Contemplating new guitar purchase!

EvilGrin

EvilGrin

EvilGrin

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Joined
12 Oct 2004
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Aberdeen, Scotland
Giving some thought to buying a new guitar. I'm still learning, but i feel like i'm struggling with my current guitar, a vintage VS6B.

I've been doing some exercises to build up my finger strength and speed, one in particular called "The Caterpillar", where you start at the top, where you play fret 5, then 6, 7 and 8, keeping your fingers all down, then move down a string and repeating, leaving your fingers down until its time to play it's fret. It sounds easy, but I think my guitar's neck is quite wide, my fingers are fairly short and it kills my hand! Find it a hell of a lot easier on my fiancée's yamaha pacifica which has a narrower neck.

Anyway, I don't want to be playing her guitar all the time, so its made me think that perhaps its time to invest in something new. I can afford up to £350. Basically looking for something with perhaps a narrower neck and thats generally good to play on as a beginner up to intermediate level. Is there anything i should look out for bargain wise on the likes of auction sites or 2nd hand local advertisements in my price range? Any suggestions would be most welcome!

I'm definately going to keep my current guitar as I love it even if it kills my hand, plus when i'm better, i'm sure i'll be able to make it squeal the way it should without quite so much suffering!
 
A lot of people recommend the Yamaha Pacifica, which you can get for around £200, but I find them to be quite boring - functionally competent but lacking any pizazz.

I have an Epi LP that cost about £400 around 5 years ago, but you can easily get one for that price range - I'd definitely recommend it. They're not quite the real thing, but they're definitely getting there, and with a change of pickups (the stock arent too bad though) they sound great.

I'd start off by trying one and seeing what you think.
 
Tried an LP before, not a huge fan really! :( Plus the neck on the epi LP and SG's are the same radius as my vintage SG, which is a bit thick really! Thinking about something along the lines of an Ibanez with a wizard II neck... anyone got suggestions? :)
 
EvilGrin said:
Tried an LP before, not a huge fan really! :( Plus the neck on the epi LP and SG's are the same radius as my vintage SG, which is a bit thick really!
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You can get the 60's neck which is thinner than the standard 50's neck if that is all that is bothering you.

In my opinion, get an Epi LP Custom in black with gold hardware. It'll play really nice and with a swap of the pickups, you have similar gibson for a fraction of the price.
 
You're on the Regents guitar forum, aren't you? Either that, or there's someone scarily like you lurking on the internet. :eek:

Anyway, I gave my opinions in the Regent's thread, as did many, others. :p


:edit:

Oh, for what's it's worth, in case you've not seen the Regent's thread, I said that if you're after an Ibanez with a Wizard neck (which is what you'd said), the RG321 is only £169 at the moment, and is an absolute steal.
 
tTz said:
You're on the Regents guitar forum, aren't you? Either that, or there's someone scarily like you lurking on the internet. :eek:

Anyway, I gave my opinions in the Regent's thread, as did many, others. :p


:edit:

Oh, for what's it's worth, in case you've not seen the Regent's thread, I said that if you're after an Ibanez with a Wizard neck (which is what you'd said), the RG321 is only £169 at the moment, and is an absolute steal.
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Lol, yeah i'm on Regent's too. Saw your post over on regent's, thanks for all the help and advice! Have any experience with the Ibanez SAS36FM btw? Aesthetically, I like the look of it much more than RG ones, but the playability of the guitar is the most important thing of course!

Oh yeah, where did you see that RG321 for £169 by the way?
 
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Jackson DXMG, it has an ultra-tight neck (can I say that on a public forum?) - I use one as my main guitar (albeit modded) and it has outlasted LPs and Ibanez for me.. 24 frets, nice flat fretboard and if anything the neck is faster than a Wizard.

dxmg_small1.jpg


http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/dx-mg/1220 - £319 for the stock version :)
 
riddlermarc said:
Jackson DXMG, it has an ultra-tight neck (can I say that on a public forum?) - I use one as my main guitar (albeit modded) and it has outlasted LPs and Ibanez for me.. 24 frets, nice flat fretboard and if anything the neck is faster than a Wizard.
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I got the DKMG and what Marc said is very true about the speed fret that it has. Even if you are a beginner fretting with any of the Jacksons that have a speed fret is a doddle and does wonders for your confidence. Get into a shop and try them out.
 
How do people find the Jackson Kelly's?

I'm more into getting something like the DXMG, been itching for a Soloist, but there's a dirt cheap kelly on Gumtree for £130. 24 frets and a floyd rose is what I'm after ideally.
 
EvilGrin said:
Oh yeah, where did you see that RG321 for £169 by the way?
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It was at GAK, here - http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/ibanez-rg321-mh/67798


Other Ibanez choices, depending on how much money you've got, would be these:

RGT42 - this is the one Doadman on the Regents forums was raving about. Also comes in Floyd versions.

RGR321EX - - virtually the same as the RG321, except with different pickups and a reversed headstock. A little bit more 'metal' imo.

RGR421EXFM - I love this one, wish I could justify buying it. Fixed bridge, 24 frets, flame maple top (okay, so it's a probably a veneer, but what do you expect for the price?)




If I was in your position, I'd personally either get the RG321 (for its cheapness while still being a good guitar) or the RGR421 (because it looks cool). The RGR is twice the price of the RG321 though, which is a bit steep for not a lot of improvement other than aesthetic.
 
Is the MTM2 someone's signature guitar? I was only looking at RGs, so I never saw it, but I seem to recall an MTM model going for £1k+ with real EMGs, Edge FX and in bright red. I might well be imagining things though. :p
 
tTz said:
Is the MTM2 someone's signature guitar? I was only looking at RGs, so I never saw it, but I seem to recall an MTM model going for £1k+ with real EMGs, Edge FX and in bright red. I might well be imagining things though. :p
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yeah mtm2 is the second sig of mick thomson (slipknot)

its like a cut down version, the one you saw was the mtm1

http://www.chamberlainmusic.com/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=MTM2
 
Toryglen-boy said:
get an old played in Ibanez RG550 or 560

easly obtainable for that money ...


case sorted !
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For a guy who's still learning, a Floyd might be a bit of a handful. Admittedly, he could block it off, but when you could get an RG321 for £170, why bother? You could swap the pickups on one of them and have a really decent guitar for a fair bit less than it would cost to do the same to an RG550, plus the fixed bridge would be much easier to live with and use. And it's all very well to say 'chuck some Evos in there' but without knowing his musical tastes, that's a bit of a mental leap to be making. :p
 
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