help me figure out what guitar I want...

jmv

jmv

New member
I'm considering getting a new guitar. I have a gibson LP standard, and I love it, but there are some reasons I'd be considering a strat.

Reasons why i'd want a strat:

1. the sound - I'd really like to have a great strat sound to compliment the great humbucker tones I have with my gibson
2. the comfort of holding the instrument with its nice contours
3. simplicity - I like plain straight ahead instruments, made well, with good materials, not oodles of different switches and combinations and yadda yadda.

Things I like about my gibson that I wish I could find in a strat:

1. the ease of playing - the shorter scale and the fretwire that gibson uses seems to be much more comfortable under my fingers. When I play a strat, even if its got the same gauge strings and a pretty good setup, it just seems like more work
2. the classy appearance of the gibson - more exotic woods, 'nicer' finishes, binding, etc... I'm not looking for a seafoam green instrument (not that there is anything wrong with that), but rather something that is kind of artwork in its own way


I was considering ordering a warmoth creation that at least took care of the 'classy appearance'... i was thinking a rear routed alder body with a great flame koa top, black pinstripe binding, and a clear finish, and a birdseye maple neck with a brazilian rosewood board. BUT, I don't think I can bring myself to buy a guitar without playing it. To me it is really important to get the 'right' guitar that speaks to me, that vibrates the way I want to and has the voice I'm looking for, and it's a crapshoot whether I'd get that with warmoth or not.

Anyone have suggestions for the type of guitar I should be looking for? I thought of maybe G&L, but i don't know about the Z-coil pickups and they'd be hard to replace...

I'm not adverse to spending a decent amount either, I just got a good job and have some spare change.

Any suggestions are welcome!
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

I think it's the Jazzmaster which hasn't got loads of switches on it....

you could try one of them, or if you want that humbucker tone with a straty edge and styleish towards it there's the mustang or Jagstang.
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

I've been involved with several warmoth projects, and they have always gone very well. I think warmoth does a great job of selecting good wood. If you buy our of their "showcase" guitars, you can get a good deal on some costlier upgrades. However, for a few bucks more you can have them hand select each piece of wood.

The best true Strat I have ever had is a Musicraft body, Warmoth neck and Callaham hardware. Even using the best hardware I could find AND splurging for a nitro finish, I am into it less than a grand. Before this Strat I had several American Standards, and MIM and a Highway One. None of them hold a candle to what I built.

IMO, getting a true nitro finish on the guitar will make a huge difference, in addition to springing for Callaham hardware. Those two things alone will make your guitar so much better. PM me if you want to talk in more detail about putting a project together. I'll be glad to help in any way I can.
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

You need P-90's. Get an existing guitar with P-90's; you can swap magnets and get the tones you want. Warmouths have nlittle resale value so if it doesn't turn out like you expected, you're out of luck and money. Then you'd start over again.
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

Mustang. 24" scale, very "fender-y" sound, great looks, switching not too simple or complicated.
Just a thought. I don't know if anyone will agree.
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

The OP definitely said Stratocaster but expressed a strong preference for a Gibson scale length and neck profile.

In the mid Eighties, one of Frank Zappa's main stage guitars was his blonde Performance Strat - Fender shape body, SD Hot Stack PUs, dual SD Active EQ, Floyd Rose vibrato, neck modelled after his favourite SG.

The Fender Custom Shop built a Stratocaster-type guitar for Andy Summers. Again, its neck was modelled on one of the customer's Gibsons. (In this case, a 335.)
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

Look around for a Gibson S1 which has three Bill Lawrence pickups but is housed in a roughly Les Paul body. They were made in the 70's but you can pick them up and they tend to be in good condition.
Or shop around for a Gibson Les Paul MIII which had an extra middle pickup to give Fender like tones.

G&L S500 Delux. Which is an evolved strat they will do a shorter scale as well from the custom shop. No Z pickups.
PRS McCarty II which was a bit of a flop. Basically a Santana model in a McCarty body with a Gibson scale. It has active electronics to give you more Fender Sounds.
Halfway between on scale the PRS Custom 22 which is really good and has a more gibsony feel than the 24.
Fender Jaguar has the shorter scale and a lot of great tones, they do some nice finishes as well.
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

One thing you should read before narrowing your search to just Gibson scale length is how much it changes over time
http://www.stewmac.com/scalelengthtone.html

Look for the metric version of the scale length you like as that is more accurate. 243/4" covers a lot of ground.
 
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Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

Thanks for the input on scale lengths. I'm not tied to a 24 3/4" scale length (or so), i just know I like the ease of playability in my LP.

I should mention that I not only want single coil tones, but I want nice strat-y single coil tones, which for me means looking at an alder (or possibly ash) body. I saw this and it definitely fulfills the 'classy appearance' segment of my needs, but its kind of complicated for what I'm looking for...

http://www.prsguitars.com/513swampash/index.php
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

Godin Progression (or the a lot more expensive Godin Passion).

Brian May Guitars - Link. Shorter neck, elegant, but complicated and not Straty woods...

Burns Marquee.

I'd really consider a Fender Jaguar if I were you. They are classy in their own way. I think you should try the Classic Player model - I had only played the vintage correct model.



Edit:
Also - look for an Aerodyne Strat. Binding, maple tops - seems like they could work for you.
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

Jeff_H said:
I've been involved with several warmoth projects, and they have always gone very well. I think warmoth does a great job of selecting good wood. If you buy our of their "showcase" guitars, you can get a good deal on some costlier upgrades. However, for a few bucks more you can have them hand select each piece of wood.

The best true Strat I have ever had is a Musicraft body, Warmoth neck and Callaham hardware. Even using the best hardware I could find AND splurging for a nitro finish, I am into it less than a grand. Before this Strat I had several American Standards, and MIM and a Highway One. None of them hold a candle to what I built.

IMO, getting a true nitro finish on the guitar will make a huge difference, in addition to springing for Callaham hardware. Those two things alone will make your guitar so much better. PM me if you want to talk in more detail about putting a project together. I'll be glad to help in any way I can.
Click to expand...

Thats something I'm still considering. Its good to know that warmoth will help you select the 'right' wood.

BTW, we joined this forum in the same month... that was a long time ago!
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

You want an Am Standard Strat, ash body, Sienna sunburst finish.

Beautiful looking and sounding (true Strat tone with a bit more complexity), and that great comfy Strat feel.
 
Re: help me figure out what guitar I want...

I played a used PRS Swamp Ash Special, with the 5 way blade switch and push/pull tone control for coil split.

I liked it a whole lot, and its got me strongly considering either a used swamp ash special like it, or possibly the swamp ash 513 or a 305 (if i can find one of those to play). While not a strat, it does get single coil tones that I liked a lot, it was comfy and easy to play.

The price on it though was $2799, which seems REALLY steep for a used one... the new swampash 513 is only around $2500, isn't it? Is there something I'm missing?
 
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