Best guitar for $700 range

[jauernis]

I on the prowl looking for a fast fretboard good quality build rock/metal guitar in the $700 price range. Right now I have two I wanna test drive next time I'm at a music store. The jackson dkmg and the prs singlecut se. What are your guys' thoughts on these and if I should be looking at anything else?

 

[2012]

Here's one of my Singlecuts with EMG 60 neck / 85 bridge.

Any Jackson would feel and sound a lot different than a PRS, so it's best to try out as many different makes and models as you can. You might be surprised what you end up liking the most.

 

[JBroll]

If those were in the $400 range they'd be worth the money. Go Schecter - stock Duncan or EMG pickups, solidly built out of good wood.

Jeff

 

[Metaltastic]

For me, there's no better bang for your buck than ESP LTD

 

[2012]

If those were in the $400 range they'd be worth the money. Go Schecter - stock Duncan or EMG pickups, solidly built out of good wood.

That one was $400 new: Ebay.

I've had a lot of Schecters and sold them rather quickly. They are well-built but they just feel odd to me. I've played some cheap Deans that feel better, but that's just me.

Like I said, only your hands will know for sure.

 

[JBroll]

Hell, cheap Deans can be great with different pickups. My first electric was/is a Dean and I still play it regularly.

Jeff

 

[Glenn Fricker]

+1 for the Schecters. Just fucking awesome guitars.

 

[cobrahead1030]

you can't go wrong with one of the nicer LTD's or schecters IMO; i'm partial to the LTD's myself but the schecters are about equal on quality, they just don't offer much with the style & specs i like

i'm kinda iffy on the import jacksons, even tho they have wised up on the pickups finally...now if only dean and ibanez would do the same

 

[JBroll]

As cheap as Deans are, I think it's assumed that they're only placeholders anyway and picking a specific style would only alienate people while raising the cost. That said, Dean stocks aren't that bad...

Jeff

 

[2012]

I have to say, I liked my black Schecter 007 Elite a lot more than an original UV777 I also had at the time, but I stopped needing a 7 string, so I parted ways with both.

I hate anything to do with Floyd Rose bridges.

 

[Kazrog]

Schecter is my favorite at the moment. ESP/LTD makes some great stuff still but they SUCK for 7 strings at the moment. The Schecter Hellraiser C7 and Jeff Loomis totally pwn anything ESP has ever made in the 7 string department.

 

[Aaron Smith]

+1 for Schecter. I've been playing my Elite 006 for years and I still love the feel of it. The stock Duncan Designed pickups were kind of trashy, but when I upgraded to EMG81s, it leaves little to be desired. I actually have been wanting to get a Hellraiser for a while, too.

 

[poidaobi]

400 Series LTD's. I'd Imagine Schecter to be around the same given all the good reports it's received here. (and the fact that they are the same company and probably share alot of woods/building processes)

 

[JeffTD]

Schecter or LTD - I prefer the latter, but have owned 4+ models from each.

 

[cobrahead1030]

As cheap as Deans are, I think it's assumed that they're only placeholders anyway and picking a specific style would only alienate people while raising the cost. That said, Dean stocks aren't that bad...

Jeff

maybe

i know when LTD and schecter started offering duncans & emg's in their nicer models, they finally got noticed by a lot more players...i can't help but think dean would do the same if they offered atleast a handful around the $500 or so range that offered something decent