"Hard" rules for your guitars

[Chistopher]

What are some hard and fast rules you have when buying or working on guitars? I have a few:

1 - Muting or unmuting it should be completely mindless and require no more than a single motion.

2 - Any pot beyond passive volume and tone can usually just be a switch.

3 - During a performance, I should be able to get to any sound I need from any sound I need in a single motion.

4 - All my active instruments must also have a passive mode.

5 - No coil splits that cause a drop in volume.

6 - Whammy bar should be completely free to do a full unobstructed rotation without the guitar cable blocking it. This doesn't come up too often.

7 - Cheaper is better. 90% of the value of a guitar is usually within the first $1000. No matter how much I pay, not a single piece of gear will sound better than I do.

8 - No fine tuners unless I need a D-tuna.

 

[Mincer]

I try to make sure the volume knob is close to where it is on a Strat.
The 5 positions on the switch have to be the positions I actually use.
Tone knobs, always.
Locking tuners, always.
Chrome or black hardware only.
Whammy bars that can pull up, too.

 

[Seashore]

Huh. Aside from basic stuff about good feel and setup -

Bridge humbucker
Easily visible side markers
No bright colors
If it has a trem, I need to be able to tighten the bar down so it doesn't rotate

I have other strong preferences, but I can think of exceptions to all of them and I like playing instruments with different specs.

 

[Cynical]

Bridge humbucker, fret markers on the fretboard (as opposed to a no-inlay fretboard or a fretboard with purely decorative inlays that don't make it obvious what frets 3, 5, 7, etc. are), 43 mm or wider nut spacing.

A thinner neck profile is strongly preferred but a thicker c is not always a deal breaker.

 

[beaubrummels]

I play a variety of guitars for a variety of kinds of music, so not one set of rules would ever work. I will adapt to a guitar to get a particular sound or feel.

 

[80's_Metal]

1. Looks Metal
2. High gain buckers
3. Strap Loks
4. Nobody else touches it.
5. No buzzing strings.
6. Neck isn't sticky.

 

[GuitarStv]

I don't have too many.

- No fret buzz. No weird electronic buzz from bad grounding either. That drives me nuts.
- No rough fret ends.
- Strap locks, or hella good strap buttons that won't let go of the guitar easily. My first guitar barely survived a close call where the strap slipped off.
- No narrower than 1 11/16ths at the nut.

Other than that I'm good with a lot of different neck thicknesses, variety of bridges, trem/no trem, pickups, switching configs, and controls.

 

[Sam SG]

Must have a tone I like unplugged.
Must feel right in my hand and feel.fluid.
Must have the creek and squeek....huh????.....when I grab it by the neck and grip it if my fingers make a creek across the neck finish through the guitar it's a good.

 

[jeremy]

sounds good
plays good
stays in tune

those are the only hard rules. i prefer an 1 &11/16th nut and a thick c shape neck. usually prefer a 25.5 scale and no trem or a blocked trem. i dont wiggle the stick

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Gold Hardware = F.O.

I'm flexible with pretty much everything else.

And with gold hardware, too. I guess.

 

[Mincer]

Also...I won't own or play a guitar that I have to 'get used to'. Like compromising with the angle of the switch or the neck size. It's gotta be where I want it or else I won't buy it. I also don't tend to buy instruments for specific classic sounds- as long as it gets the sound I want out of it, I am fine.

 

[Securb]

I have a few hard rules, I have guitars of every style and electronic configuration.

A humbucker is a must in the bridge
The action has to be very low and buzz-free
Easily visible side markers

Straplocks -preferred - not a must
Passive electronics -preferred - not a must
Locking tuners - preferred - not a must
​

 

[Artie]

Some of these wouldn't apply to me as I'm not a performing musician.

2 - Any pot beyond passive volume and tone can usually just be a switch.

Yup. Strongly agree.

4 - All my active instruments must also have a passive mode.

I'd be curious as to how you implement this. Having active and passive modes can be tricky. Not impossible. Just tricky.

5 - No coil splits that cause a drop in volume.

This doesn't bother me, where I'm in a "home-noodling" situation, where I don't switch mid song, in a band mix, before an audience.

7 - Cheaper is better. 90% of the value of a guitar is usually within the first $1000.

Yup. But my dollar value would be closer $300 - $500.

 

[Chistopher]

I'd be curious as to how you implement this. Having active and passive modes can be tricky. Not impossible. Just tricky.

Passive pickups with a preamp. Its how a lot of active basses come stock. It's easy to install if they don't have one, such as I had to do with my Sub4.

Yup. But my dollar value would be closer $300 - $500.

Definitely as far as the guitar is concerned. A lot of the guitars within the $500 - $1000 range are built to the same quality but people are just willing to spend more because it's an artist signature, cool paint job, cool body shape, etc.

 

[Artie]

Passive pickups with a preamp. Its how a lot of active basses come stock. It's easy to install if they don't have one, such as I had to do with my Sub4.

I don't know why I didn't think of that. Especially since I'm considering installing my SFX-01 stand-alone circuit, into my Lipstick Tube Strat, in place of the 2nd tone knob. And of course, with a passive / active switch.

 

[magillver]

Absolute +1 on sharp fret ends, serious pet peeve of mine! I much prefer a fairly thick 'C' profile neck, as I have large hands. I don't care what's printed on the headstock, as long as the guitar feels good in my hands. I prefer natural wood grain as opposed to a painted body... pretty much everything else is negotiable for me...

 

[Mincer]

Oh! I forgot...
They have to be light. And balanced. Neck heavy guitars won't get played.

 

[playas]

I don't really consider anything hard and fast...but D shaped neck profiles like Ibanez Wizard, and anything really heavy or with neck dive would put me off to the point where there is always something better available.

 

[Edgecrusher]

I don't really consider anything hard and fast...but D shaped neck profiles like Ibanez Wizard, and anything really heavy or with neck dive would put me off to the point where there is always something better available.

Is the wizard considered a D profile? I always thought of it to be too flat to be a D?

 

[GuitarStv]

Forgot neck dive-y guitars. That's awful and I don't like 'em.


I've occasionally run across guitars where they put the strap button on the neck tenon part behind the highest frets on the fretboard, which makes it miserable to try to actually play up high on the neck. That's also a huge no from me.