I currently have a MIM Fender Fat Strat, and I'm looking to buy a new guitar as my nice, "keeper" guitar. I'm looking to spend around $700, although I can push that up to around $1K if needed.
I like playing all kinds of music, mostly rock, alternative, and a bit of punk and metal. I also have pretty short fingers, so would prefer a thinner neck (no Les Paul bat necks :wink: ) Also, I would rather not have a tremolo, as I don't want to deal with the hassles of tuning and re-stringing one.
I've done a bunch of research, and the only guitars that seem to fit the bill for me are: MIA Fender Strat, Gibson SG, or Schecter C-1 Elite. Any other suggestions of guitars to look at? Of the three listed above, any pros/cons for each?
It seems like some of the other large/popular guitar companies like Ibanez, ESP, or Jackson are all more geared towards metal-players. Is this true?
Thanks for any help!
Have you thought about G&L, if your not familiar it's the company Leo Fender started whenm his fenders started being crap. All of their guitars are first rate. You'll not be sorry.
Chuck Norris invented Kentucky Fried Chicken's famous secret recipe, with eleven herbs and spices. But nobody ever mentions the twelfth ingredient: Fear!
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I currently have a MIM Fender Fat Strat, and I'm looking to buy a new guitar as my nice, "keeper" guitar. I'm looking to spend around $700, although I can push that up to around $1K if needed.
You might want to try a few G&L guitars: http://www.glguitars.com/
If their regular line is more than you want to pay, the Tribute series they offer is also quite nice.
I'm the proud owner of an Invader XL hardtail and an ASAT Classic, both from the Tribute series.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
Have you thought about G&L, if your not familiar it's the company Leo Fender started whenm his fenders started being crap. All of their guitars are first rate. You'll not be sorry.
:lol:
Great minds think alike. We posted the same recommendation at the same time!
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
I have a Fender Strat and I love it, but it does have a tremolo bar. It will definitely cover the rock & alternative (will also handle blues & country), but not geared for punk & metal, IMO.
I have owned a Gibson SG, just sold it to buy a Gibson LP Standard. You say you don't like thick necks? Well, the SG has a pretty thick neck! But, it will cover all of the music you mentioned, and sounds great.
Can't say much about the Schecter - never played one. They seem to be well liked, but never had the urge to try one.
The other brands you mentioned, for the most part, are marketed to and built for hard rock/metal players.
i've never liked the sound of sg's. they sound sour, like the neck pickup of some lp's.
i've been thinking about a prs se for a couple years now, but i haven't needed a new electric until recently. they sell for about 500 bucks. i may try out a higher end prs. if i find an old les paul in a pawn shop that sounds like a thunderstorm, i might go with that.
i don't know what the problem is with lp's. i don't have big hands, and they've always felt ok to me. they have a shorter scale length than strats, too.
Wow, I'd never heard of G&L guitars...they're pretty sweet lookin'! I've been lookin' into buying a second "keeper" also, so I know how this goes.
Have you looked into building a custom yet? Places like http://www.warmoth.com/ and http://www.stewmac.com/ make it very easy to put together your own instrumment, for pretty low prices! You could do it for $700 easy if you're looking for a strat or tele, or even LP and less common instrumments like Jaguars if you go with Warmoth, as they have a huge selection of body shapes and neck sizes. Check out StewMacs pre-finished bodies. Getting one of those would make it laughably easy to put together.
I may have just done something terrible puttin' you onto these sites. I know I lose sleep knowing about them...
Yea i just started building my Warmoth SG and its pretty cool, and is coming out really good for around $800.
I too am blessed with short fingers, but I find my LP more comfortable than my MIM.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
