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What Guitar Should I Buy for this Budget?


Schnozzalee
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[quote name='Mark_Andertons' timestamp='1339357783' post='1687424']
Get down to a big big guitarshop that you can play everything there. Obviously I'd say Andertons but there are loads of others like GuitarGuitar that maybe nearer. And just play as many guitars as you can lay hands on and something will choose you.

Also at risk of offending the entire forum id take the opinions of bassists with a pinch of salt. There is such a cultural gulf between guitarists and bassists and bassists have a lot of stigmas about things that they can't really claim to understand from a guitarists perspective. Not saying that's the case of any advice given here but I'd give more weight to what guitarist buddies might tell you.

(please no one flame grill me I love you all really!)
[/quote]

I play more guitar than bass since my bass band split up :D

Good advice though. Work out a budget and write down your ideal specs putting everything else out of your mind. Then try and find it, trying out as many different guitars as you can.

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[quote name='Mark_Andertons' timestamp='1339357783' post='1687424']
Get down to a big big guitarshop that you can play everything there. Obviously I'd say Andertons but there are loads of others like GuitarGuitar that maybe nearer. And just play as many guitars as you can lay hands on and something will choose you.

Also at risk of offending the entire forum id take the opinions of bassists with a pinch of salt. There is such a cultural gulf between guitarists and bassists and bassists have a lot of stigmas about things that they can't really claim to understand from a guitarists perspective. Not saying that's the case of any advice given here but I'd give more weight to what guitarist buddies might tell you.

(please no one flame grill me I love you all really!)
[/quote]

Some of us are also guitarists you know...

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If you want to w&*( in your bedroom (which is fair and reasonable :) ), listen with guitarist's ears. If you want to play with a band, listen with a bassist's ears. Or a keys player's. Or pretty much anything but a guitarist's! I'm sure most of us have heard and played with too many guitarists whose tone just doesn't work in the mix at all.

I personally find it hard to see beyond the 8 million or so variations on a Fender theme, the strat in particular is just so versatile. Agree with the majority about PRS, never met anyone who was really enamoured with the tone (why do people buy them, is it just because of the shiny deep poly finish?!). But at that price point with Fenders/Gibsons as others have said, it's much more about investing the time to find 'the one', there's just so much variation out there in terms of tone, pickups, feel, etc etc.

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[quote name='Mark_Andertons' timestamp='1339357783' post='1687424']
Get down to a big big guitarshop that you can play everything there. Obviously I'd say Andertons but there are loads of others like GuitarGuitar that maybe nearer. And just play as many guitars as you can lay hands on and something will choose you.

Also at risk of offending the entire forum id take the opinions of bassists with a pinch of salt. There is such a cultural gulf between guitarists and bassists and bassists have a lot of stigmas about things that they can't really claim to understand from a guitarists perspective. Not saying that's the case of any advice given here but I'd give more weight to what guitarist buddies might tell you.

(please no one flame grill me I love you all really!)
[/quote]

do guitarists talk to one another?

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I've been playing an 80's Yamaha SA2000S that my brother has loaned me for the last couple of weeks and it's possibly the most stunning guitar I've had my hands on in a long time. I don't think there's a great deal of difference between it and the custom shop 335 the guitarist in my last band used.

It's beautiful to look at and play, and has coil taps too so is pretty versatile. I've been using it for a few dep gigs at weddings playing a wide range of rock/pop stuff and it's handled everything effortlessly. Great Yamaha build quality too. You can pick them up for a touch under a grand if you keep an eye out, leaves you with change to get a nice Telecaster too ;)

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another vote for a few trips to some big stores from me.

if it was me with 2k burning a hole in my pocket i think i'd be looking at gordon smith (and maybe a strat or a tele too) and heritage, there are also the makers like suhr and tyler from the states and trussart maybe?

if you can work out what you want though i'd be talking to some of the excellent custom builders working on this fair island, their work is some of the best around.

local to me (and not a million miles from you) is PR guitars, based in sunderland i believe, making some excellent guitars which would leave you with plenty of change.

[url="http://www.prguitars.co.uk/index.html"]http://www.prguitars.co.uk/index.html[/url]

i have one of his early guitars (when he was building as A+P Richardson) and it's a stunner, the guitars he has on his website are more subdued than the one i have but they are excellent value IMHO. i can post pictures later if anyone cares (been meaning to add it to the Guitar porn page anyway) it's a superstrat with an original floyd Rose and a burr walnut top, plays like a dream.
I must state though that i bought mine secondhand and have had very little contact with the man himself but my guitar was built when he was a teenager (i believe) and the fit and finish is as good as any guitar i've ever seen, i actually played a PRS not long after i bought it and it was nice but not nice enough to make me want to swap.

Matt

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+1 for Mike257's brother's SA2000. I have an SA2200 and it is a most excellent instrument. I find the fingerboard a little wider than my 335, and a little thinner from front to back. I also find the tone a fair bit brighter than the 335, which sometimes isn't a bad thing. Anyway it's a lovely tone and you get to love it for what it is without thinking "it's not quite like my 335".

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I'd buy custom without a doubt. My brother just took delivery of his custom guitar - it's beautifully made to his exact spec with some amazing woods, intricate details and hand-wound pick-ups etc etc - quite simply amazing. Cost him a few hundred less than your budget ;)
I don't see why you would go for a factory made instrument, like a Gibson Les Paul for example, when you could at the very least get a professional luthier-made guitar to the same spec for a bit less cash!

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In your position, Oli, I'd start by making a note of the guitars I'd owned/played and what about those suited/didn't suit my playing style. I'd use those criteria to determine what it is I should be looking at. For example, some people are saying Strat, but, if as I suspect, you prefer a wider neck with a shallower profile, then most Strats don't fit the bill, with the exception, perhaps, of the the 80s Plus series. (Wider neck due to the Wilkinson nut.) Also, people are suggesting Yamaha SA series, but the neck on these is so similar to the Sg that you would most likely struggle to get along. You also say that you don't get along with Ibanez necks, but the older models, particularly the Artist series from the 70s and early 80s have wide and shallow necks that are exceptionally comfortable to play. For vintage stuff, you can drop me a private message. I'll leave you to examine the up-to-date stuff the more traditional way - having fun trying things out in music stores!

Edited by noelk27
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Have you considered the "poor man's PRS" as I've heard my Godin's referred to on a couple of occasions..?

Guitars don't come much more versatile, and that's before you get to the SA's with synth access...

I'm on my mobile right now, but I'll post a couple of pics of mine later.


And here they are - '96 LGX-SA on the left, and '99 LGX 2-voice on the right


LGX-SA


LGX



More pics here - [url="http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/kingofthestuntmen/Godin%20LGX-SA/"]http://s42.photobuck...Godin%20LGX-SA/[/url]

Edited by kingofthestuntmen
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