JeffB
Let it B
Re: List the Top 10 Classic Guitar Companies of the 2000's
For me it boils down to what I would buy....I'm pretty traditional...I don't like veering off from classic Gibson and Fender tones or designs...
So:
Gibson
Fender
Ibanez (for super strats, I've ALWAYS had a soft spot for them in that regard)
Hamer I think should fall in there for all the reasons I've mentioned in a million other posts
That said.... They still are just variations on prior Gibson themes...approached with a different mindset (i.e. high quality build with inherent "vintage vibe" without charging an arm & a leg for what you get)
PRS is def "classic" but I doub't I'll ever buy another...sonically I don't care for them. I can't identify with the "hybrid" nature of them, which is too bad cos they are stellar for build and playability.
Heritage is another. My HC150C was a very very nice guitar for the $ , but it just didn't "impart the mojo" like a good Paula, my Malmsteen, or my Hamer did/does. Which is weird...cos it's the old Gibson guys...something is just not "right" about them.
But that doesn't mean there isn't other good stuff out there...Jackson..Schecter...ESP....hell my Korean Wolfgang from Peavey was a damn good guitar! Prolly the best import SuperStrat I've ever owned. Certainly the only Floyd guitar I actually wasn't afraid of
I really don't think Gibson/Fender/PRS will ever be topped tho. Gibson and Fender got the designs right the first time (even though some were failures..explorer..V...Firebird... now they are highly respected/used), and PRS hit the market at a time when neither one of them were doing very well...right place at the right time with a good product for Paul. Were Gibson and Fender riding high as they are now, I doubt PRS would have took off the way it did.
Everything else is just a variation on those Gibson/Fender/PRS themes. And the ones that are not..like say the Parkers... may be outstanding instruments in their own right, but ultimately they are a niche guitar.
For me it boils down to what I would buy....I'm pretty traditional...I don't like veering off from classic Gibson and Fender tones or designs...
So:
Gibson
Fender
Ibanez (for super strats, I've ALWAYS had a soft spot for them in that regard)
Hamer I think should fall in there for all the reasons I've mentioned in a million other posts
That said.... They still are just variations on prior Gibson themes...approached with a different mindset (i.e. high quality build with inherent "vintage vibe" without charging an arm & a leg for what you get)PRS is def "classic" but I doub't I'll ever buy another...sonically I don't care for them. I can't identify with the "hybrid" nature of them, which is too bad cos they are stellar for build and playability.
Heritage is another. My HC150C was a very very nice guitar for the $ , but it just didn't "impart the mojo" like a good Paula, my Malmsteen, or my Hamer did/does. Which is weird...cos it's the old Gibson guys...something is just not "right" about them.
But that doesn't mean there isn't other good stuff out there...Jackson..Schecter...ESP....hell my Korean Wolfgang from Peavey was a damn good guitar! Prolly the best import SuperStrat I've ever owned. Certainly the only Floyd guitar I actually wasn't afraid of
I really don't think Gibson/Fender/PRS will ever be topped tho. Gibson and Fender got the designs right the first time (even though some were failures..explorer..V...Firebird... now they are highly respected/used), and PRS hit the market at a time when neither one of them were doing very well...right place at the right time with a good product for Paul. Were Gibson and Fender riding high as they are now, I doubt PRS would have took off the way it did.
Everything else is just a variation on those Gibson/Fender/PRS themes. And the ones that are not..like say the Parkers... may be outstanding instruments in their own right, but ultimately they are a niche guitar.
