Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
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Falloffthebonetone
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
1. Jumbo frets, need the bigger ones for life and feel. Preferably Stainless steel 6100.
2. Super Efficient bridge in tone and function. Ones that are airtight, durable, rarely need to set them up, tons of resonance, etc...
3. Heavier (at least medium) gauge strings. Just a feel and tone preference, plus it makes the strings not go sharp with jumbo frets if you press down more.
1. Jumbo frets, need the bigger ones for life and feel. Preferably Stainless steel 6100.
2. Super Efficient bridge in tone and function. Ones that are airtight, durable, rarely need to set them up, tons of resonance, etc...
3. Heavier (at least medium) gauge strings. Just a feel and tone preference, plus it makes the strings not go sharp with jumbo frets if you press down more.
PushedCrayon
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
1. Have a humbucker spot in the bridge
2. Hold tune well
3. Be fairly light in weight, I love guitars that I can barely feel when I play
1. Have a humbucker spot in the bridge
2. Hold tune well
3. Be fairly light in weight, I love guitars that I can barely feel when I play
Johnny the Kid
Shaunofthedeadologist
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
1. A fixed bridge.
I top wrap my strings so I prefer a TOM and Stopbar but I can give up those as long as it's fixed.
2. Mahogany neck and body
My guitars have been mahogany and it's a great sounding wood with a great weight and feel.
3. Seymour Duncan Distortion and 59 pickups.
My favorite combo of all time especially in mahogany. And the Distortion has a slight brightness to it that balances out the warmth in the Mahogany and lends its self to a great midrange.
1. A fixed bridge.
I top wrap my strings so I prefer a TOM and Stopbar but I can give up those as long as it's fixed.
2. Mahogany neck and body
My guitars have been mahogany and it's a great sounding wood with a great weight and feel.
3. Seymour Duncan Distortion and 59 pickups.
My favorite combo of all time especially in mahogany. And the Distortion has a slight brightness to it that balances out the warmth in the Mahogany and lends its self to a great midrange.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
Everything I need from a guitar is in a Les Paul.
Everything I need from a guitar is in a Les Paul.
KeeperOS
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
- Hmm, I guess no 1 is actually being playable so although there are several ways to achieve that, as a rule a (relatively) thin comfortable neck is a MUST have. I own an incredibly sounding Strat that I no longer play exactly because the neck is too thick and the frets too low.
- Comfortable body. Although that one is a little ambiguous, I want a guitar I could play sitting down so anything Warlock-like or even Parker Fly-like with those protruding parts are a definite no-go for me
- In my current stage all my axes have a bucker in the bridge as I couldn't possibly make a SC work. That however might change in the future so even though I won't consider a guitar with a SC in the bridge (i.e a mustn't have) I can't exclude it from happening at some point either.
As a side-note, even though they technically are, I don't consider a P-90 or even a Tele bridge a SC so they're still in.
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
1. Ergonomic - it has to balance well, with light weight. Headless is great too.
2. Tone knobs - I use them all the time, and occasionally I use them like a wah wah.
3. 22 frets - I like the sound of the neck pickup ( which I use most of the time) on 22 fret guitars better.
1. Ergonomic - it has to balance well, with light weight. Headless is great too.
2. Tone knobs - I use them all the time, and occasionally I use them like a wah wah.
3. 22 frets - I like the sound of the neck pickup ( which I use most of the time) on 22 fret guitars better.
Edgecrusher
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
You know without giving a smart alec response like saying I need a body and a neck... The only feature that I HAVE to have in a guitar is a bridge pickup. Type is option but it must have something in the bridge slot. My very first vintage guitar was a 1958 Fender Musicmaster that i bought at a yard sale for 50 bucks (this would have been about 1991) The lady even gave me a snicker like she thought she ripped me off. Try as I might to like that guitar I just never could gel with it cause no bridge pickup sound... Anything other than that I'm flexible on.
You know without giving a smart alec response like saying I need a body and a neck... The only feature that I HAVE to have in a guitar is a bridge pickup. Type is option but it must have something in the bridge slot. My very first vintage guitar was a 1958 Fender Musicmaster that i bought at a yard sale for 50 bucks (this would have been about 1991) The lady even gave me a snicker like she thought she ripped me off. Try as I might to like that guitar I just never could gel with it cause no bridge pickup sound... Anything other than that I'm flexible on.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
- It needs to sound good acoustically - e.g. be even in volume/articulation across the fretboard, I want to be able to hear all the notes of each chord clearly and I don't want individual notes to stick out when performing solo notes, arpeggios, etc.
- The scale, dimension, layout, and cut of it need to facilitate playing, not cause me to fight the guitar to perform music with it.
- It needs to be easy to get good sounds I like out of it. I prefer when there are no bad sounds, anywhere on the dials and switches and anywhere up and down the neck is a good sound, it's just a matter of which I want to use on this song.
80's_Metal
Underglazed Hair Metalologist
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
DD in the bridge
Wicked looks
Flat low action
everything else is just ok with me...
DD in the bridge
Wicked looks
Flat low action
everything else is just ok with me...
Virtual Kevorkian
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
At this point...
1. Non-neckthru joint
2. Huge frets, preferably stainless steel
3. An Evertune. Real hard to go back.
At this point...
1. Non-neckthru joint
2. Huge frets, preferably stainless steel
3. An Evertune. Real hard to go back.
daan
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
Big neck (I HAAAATE skinny/shallow necks. Gimme baseball bat-or bigger!)
reasonably light weight. My CVT weighs at least a pound less than my SG-Jr so guess which one I like better.
Reasonably comfortable shape. I "grew up on" Strats so that's kinda what I'm used to. I'm kinda over what they look like, but they're so dang easy to play. I can deal with a Tele if it has arm/belly contours, but anything traditionally LP-shaped is too "hard edged" or something.
BUt if it sounds good, I can learn to live without the above...
Big neck (I HAAAATE skinny/shallow necks. Gimme baseball bat-or bigger!)
reasonably light weight. My CVT weighs at least a pound less than my SG-Jr so guess which one I like better.
Reasonably comfortable shape. I "grew up on" Strats so that's kinda what I'm used to. I'm kinda over what they look like, but they're so dang easy to play. I can deal with a Tele if it has arm/belly contours, but anything traditionally LP-shaped is too "hard edged" or something.
BUt if it sounds good, I can learn to live without the above...
Johtosotku
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
If I skip the obvious like tuning stability and tone and go for personal specifications
-C or D neck
- at least 12" radius
- big frets
If I skip the obvious like tuning stability and tone and go for personal specifications
-C or D neck
- at least 12" radius
- big frets
Empty Pockets
BadHairDayologist
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
I don't like to create boxes for my creativity to work in. I buy guitars for all kinds of reasons.
Sounds good... Looks cool... Cheap substitute for a more expensive guitar during dangerous live situations... I don't have one of these yet...
Why limit yourself to one style of guitar... That's like a painter going his whole career using red and black. I've owned Warlocks, Telecasters, archtops, Les Pauls, from $20 to $2000... I've liked all of them... I've used them for all kinds of reasons...
I feel like saying "ALL of my guitars MUST meet THESE SPECIFIC CRITERIA" builds a mental prison around your creative perspective. Maybe some of you find it easier to work within a defined framework but I prefer to create with whatever tool I see fit.
I mean are you seriously going to be in a studio making music and say, "Oh, HMPH, none of these guitars are pointy enough for ME to play!"
I don't like to create boxes for my creativity to work in. I buy guitars for all kinds of reasons.
Sounds good... Looks cool... Cheap substitute for a more expensive guitar during dangerous live situations... I don't have one of these yet...
Why limit yourself to one style of guitar... That's like a painter going his whole career using red and black. I've owned Warlocks, Telecasters, archtops, Les Pauls, from $20 to $2000... I've liked all of them... I've used them for all kinds of reasons...
I feel like saying "ALL of my guitars MUST meet THESE SPECIFIC CRITERIA" builds a mental prison around your creative perspective. Maybe some of you find it easier to work within a defined framework but I prefer to create with whatever tool I see fit.
I mean are you seriously going to be in a studio making music and say, "Oh, HMPH, none of these guitars are pointy enough for ME to play!"
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Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
Well, I don't always define a box, but for guitars, I don't adapt to the tool, it has to adapt to me. No matter what guitar I play, I tend to get the same sound anyway..there are a handful of sounds I use for most musical situations, and those sounds have to be available from one guitar. I hate switching guitars.
Well, I don't always define a box, but for guitars, I don't adapt to the tool, it has to adapt to me. No matter what guitar I play, I tend to get the same sound anyway..there are a handful of sounds I use for most musical situations, and those sounds have to be available from one guitar. I hate switching guitars.
Empty Pockets
BadHairDayologist
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
I've always liked that about you and your style. You're not a conventional guitarist when it comes to gear, and that's rad.
I kind of came to the same realization a few years back. I had about a dozen and a half $400-$600 guitars, and a Les Paul Custom, and I always sounded like myself no matter which one I played.
It's simultaneously liberating and disappointing. You want to become a chickenpicker when you grab a Tele... you want to be Jimmy Page when you pick up a Les Paul... You want to be Kerry King when you strap on a BC Rich... but the end of the day you're whoever the hell you happen to be and you're the one who has to play the music.
There's no "best" guitar... only "the best guitar for you." Zennnnnn ohmmmmmmm
I've always liked that about you and your style. You're not a conventional guitarist when it comes to gear, and that's rad.
I kind of came to the same realization a few years back. I had about a dozen and a half $400-$600 guitars, and a Les Paul Custom, and I always sounded like myself no matter which one I played.
It's simultaneously liberating and disappointing. You want to become a chickenpicker when you grab a Tele... you want to be Jimmy Page when you pick up a Les Paul... You want to be Kerry King when you strap on a BC Rich... but the end of the day you're whoever the hell you happen to be and you're the one who has to play the music.
There's no "best" guitar... only "the best guitar for you." Zennnnnn ohmmmmmmm
Mad-Max
New member
Re: Top 3 'MUST HAVES' in a guitar!
Here are mine.
1. Good pickups - Don't necessarily care about who they're made by, but if the pick-ups compliment the guitar, and deliver some great tone, then I typically don't change them out. That being said, I'd much prefer guitars to come stock with Duncans.
2. Coil Tapping - I didn't think that this would be such an important feature to me as it is, but the past two guitars I've bought have a Push Pull knob and I've gotten so savvy with them, that I enjoy having the variety of tones, and being able to split my pick-up. I find myself splitting them quite often, more so than I thought I would. Definitely a must have for me.
3. A good set-up - I know this is a fairly obvious must have, but seriously, if the guitar isn't set up, it won't play or sound right, and you'll end up hating it. With a good set-up, it could make ALL the difference in the world. My new guitar needs one, badly. So here soon, I'm gonna end up doing a lot of it myself.
Here are mine.
1. Good pickups - Don't necessarily care about who they're made by, but if the pick-ups compliment the guitar, and deliver some great tone, then I typically don't change them out. That being said, I'd much prefer guitars to come stock with Duncans.
2. Coil Tapping - I didn't think that this would be such an important feature to me as it is, but the past two guitars I've bought have a Push Pull knob and I've gotten so savvy with them, that I enjoy having the variety of tones, and being able to split my pick-up. I find myself splitting them quite often, more so than I thought I would. Definitely a must have for me.
3. A good set-up - I know this is a fairly obvious must have, but seriously, if the guitar isn't set up, it won't play or sound right, and you'll end up hating it. With a good set-up, it could make ALL the difference in the world. My new guitar needs one, badly. So here soon, I'm gonna end up doing a lot of it myself.