Martin Alt-X - <a href=“http://www.mguitar.com/guitars/choosing/pImages/ALternative%20X_t.jpg”>Front Detail</a> - Made of aluminum and stratabond. I don’t know how the timber and tone are, but it’s gorgeous and badass and it would make a good travel guitar because, well, it’s made of metal. It isn’t vulnerable to humidity or temperature changes, and it can take some nasty hits without being damaged. The resonator version is less attractive, but it wouldn’t be a bad choice either. $1249.
I encourage the other guitarists here (and I KNOW there are other guitarists here) to share some other models that might be unique or interesting. I want to know what else is out there. Try to stay as far away from Les Pauls as possible. They’re way too common, way too ugly, and way too boring.
Les Pauls: Gibson SGs are much, much better guitars, if you ask me. You can bend three full steps? Sir, I am sold!
Well, Gretsch guitars are a good direction to go if you want, and while they aren’t all unique, they aren’t really all that common, either, due to expense and the fact that their hollowbody style doesn’t get too much love in modern music. Plus, they have some acuostic-electrics, which are nice if you like acoustics, which I know you do, since you can play it with or without an amp and it will sound good.
Guild makes a lot of great acoustic guitars, they aren’t all that great looking (mine came in a choice between bleached-almond off-white and toothpaste green, and is kinda misshapen, really; bloated), but they play nicer than most acoustics I’ve laid hand on, including some of the really expensive Martins that look much better.
Finally, on a list of really pretty unique, there’s the guitar I got down the line from my grandfather, a 1930s era acoustic-electric. It’s amazing, I’ll post some pictures of it when I get my camera and have the time. It’s beautiful wood, volume and reverb controls that look like somthing out of a Buck Rogers spaceship, and straightwound strings (or spiralwound, depending on who you listen to,) so that your fingers never make noise sliding on the strings, no matter how fast they move. The only downside is how amazingly high the strings are placed. My grandather must’ve had a lot of anger to be able to hold those things down for entire concerts.
That has nothing to do with the guitar, dude. If you put light guage strings in any guitar you will be able to bend up three full steps, although I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t like light guage anyways, there’s no tone.
Most of the guitars I’m interested in aren’t really that unique, and are fairly well known.
Jackson make some great guitars, well, great if you play metal. Very sharp tone in most of them, and they all feel great when playing. http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=2803040803 This guitar would probably be my dream guitar. I have the lower end model and I find it both very comfortable and very awesome sounding, not to mention it looks nice as well. I’d probably go for this one though because floyd rose tremolo systems kind of scare me.
Schecter make some good guitars, my friend has one and it plays very nicely. A very comfortable guitar. And I second Gretsch, I wouldn’t mind getting one of their hollowbodies one day.
I can’t say much about acoustics, as I don’t own one myself(except for a semi-acoustic electric). I’d probably get a 12-string though, simply for the built in chorus sound.
I find guitar brands aren’t everything though, because while a lot of it does depend on the equipment, it still all boils down to who’s playing it. Yes, a $2000+ guitar would sound awesome, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a great one in a pawn shop or even a lower end model and just do some customizing of your own.
That’s with heavy guage. It’s specifically designed for bendy fun. I don’t know how, really. It does work, though, I played one that practically had goddamned bass strings on it, and it could bend three steps. If only I could afford the hell out of it.
I hate light guages too, but that’s because I have a tendancy to break the E, A, and D stings when strumming and light strings. After that, there is nothing to protect the even thinner strings above, and they get torn too, and I have to restring the whole damned thing.
I still don’t think that you can bend on an SG higher than another guitar. Bending has to do with your technique and the type of strings you have. A guitar’s neck might make it more comfortable but you can bend just as high on a fender strat as you can on a Gibson SG.
Man, you’re not joking. The machinery on all electric guitars scares the hell out of me. Floyd Rose tremolo is a nightmare. The simplicity of acoustic guitars is one of the things that draws me to them. I don’t like how high the action is on most acoustic guitars though, especially since it’s so hard to adjust. I like heavy guage strings too, for sustain and resonance. Heavy guage and high action are not a good mix. Full bar chords are murderous.
I love the KV2 King V. I don’t see many attractive Flying Vs, but I love the shape of the body and the style of the fret markers on this one. I also love the colors it comes in. But like you said, FRT.
I don’t know what my dream electric guitar would be. Frankly I don’t hear a lot of difference between guitars, only between artists. For example, Niel young, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, Noel Gallagher from Oasis, Bjorn Gelotte from In Flames, Adam Jones from Tool, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, and Eric Clapton all use Les Pauls, and all sound completely different from each other. I think I’d opt for the most recent Fender Stratocaster model (none of the replicas though). I love it’s range of clarity vs distortion. Matthew Good uses one, and it’s extremely versatile and powerful. If not a Strat, then an Ibanez. John Petrucci from Dream Theater uses Ibanez exclusively, and I love how his lead cuts through the rest of the music while his rhythm stays in the background.
Oh well, I suppose if I made it big, I’d have enough money to use different models for different sounds.
You are incorrect there in a few cases. Jimmy Page used several types of guitars, infact the first album was recorded with a telecaster. David Gilmour on the other hand never played Gibson guitars(atleast not from what I’ve heard), he always had a Stratocaster, and a telecaster sometimes I think.
I kind of doubt In Flames’ guitarist uses a Les Paul, and if he does it’s probably an ESP knock-off, but at the same time I’m not very surprised because In Flames are fairly melodic.
And I agree with you about Stratocasters, they have some fucking quality mid tones. I think that’s what you are talking about when you say clarity vs distortion. When you have high mids your guitar cuts through the mix way easier than say a shitty-assed scooped setting.
Haha. All the artists I listed are according to wiki, so I don’t really know. It’s not like I talked to them and found out But still, you get the idea.
Yeah, I think we understand each other about the Strats.
Remember that the amp and the effects (if any) also influence the sound you get. If you consider this 5999$ guitar more seriously than I consider 50m yachts, get a custom made guitar. If you find the right maker+correct materials it’ll be far better than same price standardised models.
And no more Marshalls for the love of God (or what have you).
The acoustic and electric worlds are different. A standardized acoustic model is always a good buy in that price range, especially a Martin. They don’t fuck around. Am I serious about it though? Hell no. I’m not paying $6k for a guitar, lol.
There is something about fender I can’t stand the feel of, I don’t know. Maybe I subconsciously need to be different and not play a Fender or something. . . I can’t really put my finger on it, I just can’t really play fenders. Telecasters are okay, but I’d never shell out money for one.
But still, you get the idea.
