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Which guitar would you purchase?
Fender Billy Corgan Strat 37%  37%  [ 11 ]
Schecter Hollywood Classic 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Ibanez Prestige FR FR1620 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Other 60%  60%  [ 18 ]
Total votes : 30
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Post subject: Which Guitar Would You Choose, Fender Rockers?
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:30 pm
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I know this is an odd question for the Fender Forum, but whatever, I hope everyone can be objective. I'm looking for another guitar to be used mainly for hard rock and metal. I don't like Floyd Rose trems and I'm thinking I'll stick with a hardtail bridge. I want bright tone, long sustain, and a fast playing neck. I don't want to pay more than $1,500 for a quality guitar and I want it made in the USA or Japan. Here are the three I'm considering right now:

Fender Billy Corgan Strat: $1,200 (w/case)
http://www.samash.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... emid=70482

Schecter Hollywood Classic: $1,000 (no case)
http://www.gearhounds.com/index.asp?Pag ... ProdID=671

Ibanez Prestige FR FR1620: $1,000 (w/case)
http://www.proguitarshop.com/product.ph ... goryID=494

Or, what other similar shred guitar would you recommend?


Last edited by museseek on Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:25 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:26 pm
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Hey, since you put other, have you considered any of the Jackson models. They're great for metal, a lot of them come with EMGs already, which is infamous for the metal shred sound...I'm not a guitar player so my opinion is a moot point. Good luck and have fun choosing.

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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:13 am
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I went with the Billy Corgan Strat, but that is only because I saw him play it live and it sounded great.

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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:18 am
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PowerJazzBass wrote:
Hey, since you put other, have you considered any of the Jackson models. They're great for metal, a lot of them come with EMGs already, which is infamous for the metal shred sound...I'm not a guitar player so my opinion is a moot point. Good luck and have fun choosing.


That's a good suggestion. I hadn't really considered Jackson, nor Dean. I think the reason is because most, if not all, of their guitars are V and X shaped bodies, which I find uncomfortable and awkward. Also, most have double locking Floyd Rose vibrato systems which I find inconvenient. But their guitars do sound good and I do like hot and active pickups.

Here are some more guitars I'm considering (but not as seriously as my orignal three on the poll). I wish I could modify my poll question, but it doesn't look like I'm allowed to.

Jackson Pro Series RR24M Rhoads: $1,250 (no case)
http://www.music123.com/Jackson-Pro-Ser ... 6.Music123

Steinberger ZT3 Custom TransTrem: $1,600 (w/custom gigbag)
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=481943

Dean Dave Mustaine VMNT1 V: $1,000 (w/case)
http://www.instrumentalley.com/Dean-Dav ... n-vmnt.htm

ESP LTD H1001: $800 (no case)
http://www.zzounds.com/item--ESPH1001

ESP George Lynch GL56: $1,800 (w/case)
http://www.samash.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... SP-_-43556

Suggestions are encouraged and welcome. Thanks.


Last edited by museseek on Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:25 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:21 am
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I voted for the Billy Corgan Strat, I almost bought one a few months ago. Apart from being a huge SP fan, I really like the look and sound of this Strat.


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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:39 am
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Hey bro you're overlooking the perfect choice for you and it's right in front of your face man. I don't think that it's out of line to mention this here because Fender bought out Jackson so talking about Jacksons is almost like talking about Fenders. What you're looking for is the Jackson SLS Soloist which is about $1,000.00. It's a mahogany neck-through thin bodied axe with EMG-HZs in it, but I installed an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 85 in the neck and it's a totally shreddin axe. Oh yeah it also has a tone pro fixed bridge with an ebony fretboard with pirannah inlays. Really a beautiful axe. It's a little unforgiving, but once you're used to it, it'll reward you with great tone. In the pic on my myspace page I'm holding mine in my left hand. I also have a Fender Straight Six Strat that I installed a Seymour Duncan Distortion in and that bad boy shreds as well although it's a MIM strat and the cheap price really shows up in the quality of the build and the tonal characteristics. I really wish that Fender made those in a MIA model, but they don't. Hope this helps you out brother... :twisted:

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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:23 am
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Sulley and Snowy: The Billy Corgan Strat is at the top of my list, mainly because Fender has never failed me. I guess it's really just an American Strat with different pickups and new pickup configurations. But those pickups also interest me. I haven't had an opportunity to play one or even hear one yet. I'm hoping something gets posted on YouTube or somewhere soon. The neck is a traditional strat neck rather than a slim shred neck like those on Ibanez or Jackson, but I also want a little versatility from the guitar and the BC reads like it'll provide some. Plus, Fenders hold their value pretty nicely.

Shredder: Thanks for contributing, bro. That model of Jackon seems hard to find. It's been discontinued at many outlets from what I found doing a search. Other soloists are over my price range. But I'll keep my eye out to see what Jackson has to offer in their 2008 lineup. Long live metal!


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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:26 am
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It's just my view but: as long as the neck specs are on the modern side of things (no small frets) and the body is solid. any guitar can do hard rock and metal... it's just about getting the right pickup.

Find a guitar that plays well and find out what type of pickups are used for your favorite tones... you can get a great metal guitar for under $1000 this way.


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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:35 pm
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JohnnyL wrote:
you can get a great metal guitar


The phrase metal guitar just seems funny to me. Its the player that makes it metal, not the guitar. Ted Nugent used to use a hollowbody guitar...hollowbodys aren't really considered hard rock or metal guitars, but not in the hands of the Nuge. Blues legend Albert King used Flying Vs, a guitar that many people associate with metal, but Albert was using them way before metal was even around. Les Paul is a legendary jazz-country guitarist, yet many metal bands have guitarists using Les Pauls...see what I mean? Anyways, I'll put my soapbox away now...

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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 8:56 am
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As of today, 7 people voted for "Other." I'd appreciate it if you'd list the guitar you recommend over those I've listed here. It probably won't just be helpful to me, but to others considering new guitar purchases.

Thanks for voting and contributing.


I agree that there are a lot of elements involved in achieving desired "metal" rock sounds from guitar, not least of which is an amplifier that provides sustained saturation and overdrive with note definition, effects pedals or racks, and (of course) the guitar player him/herself. But every good rock guitarist understands the importance of gear in the role of achieving good tone. Play a cheap stock import guitar through an old Line 6 Spider II and you aren't going to have a lot of talented bands asking you to join them. Why? Because the tone is lacking personality: the amp doesn't achieve clearly sustained notes, it sounds artificial with little organic character, the guitar has a flawed neck so it isn't intonated and won't play in tune, etc. But, take David Gilmour's stage rig and play one note ... bend it a little and throw in some vibrato ... and you'll cause pleasure shivers in some. That's the difference between good gear and bad gear. Unfortunately, most good music gear is expensive so even many talented (but financially poor) guitarists have difficulty tweaking an emotional response even in themselves. I've learned that over the years because I'm a decent player who's tried to go cheap, and the gear I've owned never allowed me to mold my tone and sound to my own satisfaction.

As for any guitar being able to give a metal sound, that's a valid opinion. A lot of old and new metal guitarist play a wide variety of guitars. But there's no denying that you need a solidly built guitar that provides a certain level of sustain from the guitar itself with good woods, a fast playing neck, and pickups that can push the envelope; especially for a lot of today's new metal with ultra flat tunings, pinch harmonics, tapping, muting, pick scraping, et al. I'll admit that I achieve pretty decent metal tones from my American Deluxe Telecaster even though many consider it more of a country music guitar than a metal guitar. But there's a reason a lot of pros have a wide selection of guitars, other than to be used as backups -- and why some insure their favorite guitars for vasts amounts of money.


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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:14 pm
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I'd vote for a Hamer USA Standard Custom--they have a TOM type bridge, are Explorer shaped (if you're into the image), and Hamer USA is now owned by Fender! The downside is that they're not cheap. I bought a used USA model for about $1000-but that was well over Ten years ago! I love mine, it plays, sounds, looks and is made MUCH better than a Gibson. The thing that gets me is, not only does it sound great for Metal or Hard Rock, but it's equally as good for Pop, Jazz or Country! To me, Gibsons sound too dark and mushy in comparison.


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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:49 pm
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Snowy72 wrote:
I voted for the Billy Corgan Strat, I almost bought one a few months ago. Apart from being a huge SP fan, I really like the look and sound of this Strat.


+1

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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:14 pm
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twangee wrote:
I'd vote for a Hamer USA Standard Custom--they have a TOM type bridge, are Explorer shaped (if you're into the image), and Hamer USA is now owned by Fender! The downside is that they're not cheap. I bought a used USA model for about $1000-but that was well over Ten years ago! I love mine, it plays, sounds, looks and is made MUCH better than a Gibson. The thing that gets me is, not only does it sound great for Metal or Hard Rock, but it's equally as good for Pop, Jazz or Country! To me, Gibsons sound too dark and mushy in comparison.


These models don't seem to be widely available. But the ones I found are really high priced. I may be naive, but I just can't see paying more than $3,000 for even a high end electric guitar in today's market, unless it's some kind of hard to find vintage. Even then, I wouldn't pay it. But I'm no professional so my attitude is that of an amateur. The guitar you're suggesting retails for $4,200, and that's with a natural finish. You're lucky to own one that you purchased years ago at a reasonable price.


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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:30 pm
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Perhaps I did get lucky--but Ten years ago, it seemed that the used selection of guitars was a LOT better than it is now, and of course cheaper--maybe it was because the Internet wasn't nearly what it is now! I think I found my Hamer USA model straight out of Vintage Guitar Magazine. It still doesn't mean you can't find something similar for a reasonable price, it just might take more searching and a bit of luck.

I never look at list prices for new guitars, except to figure out how much of a discount a dealer is willing to take. With a MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price), the key word is SUGGESTED--it's not written in stone. But I can't remember the last time I bought a new guitar, I've had good luck with used ones!


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Post subject: Re: Which Guitar Would You Choose, Fender Rockers?
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:40 am
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museseek wrote:
I'm looking for another guitar to be used mainly for hard rock and metal. I don't like Floyd Rose trems and I'm thinking I'll stick with a hardtail bridge. I want bright tone, long sustain, and a fast playing neck. I don't want to pay more than $1,500 for a quality guitar and I want it made in the USA or Japan.

Or, what other similar shred guitar would you recommend?



Again and again - metal is in the pickups and the playability of the neck.
a. Try a few guitars at a dealer near you.
b. Find one that feels great to your fingers - that's the only way to test if the neck is playable or not.
c. Order a bright metal pickup. When I hear "bright" I think of Seymour Duncans - the JB, George Lynch Screaming Demon or Distortion.
d. if you want some extra to the metal add one of the EMG active boosts to a lower output pickup. Lower output goes (most of the time) with better sustain, going active goes well with making it scream...


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