Four questions

[drossfile]

most, if not all of these, have no doubt been addressed here before, but call me lazy--i'm a drumber after all. doesn't that pass for a worthy excuse here?

1. intonation adjustment

i know the basics of intonation adjustment, and have done it before, with moderate success. but is there some definitive web resource (preferably with video) that you can recommend?


2. electric or acoustic?

i'm in the market to buy either a new acoustic or electric. i'm going back and forth about which. i do the majority of my recording with electric, and have been playing the same pawn shop aria pro ii since i was 19. i generally like the sound and feel of this guitar, but feel an itch to buy something better.

on the other hand, i do a fair amount of "campfire" type playing with the acoustic (as well as some recording), and i'm less satisfied with my current alvarez sound (paid <$300 new). i also itch for a new higher-end acoustic.

i'm thinking $1000 budget on the electric and $2000 on the acoustic, but i can't do both. which would you replace?

3. which electric?

i do hard rock/metal, but with clean, jazzier parts too. i'm looking for a workhorse, but it definitely doesn't need any blues/country vibe at all. i'm generally fond of esp, ibanez, and prs, but any suggestions are welcome. a variety of pickups is a plus too for a variety of tones. of course i realize that stock pickups can be changed, but again--i'm a lazy drumber. single-coil pickups would be a nice augmentation to a humbucker, but do they make stock ones that don't buzz?

4. which acoustic?

this is really kind of a dumb question, because i know which one will be the right one when i play it. i've auditioned several so far, but none have wowed me yet. any brands/models you all prefer? i used to be under the impression that martin, takamine, and taylor were really nice, but i've recently heard negative things about all of them (overrated, overpriced, and mass-produced). i'm considering breedlove, but haven't gotten a chance to try one yet. it has to sound fabulous live, un-miked, and also full and shimmery on tape.

*note on questions 3 & 4* quality is my first and foremost goal. intonation must be flawless, construction solid, and tone consistent. i'm not interested in gimmicks, bells, or whistles.

thanks for any and all responses!!!

[Chili]

Well, I'm no expert, but I'm just going to jump right in if you don't mind.

1. Intonation - do you mean just tuning the strings to the correct pitch or setting the guitar up for proper intonation? Like bridge placement, string height, etc... i haven't looked yet, but did you try searching YouTube?

2. Electric or Acoustic - why not both?? You said your budget for an acoustic is $2000. Wow, you can get a really super nice acoustic for that price. But if you're only going to do campfire playing (just saying - i saw the recording part too ), I'm thinking you can lower the price on the acoustic and get a great electric also.

3. Which Electric - I've got an Ibanez semi-hollow with their standard-fare pickups. I run it through a modeler and can get almost any tone I want from it. It plays nice, but not fantastic. ~$400 Only a suggestion. I do love those PRS's. Haven't played one in a long time. Every guitar is as different as every person playing it. Only you can decide what's best for you.

4. Which Acoustic - I was recently in the market for an acoustic. I went to several different stores over a preiod of a few months and tried everything. I whittled it down to Martins and Taylors in the $1000 range. Taylors were brighter, martins more full and consistent. Loved both of them, I ended up getting the martin. Now I'm not so sure I made the best choice. I ahve yet to record it with a mic, but when I plug it in, I hear a very low freq hum... very faint, but it's there. I'm not happy about that at all!! Oh, but the way it sounds when I'm playing it. Beautiful. I don't think I'm good enough to capture that sound on tape.

These are only opinions. Like I said, i think with the money you're talking about, you can get both electric and acoustic and find solid quality and something that will make you smile.

Good luck and have fun. I'm interested in knowing what you choose.

Cheers,

[yag]

I know that in youtube there was a guy, who did guitar setup with a les paul and a strat... you can try, it will not be too hard to find, I do not know how much of a help it would be...

here is the link to one of the steps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsYmITgD9s8



Did you consider for going acoustic-electric and use the same guitar for both with some pedals& stuff?

You can also check guitar fetish for electric guitars, they have some beautiful stuff there, never played any of them (just bought some pickups) but there are lots of people that has made a purchase from them.. and as Chili said I would try to optimize the individual prices and buy both of them....


and of course I'm no expert either but...

buying a prs and a high end acoustic guitar will cost too much I guess... But if I were you with a total budget of 2000$, I would pick up a hollowbody/semi hollow (ibanez,xaviere, gretsch,epiphone), and an ovation (their USA made models' prices were down due to moving offshore after gibson(not very sure) has bought the company)... but that is my guess, hope it helped

[mcmetal]

check this site out for intonation and set-up advice. www.projectguitar.com

[TMatt142]

Try the Ibanez SA lineup. fixed bridge, hum + singles, thin mahogany that produces a very nice tone (without the weight of a Les Paul). Construction of these is rock solid. I'm assuming you are looking for a simple fixed bridge, thus the reason for suggesting this line of Ibanez. There are plenty of others out there though that you can pick up for FAR less than $1000.00 from other manufacturers. Can't help you on Acoustics.....

[357mag]

Genuine single-coils will hum. Personally I don't find it all that big of an issue but others object to it. Dimarzio has the market cornered on vertical humbuckers. They sound quite good in fact. Many choices available. Duncan only makes one model. Kinman makes some noiseless pickups also but his are tremendously expensive. Fender also makes some.

[Dogbreath]

When ya get a chance...check out Carvins line up.

I've got the DC 400 and it's fairly verstile. Check a write up on it. Push/pull main volume, 3 switches with different sounds for the pups etc. Good stuff and worth takin a few minutes to check em out.

I also got one of Carvins pick guards loaded with 2 single coils and a humbucker for my cheapo strat. Although it's just a little too hot for my taste. I tend to turn that thing down when I record.

I'm no help on the intonation thing. I just set mine up til it sounds and plays good to me.

Good luck man....lemme know if I can help.

Kel

[DrewPeterson7]

For hard rock/metal with the occasional clean/jazzy breakdown... check out some of the Schecter C-series guitars. The newer ones (say, post '05) absolutely slay for the price, and often come with Duncans. You can grab something new for sub $700, used for maybe sub-$400, and get a great guitar and come in WAY under your budget. They're Korean made, but the setup (including from the look and feel of it the fret dressing) is done in the States, and in your price bracket for what you're talking about playing, you're not going to beat them.

For the acoustic, honestly, the budget Alvarezes are again my favorite "affordable" acoustics. If you can come in far enough under $1k on an electric, then hold onto the Alvarez for the drunken campfire jams and then keep your eyes open for a nice used Taylor 3-series or Martin MC series.

[drossfile]

wow, lots of great responses here guys!!! thanks!

drew and dog: i will definitely check out both the schecters and carvins. this isn't the first time someone's recommended them for me.

tmatt: will certainly look into the sa series, although i'm not really sold on a bridge either way. tremolo isn't something i use, but i wouldn't be averse to starting as long as i had a trem bridge that would stay in tune. i guess that means strats are out of the question!


mcmetal: thanks for the link!

357: interesting info, i'm sure i've heard something like that along the way about single-coils and promptly rejected it thinking, "if they all buzz, who the hell would play with them?" lol. yeah, i really hate that noise--i feel like if i'm gonna record with that racket i might as well use my art tube mp on vox!

yag: thanks for the input, but i'm definitely after a solid body, never been a fan of any hollow (semi or otherwise). it's just not metal enough! then again, there are lots of guitars out there that are WAY TOO metal. also, there's no way i could play my heavy stuff on an acoustic. wouldn't feel right at all.

chili (and various others): it occurred to me that i could indeed set a budget of $1000 each, but most of the acoustics i played that even came close to having my sought-after sound and features were in the 1.5-2K range. could just be that i haven't played the right 1k git yet. btw, how do the taylors hold up over time? i've heard that the tone doesn't stay consistent due to the fact that they're mass-produced? or is that just some hogwash that some jaded know-it-all made up? (happens all the time )

again, thanks to everyone! keep those suggestions comin' guys!

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by drossfile

357: interesting info, i'm sure i've heard something like that along the way about single-coils and promptly rejected it thinking, "if they all buzz, who the hell would play with them?" lol. yeah, i really hate that noise--i feel like if i'm gonna record with that racket i might as well use my art tube mp on vox!

I would, and do, because they sound very different from humbucking pickups. Humbuckers pick up signals from two different spots on a string and mix them together, and the resultant interference (both positive and negative) makes them sound a little "out of focus" to my ears.

[Chili]

Originally Posted by drossfile

wow, lots of great responses here guys!!! thanks!
.....

again, thanks to everyone! keep those suggestions comin' guys!

Yeah, it's always fun to spend other people's money.

[acidrock]

I'm going to go completely against the grain here and ask you to consider a Variax.
If you just want a bunch of different sounds to record that'll get you there faster than anything else,and seeing as you're really a drummer....

Other than that there is no one electric to have,sorry you got to have at least two.


Keep the Alvarez,if you end up getting a real nice acoustic you don't want to be taking it to parties and picnics or where lots of adult beverages are being served.

Go look at other acoustics regardless of price and when you find the right one buy it,bide your time.I don't think acoustics can be quantified in the same way as an electric.

[acidrock]

Originally Posted by Chili

Yeah, it's always fun to spend other people's money.

Well I'd spend mine if I had any.

[didgijimmy]

Just another option, and it's going to depend on How metal you want it, but I have to recommend Tradition to you, based on experience. They are offered at supreme prices for the quality you recieve. I own the S20 which can be had for about $400 or so and I've honestly preferred it over alot of the Gibsons I've played at GC, actually for the sound and feel I love I prefer it over all of them. The action and playability is incredible, and at least the one I have has some awesome inlays. the bridge pup is definitely hot enough for metal, I play all sorts of Drop d stuff with it, and the neck pickup, the neck pup is where its at man. Roll back the tone to about 3 and I get the most gorgeous jazz tone I could ask for man. I've played in a jazz ensemble for 4 years with it and am about to go study jazz guitar in college and I wouldn't want any other guitar. Also, bring the tone back up and roll the volume knob to about 4 and crank some crunch and you'll have smooth lead tones that cut through glass. IMHO anyway. They offer other styles that look amazing and an upgrade git from the one I have too. This would leave you the 1500 you want for you acoustic. But i gotta say I love my Alvarez acoustic electric.
Good luck
James

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by ggunn

I would, and do, because they sound very different from humbucking pickups. Humbuckers pick up signals from two different spots on a string and mix them together, and the resultant interference (both positive and negative) makes them sound a little "out of focus" to my ears.

yep, i agree w/ you. i really would love to use my pickup switch, and sometimes do, but i always end up re-recording the track using the humbucker b/c i can't stand that buzzing in the background. other than the buzz, i love the sound of them, especially for clean tones--more round and warm for sure.

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by acidrock

I'm going to go completely against the grain here and ask you to consider a Variax.
If you just want a bunch of different sounds to record that'll get you there faster than anything else,and seeing as you're really a drummer....

Other than that there is no one electric to have,sorry you got to have at least two.


Keep the Alvarez,if you end up getting a real nice acoustic you don't want to be taking it to parties and picnics or where lots of adult beverages are being served.

Go look at other acoustics regardless of price and when you find the right one buy it,bide your time.I don't think acoustics can be quantified in the same way as an electric.

i actually almost bought a variax, since i already use a podxtlive and thought i'd get a great variety of tones, plus all the extra goodies the pod offers (banjo, sitar, etc). problem is, you're paying for the electronics rather than the actual quality of the guitar. i'm not saying they're made like complete crap, but a normal solid body git for 1k is gonna get me a much better-made instrument than the variax...at least, that's the conclusion that steered me away from buying one recently.

as for biding my time--no doubt!!! my buy cycle is about a year or so on a major purchase. i shopped keyboards for a year before getting one, and my drum kit i spent TWO years researching and finally buying. yeah, i don't make these decisions lightly!

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by didgijimmy

Just another option, and it's going to depend on How metal you want it, but I have to recommend Tradition to you, based on experience. They are offered at supreme prices for the quality you recieve. I own the S20 which can be had for about $400 or so and I've honestly preferred it over alot of the Gibsons I've played at GC, actually for the sound and feel I love I prefer it over all of them. The action and playability is incredible, and at least the one I have has some awesome inlays. the bridge pup is definitely hot enough for metal, I play all sorts of Drop d stuff with it, and the neck pickup, the neck pup is where its at man. Roll back the tone to about 3 and I get the most gorgeous jazz tone I could ask for man. I've played in a jazz ensemble for 4 years with it and am about to go study jazz guitar in college and I wouldn't want any other guitar. Also, bring the tone back up and roll the volume knob to about 4 and crank some crunch and you'll have smooth lead tones that cut through glass. IMHO anyway. They offer other styles that look amazing and an upgrade git from the one I have too. This would leave you the 1500 you want for you acoustic. But i gotta say I love my Alvarez acoustic electric.
Good luck
James

nice! i'm totally unfamiliar w/ tradition, but i'll look into it.

as for my alvarez--yeah, i honestly think my guitar was a steal at $240 new. it's pretty remarkably priced. i'm just ready to graduate to THE acoustic--there are very few instrument sounds that i already have a vision in my head of what would be ideal, but acoustic guitar is certainly one. i know EXACTLY what it should sound like, and my alvarez just ain't cuttin' it.

[Light]

Question one - if you really want to learn how to do it well, buy Dan Erlewine's book. You can get it at Stew Mac.


Question two - if you can afford $2000 for an acoustic, get both at the $1000 mark. You can get a couple of perfectly fine instruments for that price which will be a very real upgrade from what you've got.

Question three - There are a whole bunch of options. Really, whatever you like. There are a ton of good electrics for about $1000. You can't go wrong with a Strat, and a $1000 Strat will be very fine indeed.

Question four - A Martin D-15. About $1000, and it sounds as good as just about anything on the market - maybe not the perfect guitar for you, so try it first, but you won't find a better guitar for the price.



Light

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

[mcmetal]

as far as pickups go dimarzio used to make a humbucker called the dual power humbucker.they're pretty much the same as the super distortion pickups only they came with a toggle switch that would cancel out the humbucker and use only the one side turning it into a single coil.i have two of these but never had the toggle hooked up so i don't know about the hum.

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by Light

Question one - if you really want to learn how to do it well, buy Dan Erlewine's book. You can get it at Stew Mac.


Question two - if you can afford $2000 for an acoustic, get both at the $1000 mark. You can get a couple of perfectly fine instruments for that price which will be a very real upgrade from what you've got.

Question three - There are a whole bunch of options. Really, whatever you like. There are a ton of good electrics for about $1000. You can't go wrong with a Strat, and a $1000 Strat will be very fine indeed.

Question four - A Martin D-15. About $1000, and it sounds as good as just about anything on the market - maybe not the perfect guitar for you, so try it first, but you won't find a better guitar for the price.



Light

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

hey thanks for dropping by man! i know you're quite the resident guru and i'm definitely taking your advice to heart. i checked out stewmac, and they're right in athens OH where i used to spend a LOT of drunken weekends!

is "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great!" the book you're referring to?

thanks for the recommendation on the d15. unfortunately, i absolutely require a cutaway (should've mentioned that in the op).

[357mag]

If you're interested in a humbucker that sounds real close to a single-coil check out the Dimarzio Area 67. Excellent sounding pickup. They also make Area 61's and Area 58's. But so far the Area 67 comes the closest to nailing the single-coil tone.

[stevieb]

Fender has a pretty decent narrative on setup, including intonation.

And I would recommend you consider Seagull, like I do every time someone ask that same basic question. (When are they gonna start paying me??)

[drossfile]

well, i've been researching quite a bit more, and i keep hearing great things about carvin electrics.

so i built my custom on the website, and it clocks in at $1768.

i'm also leaving in a few minutes to audition some acoustics--the local place i'm headed stocks martin, taylor, seagull, breedlove, cole clark, luna, alvarez, and godin.

still not sure which one i'm gonna buy first, but if i play that magical acoustic today i'll probably snag it. otherwise i'm getting more and more tempted to order that carvin.

it's a ct6 carved top, quilted maple, deep blue w/ black burst edges, floyd rose, black hardware, abalone logo. i can see it in my head and man it's a thing of beauty!

thanks again for all the input!

i think i'll hit up metalhead28 to quote me the same specs in a stinnett custom.

[acidrock]

Originally Posted by drossfile

well, i've been researching quite a bit more, and i keep hearing great things about carvin electrics.

so i built my custom on the website, and it clocks in at $1768.

i'm also leaving in a few minutes to audition some acoustics--the local place i'm headed stocks martin, taylor, seagull, breedlove, cole clark, luna, alvarez, and godin.

still not sure which one i'm gonna buy first, but if i play that magical acoustic today i'll probably snag it. otherwise i'm getting more and more tempted to order that carvin.

it's a ct6 carved top, quilted maple, deep blue w/ black burst edges, floyd rose, black hardware, abalone logo. i can see it in my head and man it's a thing of beauty!

thanks again for all the input!

i think i'll hit up metalhead28 to quote me the same specs in a stinnett custom.

mmmm,Carvin........

[Treeline]

I'll echo what Light said, but I'm personally partial to Taylor. For your purposes, a Taylor is likely to be a bit brighter sounding. i'd also encourage you to try a couple of different body styles of acoustics. Although we tend to think of a dreadnaught when we think "acoustic," dreadnaughts by design have an uneven response through the spectrum. They were originally designed to have very strong low end and midrange to cut through a band as a rhythm instrument. That's one reason a hot bluegrass run on the lower register of a great dreadnaught can knock the head off a rooster at thirty paces.

It's also why this might not be a great recording guitar. A more versatile instrument is likely to be a 000 or grand auditorium size - basically a similar depth as a dreadnaught, but with a slightly smaller belly and a few less cubic inches inside the resonating chamber. The frequency response of this style is likely to be more consistent from one extreme to the other. It will not have the boom of a D, but that boom can be a hinderance. So for recording purposes, it will do a good job in more roles than a D-shape guitar will. Try a few out - they can be real cannons.