Help me find a studio guitar!

[Keregioz]

I have a 26.5" guitar and a 25.5" guitar and I honestly can't feel that much of a difference, that is related to the scale, when I play them. The basic difference is that the longer scale has slightly more string tension.

 

[Derykus]

I've got an LTD MHB-400 with a 27" scale length, and honestly it's not a big deal going from a 25.5" or even a 24.75" scale guitar. I expected the extra inch and a half to really trip me up, but it plays much easier than one would think. Sometimes I don't even really notice the extra length.

 

[Clark Kent]

I respect your work Ermz but I suggest you get a guitar that has "mojo" instead of limiting the guitar with those specs. Let me expain this once again by using cars as a reference.

A guy asks me advice on what kind of car he should buy. He keeps on talking about how much horsepower he wants and how big of an engine he wants etc. Sure you can buy an Asian car like Subaru or Honda that fits those specs perfectly. Still most likely it'll be the kind of car that's... well not something you will proudly own forever. You can spend more cash and buy a dream car like a Ferrari or if it's too expensive then get a Porsche. (in guitar money the difference is smaller than between a Honda and a Ferrari ) No... they might not have as much horse power as the Subaru but there's no doubt which of the cars is a better car.

So... PRS guitars. American made ofcourse. You'll never regret getting a Custom 24. And replacing the pickups with Duncans is just like buying a Ferrari and changing the engine with a Subaru engine that has more horsepower. I wouldn't do that but it's your guitar.

Also with a PRS Custom 24 you're not only limited to the metal genre since it can give you basically any sound out there. I'm not sure if you do other types of genres...

Sorry if this was a rant.

 

[TofNazareth]

Bottom line is that any respectable guitarist that will hear and know the difference will already care enough to own his OWN GUITAR that fits his tuning and playing style. Buy somthing for yourself. hahahaha

Clark kent I'm 100% with you. PRS is a solid unreal beast of a guitar when setup.

I have toured on a 24.75 ESP eclipse in A and had zero problems with tuning. Now pulling stuff out of tune when chording can create big problems quickly with a setup like this. But name one tool that does every thing well.

Seting up a guitar will be the deal breaker or maker. Remember you will have to reintonate every time you change string size and tunings.

 

[Melb_shredder]

Might as well quickly chime in with a few things then
In my PERSONAL Opinion I recommend staying away from the PRS entirely. After using it on the EIT ep I regret it. It's too smooth sounding to work for the fast thrashy stuff and I sure as hell hated the feel of it for the melodeath stuff. Play Bogs one Ermz, you'll get what I mean.

Also... Dan ended up using an ESP eclipse not in baritone form by the end and is using it in Drop A# currently, that's a 24.75 scale. Maybe it's worth talking to him about all this too?,?

 

[Wohma]

Melb_shredder: Which pickups did the PRS have? Or which model was that? Just curious.

Clark Kent: A PRS with SD pickups worked for Mikael Akerfeldt for quite some time and he definitely pulled some great tonez out of it, so I beg to differ (but I'm using stock HFSs anyway ).

 

[Melb_shredder]

Wohma - it was a custom 24 with those Dragon something or other pickups. Akerfeldt gets good tone but I would in no way compare that to the general genre of bands that say Ermz or I would work with. But hey that's just my experience anyway

 

[Clark Kent]

Haha well these are ofcourse taste issues. Opeth tones and trashy melo-death are not "tasteful" in my somewhat narrow mind. But I love Opeth's acoustic parts.

About PRS being too smooth, well there's a presence knob on the amp. Just joking... Sure it's smoother than Duncans and DiMarzios and that's the whole point. It doesn't have any of those unbalanced fizzy trebly frequencies but a very pleasant round tone and a low-mid-to-mid sweetspot. Seems like guitarists are always concentrating on bass and treble when they should be concentrating on the middle frequencies since that's all you'll hear clearly in a mix.

My point is simply this: If you want a one trick pony for metal. You can survive on an Ibanez or ESP or whatever... hell I'm sure an ice hockey stick with Duncans will sound exactly the same. If versatility is a priority then I suggest considering PRS guitars. Even more so... try to find those early 90s CE-24's with alder bodies... they have like 10dB more output than the new Custom 24s and as you might've realized I own one and it's all beaten up but it's the best guitar I've got. And they go cheap like under $1000. I've got a Custom 24 Navarro and EBMM JPXI but my cheapest guitar; the CE-24 is the clear winner.

 

[Ermz]

Well, what I'm getting from this is that you seem to have a pretty big bias again Duncans, Clark, which would reason that our taste in guitar tones is substantially different.

It's been a few years since I've played a Custom 24, but I don't figure I'll be wanting to spend $5-6k for a guitar (that's how much they cost here) unless it's completely custom made to my specs, down to the millimeter. A friend of mine picked one up on his trip to the states, so I'm keen to try it out - though I somehow doubt that model would be ideal for metal. Certainly not with the stock HFS pickup, nor the Full Shred that Mike had his equipped with for years.

I have a very specific type of tone in my head, and believe only the specs listed in the OP will get there.

Thanks Chris, I meant to get Dan involved in this discussion too. The thing is that he's using string gauge to compensate for the scale length, and I don't really wanna do that. The thicker the strings get, the rounder and less shimmery the tone becomes. I'm not really after something overly dull or 'round' sounding.

 

[Clark Kent]

No bias against Duncans here. I used to have a JB as my main bridge pickup actually. Liked it very much. Duncan makes the best bass pickups as far as I'm concerned. I guess I'm in wine-tasting-land with my stock PRS guitars.

You Australians really get screwed with those instrument prices. I think you need to go custom on this one.

 

[bogchop]

It's been a few years since I've played a Custom 24, but I don't figure I'll be wanting to spend $5-6k for a guitar (that's how much they cost here) unless it's completely custom made to my specs, down to the millimeter. A friend of mine picked one up on his trip to the states, so I'm keen to try it out - though I somehow doubt that model would be ideal for metal. Certainly not with the stock HFS pickup, nor the Full Shred that Mike had his equipped with for years.

Maybe he'll let you look at it, for a nominal fee :roll eyes:''

I'm also after the same specs as Ermin posted, except I'm after a 7 string. Difficult to say the least.

 

[Rogueleader]

I would look into the PRS SE Mushok Ermz. (Perhaps his old discontinued Ibanez models as well?) One of the few current production models that fits most of the criteria you are looking for. Quality wise probably on the same level as the Upper end Import Schecters, you aren't getting something that most would consider ultra "High end", but let's face it, plenty of records are being made on Asian (non Japan) imports these days. Nothing really wrong with them.

AFAIK, no big name company offers production guitars with Stainless Steel frets. The only way to get that is to get a guitar from a boutique company that does small runs, a custom, or a refret. Being a Jackson guy myself I've had reliable information that the Jackson CS will not even do SS frets as of several months ago.

Edit: Whoops, re-read the OP and didn't see you wanted to see the neck to be mahogany as well. I believe the Mushok has a maple neck. It's still a better fit for your criteria than most other brands production models.

 

[ahjteam]

btw, how about getting both 6 and 7 string guitars? The ESP EC1000 VB has otherwise about the specs you asked except the natural finish and longer neck. And at least I like the neck on the EC1000 a lot.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/esp_ltd_ec_1000vb_duncan.htm

ESP LTD EC-1000VB/Duncan, e-guitar, LP-style, mahogany body, mahogany neck (thin U-shape), 628 mm scale, rosewood fretboard, 24 XJ frets, nut width: 42,0 mm, 1x Seymour Duncan JB pickup (bridge), 1x Seymour Duncan ´59 pickup (neck), 3-way toggle, 2x volume, 1x tone, ESP locking tuning machines, Tonepros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, golden hardware, colour: vintage black

 

[Derykus]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...01000?src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=894851703

This is probably the closest match to your criteria that you'll find off of the shelf. Rosewood and likely a huge neck, but all mahogany, set neck, maple top, passives, 27-3/4" scale, 24 frets.

 

[Virgil.]

I know it's a 7 string, and has a 3-piece maple neck, but what about this one?

Schecter Guitar Research C-7 Custom Electric Guitar

Construction: set neck with Ultra Access neck joint
Top: Quilted maple
Body: mahogany
Neck: 3-piece maple
Scale: 26-1/2"
Tuning: B/E/A/D/G/B/E
Fingerboard: ebony
Frets: 24 medium
Inlays: mother-of-pearl split-crown
Binding: multi-ply creme
Pickups: Seymour Duncan designed Active SH-4 -7/SH-1n-7 humbuckers
Electronics: volume, volume, tone with coil-splitting, 3-way toggle switch
Bridge: 7-string Tonepros Tune-o-matic with thru-body tail ferrules
Tuners: Schecter locking with pearl buttons
Hardware: chrome

Schecter Guitar Research Hellraiser Special C-7 Electric Guitar

~$680

Features:
Construction: Set-neck with Ultra Access
Scale: 26-1/2"
Tuning: B-E-A-D-G-B-E
Body: Mahogany
Top: Quilted maple
Neck: 3-piece mahogany
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Frets: 24 extra-jumbo
Inlays: Pearloid daggers
Pickups: EMG Active 81-7/85-7 humbuckers
Electronics: 2 Vol/Tone/3-Way Toggle Switch
Tuners: Grover
Hardware: Black Chrome

and this one has an Ebony fingerboard:

Schecter Guitar Research BlackJack ATX C-7 Electric Guitar

7-string
Set-In 26-1/2" 3-piece mahogany neck with Ultra Access
Ebony fingerboard with 'Active Bolt' Inlay at 12th
Arched Mahogany
24 jumbo frets
string-thru body
Seymour Duncan active Blackouts humbuckers
TonePros TOM
Schecter lockiing tuners
GraphTech Tusq nut
Aged Multi-ply binding

It seems to get the exact specs you want, you'll be better off getting a custom built guitar.

 

[Virgil.]

If you don't care about 24 frets, this one has 22, but looks pretty cool:

PRS SE Mike Mushok Baritone Electric Guitar

Features
Body wood: Bound mahogany
Neck Wood: Maple
Neck Shape: Mushok Baritone
Number of Frets: 22
Scale Length: 27.7" baritone
Fretboard Wood: Bound ebony
Bridge: String-through-body stoptail
Tuners: PRS-Designed tuners
Truss Rod Cover: "PRS"
Hardware: Nickel
Treble Pickup: PRS-designed SE Treble Humbucker
Bass Pickup: PRS-designed SE Bass Humbucker
Pickup Switching: Volume and Tone Control with 3-Way blade pickup selector
Strings: D'Addario XL157 - 14-68

or if you don't care about Ebony...

Gibson Limited Run Explorer Baritone Electric Guitar

Features
Mahogany body
Carved maple top
Mahogany neck
27-3/4" scale
Preciosa fingerboard
496R neck humbucker
500T bridge humbucker
2 volume, 1 tone, 3-way toggle switch controls
Tune-O-Matic/stopbar
Chrome hardware

 

[Virgil.]

Actually, forgot about Robb Flynn's new signature Epiphone... 27" scale length, mahogany neck and body, ebony fingerboard, 24 frets, grover locking tuners...
Epiphone Robb Flynn "Love/Death" Baritone-V

-or-

ESP Viper Baritone

mahogany body, mahogany set neck, 27" scale, ebony fretboard, Sperzel tuners, Gotoh tune-o-matic bridge, 1x EMG 60 & thomann 1x EMG 81 humbucker pickups

 

[Torgal]

I've got an LTD MHB-400 with a 27" scale length, and honestly it's not a big deal going from a 25.5" or even a 24.75" scale guitar. I expected the extra inch and a half to really trip me up, but it plays much easier than one would think. Sometimes I don't even really notice the extra length.

I've got the exact same guitar here. Stays in tune realy good, grover tuners, ebony fretboard etc. At first I've only noticed the difference to normal scales for a few hours and after I haven't played it for a while. Depends a lot on the size of your hands actualy. If you are blessed with Paul Gilbert'ish hands the transition should be easy. Coolest thing about it is the fact that you can play string diameters and string tension that you are used from your other guitars while playing lower tunings.

Currently mine is stringed with 10-52 and tuned in C. The string tension is almost the same as my "standard" 10-52 in D on a strat-like guitar.

@ERMZ: If you aren't too fixated on the wood of the neck, give the MHB-401 a try at your local store.

 

[Fabrice]

This new one model can maybe interest you : http://www.peavey.com/products/instruments/electricguitars/pxd/index.cfm/item/1065/DT%20Vicious.html

 

[Virgil.]

I've got the exact same guitar here. Stays in tune realy good, grover tuners, ebony fretboard etc. At first I've only noticed the difference to normal scales for a few hours and after I haven't played it for a while. Depends a lot on the size of your hands actualy. If you are blessed with Paul Gilbert'ish hands the transition should be easy. Coolest thing about it is the fact that you can play string diameters and string tension that you are used from your other guitars while playing lower tunings.

Currently mine is stringed with 10-52 and tuned in C. The string tension is almost the same as my "standard" 10-52 in D on a strat-like guitar.

@ERMZ: If you aren't too fixated on the wood of the neck, give the MHB-401 a try at your local store.

I thought the LTDMHB400 had a rosewood fingerboard, not ebony.

Either way, if ebony doesn't really matter to Ermz, I would give a big +1 to this guitar. I had the LTD MH400NT, which is basically the non-baritone version of this one, and I absolutely loved the quality, sound, and playability of it. I'm sure this one would be no different if you can find a used one for a good price.