop bar on my LTD and am quite happy with that.

Jackson seems to be doing a lot more String thru stuff, which is fine by me. I love the Kevin Bond sig offset V. It's actually got a stoptail with fine tuners.



I'd probably go without the pentagram graphic on the body, but the inlays are pretty cool.

[badcarburetor]

holy shit that guitar costs $ 2,666.65. THAT IS INSANE! one knob and one set of pickups?....weird.

Totally ridiculous.


I still want to play it.

[badcarburetor]

If you’re looking for shredder style guitars (as opposed to more rock n’ roll guitars like traditional Gibsons and Fenders) it can be hard to get away from tremolos. Personally, I have no use for trems, but still have a soft spot for the overall feel of Jacksons and have owned a bunch of guitars with Kahlers and Floyds. I just get my luthier to insert some wood blocks behind the trem that hold it in place. You can continue to use the fine tuners or take the locks off the nut. Done properly, it’s just like playing a fixed bridge guitar. I like this trend of more shredder style guitars coming with fixed bridges.


Here’s a guitar that I really dig. http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/ ... 2803059845
Yeah, I think Scott Ian is as much of a douchebag as the next person, but this guitar is exactly what I would design for myself (except for possibly the larger body and the stupid inlays) with a fixed bridge, single rear pickup and a classic coffinburst paint job. There’s also a big brother version with two humbuckers and a tremolo. I’m dying to play one. Anyone seen one in a store?

If I had kept either of my Floyded guitars, I definitely would have blocked the trem. And I do like having the fine tuners, but I've gotten really used to the stop bar on my LTD and am quite happy with that.

Jackson seems to be doing a lot more String thru stuff, which is fine by me. I love the Kevin Bond sig offset V. It's actually got a stoptail with fine tuners.



I'd probably go without the pentagram graphic on the body, but the inlays are pretty cool.

It's a killer guitar. I had one that had red accents and no pentagram logo on the body. I think it was the first version. SUPER light and easy as shit to play. Sounded amazing. I think the pickups are some kind of Tony Iommi signature. I hated selling it, but sometimes ya need cash more than another axe.

[Strange]

^Nice! and yeah, I always seem to need cash more than I need another guitar. haha

Any bites on your Gibby yet?

[Strange]

I also just noticed something else I love about that Bond sig.

The one single volume control knob is WAY the fuck out of the way!

[Focalor]

Eh, volume knobs are overrated anyway.

If you're gonna pay that much money for a guitar, chances are you can probably afford a good volume pedal. We're talkin' metal guitars here. The only two volume settings you really need are "full-blast" and "off".

Speaking of hatred for floating tremolo systems...

I hate that you can't play two strings while bending one of them up and have the non-bent string stay in tune. I forget what the hell that kind of bend is called, but it's used a good bit in blues style stuff.

[badcarburetor]

Eh, volume knobs are overrated anyway.

Kill switches are go.


I'm not big on pedals. I try to avoid anything more than a tuner pedal. I recently switched over to the Korg Pitch Black tuner and LOVE it. Build really solid and simple as fuck to use.

The KB sig isn't real expensive, at least the model I had wasn't. I picked my up used for about five bills, if memory serves. Still kicking myself over selling it...

No luck on selling the Explorer, yet. No one has any spare cash these days. I thought it would be pretty easy to flip a badass 83 with Pearly Gates, but apparently not. I'll try to hold out until xmas. Things tend to sell for better prices then.