High end electric? Help me understand.

[Nama Ensou]

The only times someone should deliberately choose an old crappy guitar is when they have one given to them or find one that has some appeal to the new owner.

Find a decent used guitar and if you end up not playing it or wanting to upgrade, you then have something of saleable value rather than an ornament for the inside of a junk shed.

Your best values will almost always be used guitars and you should look at lots of them to get a good idea of value and start acquainting your senses to indicators of quality/junk, without letting emotion play too important a part. In the choosing process, emotion should only be allowed to affect a decision after the initial examination has proven to be positive.

[Clallam]

Originally Posted by dbradfie

OP here.

Wow. Some very interesting responses on this thread. thanks.

So let's take it one step further.

I want an electric. I plan on playing it through my acoustic amp (Fishman Loudbox Artist). I don't really know what tone I want, I'm just starting the journey. The number one thing I think I want is play-ability, this coming from an acoustic player. Nut can't be super narrow. Light is important to me. Body shape should be somewhat traditional, no flying V. Simple is good. I don't want too many knobs and buttons choices to confuse. Most of music will be mostly classic rock, country rock, pop, but I play a little of everything. Budget is about $1000.

I realize I will need some type of pedal or simple modeler to get the electric tone through my acoustic amp, so suggestions on a simple solution here are appreciated as well.

Bottom line, keep it simple, but good enough for a person who does appreciate quality.

Bling is not important. I don't care about looks, color, fancy woods, etc. Just simple quality play-ability and tone.

Initial thoughts were some type of telecaster, or maybe an SG, or maybe a Reverend. I live close to Wildwood Guitars in Louisville CO. So I can go play a number of these once I get the list narrowed down. I'm guessing that I won't be able to tell much about tone, but I could get some ideas about feel.

Thanks,

I agree with your thoughts on playability. My most used electrics are the ones that are the most comfortable to play. They are Epiphones with a 1 11/16" neck and the same neck profile as my most frequently played acoustic. My left hand can't tell which neck it's holding. I have a big name guitar but it's not getting the playing time.

An early decision needs to be about preferred sound. Single-coil vs humbucker or deciding you don't care. Check out some of your favorite artists and see what they are using.

I went with a modeling amp so I could try different effects. I'm glad I did. I can hear a song I like the tone on and experiment with the different effects until I figure out how they did it. A lot of the time I find a similar sound in one of the presets. Then I can see what effects were used. My tastes are still developing so I don't want to buy a bunch of pedals I might not like in a year. Since you have an amp, consider a multi-effects pedal. There are a lot of multi-effects pedals at all prices from the high-end ones used by pros who need to get a specific sound for one song to cheaper ones suitable for experimenting. I suggest getting one with as many knobs and buttons as possible. That will reduce the amount of time spent deep diving in the menus. That is my only complaint with the modeling amp.

I have been taking some lessons recently and they have made a huge difference in how good I sound. The most important thing I learned coming from an acoustic is that I need to be able to dampen any string I don't want sounding. The pickups on an electric are so sensitive I was getting a lot of unwanted noise. The rest of my skills transferred just fine.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by Steel and wood

There's also the fact that you are paying for higher labour costs of an American made instrument which may not always give you a better instrument.

I'm all for labor for a nice handcrafted instrument. It's the HR departments, lawyers, endorsements, advertisements, CEOS, etc. that I'd rather not pay for. Plenty of independent luthiers who can smoke many of the store brand custom shop instruments for half the price.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by s2y

This is about as traditional as I get. The builder probably only charged me 1/3rd of what Fender might.

Originally Posted by s2y

I'm all for labor for a nice handcrafted instrument. It's the HR departments, lawyers, endorsements, advertisements, CEOS, etc. that I'd rather not pay for. Plenty of independent luthiers who can smoke many of the store brand custom shop instruments for half the price.

Don't know about how it plays or sounds..... BUt looks wise that one is stunning
Who was the builder ?

[Song]

Originally Posted by dbradfie

OP here.

Wow. Some very interesting responses on this thread. thanks.

So let's take it one step further.

I want an electric. I plan on playing it through my acoustic amp (Fishman Loudbox Artist). I don't really know what tone I want, I'm just starting the journey. The number one thing I think I want is play-ability, this coming from an acoustic player. Nut can't be super narrow. Light is important to me. Body shape should be somewhat traditional, no flying V. Simple is good. I don't want too many knobs and buttons choices to confuse. Most of music will be mostly classic rock, country rock, pop, but I play a little of everything. Budget is about $1000.

I realize I will need some type of pedal or simple modeler to get the electric tone through my acoustic amp, so suggestions on a simple solution here are appreciated as well.

Bottom line, keep it simple, but good enough for a person who does appreciate quality.

Bling is not important. I don't care about looks, color, fancy woods, etc. Just simple quality play-ability and tone.

Initial thoughts were some type of telecaster, or maybe an SG, or maybe a Reverend. I live close to Wildwood Guitars in Louisville CO. So I can go play a number of these once I get the list narrowed down. I'm guessing that I won't be able to tell much about tone, but I could get some ideas about feel.

Thanks,

I recommend putting hands on some guitars over at WildWood. It's the best way.
Good luck!

[s2y]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Don't know about how it plays or sounds..... BUt looks wise that one is stunning
Who was the builder ?

Chris Stambaugh was the builder.
http://www.stambaughdesigns.com/

The sound is basically a traditional Fender sound and even has Fender Noiseless pickups. I have a push/pull to allow for bridge+neck and all 3 pickups on top of the usual Strat switching.

Playability is outstanding. 12" radius and stainless steel frets. Lower action than most Fenders I have played and the bending feels very slick with Elixir strings, compared to the "crunchy" feel of uncoated strings on nickel frets.

The only downside is that I have to be careful to avoid tugging on the neck and knocking chords out of tune with the B-Bender. Sometimes I wish it could be locked.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Song

I recommend putting hands on some guitars over at WildWood. It's the best way.
Good luck!

Photo resizing is our friend 840 to 940 max is plenty big
I agree Wildwood is outstanding

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by s2y

Chris Stambaugh was the builder.
http://www.stambaughdesigns.com/

The sound is basically a traditional Fender sound and even has Fender Noiseless pickups. I have a push/pull to allow for bridge+neck and all 3 pickups on top of the usual Strat switching.

Playability is outstanding. 12" radius and stainless steel frets. Lower action than most Fenders I have played and the bending feels very slick with Elixir strings, compared to the "crunchy" feel of uncoated strings on nickel frets.

The only downside is that I have to be careful to avoid tugging on the neck and knocking chords out of tune with the B-Bender. Sometimes I wish it could be locked.

Thanks...... Pretty new to electrics here what is a "B-Bender " ?

[s2y]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Thanks...... Pretty new to electrics here what is a "B-Bender " ?

It's kind of like the pedals/levers of a lap steel guitar. If you tug on the strap, the B string bends up a full step. This allows me to play a chord or other piece where bending might be much more difficult. A nice added bonus is that I can pre-bend a note and release the B-Bender to detune a full step with great precision.

The only downside is that it's possible to get a little excited and knock your chords out of tune.

[KevWind]

Thanks

[s2y]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Thanks

No prob.



This is also an option these days. I'm finally going to follow through and order one of these after New Year's. I'll be adding it to the G string to allow me to operate one or both of these independently. The cool thing is this particular piece can be added to any Strat or Tele bridge.

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by Song

I recommend putting hands on some guitars over at WildWood. It's the best way.
Good luck!

Hard tail with locking tuners?! Flat sawn pau ferro neck?!

[MBDiagMan]

Originally Posted by Song

I recommend putting hands on some guitars over at WildWood. It's the best way.
Good luck!

Beautiful guitar! I am no Luthier,but I am a woodworker. That neck seems to be made with the grain in the wrong direction. It would have more strength if the grain were turned 90 degrees. I am sure that there is a valid explanation. I am curious what it is.

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by MBDiagMan

Beautiful guitar! I am no Luthier,but I am a woodworker. That neck seems to be made with the grain in the wrong direction. It would have more strength if the grain were turned 90 degrees. I am sure that there is a valid explanation. I am curious what it is.

Guess 1 is Indian rosewood... Guess 2 is pau ferro... Strength I don't feel matters a lot because even a pine neck is sufficiently strong for an electric. Only thing I can think of is that they want movement in the neck thickness minimized.

Oddly, the zebrawood body looks to be perfectly quartered?!

[moon]

I think the neck matters a great deal. An electric guitar is a relatively flexible wand attached to a dense block of wood and therefore the neck is going to have a lot more to say about the vibrational modes of the structure than any "magic wood" used in the body.