best low priced all around electric to have in studio

aberyClark

New member
I currently have a Gibson ES125 (1950's) archtop electric. I use this for all my electric guitar needs on my tracks. I'm not a great guitar player...but can piece together pretty much anything I need. My music is not Guitar focused. I also have an acoustic. Anyway, the Gibson sounds great...but it is fat and is showing its age (noisy p-90), hard to keep in tune, etc. What would be a good all around guitar? I will always use the Gibson when needed. But, would like to get a solid body. The ES125 does have "that" Gibson sound. Would a Mexican tele or strat compliment my sound options? PRS? Epiphone SG, les Paul? Opinions please. I'm also curioius about the Hofner Colorama (chinease) for $199.00
 
in that general price range, samick, schecter, ibanez, and fernandez have models that you might have a good shot at. at the under $300 pricerange, i'd probably be mostly scoping pawn shops and college music shops. ebay and local classifieds might bring you some luck as well.
 
If you're looking for a guitar to record with, try looking on Ebay for a used Gibson L6S. They can be pretty abused bcause they've been out of production 26 years but there are a few beauties out there. Make sure it has the original electronics (Lawrence designed super humbuckers with a six way rotary switch and tone choke) and is the model with the glued in neck not the bolt neck, strings through the body model. You can get a wide variety of sounds from the setup from tele to LP and a whole lot in between. They are not the best for live use because the rotary swith is a little tricky when trying to switch on the fly. I personally have two, one that I've completely restored (a '73) and one that I'm in the process of restoring (a '80). I won one for my father 4 years ago, that was a '75, came from England and was in showroom condition. I was pretty jealous. :D I should probably add that they usually range in price from $399 to around $799 depending on condition, etc,etc.
 
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agile les paul copy. they are around 160-199 for the good models and they are heavy with lots of sustain and sound great. set necks, grover tuners and the pickups actually dont sound bad. oh yeah they look nice too! rondo music distributes them, or you can find them on ebay. www.rondomusic.com
 
for all around versatility I like the strat hum/single/single suggestion or possible a tele single/single/hum if your music style leans country or blues. have a look at the Tradition Jerry Reid Signature model. my personal choice would be a Les Paul. not as versatile but it is the definitive rock guitar sound.
 
Yeah - any well-made strat-type guitar with a humbucker on the neck will be versatile.

As always - play before you pay and get a good setup.
 
For general playing, to cover everything from crisp country to overdriven shread, you might want to look into an Ibanez. They have quite a few to choose from in the under $500 price range. Personaly I like the RG series for versatility and tonal range, and they are comfortable to play.
 
aberyClark said:
I currently have a Gibson ES125 (1950's) archtop electric. I use this for all my electric guitar needs on my tracks. I'm not a great guitar player...but can piece together pretty much anything I need. My music is not Guitar focused. I also have an acoustic. Anyway, the Gibson sounds great...but it is fat and is showing its age (noisy p-90), hard to keep in tune, etc. What would be a good all around guitar? I will always use the Gibson when needed. But, would like to get a solid body. The ES125 does have "that" Gibson sound. Would a Mexican tele or strat compliment my sound options? PRS? Epiphone SG, les Paul? Opinions please. I'm also curioius about the Hofner Colorama (chinease) for $199.00

I'm kind of curious about that Hofner too. I've never played a Hofner before though. If you were thinking of the one with P-90's (I was), there's an SX guitar with P-90's for even less:

http://www.rondomusic.net/gg1jr.html

And that TVY yellow looks mighty cool. I have'nt tried an SX yet either but that yellow junior is on my to buy list. I need a ballsy sounding guitar.

I personally think that you could cover more ground with a strat type guitar than any other. Add a humbucker or P-90 and it definately is the most versatile. You could cover everything from r & b to death metal.
 
Dani Pace said:
For general playing, to cover everything from crisp country to overdriven shread, you might want to look into an Ibanez. They have quite a few to choose from in the under $500 price range. Personaly I like the RG series for versatility and tonal range, and they are comfortable to play.

Yup I have a lower end RG and Ive used it for all my guitar work for the past couple years. Sounds great clean and distorted and stays in tune well..
 
I have a 300.00 schecter diamond series .... it sounds awesome ..lots of sustain and great dark tone .... sounds way better than my high dollar jackson !@!
 
It depends on what you're looking for

You say your music isn't guitar-oriented, but what kind of sound are you looking for as an alternative to your Gibson? I would assume you'd want a Strat or Tele, just because that would be the most different from what you have.

And I have that Jr w/P90's from Rondo and if at any time you'd like to trade your clunky old 125 for it, I'd be glad to accomodate you. ;)

Fortunately, it's the 'natural' one. That TV yellow always reminds me of that line from 'American Graffitti'. :D
 
Cardioidpotent said:
You say your music isn't guitar-oriented, but what kind of sound are you looking for as an alternative to your Gibson? I would assume you'd want a Strat or Tele, just because that would be the most different from what you have.

And I have that Jr w/P90's from Rondo and if at any time you'd like to trade your clunky old 125 for it, I'd be glad to accomodate you. ;)

Fortunately, it's the 'natural' one. That TV yellow always reminds me of that line from 'American Graffitti'. :D

Man you gotta be crazy. That yellow rocks. Baby blue would be even better though. Natural is kind of boring to my eyes. :D
 
Ibanez is really a decent bang for the buck in this range. I have had lots of guitars. My main axes are a strat and a 335. Last year, I won an Ibanez SZ320 in a shredding contest, and it's become my go-to instrument. The neck is really fast and the pickups are fine. Sustain is amazing on this thing - perhaps due to the neck-through build. I have nothing bad to say about that instrument.
 
Pacifica

Yamaha Pacifica. couple of hundred yo yos brand new. Absolutely amazing. More versatile than a strat, lovely thin neck, Humbucker.....does everything. and like i said cheap as chips with a natural grain finish.
 
I like my schecter diamond series c1 xxx guitar. It cost me $499.99 a couple years ago. It very versitle. It has two humbuckes but the tone knob pulls out to make the neck pickup single coil which is awesome. I can go from a awesome jazz or blues tone to a black/death metal tone no problem. I'm definately a fan of schecters.
 
OK, I gotta say it

TravisinFlorida said:
Man you gotta be crazy. That yellow rocks. Baby blue would be even better though. Natural is kind of boring to my eyes. :D

"Is that piss-yella or puke-green?"

Now if it was a nice bright yellow, that would be different.

First time I ever heard G&L touted for 'affordability'. Something must've changed since I looked at them last.
 
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