Versatile guitar

Hmmm

I think the Stratocaster would be the most flexible guitar with 5 different pickup selections available. It is used in almost every genre of music. But a Telecaster and even a Les Paul can be very versatile as well.

What is more important is that you get a guitar that will suit your personal tastes. I mean, if you like Metal, then probably an Ibanez or Jackson would be a better guitar than a Fender or Gibson. If you like Country, probably a Tele, if you like Classic Rock, a Les Paul would probably be better. If you are into Jazz tones, a semi-hollow body would probably be better. So, it is very important to start knowing what style or genre of music you are most interested in.

If you ask a working pro, like say Randy Bachman*, you'll find that there is no "universal guitar". If you want a variety of sounds, you need a variety of guitars.
As Wes said, each style of music has guitars that are preferred for that style.

Here's a comparison** of the sound of some of the more common guitars.

* Warning, this link may cause GAS
** This one too!

Hmmm

I think the Stratocaster would be the most flexible guitar with 5 different pickup selections available. It is used in almost every genre of music. But a Telecaster and even a Les Paul can be very versatile as well.

I agree with Wes on this one.

Have a look at a Fat Strat. Humbucker in the bridge adds even more versatility.

Well I'm looking to buy a new guitar ( and new gear and pedals and stuff ) soon, and I was just wondering which guitar can "do it all" cause I know certain guitars are great for certain things, which guitar do you think is good for alot of things ?

Do it all? I haven't found such a thing. The one I think comes closest is a Telecaster of the classic configuration.

Well - everyone has opinions on this one, and if you ask a hundred people, you'll probably get a hundred well-thought out replies.

Me? I've played a lot of guitars over the last five years or so, since I joined GN, and I didn't know the difference between a humbucker and a hamburger back then....but of all the guitars I've played, the one that can play anything from country twang to heavy metal is the Telecaster.

Of course, you've got to find the combination of guitar/amp/pedals that works for YOU - for me, it's the Tele and the Cube amp. No pedals, but then again I don't gig - I can quite happily take a longer pause than necessary to bend down and change the amp settings in my bedroom, whereas on stage I'd want to be able to change tones instantly with a pedal....

It's not just the guitar, it's the amp as well. Others will come along and recommend Gibsons, or Ibanezes, or Squiers (pretty good guitars, IMHO) but it all depends, ultimately, on the amp you put it through, the settings you prefer, the pedals you use, as much as the guitar.

:D :D :D

Vic

it is wonderful to have a collection of guitars to handle all kinds of music.
I'm working on it. :lol:
IMO the Strat is the guitar.
more important is the player.
knowing how to play what you want matters more.
with that you can make any guitar bend to your will.

IMHO you should have

1 humbucker guitar (LP, SG, or whateve)
1 P90 guitar (I prefer the Epi Casino or Gibson ES330
1 Single coil guitar (I prefer the Srat)

Notes

+1 to Wes's post in its entirety.

The only thing I'd add is to embellish slightly by saying that the strat is a solid all-round workhorse and that, at the end of the day, if the sound isn't in your hands it isn't going to come out of your guitar, irresepective of what guitar it is*. Biffy Clyro rock hard with a strat, jazz can be played on it, as can blues, country soul, funk, and 60s/70s rock. The Les Paul can be used for jazz or for Led Zep style rock. Within some limits, pretty much any guitar can be used for any style of music; what is important is what you do on the guitar, not what guitar it is.

* Caveat: pedals can and do help in some instances, but my point is that one guitar can be used over a variety of styles iff. you can play a variety of styles. If you can't play a variety of styles, there is no guitar that will magically change that. The big difference is made by your hands, it is only the minutiae that is covered by equipment choice.

:p thanks guys and ok 3 things

1. I know there is not a guitar that can do it all, but I guess the one thats is the closest to it is the strat ( from what I've heard from u guys )

2. I could maybe have a certain guitar for a certain need, but right now, I cannot :P

3. I know its in my hands but it sounds way better to play Heavy Metal with an Ibanez with the action really close to the neck than it is to play it with *insert brand here* you know what I mean ?

that is all :P and thanks

IMHO you should have

1 humbucker guitar (LP, SG, or whateve)
1 P90 guitar (I prefer the Epi Casino or Gibson ES330
1 Single coil guitar (I prefer the Srat)

Notes

they may not sound like Fender single coils, but P90s are single coil pickups.

+1 on go with a good sounding guitar, even if its tone are distinctive (actually, especially if its tones are good and distinctive). versatile, but bland is not worth it.

+1 on the strat- it's a classic and can get you through pretty much anything you might need to play.

<...>
they may not sound like Fender single coils, but P90s are single coil pickups.

I know that, but they are different from "normal" single coils so I put them in their own category.

If what I read is correct, they tend to magnetize a larger area of the string due to the two magnetic poles on the bottom of the pickup.

I know what I hear is correct, the tone of the P90 is fatter and warmer than the normal single coil.

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I just completed my very first guitar "mod" and ended up with a very versatile guitar.

I had an ESP/LST EC-50 guitar with over-wound humbuckers. The neck was great, the body shape nice, the weight fairly light, but the over-wound humbuckers sounded good, but not for the kind of music I play. They would work for metal and extremely hard rock.

So I did the following:

Replaced the over-wound humbuckers with Guitar Fetish Mean 90s

Re wired it so that instead of having two separate volume and one tone knobs, it now has one master volume and one master tone

Installed a Varitone from Big D guitars

The Mean 90s are extremely clean, with a lot of bite when the tone is turned up. In fact, with the tone turned down about 3/4 of the way, it can sound very close to my Gibson ES-330 (not quite as much warmth, but close enough so that an untrained ear probably couldn't tell the difference)

The Varitone has 3 settings that I like (out of 5) 2 of which thin out the tone and the last one cuts a lot of highs off so by choosing it and turning the tone down I get almost what I think is called "woman tone". The thin tones do not sound like a Strat (I had hoped that they would, but really didn't expect them to) but they might infringe a bit on tele territory. I don't have that much experience with a tele so my ears could be off on that one.

Using a bit of distortion and bypassing the Varitone (position 1) I can make it sound very close to a humbucker. (I use a Zoom G1X direct box/amp simulator/fx pedal)

It was my very first attempt at modding a guitar, and I am very happy with the way it turned out.

I ended up with one very versatile guitar.

Now instead of sitting on the stand gathering dust and rust, It comes to the gig with me.

Also, ever since I sold my Kramer/Faux-Strat which I owned when I was still pretty new at guitar, I've never had a guitar with only one volume knob. I was firmly in the Gibson/Epi camp, two of each. The two vol/tone combination can give the player more flexibility of tonal colors, but it takes a bit of time to twiddle the knobs and so I tended to do that less often. Now with a master vol and tone, I end up tweaking the knobs while I'm playing so I am actually getting more tonal variety out of this guitar simply because it's easier. A good trade off as far as I'm concerned.

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OK, I don't really want to hijack the thread, so I'll get back on topic here.

Most guitars are very versatile, it depends on how you play them. Remember, the Les Paul was built as a Jazz Guitar, just listen to some of the Les Paul and Mary Ford recordings. Put it in the hands of Jimmy Page, and it becomes a monster of a hard rock guitar. Put it in someone else's hands and it will play country music.

Style of playing the guitar probably contributes more to the genre of music you can produce than the type of guitar, unless you are getting one of those guitars built for a special type of music.

My partner has a Parker Hornet (PM-10) with coil taps. It can sound very much like either a Gibson or Fender, is light weight, and has a great neck. I don't think they make the 10 anymore, but if the PM20 has coil taps, that might be a very good choice.

Insights and incites by Notes

you may know it's a SC, but most people don't, and also don't understand why they hum and etc. so let's let them know. as Gibby made P90s before Leo, I don't usually think of Fender SC as "usual", but then again, there are more of Leo's out there.

it's not just that the magnetic field is broader on a P90, it's also critical that the coil geometry (wider axially WRT string) pick up a larger aperture (window) along the string. that changes the fundamental-to-various-harmonics balance significantly.

on the versatility project: congrats on your first. did you consider pairing the one P90 with a humbucker? bet it would yield even more interesting and desirable timbres, esp with a coil tap a phase reverse switch for the 'bucker.

agree with you on generalization that most guitars are pretty versatile. it is really all about the player. that's why I usually recommend buying a guitar that has a killer tone of some sort and working from there -- not focusing too much on the jack-of-all-trades search.