Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

[treyhaislip]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

The point is that you won't sound like Slash just because you use the same gear he does. You will sound like yourself trying to sound like Slash.

I agree with that–just not the blanket statement that tone is in the fingers and not wood. That's like saying a car's speed only comes from the engine...

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I agree with that–just not the blanket statement that tone is in the fingers and not wood. That's like saying a car's speed only comes from the engine...

I have another statement, forged from years of commuting into Boston - "it's not what you drive, it's how you drive." My beat up s***-box could beat any BMW or Porsche on the road because of how I drove, not because of what was under the hood.

I have come to the same conclusion with guitars. When my band is jamming and suddenly decides to play a song, I almost never stop to grab a "more suitable" guitar. Instead, I have found that the way my fingers contact the strings is more important in getting a desired sound than which guitar I am playing. Technique has a *huge* impact on the tone created, and I have come to believe that it can dominate over pretty much any other factor in your signal chain.

You can have the shiniest, fastest sports car on the road but if you don't know how to drive it properly, GuitarStv will still beat you to the finish line on his bicycle.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

You can have the shiniest, fastest sports car on the road but if you don't know how to drive it properly, GuitarStv will still beat you to the finish line on his bicycle.

Ha! Now there's a statement I can agree with! lol

[Silver]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

For the record, the country of origin is not significant for me, and I don't write off mid-level guitars just because they're cheaper.

It's just that there are things about guitars that bug me, and things that I like; and it seems the only way I'm going to get all the things I like with none of the things that bug me is to go high-end custom. Of course, I like high quality woods/hardware and craftsmanship, so it would have to be handmade by a skilled luthier (and thus, expensive).

For example: I don't like big heels or angled necks so Gibson is out. I like tremolos, but I also prefer set neck guitars, so Fender is out. PRS guitars are out because although they have tremolos and a set neck, they have a huge heel. I like woods like korina for bodies, but the companies that use it do so in a model that either has things I dislike or lacks things I like. I only like unfinished necks (or finished in oil, like the Music Man guitars), but the only Music Man tremolo I like is the one on the Petrucci guitar and I don't like the neck profile on it. Etc. You see what I mean?

Most of my likes/dislikes are around playability rather than sound. I love the sound of Gibson, Fender, PRS, Music Man, and so on. The obvious solution is to have something custom made.

And I don't mean a jack of all trades guitar either. I think some of you misunderstood my point. If I were to go this route it would be to get a master-of-one-trade guitar and to just MAKE IT WORK for whatever I needed it for, in the way that we all did when we first started playing. Imagine inviting Brian May for an SDUGF jam and he shows up with his Red Special (a guitar that has a very distinctive sound and cannot reproduce Gibson/Fender/Etc tones), I'm sure he would just make it work for whatever was being jammed.

The downside of course, is that going custom made, you will never be able to have the variety of Strat tones, Tele tones, LP tones, etc, that you could have had if you took that same money and spent it on mid-level versions of those guitars.

[vinta9e]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

The downside of course, is that going custom made, you will never be able to have the variety of Strat tones, Tele tones, LP tones, etc, that you could have had if you took that same money and spent it on mid-level versions of those guitars.

The question is - are Strat tones, Tele tones and LP tones necessary for your music, or not?

You as the artist/creator/performer should be able to determine what kind of sounds work best for your music. When you know the answer, your gear dilemma will be solved.

[Liko]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I agree with that–just not the blanket statement that tone is in the fingers and not wood. That's like saying a car's speed only comes from the engine...

I agree. I think the overall point is that you have to look at the entire instrument, and that instrument starts with the fingers (or pick), to the strings, pickups, body and neck woods, electronics, cable, amplifier, and speakers. Every one of these elements has an effect on the resulting tone. Too many people focus on just the guitar, or just the amplifier. Of course, too many other people say they can hear the difference between 33pF/ft guitar cable and 35pF/ft, and these are the type of people who keep the boutique speaker builders who sell hi-fi systems for $2 million a cabinet in business.

[jimijames]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

IMO, it's easier to get from a bright sound to a fat sound, than it is to go the other way around. A good tele and a Klone or tubescreamer, or prince of tone, or SD pickup booster, is cheaper than a mediocre tele, a medicore les paul, and a mediocre strat. I mean, I'm sure if you shopped around you could find the three cheaper than the first one, but just IME a single good guitar with some effects tends to be more versatile and cheaper.

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

There's your problem. You're generalizing. Just like people saying USA is the best, screw the rest.
Did you know that rondo sells sub-150 dollar strats with 2 piece solid wood bodies and rock maple necks?

I'm sorry I ever mentioned Agile / Rondo, because the underlying point was that Agileguy_101 was conflating imported electrics with "toy like" Agile / Rondo guitars, which are guitars that are manufactured with the intention of having a low price point to begin with.

My point is that you can buy very nice imports and have enough in your budget to buy two of them instead of just one MIA.

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

A good tele and a Klone or tubescreamer, or prince of tone, or SD pickup booster, is cheaper than a mediocre tele, a medicore les paul, and a mediocre strat.

Aside from the fact that a Les Paul will still sound different than a Tele, it would also be a shame to lose the experience of holding those other guitars even if you could approximate the tone with a Tele. They all feel very different, and players approach them differently. Life's too short to have a monogamous relationship with a guitar.

[elelpe]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Life's too short to have a monogamous relationship with a guitar.

Sig-worthy

[El Supremo]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

If you're real picky about what neck connection, with which tremelo system, which woods etc. and no manufacturer has it on offer, you'll probably be best off having one custom made. Especially if you just want one guitar that'll work for you. Just think it through thoroughly and you'll be set for life.
Any of my guitars would work for anything I'd like to do with some pedal help, although if I had only guitar I would probably go with at least a bridge humbucker with high enough output to get somewhat of a single coil sound in split mode.

[ItsaBass]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

If I had to have just one high-end guitar, it would be a Custom Shop Fender, and I'd probably make it the CS Esquire that I already have. Only 6.5 lb., and sounds like a bat outta hell! Plus it's purdy.

[dominus]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I'm sorry I ever mentioned Agile / Rondo, because the underlying point was that Agileguy_101 was conflating imported electrics with "toy like" Agile / Rondo guitars, which are guitars that are manufactured with the intention of having a low price point to begin with.

My point is that you can buy very nice imports and have enough in your budget to buy two of them instead of just one MIA.

I don't know much about Agile's except their price point, which is about as low as it gets, and that they paint on the binding, which is just tasteless,

Maybe you need to check one out rather than just making stuff up then.

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I would rather stay on topic

[Mrkensei]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I think Steve Vai is an interesting example of this.

He's famous for the Jem and the Universe, both physically very similar guitars. But within these two models you've got the Evos (At least 3), FLO and countless others.
He uses various pickups (evolution 6 and 7, Blaze, Gravity Storm, Breed, as well as a Fernandez sustainer), not to mentiont he triple necked 6/12/fretless guitar used in I know you're here.
He uses 3 amps, an Axe FX 2, a wide variety of pedals, and midi control units.

There might be one or two similar looking guitars but a vast array of gear behind them.

I have settled on one guitar, kind of. An Ibanez 7 string wth Nazgul/Sentient Pickups, I can get every sound I want out of these, I still build and experiment with others just out of curiosity, but my Jem and my 7 string is all i really want, and I dont need the Jem as the 7 string covers it too.

What I DO need is multiple Amps. the 5150 is the best metal Amp I can possible imagine, however if I want to play something more bluesy or rock-y then I need something else as the 5150 is too simple a beast to cover that territory, I REALLY REALLY REALLY want another Carvin Legacy for this duty.