Guitarists, need opinions on new guitar

[KingCrimson]

My brother is in the market for his second guitar and wants something nice.

Here are the demands

Floyd Rose
GOOD pickups
1000$ max
going to be playing metal mainly


Already he has been looking at the Mockingbird st, and some Jacksons.


Any other recommendations?

[dj150888]

Forget the Floyd rose, horrible things

In all seriousness, make sure its a genuine one and not one of the "Licensed by" ones, they're absolutely horrible things.

I prefer a Les Paul standard with a fixed bridge myself for metal in all its forms.

[jojobean39]

I owned an Ibanez 540SLTD. You can find them used for around $500. They are awesome guitars. It took a beating. I can send you some audio clips if you like.



However, for metal, I would recommend a Parker Fly. Those things have the fastest necks ever. They weigh just a tad over 4 lbs. You can have them set up as a floating tremelo too, if you like.





BTW... on both guitars I had them set up as dive only tremelos. I hated the floating crap. Not my taste personally. The only floating bridge I ever liked was a Kahler I had on my Zion strat. Far superior to the FR.

[whoatherechunk]

hmmm......ditch the floyd rose.

[jmattbassplaya]

Go Ibanez. They are arguably the best guitars on the market as far as what you get for the price you pay.

My friend actually picked up a used JEM for $500. Look used and you`ll definantly get something amazing for a very low price.

[jojobean39]

^^^^

I definitely recommend getting a made in Japan Ibanez, not a Korean one.

[KingCrimson]

kk forget about the "forget about floyd rose" Solid bridges are fine but lets just say my bro is a HUGE pantera fan and if ever needed something without one my dad has a very nice PRS style fixed bridge guitar that we use a lot.

Let me ask as well why the big amount of hate on these things? its not like he will be changing tunings all the time. I know its a huge hastle to change strings but hey thats what hes got me for:P i love tinkering around stuff like this.

[Yngwie 4String]

Floyd Rose Pick Ups are a Bitch. THey are expensive, difficult to maintain, and break easily. Never ever Use them. EVER!!

For Metal I reccomend Dean Guitars, or Jackson's. You cant really go wrong with any model of either brand.


I read that your a Pantera Fan, Dimebag used Dean Guitars.

Chuck Shuldiner Used Jacksons.

[KingCrimson]

Originally Posted by Yngwie 4String

Floyd Rose Pick Ups are a Bitch. THey are expensive, difficult to maintain, and break easily. Never ever Use them. EVER!!

For Metal I reccomend Dean Guitars, or Jackson's. You cant really go wrong with any model of either brand.


I read that your a Pantera Fan, Dimebag used Dean Guitars.

Chuck Shuldiner Used Jacksons.

Not stock BC Rich PU's Rockfileds


Deans are terrible for the money all that Dimebag stuff raises the price (1500$ for a made in Korea razorback with a sticker finish NO thanks)

My bro is a HUGE death fan and Chuck Shuldiner used a BC Rich Stealth.

[jojobean39]

FR bridges are okay, but they are a pain. I have owned one. I probably wouldn't own another ever again. Too much hassle.

Can I ask, why do you want a Floyd Rose? What's the reasoning? I am not trying to be rude, just trying to understand.

[Ekim]

Get a Tremel-no on your FR and you have the best of both worlds.

[jmattbassplaya]

Don`t go Jackson or Dean. Both are incredibly cheap guitars(quality-wise) until you get into the $1,000+ range.

Like before, a used Ibanez MIJ will beat almost anything on the market.

Be wary of FR`s too. They are a bigger pain in the ass than anything and aren`t worth it unless you plan on doing harmonic squeals every second.

[jojobean39]

^^^

I'm with you on that. Personally, I have yet to play a Jackson for less than about $2k that I liked. I have never played a Dean I liked.

You can get great deals on MIJ Ibanez guitars.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1992-IBANEZ-540S...3A1%7C294%3A50

I cannot recommend that guitar enough. VERY comfortable to play. I had mine for 10 years. I only got rid of it because I bought the Parker.

[KingCrimson]

Hows esp? My bro checked out an LTD that was pretty cool
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...MGs?sku=512954

[jojobean39]

^^^

They are decent. However, those prices are WAY too high for a Korean guitar IMO.

I used this (http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=527000) on an album I did with my old band. Most of the rhythm guitars were recorded with it. It was the studio's guitar. It's nothing I would purchase, but it did sound really good recorded and played pretty well.

You can hear the recordings here: http://www.myspace.com/endlesssacrifices

Nice guitars, but I wouldn't recommend buying them personally.

Still curious, why does he want a FR?

[KingCrimson]

Originally Posted by jojobean39

^^^

They are decent. However, those prices are WAY too high for a Korean guitar IMO.

I used this (http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=527000) on an album I did with my old band. Most of the rhythm guitars were recorded with it. It was the studio's guitar. It's nothing I would purchase, but it did sound really good recorded and played pretty well.

You can hear the recordings here: http://www.myspace.com/endlesssacrifices

Nice guitars, but I wouldn't recommend buying them personally.

Still curious, why does he want a FR?

He plays metal and wants all he fun little tricks you can do with a FR. i dunno maybe i'll convince him he doesn't need one.

[JTE]

As a long-time guitar tech, who survived the attack of the EVH clones and locking trem mania, I hate, just despise locking trems. But if that's what he wants, why bother pointing out Zak Wylde and his innovative ways to get trem effects without a trem? Or why use Jeff Beck as an example of using a non-locking trem magnificently and musically without technical problems? They dude want's a Rose...

Thing is once you put the Rose on, a lot of other factors in sound go out the window. So you're probably looking for very hot and colored pickups. A big reason basswood was popular for shred guitar was that it had very little character of its own, so the bridge and the PUP became the primary tone producer for those guitars.

So, just have him play a bunch of them and choose the one that FEELS best to him, as the sound will be pretty much identical no matter what the guitar is.

jte

[jojobean39]

You can have a floating tremelo without a Floyd Rose. My Parker has the option to have a hardtail bridge, a dive only or a floating remelo. If it is something that he wants, then he should get it. But they are a LOT of trouble. It takes forever to change strings. And, if you pop a string, they do NOT stay in tune.

[KingCrimson]

Originally Posted by JTE

As a long-time guitar tech, who survived the attack of the EVH clones and locking trem mania, I hate, just despise locking trems. But if that's what he wants, why bother pointing out Zak Wylde and his innovative ways to get trem effects without a trem? Or why use Jeff Beck as an example of using a non-locking trem magnificently and musically without technical problems? They dude want's a Rose...

Thing is once you put the Rose on, a lot of other factors in sound go out the window. So you're probably looking for very hot and colored pickups. A big reason basswood was popular for shred guitar was that it had very little character of its own, so the bridge and the PUP became the primary tone producer for those guitars.

So, just have him play a bunch of them and choose the one that FEELS best to him, as the sound will be pretty much identical no matter what the guitar is.

jte

Ok so with a floating bridge you lose tone because of the fact i is floating.

Explain more about Zakk wyldes use of technique?

Also I always thought its about the locking? I mean if you want to do dive bombs without a locking trem won't it get out of tune?

[Grizzly700]

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=518471


http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=520321