Hello all,
This request is for something I'm not all that familiar with but very interested in. I'll preface the request to follow with a brief description of what I do, what I'm used to, and why I'm looking for something so different. I play mostly blues style guitar with a good bit of attention to subtle dynamics for expressive changes. I'm used to low output pickups - PAF and early Strat single coil type. I use both fixed bridge and traditional non-locking trem bridges. My primary amp is a Fuchs ODS-50 combo. I'll lean towards rock or fusion (a'la Steely Dan) and have picked up ideas from both and infuse them into my approach where they seem to fit for me. The Fuchs works perfectly for all of this. I've pretty well stayed close to these preferences for most of the 30 or so years I've played.
Recently I picked up a Mesa Mark V as a second amp primarily for recording with different tones than I get with my primary rig. After spending some time getting to know the amp I'm beginning to take an interest in the high gain sounds this amp is capable of producing. As aggressive as these sounds are they're also very musical and expressive and I'm interested in exploring the possibilities in this area.
The one thing I lack at this point is a guitar well suited to these types of sounds. The PAF's and mid 50's type single coils I use now provide some very delicate details that translate beautifully through the Fuchs even with high gain overdrive. These details, however, seem to get lost or buried through the Mesa's high gain lead channel at higher gain settings. I have heard guitars played through this type of amp at high gain that produce amazingly expressive detail, maintain note separation and definition for rhythm parts, and provide a singing, full voice for single note soloing all while offering what sounds like a similar level of expressive detail as I'm used to having in the Fuchs and my current guitars.
What I'm looking for at this point is a guitar / electronics package that will give me a similar level of expressive control and, for a lack of a better description, more forward and aggressive detail / character. I'm not interested in blowing a ton of money on a guitar for this purpose but, at the same time, I don't want to waste money on a mediocre guitar. If the instrument is not inspirational to play I'm likely to lose interest relatively quickly and go back to what I'm used to. Here's a checklist of must-have's for this guitar:
* A neck with some meat to it - the super thin necks (Ibanez style) are uncomfortable for me to play.
* Prefer an oil finish or satin finish neck (not a deal breaker - I can acclimate to any finish).
* Jumbo frets, or at least tall frets, are preferred.
* Good fretwork - no sharp edges felt along the edge of the fretboard (doesn't have to be Anderson, Lull, etc. quality - just good production work).
* A non locking traditional floating trem style bridge that holds tuning well (no Floyd's - don't care for them). I have a Hipshot 2-post floating trem on my strat that holds tuning perfectly. I don't do anything aggressive with the trem, just subtle vibrato on some chords and single notes as another expressive tool.
* Locking tuners (not a deal breaker if not included - this is an easy add-on).
* Bridge humbucker + ??? - whatever you feel works well with the bridge pickup and produces clear, warm neck P/U tones.
* Pickups that will provide the above described results for high gain tones and also work well for clean tones.
* Flexible electronics preferred (2-pickup with a three way selector, a coil tap switch, volume, and tone controls for example - I just like to have some flexibility at the instruments controls). This is a secondary concern to having great bridge and neck pickup tones.
* Not concerned with body/neck/fretboard wood types just so long as the end product is clear and detailed sonically and matches up well with the electronics.
* Also not concerned with looks (body style, finish color, etc.) except where ergonomics are concerned. If it's comfortable to play then it's good to go.
* I'd like to keep my total cash outlay to a maximum of $1,200 if at all possible. All of my guitars were purchased at or below this price and all are amazing instruments. I can't see spending more especially for an experimental instrument. If you have a suggestion that's just a bit north of $1,200 that you think is an ideal fit I am interested. I want to remain flexible enough to make sure I don't miss out on a perfect fit due to an arbitrary line in the sand.
* I'd also much prefer suggestions for readily available guitars, guitars I can find locally and demo. I've had more disappointing experiences than good ones purchasing instruments sight unseen so I've stopped doing so altogether.
I apologize for the long winded post but I'm really hoping to get some focused suggestions I can use to help me find an instrument that will allow me to explore these new (to me) sounds and see if they're something I can put to productive use in the future. I won't have a lot of time to burn on this. Work is going to take a lot of my time for a while and the holidays bring a lot of family activities with them. I want as much of my remaining free time as possible to be spent with my wife and son. If I can, in the midst of all this, work on finding a guitar for the above stated purpose so much the better.
Any and all suggestion are greatly appreciated!
This request is for something I'm not all that familiar with but very interested in. I'll preface the request to follow with a brief description of what I do, what I'm used to, and why I'm looking for something so different. I play mostly blues style guitar with a good bit of attention to subtle dynamics for expressive changes. I'm used to low output pickups - PAF and early Strat single coil type. I use both fixed bridge and traditional non-locking trem bridges. My primary amp is a Fuchs ODS-50 combo. I'll lean towards rock or fusion (a'la Steely Dan) and have picked up ideas from both and infuse them into my approach where they seem to fit for me. The Fuchs works perfectly for all of this. I've pretty well stayed close to these preferences for most of the 30 or so years I've played.
Recently I picked up a Mesa Mark V as a second amp primarily for recording with different tones than I get with my primary rig. After spending some time getting to know the amp I'm beginning to take an interest in the high gain sounds this amp is capable of producing. As aggressive as these sounds are they're also very musical and expressive and I'm interested in exploring the possibilities in this area.
The one thing I lack at this point is a guitar well suited to these types of sounds. The PAF's and mid 50's type single coils I use now provide some very delicate details that translate beautifully through the Fuchs even with high gain overdrive. These details, however, seem to get lost or buried through the Mesa's high gain lead channel at higher gain settings. I have heard guitars played through this type of amp at high gain that produce amazingly expressive detail, maintain note separation and definition for rhythm parts, and provide a singing, full voice for single note soloing all while offering what sounds like a similar level of expressive detail as I'm used to having in the Fuchs and my current guitars.
What I'm looking for at this point is a guitar / electronics package that will give me a similar level of expressive control and, for a lack of a better description, more forward and aggressive detail / character. I'm not interested in blowing a ton of money on a guitar for this purpose but, at the same time, I don't want to waste money on a mediocre guitar. If the instrument is not inspirational to play I'm likely to lose interest relatively quickly and go back to what I'm used to. Here's a checklist of must-have's for this guitar:
* A neck with some meat to it - the super thin necks (Ibanez style) are uncomfortable for me to play.
* Prefer an oil finish or satin finish neck (not a deal breaker - I can acclimate to any finish).
* Jumbo frets, or at least tall frets, are preferred.
* Good fretwork - no sharp edges felt along the edge of the fretboard (doesn't have to be Anderson, Lull, etc. quality - just good production work).
* A non locking traditional floating trem style bridge that holds tuning well (no Floyd's - don't care for them). I have a Hipshot 2-post floating trem on my strat that holds tuning perfectly. I don't do anything aggressive with the trem, just subtle vibrato on some chords and single notes as another expressive tool.
* Locking tuners (not a deal breaker if not included - this is an easy add-on).
* Bridge humbucker + ??? - whatever you feel works well with the bridge pickup and produces clear, warm neck P/U tones.
* Pickups that will provide the above described results for high gain tones and also work well for clean tones.
* Flexible electronics preferred (2-pickup with a three way selector, a coil tap switch, volume, and tone controls for example - I just like to have some flexibility at the instruments controls). This is a secondary concern to having great bridge and neck pickup tones.
* Not concerned with body/neck/fretboard wood types just so long as the end product is clear and detailed sonically and matches up well with the electronics.
* Also not concerned with looks (body style, finish color, etc.) except where ergonomics are concerned. If it's comfortable to play then it's good to go.
* I'd like to keep my total cash outlay to a maximum of $1,200 if at all possible. All of my guitars were purchased at or below this price and all are amazing instruments. I can't see spending more especially for an experimental instrument. If you have a suggestion that's just a bit north of $1,200 that you think is an ideal fit I am interested. I want to remain flexible enough to make sure I don't miss out on a perfect fit due to an arbitrary line in the sand.
* I'd also much prefer suggestions for readily available guitars, guitars I can find locally and demo. I've had more disappointing experiences than good ones purchasing instruments sight unseen so I've stopped doing so altogether.
I apologize for the long winded post but I'm really hoping to get some focused suggestions I can use to help me find an instrument that will allow me to explore these new (to me) sounds and see if they're something I can put to productive use in the future. I won't have a lot of time to burn on this. Work is going to take a lot of my time for a while and the holidays bring a lot of family activities with them. I want as much of my remaining free time as possible to be spent with my wife and son. If I can, in the midst of all this, work on finding a guitar for the above stated purpose so much the better.
Any and all suggestion are greatly appreciated!
