Buying a guitar - Help needed!

[Hope Leaves]

Hey, I'm looking to get a new guitar... I've been playing for over a year and I currently have a Yamaha Pacifica, but I want something better.

I want something that obviously does good metal, but I don't want it to be strictly for metal.. It has to be able to do other stuff aswell, like decent clean and jazz and whatever

I have a budget of about £200 - £400. I was looking at the Jackson RR3's and I hear good things about them.. Would they suit me? Are there any other suggestions?

I'm also considering buying a pedal aswell. I have a Zoom 505 but it isn't that great.. I was looking at the Boss GT-6 or ME-50's. I'm tempted to go with the GT-6 but it's more expensive, and the ME-50 looks easier to use.

Any input is appreceated!

 

[AmirH]

Hey man,

The pacifica is a great axe actually- and is kind of a cult classic. BUT, for metal you definitely get more "chunk" from a guitar with a couple humbuckers. Every Jackson I've played that lists under a thousand is... awkward feeling. Something about the neck just doesn't feel right- and the rr3 is nearly impossible to play with sitting down so forget the rhoads models unless you ALWAYS play standing up. Ibanez makes a pretty good budget guitar- and the necks on those rgs feel superb. There's a new line coming out soon without the floyd double locking bridge but depending on what type of music you play it might be worth having. Just be warned that it can be a bitch to carry around a hex and tune up every few times. But, having said that- they are all good guitars and the basswood sounds quite warm despite being cheap as dirt.

Yamaha make a lot of quality instruments for the price as well so unless you're completely dissatisfied with the one you have you might look into some of their higher end models. Same thing goes for peavey.

For best bang for the buck though, I absolutely can't recommend schecter enough. I just recently bought one and it absolutely blows away every guitar I've ever played. I paid 500 usd and it's solid mahogony, with a set neck and a quilt maple top. Absolutely gorgeous. Doesn't look very "metal" but I've never been concerned with that either.

For a good alternative to jackson- esp and it's ltd line are also very high quality instruments and I tend to like the necks on the somewhat cheaper ones a lot more then jacksons. They're also good bang for the buck and are made in the same factory as my schecter was along with samick and a bunch of others. Actually- everything built in korea is made by samick, and it's all been high quality from what I've tried. Bear in mind of course that no matter what you get- most cheaper guitars will more then likely need a pickups swap to be up to their full potential.

As for the effects unit- wait a few months on that. The new gt-8 is coming out, and it's gonna smoke the gt-6. Trust me on that one...

Hope I could be of help- I was in the same position as you not too long ago so the research is still kinda fresh in my mind

 

[Ravenous Enemy]

hey, I recently-ish got a Washburn Idol 65 and I have to say you'd be VERY hard pressed to find something of better value. I you're into the single-cutaway thing then check it out. Online you can get for £300 and it comes with 2x Seymour Duncan USA pickups, mahogany body, set neck, Buzz Feiten Tuning system etc etc... The paralel gradual-switch pots (VCC) are a bit weird though. Godin's Freeway Classic is good too - doesn't strike you as 'metal' guitar but i can handle it well. Yes yamaha do do some guduns (like the SG) but make sure you try before you buy - they are NOT consistent quality, whatever anyone tells you (I work in a guitar shop).

Schecter's worth a try, as is ESP Ltd, but the Ltd pickups are very bad.
Try Jacksons, they can be decent.

 

[Hope Leaves]

Hey, thanks for the replys. I had a look at the Schecter guitars and they look nice... I'm not to keen on the Ibanez look, but I guess look isn't that important. I'll see if I can find somewhere to play an RR3 and have a feel of the neck - thanks for the warning.

I'm gonna wait for the GT-8 in the end I think, for the pedals. I dunno how expensive it will be though, so that will come into it. In the meantime, I thought about getting a Boss MT-2 MetalZone.. They're fairly cheap on ebay and I heard they were pretty good... Anyone recommend these?

Thanks!

 

[AmirH]

gt-8 is 450 bucks, 50 more then the gt-6 which will probably go down when the gt-8 comes out. Metalzone sounds great for practicing but I've never liked the way it sounds at high volumes so I don't own one. Generally speaking though boss pedals are good shit. Might look into the new behringer pedals though as it looks like they pretty much ripped off boss completely(metal TONE??? wtf) and are LISTING(they always sell cheaper) them at $24 usd. Compare that to the metalzone which lists for 120 and sells for like 80. I would think it would certainly be worth looking into. Good luck!

 

[Kenneth R.]

another thing to note about the RR3 and other V guitars, a lot of them are really hard to play sitting down as they tend to slide away from ya. just a heads-up.

i own a Jackson SL-3 (was $899 new, +$200 in mods, -$100 in value due to dents and such) and i love it to death. though, mine was bought a few years ago before Fender took over Jackson's production. newer Jacksons you'd have to really give a good eye to, because i played some in a few shops and found a lot to dislike. I'd also second the Godin, Washburn, and Ibanez recommendations.

 

[Hope Leaves]

I thought I'd found what I wanted in a Jackson Soloist, but it turns out it's far too expensive.. Ah well. I want to play an RR3 atleast, but nowhere here sells them and I'm not going to order one from the internet without playing one first. So I guess I'll have a look at the other makes. The Godin Freeway Classic looked good, but I guess I'll have have to go into the shop and see what they have available to play. I've never seen a Jackson in the UK, they seem really hard to find. Anyway, any other model recommendations are welcome. If not, I'll just go along and see what there is to try out!

Thanks!

 

[Bryant]

Hey, I'm looking to get a new guitar... I've been playing for over a year and I currently have a Yamaha Pacifica, but I want something better.

I want something that obviously does good metal, but I don't want it to be strictly for metal.. It has to be able to do other stuff aswell, like decent clean and jazz and whatever

I am not a "brand loyal" guy, but as far as versatility, while still being a great "metal" guitar, Ibanez is hard to beat. As another poster stated, the Pacifica isn't a bad instrument at all either. I wouldn't sell it if I were you. Don't exclude shopping for a used axe used either.
As far as a pedal, I am not brand loyal on those either. I have a GNX4, but the main selling point to me on that pedal was it's recording capabilities. Look for a pedal with the features and effects you want. As far as the "sound," you will be able to program it to your style as well as learning to adapt your playing to it's best features.


Bryant