Help me find a studio guitar!

[Virgil.]

I think you could pick up an Agile with these specs for pretty cheap, and a lot of people say they are great quality guitars for the money. I also will 2nd the Carvin recommendation; I have a DC127 I absolutely love, and it's built to what you want.

I did some looking around since you got me curious and Carvins are all 25.5 inch scales.

I think that is by default... if you call them, they are really good about making customers happy... so if you want a 26.5" scale guitar, I'm sure you could get one.

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

The other guitarist in my band might has the same one, although I'm not sure about the scale. But it's a blackjack and looks exactly the same And it sustains like a motherfucker. Not even my Schecter C-1 Classic (also the neck-thru design) did not have such a sustain. Might be a good choice! On the other hand, some guitarists might be very unhapy about the scale, it takes some time to get used to it.

Yeah man, it's the scale that actually appeals to me, right now I'm tuned to B-standard on my 25.5" H1001 with pretty thick strings (.62/.49/.36 for B/E/A), and they're still so rubber-bandy (so to speak) compared to how fucking awesome my also 25.5" Jackson feels in D-standard, even though its strings are around the same tension (.54/.42/.30 for D/G/C), so I really wanna try a baritone!

 

[kaomao]

A couple of years ago I spotted this fucking perfect Schecter, and it's now been discontinued

26.5" scale, blade toggle, knobs far enough away from the bridge/pickups, dot inlays, all-mahogany = perfection! (except for the finish, maybe I'll pull a Kimon ) And before they discontinued it, they updated it to a far lamer version with 3 knobs (one under the bridge pickup ) and a Gibson toggle, as well as a super-lame playing card ("Blackjack" durr hurr) 12th fret inlay

well there's this one at least!
http://www.schecterguitars.com/Products/Guitar/Hellraiser-C-1-EX.aspx
pickups should be replaced, but still it's basically what ermz wants

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

A lot of people recommending Schecters. I still emphasize that my Schecter was really, really thickly finished and tubby and I've felt the same about other Schecters I've tried.

 

[Wohma]

I went from C-1 Classic to my current PRS CE24 and while it'd be stupid to say it wasn't an improvement, it wasn't exactly night and day difference. Then again, it's hard to compare axes with different pups, but my point is that Schecters are some really nice guitars in my opinion - especially considering the money you pay for them. But mind you, I've played only C-1 Classic and briefly tried some other Schecter (while being a bit pissed at the time), so I might have been just lucky with my C-1.

kaomao: Do you think that Ermz will be into those "Abalone Gothic Crosses" ?

 

[sprack]

How about one of the Mike Mushok models? Either the Ibanez MMM1 or the PRS?

 

[drew_drummer]

It may be absolutely no use whatsoever... but I'm going for one of these:

http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/EUR...thand-TSB-Tobacco-Sunburst/art-GIT0008321-000

They're made by the same people who make Mayones. Maybe there is something in their range that would suit you?

 

[kaomao]

kaomao: Do you think that Ermz will be into those "Abalone Gothic Crosses" ?

LOL considering he's not really into metal as he was years ago, maybe not

 

[Keregioz]

I think that is by default... if you call them, they are really good about making customers happy... so if you want a 26.5" scale guitar, I'm sure you could get one.

Well, kinda. There are stuff they could do that are not in the default options but not anything you ask. When I was researching for my carvin, I remember a bunch of people complaining that they couldn't get a 26.5" neck on the seven strings. I didn't ask myself though, since I already had a 26.5" scale guitar and was ok with the 25.5".

 

[Keregioz]

kaomao: Do you think that Ermz will be into those "Abalone Gothic Crosses" ?

Didn't he mention that he already owns a hellraiser?

 

[Melb_shredder]

Ermz... Barre the scale length the SLS3 IS exactly what you're after... If you absolutely can't live without that spec, then you really should custom order an Ormsby! If it's good enough for opeth to play when they were here

 

[Wohma]

Opeth now endorse PRS, don't they? I was wondering why Mikael uses PRS SE (yeah, right, the Korean made ones). Why the heck did not they make his signature a proper PRS American-made model?

 

[Empathy]

Opeth now endorse PRS, don't they? I was wondering why Mikael uses PRS SE (yeah, right, the Korean made ones). Why the heck did not they make his signature a proper PRS American-made model?

Do you think the average Opeth fan can afford an American PRS?

 

[Ermz]

Ermz... Barre the scale length the SLS3 IS exactly what you're after... If you absolutely can't live without that spec, then you really should custom order an Ormsby! If it's good enough for opeth to play when they were here

Truth be told, I think the scale length is possibly the most important consideration, next to the tone woods. I struggle to keep guitars in tune here all the time (I mean proper tune, not 'oh, it's good enough' tune), even in standard or Eb. The 26.5" scale of my Hellraiser is a lot more workable, and I'm considering even going as high as 27", to grab one of the baritone models or whatnot. It won't actually have baritone tuning.

The SLS3 is an awesome guitar though. I loved the feel of yours when I played it briefly. With longer scale, diff pickups and stainless steel frets it'd be perfect for me.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I'll have to look through them carefully.

 

[~BURNY~]

I have a 27" and I love it but It's definitely not for everybody's hands. It's almost impossible to shred comfortably and bends on the 4th string are very hard to perform accurately for example. For simple rhythm guitar, as long as you're not using crazy chords all the time it's great but it still feels substantially different than a regular guitar and can be detrimental the performance if the player is not well prepared.
I think 26,5" should be a better compromise.

 

[amarshism]

All this trouble for a few guitarists to tell you to 'get fucked' when you try and force them to use your guitar?

 

[Ermz]

Well for the crazy few who actually want their guitars to stay in tune, and thus save a few days worth of recording, the option will be there. There's no 'forcing' here.

 

[amarshism]

I know, I kid. The amount of people wanting to track on there shitty ltd 50 vs some of my guitars that I strongly suggest using and offer up is astounding.

 

[Ermz]

Yeah, but at the end it's all you can do. The ones who are open to actual improvement will listen, the rest will stay arrogant and learn the hard way. I normally find the ones in the latter camp come around when it comes time for the 2nd CD. Not saying I know the best way to do everything, of course, as I'm always learning too - but you've gotta figure there is a reason we've got a bunch of guitars lying around set up specifically for recording.

The 27" scale thing really interests me. I don't buy into all this 'its so hard to play' thing. My Hellraiser at 26.5" is totally easy - surely half an inch won't make that much of a difference. Loomis seems to have no issues 'shredding' with that length, at least.

 

[Wohma]

On the other hand, do you expect Loomis (or anyone near his skills) to show up at your studio? Longer scales ARE harder to play, especially for people not used to them. I thought you were looking for a guitar for your clients, not for yourself But then again it's your choice.