Still looking for a guitar...

[six]

Hey there

I think I'm getting desperate. My old Jackson is about to break any moment, the frets are worn and the tuners are crappy anyway. So getting a new guitar is not just an option but a must.

Maybe you've already read my post about wanting something LIKE a fender but not a fender. Well now I'm at the point where I actually WOULD take a fender if it's not one of the dearest - or if it's a mexican.

But anyway. I don't know which brands I should check out, so maybe you can help me if I give you some ideas of what I'm thinking of:

- I love everything a tele does, but I miss some things: middle PU, tremolo.
- I don't want a tele with additional middle PU and a tremolo - just for the looks to be honest.
- I need an S-S-H or S-S-S setup, nothing like H-H. I NEED single-coil-neck-sound
- bolt on, relatively fat maple neck (just like a tele or an old strat), 22 frets (bye bye fender strat)
- tremolo: regular or locking, as long as it ain't crap.

I think there actually are some known guitarists playing fender strats with 22 frets, S-S-H and locking tremolo... all custom made? can't find them on the fender site.

any help is appreciated.

cheers
six

[MrWinky]

Originally Posted by six

Hey there

I think I'm getting desperate. My old Jackson is about to break any moment, the frets are worn and the tuners are crappy anyway. So getting a new guitar is not just an option but a must.

Maybe you've already read my post about wanting something LIKE a fender but not a fender. Well now I'm at the point where I actually WOULD take a fender if it's not one of the dearest - or if it's a mexican.

But anyway. I don't know which brands I should check out, so maybe you can help me if I give you some ideas of what I'm thinking of:

- I love everything a tele does, but I miss some things: middle PU, tremolo.
- I don't want a tele with additional middle PU and a tremolo - just for the looks to be honest.
- I need an S-S-H or S-S-S setup, nothing like H-H. I NEED single-coil-neck-sound
- bolt on, relatively fat maple neck (just like a tele or an old strat), 22 frets (bye bye fender strat)
- tremolo: regular or locking, as long as it ain't crap.

I think there actually are some known guitarists playing fender strats with 22 frets, S-S-H and locking tremolo... all custom made? can't find them on the fender site.

any help is appreciated.

cheers
six

This sounds like a good job for an Ernie Ball/Musicman!

Look for a MM Silhouette with this pickup combination, but it is not going to be easy. Or, a MM Axis would be cool, but I am not sure about the pickup configuration, but some configs may have a coil split on neck hum to give a single coil sound

[sile2001]

How about a G&L Legacy Deluxe or a G&L Legacy HB? G&L's are basically better made fenders.

[jfrog]

I might sound like a broken record...

I have a Strat & a PRS...but I recently purchased a Tele (a Nashville Power Tele) with 3 pickups & 5-way strat pickup selector switch. It's way more "punchy" (i.e., it cuts thru the mix better...better sustain) than the strat without being as heavy as the PRS.

It's also got a Fishman powerbridge bridge pickup (a 4th pickup), which you can blend in with the mag pickups to add punch.

Like the strat & PRS, it's very verstile. I would highly recommend checking one out. I've hardly touched my other guitars since I got it 3 months ago.

P.S. I was also considering a G&L, but after playing several of the strat and tele type models, I liked the sound of the Fenders better.

[VesuviusJay]

I recently changed from Jackson to Carvin. Unless you are buying a Jackson custom shop piece, there is no comparison.

[Light]

Lots of good options so far, or you could roll your own.

USA Custom and Warmoth both make exceptional quality parts (better than anything made in a factory, to be honest), and you can get whatever you want, including a 22 fret Strat neck. They both make a wide variety of neck shapes, and you can choose your own fret sizes as a part of the deal, and you can go with either nickle/silver or stainless steel frets. If you are hell on frets, get the stainless.

You can get a body from either of them which will have whatever pickup combination you want, either with or without a pickguard, with fancy woods for the top, if you want, and routed for a trem if you would like.

You can get the body and neck finished from either Warmoth or USA Custom for a LOT less than it would cost you to finish it yourself, or to take it to a finishing shop yourself. They both come with excelent finishes, so that is pretty clearly the way to go.

Pickups are avalible from so many sources it almost boggles the mind, but you will rarely go wrong with Seymour Duncans. If you really want great classic sounding single coils, call Lindy Fralin. Or you could get Kinmans and have most of the sound of single coils with none of the noise. They are kind of like the Fender Noiseless pickups, but they don't suck.

Hardware is, of course, an area of some personal preference, but you absolutly want Gotoh 510's for the gears. There is not a better gear made, any where, period. They are a little pricy, but they are well worth the extra money. I would never put anything else on a guitar. I would also recomend going with a Gotoh/Wilkinson trem, but that is just me.

Get a video from Stew Mac, and build the thing. Or, if you don't feel good about your ability to do it yourself, take it to a good repair shop, and have it done there. At the very least, you should probably take it to a repair shop for the final setup.

Yes, it is true that a custom guitar like this has a really poor resale value, but if you know what you want, your never going to sell it anyway, so who cares? It sounds like you know what you want, so why not get it?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[cephus]

Originally Posted by six

I think there actually are some known guitarists playing fender strats with 22 frets, S-S-H and locking tremolo... all custom made? can't find them on the fender site.

I am pretty sure that there is an off-the-shelf strat that has what you want. It's not in my newest sam ash junk mail, but I think it's called like the 42nd street or something. Wait. Here is one. American Deluxe fat strat. No locking trem, tho. Maybe the fender doesn't have the floyd-equipped anynmore. Wasn't there a richie sambora a while back with one?

Fenders are nice and I can appreciate the brand as an institution, but I seriously doubt I'd cough up for a 'merican strat now if I didn't have my 15-year old '62RI. I think it's retarded that they want a grand for an american strat. The G&Ls seem to do the fender thing better than fender and their trem is pretty nice (although not locking). That said, there are a bazillion yamaha, ibanez and other asian guitars that have all that stuff you want.

[Armistice]

http://www.bladeguitars.com/guitargallery.html

California custom...

[Kennyboy Skaggs]

Hey Six

Have you romanced the idea of holding on to the old girl? A reputable luthier could be your answer to either fret dress or refretting (depending the condition of the frets) to put that spark back in her. There are a few good tuners out on the market as well. I play a Mexican Tele that I have had for about 5 years, and I would put it up against any American Standard. Fender also offers the "Nashville Tele" that has the mid pickup for more color. I have played a few Jackson Dinkys in the past and I find them a very balanced guitar. And you could repair the Jackson and purchase a Tele. Have the best of both worlds. Having more than one guitar is a good thing. I hope you find what you are looking for. Happy hunting. Kennyboy

[sweetpeee]

Hmmm...I don't know about the newer version that's outwith tremelo, but for sound I line the Line 6 Variax a whoooole lot. It's all about the tone.The Tele and Strat sounds are awsome as is the Sitar, 12string acoustic and electric, the ovation sound the Martin sound the Les Paul sound, the Banjo sound. they're all pretty decent, but if you ever do check one out, do yourself a favor and use a CLEAN setting on the amp.I hear a lot of people plugging into an over driven sound and wondering why the guitars sound similar...

J.P.

[six]

thanks for the replies so far. about my jackson and the frets: the tremolo is also about to crack next time I change strings (screw holes). and most of all: it sounds too thin in crunch and clean. I have a Cheri (Chevy) Tele, and - damn - it's so nice I can't believe it. But as I said - I need some whammy here and there.

I will check out the "build your own" option too. I always use my guitars to a point where you couldn't sell them anymore anyway... so I'm not afraid of this, hehe.

[six]

AAAAAAAAARGHHHH!!!

Today I went to a shop. Wanted to test some Ibanez, Yamahas and Fenders. Well, they didn't have any "upper class" Ibanez, so I started with a Yamaha. Pretty fine. HSS, Tremolo but special tuners to stay in tune... well it didn't at all. The sound was ok though.

Then I grabbed that Fender. Something a bit above the Highway model. Tonewise exactly my baby - and it even felt the way I want it to feel. But then I whammy-ed a bit. Do you know the "kickstart my heart"-intro? after that I even had the dropped motley-tuning, haha . So such a fender would be a nice addition to my collection but it wouldn't replace the jackson.
And then there was the same fender with a locking tremolo. hallelujah. I plugged it in and... ... ... now I know why my Jackson lacks that certain something. This locking-trem fender just sounded as flat (note tune-wise) as my jackson. So fender-sound and locking trem rule out each other.

I think I'll get a middle-class Ibanez to really replace my Jackson 1:1 and I'll use my cheri tele to get that fender-like blues sound, and i'll put up with the fact that I can't get real fat fender-sound and dive-bombs.

[famous beagle]

Yeah there's got to be a Fender that does that. Like someone else mentioned, Ritchie Sambora had it, and Vito Bratta also had it (with an ESP strat I think). There's got to be something.

[Light]

Find a guitar with one of the Wilkinson/Gotoh "Vintage" model trems, with the six screews. Or just try a normal Wilkinson, which (to my ear) sounds a lot better than any Floyd, and is much better tha a Fender style bridge tuning wise.

There is no question, though, that Floyds are tone killers.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[Ed Dixon]

Consider a Variax. Lots of different sounds in one low cost guitar, with zero noise.

Ed

[six]

variax? i don't really know. i have a friend who's got one... i wasn't too impressed.

[SteveK]

Fender American Deluxe Strat would fit the bill. 22 fret, locking machine heads, 2 point tremelo with a push-in arm. The new ones have SCN noiseless pickups with a special switching system. The switching system lets you get humbucker type tones from the single coils. It comes in a V-neck version that is a bit thicker than the standard neck also. Here's a link...
http://fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0101302706

[Ed Dixon]

Originally Posted by six

variax? i don't really know. i have a friend who's got one... i wasn't too impressed.

I have had one for about a year now and have been very impressed. I used a PRS Custom 24 before, which now stays in the case. The reange of sounds is quite good. That coupled with zero noise is a very good combo for both live and recording use.

Ed

[MrWinky]

One other option in a guitar that you can get with a Floyd or vintage style bridge is the Godin Freeway Classic. Lots of guitar for the money. The Godins are hard to find in a store, but MF now carries the line.

[VesuviusJay]

I still say try a carvin if at all possible. You can get a neckthrough for the price of a bolt on...