Im going to be getting a new guitar soon...suggestions?

[NFU]

I've been happy with my Studio too, although it's about to go on sale to cover the cost of more guitar impulse-buying.

What I really want now is a 7-string version of my ESP KH2 minus the skulls and cheese, so a 7-string version of the M-II with EMGs/Floyd Rose. Whoever said ESP don't do so many 7-strings now - that's disappointing, because I could not afford custom prices. I think they still do a Steve Carpenter 27" scale 7-string but I don't want a signature model, I'm just not keen on having some spoilt rock star's name all over MY guitar.

find an ESP M-307 used. itll be about 300-400 for what was a $1000 retail originally. neckthru, floyd rose, EMG pickups, arrowhead inlays, pointed headstock and all that. basically your M-2 in a 7 string version. i used to own one, it was fairly decent for the price and all, never really gave me problems either. although i still prefer a good ibanez 7 string to ESP models. however ESP higher end 7 strings completely annihilate the schecter or jackson ones imo.

 

[An Absent Friend]

Lol these single-cut Hamers look like PRS's.

 

[Ermz]

loomis wouldnt use schecter if he didnt use 7 strings. also, he wouldnt use schecter if ESP had continued to make the 7 strings he was used to using in the first place.

Why is he releasing a signature model through Schecter then?

 

[opeth_353]

I'd say Ibanez is a safe bet - my £300 is fucking awesome.. so i can imagine a $1000 would be pretty sexy.

Personally i want to get a Parker next though. The higher end Parker's tend to have Piezos at the bridge or wherever it is.. And the Akercocke singer/guitarist uses one - so they must be alright for the more thrashy style of geetar.

 

[RiffBoy]

Lol these single-cut Hamers look like PRS's.

Yes, and they feel, play, sound and are built better! Check out Hamer Studio Custom also...! Real beauties!!

http://willcuttguitars.com/details.asp?stock_id=4158
http://hamerguitars.com/?fa=detail&mid=392&sid=180

 

[Heckelgruber]

find an ESP M-307 used. itll be about 300-400 for what was a $1000 retail originally. neckthru, floyd rose, EMG pickups, arrowhead inlays, pointed headstock and all that. basically your M-2 in a 7 string version. i used to own one, it was fairly decent for the price and all, never really gave me problems either. although i still prefer a good ibanez 7 string to ESP models. however ESP higher end 7 strings completely annihilate the schecter or jackson ones imo.

I'll see if I can find one advertised that I can play, and maybe compare it with a used RG at a similar price. I'm quite going off buying guitars brand new, so liking that suggestion. I love looking at a flawless guitar but I prefer playing a well-used one so that I can forget about accidentally denting it and get on with it.

I think the KH is just an M-2 with evil skulls inlaid and I like pretty much everyting about it. The thin, wide neck plays very nicely, the finish on the neck never gets sticky, the guitar sustains well and the combination of alder body and neck joint give it a good bright sound. So the LTD one should be OK too, although Asian rather than American built I presume...?

 

[NFU]

Why is he releasing a signature model through Schecter then?

hey dumb dumb...if you havent exactly realized...Nevermore isnt exactly U2 status. If the brand you chose as the default company since A) ESP wouldnt offer you an endorsement deal, and B) They wont make 7 string guitars anymore...would you pass up a free signature model endorsement with the new company? No, i reckon you wouldnt. Cmon moonie, youre smarter than this...youre going to have to get off of schecters nutsack at some point.

 

[An Absent Friend]

Really? I don't think they are built better. God I am in love with PRS's , but they are a later level of my career

And I wonder which brand is the youngest , even the colors of the guitars are so so similar.

 

[Opethian666]

Cmon moonie, youre smarter than this...youre going to have to get off of schecters nutsack at some point.

And start sucking yours, NFU?

 

[NFU]

And start sucking yours, NFU?

for starters. hopefully i didnt miss any sack pubes when i was sheering my scrotum this morning. i wouldnt want you getting any stuck in your teeth.

 

[RiffBoy]

Really? I don't think they are built better.

Yes they are - at least the newer Hamer guitars, built since 2002.
Not the older "hard rock" Hamers...

And I wonder which brand is the youngest , even the colors of the guitars are so so similar.

Hamer was founded 30 years ago.
PRS is about ten years younger...

 

[Kir-ir-Bannog]

Talking of Les Pauls....

i have one of these: -

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=51&CollectionID=6

I bought it knocked down from 645 pounds to 345 on ebay as it had the tinyest of dinks in the back, you cant even see it unless you hold it up to the light. I always wanted a les paul and when i saw this, i just couldn't pass it up. I wanted something to start playing again after selling all my stuff when i went to university. I thought it was a good guitar to start again.
Mine seems to hold tune fine, i get hardly any problems. Its action is quite low and the tone is quite nice, i especially like the wide neck at the top near the headstock, i have quite fat finger tips so it makes it easier for me playing open chords. What i dont like about it is:

1. 3 humbuckers, but the switch only allows use of one at a time.
2. The pickups are REALLY close to the strings and my pick taps aginst them a lot (perhaps this an example of poor picking technique if anything).
3. I would like to put some EMG's on it but would be pretty expensive to replace all three and would compromise its attractive look (probably).
4. Only 22 frets

I dont really know much about playing better guitars. Its made in korea (this is a bad thing i gather from reading this thread?). I played an Ibanez and loved the jumbo frets and the speed. I think i can remember playing a jackson once when i was in my teens and it was lightning fast.

 

[Heckelgruber]

^ If the pickups are too close to the strings maybe you should adjust them down a bit. With a bit bit of searching on the net you can often find factory standard guitar setup specs, usually on the manufacturers website. The height measurements usually mean the height of the string fretted at the last fret from the corresponding polepiece on the pickup.

On the other hand, a Les Paul shape guitar with three pickups sounds very crowded. I don't know about other posters here, but when I play guitar I tend to pick between the two humbuckers so I wouldn't know if I was picking deep enough to hit them anyway.

 

[Kir-ir-Bannog]

^ If the pickups are too close to the strings maybe you should adjust them down a bit. With a bit bit of searching on the net you can often find factory standard guitar setup specs, usually on the manufacturers website. The height measurements usually mean the height of the string fretted at the last fret from the corresponding polepiece on the pickup.

On the other hand, a Les Paul shape guitar with three pickups sounds very crowded. I don't know about other posters here, but when I play guitar I tend to pick between the two humbuckers so I wouldn't know if I was picking deep enough to hit them anyway.

The whole aesthetic of the black beauty no3, is the 3 gold humbuckers though

I guess i could lower the middle one a little (this is where i pick). I also have developed a problem where the 19th and 20th frets sound exactly the same on the top E. When i bought it, this never happened and it buzzes against the fret quite badly. I have no idea why this has suddenly happened. Im using ernie ball skinny top, heavy bottoms for playing, to get the most out of the tone of the LP, without having to strain my fingers whilst bending up the top strings. The top E is only a 10, so its not as if im using really thick strings casing a dampening effect over some irregular frets....

what can i do about this?
any help greatly appreciated, im obviously no expert i just like to mess around at home and try and enjoy it as much as possible!
Cheers.

 

[Heckelgruber]

I guess i could lower the middle one a little (this is where i pick). I also have developed a problem where the 19th and 20th frets sound exactly the same on the top E. When i bought it, this never happened and it buzzes against the fret quite badly. I have no idea why this has suddenly happened. Im using ernie ball skinny top, heavy bottoms for playing, to get the most out of the tone of the LP, without having to strain my fingers whilst bending up the top strings. The top E is only a 10, so its not as if im using really thick strings casing a dampening effect over some irregular frets....

what can i do about this?
any help greatly appreciated, im obviously no expert i just like to mess around at home and try and enjoy it as much as possible!
Cheers.

Noddy question - how often do you change your strings? Some of the nastiest intonation problems are greatly helped by regular string cleaning/changing. A lot of pros change strings after every performance, although that's way over the top for non-serious wanking in the home.

Second question - I'm guessing your LP shipped with 9-42s out of the box. If your "little" top E is a .10, what's the bottom string gauge? Did you get or do a setup, assuming I'm right that you changed the string gauges quite dramatically? If not, your buzzing problem might be to do with the neck needing adjustment.

It's very likely that a proper setup with the strings being changed, the neck relief, string height and intonation being adjusted will solve all of your problems.

 

[Kir-ir-Bannog]

Noddy question - how often do you change your strings? Some of the nastiest intonation problems are greatly helped by regular string cleaning/changing. A lot of pros change strings after every performance, although that's way over the top for non-serious wanking in the home.

Second question - I'm guessing your LP shipped with 9-42s out of the box. If your "little" top E is a .10, what's the bottom string gauge? Did you get or do a setup, assuming I'm right that you changed the string gauges quite dramatically? If not, your buzzing problem might be to do with the neck needing adjustment.

It's very likely that a proper setup with the strings being changed, the neck relief, string height and intonation being adjusted will solve all of your problems.

Holy shit. I think you hit the nail on the head here. Those ernie balls im using, the bottom E is gauge 52 (pretty damn thick). I used buy them cause i played downtuned to D. Recently, ive been tuning to up to standard E. Perhaps those strings should only really be used for downtuning and not standard as they put too much tension / pressure on the neck. You think ive messed up my neck? If so is this rectifiable?
Thanks for all your help so far, possibly looks like ive been stressing the neck....
The gauges are as follows:
10
13
17
30
42
52
So the 'A' string is as thick as a standard bottom E!

 

[NFU]

necks are actually pretty resiliant. if you change/set it up correctly soon enough, i dont imagine any permanent damage could have been done. i would just loosen those strings ASAP and take it to a shop for a setup.

 

[Kir-ir-Bannog]

necks are actually pretty resiliant. if you change/set it up correctly soon enough, i dont imagine any permanent damage could have been done. i would just loosen those strings ASAP and take it to a shop for a setup.

thanks nine feet.

 

[Kir-ir-Bannog]

btw, in your apparent vast experience, do you know anything about the jackson JDR94 "CONCEPT" guitars? Im am looking at buying one second hand. I did hear something about the J series being not all that good....?

 

[Heckelgruber]

necks are actually pretty resiliant. if you change/set it up correctly soon enough, i dont imagine any permanent damage could have been done. i would just loosen those strings ASAP and take it to a shop for a setup.

+1.

Massive chunky strings are fine and can give you great tone if your fingers can handle it, especially the bending. A lot of blues guys favour the fatter gauges - I believe Stevie Ray Vaughan had his Stratocaster set up with 11-52s rather than your hybrid 10-52 configuration. His Strat has a longer scale length, which increases the string tension even further.

Your guitar is kind of like an equation between neck tension, string tension and tremolo tension (if you have one) - all these things need to be kept in equilibrium or the guitar starts to play badly, with buzzes, poor intonation and notes sounding dead/muffled.

Take it to a shop, it'll be like buying a new guitar for £20!