Humbucker cheap guitar brands?

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jeff0633

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Hi. I already have two strat style guitars with replacement pickups. Now, I crave that fat humbucker tone. What are trhe best cheapo brands that have dual humbucker setups? I would prefer they have only one volume control, like a start, since I sue the volume control to turn up for leads, and I hate it when I have to deal with two. What about Jay tursor guitars? What about Sanatoga? Something around $200 if possible, that I can just put some better pickups in.

Jeff
 
Epiphone SG or Les Paul Special. $179 at GC, one volume and one tone control, 2 humbuckers. You'll probably have to play a bunch to find one with no major problems. I've got an SG Special with 57 Classic humbuckers in it, which is my expendable airline axe, and it works just fine.-Richie
 
Richard Monroe said:
Epiphone SG or Les Paul Special. $179 at GC, one volume and one tone control, 2 humbuckers. You'll probably have to play a bunch to find one with no major problems. I've got an SG Special with 57 Classic humbuckers in it, which is my expendable airline axe, and it works just fine.-Richie
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Well, I had a guitar student who got a cheap Epiphone for 149 at GC, and it felt so incredibly cheap, that I would be afraid to buy one of the cheap Epiphone models. I think this LP special is one step up from the 149 guitar, but I would still be worried. I was looking for an unknown sleeper that has decent build quality. I have seen cheap guitars come so close. I used to have a DeArmond s-100, and it was thick and heavey, and came so close to being a good quality guitar, but the knobs were too far away from where my hand strumed the guitar, it had two volume controls instead of one, and I wasn't very happy with the neck on it. I get the feeling that many others might have gotton very good S-100's. That guitar was close to being a fine instrument, and I picked up a Epi G-400 at guitar Center once, and I almost laughed. It was half as heavy as the DeArmond, and it felt cheap. I simply just didn't like certain qualities about the DeArmond. So, in conclusion, I am looking for a well=kept secret brand and model of guitar that has two hB pups and one volume control. Now, I would be able to take a LP style and have the second volume control disabled and have both pups wired to one volume. I had that done on the DeArmond, and it cost 30 bucks. Anyway, I am searching. I would still like some comments on the Schecter, and on the Jay Tuser brand, ans well as the Sanatoga, which may be made by Jay Turser.

Thanks.

Jeff
 
Samick is the way to go.

Samick makes just about every "cheapo" brand you can name (...including Epiphone, Jay Turser, Schecter, etc. etc. etc.) but the guitars they are contracted to build for other manufacturers have each manufacturer's specs and have their final inspections done by each of those individual companies.

Samick does their own inspections on their own guitars, and as a result they have MUCH higher standards on what they ship out to be sold. Thus, Samick guitars have better fretwork, better paint, better everything!

More specifically, I recommend the Greg Bennett line of guitars. They have all the good stuff on them right from the factory... Wilkinson tremolo, Grover tuners, 500k pots, etc. The only thing they skimped on was that they used their own "Duncan Designed" pickups, rather than the real thing. While they sound rather good, they are still a bit less punchy than a real duncan pickup. So, all you have to do is swap out the pickups... which sounds *exactly* like what you wanted in your post. Forget the Epiphone Les Pauls and the Jay Tursers. They don't have the quality hardware of the Samick/Greg Bennett line of guitars or the nice frets. You'll be sorting through those junkers for days to find a good one.

http://www.samickguitar.com/electric.html

Samick is the way to go.... no doubt. :)
 
Buck62 said:
they have MUCH higher standards on what they ship out to be sold. Thus, Samick guitars have better fretwork, better paint, better everything!
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And that's not mentioning the lower cost or not having to mark the guitars up for additional profit.
 
the squier tele customs are really nice, i end up playing almost every one i get back at work, and have not played on that wasnt absolutly killer.
trust me i have played probably upward of 300 of these.....
they are an amazing deal.
just dont be amazed if you order it from a catalog or online, that when you get it it has a broken toggle switch. fender didnt think about a toggle hitting up against their packing material on these.
you can usually pick one up for about 2 bills, or less.
i know my work ( www.musiciansfriend.com ) has them at this price almost all the time, sometimes lower.
 
You also might want to check out the Agile line ... Very good quality for less money ...

http://www.rondomusic.bigstep.com

I've looked at some Epis but ended up buying a Les Paul-copy from them last year ...Very pleased with a blind purchase ...

Good luck !!
 
I have to agree with the Samick, I was recently given one by a friend who was leaving town, I put in a pair of Bill Lawrence L450's and it cooks, I don't know what model it is.

I think it is based on the Guild Bluesbird and has a bolt on neck.

I am happy to use it on gigs, especially as it now sounds so good.
 
The next level might be a Paul Reed Smith Santana SE model, which sells for just under $500. More $ that your target, but a great guitar that needs no changes.

Changing to good pickups can easily add $100 to the cost, plus the time and effort.

Ed
 
Ed Dixon said:
The next level might be a Paul Reed Smith Santana SE model, which sells for just under $500. More $ that your target, but a great guitar that needs no changes.

Changing to good pickups can easily add $100 to the cost, plus the time and effort.

Ed
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That's another Korean-made guitar manufactured by Samick! :)

Only, now you pay extra $$$$ for the "PRS" name on it.




Anyone else see a pattern developing here? ;):D:D:D
 
Perhaps so, but everyone I have talked to who had one, just loved it. All seem to believe it is a real bargin.

Ed
 
I have an Ibanez RG220 that I got for $250 at GC. I added DiMarzio pickups, a Steves Special at the bridge and an Air Norton in the neck, and its every bit a JPM at this point. Same body wood, same basic neck profile, and sounds pretty toney.
$350 plus taxes. I'm pretty satisfied with it.
 
Pinky said:
Bah, everything's made by the japanese anyway... :p
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Actually, it's the Koreans and Chinese who are making all the cheaply-priced stuff.

Anything that's "Made In Japan" is now considered to be 'super-high-quality' stuff..... for real!!! :eek::eek:
 
Sorry if I insulted any of our japanese members.

:cool:

Most of the cheap stuff can serve its purpose, like for gigging (if you don't want to risk busting up your Dad's original Les Paul hand-me-down or smashing it in a Hendrix/Cobain-esque moment of angst), hardware modifying/experimenting, or for a budget alternative... also not the worse backup guitars to keep on stage in case something weird happens (like a solder joint comes loose internally on your prized Strat).

My thinking is -- if you're not completely invested in music for money, then maybe getting some cheaper gear is the way to go (I had cheap gear for the last 3 years and it did well for my home recordings).
 
I picked up a Dean EVO FT last year. Twin HB, one volume, one tone, and coil tap. Set neck, decent tuners, stays in tune. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.


Is it made by Samick, too?
 
Sinker said:
I picked up a Dean EVO FT last year. Twin HB, one volume, one tone, and coil tap. Set neck, decent tuners, stays in tune. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.


Is it made by Samick, too?
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Nope.... that's manufactured by Cort.
 
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