metal guitar advice?

[dethrock666]

havent posted here before so hey guys

okay here goes, at the moment i have 2 guitars my 'stoner' guitar which is tuned to d and has moderate output and my 'other' guitar which plays well but has awful stock pickups and is thus rarely touched.

i want a decent metal guitar and at the moment im in two minds, part of me wants to just save up and buy something really nuts like a jackson or bc rich, the alternative is to use the 'other' guitar as a metalguitarproject.

the guitar in question is a takemine set neck from the late 70s, simmilar to an sg, twin hums, 22 frets stoptail. its white too if that matters

if i took the project route id probably get it tuned to c or d and put an X2n in the bridge poisition = yay dethmetal?

any thoughts?

 

[Sunbane]

Yeah, an X2N would definately give your Takamine enough output for metal.
The only question you'd have to ask yourself, is whether you'd need a Floyd Rose or not. If not, the old Takamine would probably work great as a metal guitar.

The only reason I got into Jacksons, was that I wanted a Floyded guitar - so I bought an old Rhoads EX and was immediately bitten by the Jackson bug. =P

'bane

 

[JColtrane]

havent posted here before so hey guys

okay here goes, at the moment i have 2 guitars my 'stoner' guitar which is tuned to d and has moderate output and my 'other' guitar which plays well but has awful stock pickups and is thus rarely touched.

i want a decent metal guitar and at the moment im in two minds, part of me wants to just save up and buy something really nuts like a jackson or bc rich, the alternative is to use the 'other' guitar as a metalguitarproject.

the guitar in question is a takemine set neck from the late 70s, simmilar to an sg, twin hums, 22 frets stoptail. its white too if that matters

if i took the project route id probably get it tuned to c or d and put an X2n in the bridge poisition = yay dethmetal?

any thoughts?

Actually, some Jackson's are fairly cheap, they have them at a store near me in Indianapolis, IN(Guitar Center) for 200 dollars or less. Good value.

 

[Pita Bread]

BC Rich gives pretty good bang for the buck too.

 

[dethrock666]

cheers sunbane

so aside from the floyd rose issue this guitar will do the job?

ive never played a 'metal' guitar before so i guess im just curious as to how much better suited they are .... will i get essentially similar performance from the takemine or are these guitars just worlds apart?


i suspect what ill ultimately do is get a floyd rose metal beast and put the X2n in that... in the meantime this seems like a decent option .... except of course for the white guitar factor : )

 

[Pita Bread]

What makes a guitar more "metal" than another? A guitar is just a guitar, the way you play it makes the difference.

 

[Sunbane]

Well, many metal guitars were designed with "shredding" in mind, and will often have a wider nut/string spacing, flatter neck profiles, flatter fretboards (or compound radius ones), 24 frets, Floyd, etc. But you can shred on pretty much any guitar if it's well set up. It's a matter of preferences really, and what you're used to.

'bane

 

[dethrock666]

thanks guys, the X2n is on the way....yay ebay

another thing that ive noticed is that the frets on the takemine are really low it looks like at some point someone decided to do the mother of al fret dresses leaving very little left....

will this affect its metalness oneway or the other or am i just being anal about the whole thing?

 

[fadingessence]

What makes a guitar more "metal" than another? A guitar is just a guitar, the way you play it makes the difference.

exactly, I mean it can even depend on what you play. I'm sure some peple think a BC Rich Warlock is *the* most metal guitar, but I don't...i'd rather have a PRS, with PRETTY BIRD INLAYS, because thats more the type of metal I play/like. I'd so go more towards whatever fits your style as opposed to what other people might call a "metal" guitar.

but...if you really care...I think an Ironbird is the most evil most metal guitar ever.

 

[Sunbane]

another thing that ive noticed is that the frets on the takemine are really low it looks like at some point someone decided to do the mother of al fret dresses leaving very little left....

will this affect its metalness oneway or the other or am i just being anal about the whole thing?

That's also a preference issue. I like big and tall frets, because I get a better grip on the strings when bending. Others think tall frets make the guitar awkward to play (if you press too hard, the notes tend to go sharp). I'd guess the Takemine has wide and low frets(?), a bit like a Gibson Les Paul Custom.

'bane

 

[Pita Bread]

I like BC Rich frets (either jumbo or medium), they're nice and medium. ESP's and other guitars with extra-jumbo frets are difficult to play 'cause my hands are so small.

BTW, the Ironbird is just a punk'd up version of the Mockingbird (my guitar) which OWNS all.

 

[Opus(sy)2]

I really dislike BC Rich, i'm not sure why really...but they feel like a kiddies toy whenever i play on them, big chunky things, hate the feel. hmmmm, i'm not one for Ibanez either.

 

[Colonial Boy]

I really dislike BC Rich, i'm not sure why really...but they feel like a kiddies toy whenever i play on them, big chunky things, hate the feel. hmmmm, i'm not one for Ibanez either.

Yeah i'm the same. My dream guitar is a Gibson SG supreme

Maybe without the gold though

 

[dethrock666]

yeah gold hardware always seems a little tacky IMO.

SGs rule ive played a few and they are great guitars. ive never played a bc rich so im not really in a position to comment but they dont exaclty scream class... i think im leaning toward jackson.

bc rich do have some cool body shapes tho i mean the beast is an offensive looking thing but to me thats part of the appeal. i should play one before i pass judgement i guess

 

[7 Dying Trees]

I love Ibanez and have a soft spot for BCRiches, but not the cheapo ones, they do feel a bit tacky. But the good ones -> droooooooooooool

 

[Hexer]

i always had a thing for guitars that look a bit ..... "different".... at the moment, my main guitar is a BC Rich Warlock (modified NJ) and I really like it. Ibanezes seem to be good too, though I havent played many so far. I never had the chance to try an USA-Jackson, with all jackson-modells that I have tested so far, there allways seemd to be something wrong (feel, sound, .....) dunno why..... maybe Jackson just isn't my thing, maybe a USA Jackson would change my life.... (everyone seems to like them so much)

 

[Break Zero]

I'm an ESP user. namely the F series. Very good for shredding (well, after you rip out the passive pickups).

 

[Bryant]

Bane is right on the money on his posts, BUT "shredder" guitars are also a matter of personal tatse as well. If it is the "sound" that is lacking in your Takamine as opposed to playability, by all means just do a pick-up make-over.
Bane and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to tremola and number of frets, but we both like wide fretboards and a large neck radius. I don't dislike 24 frets, I just simply don't play that high up on the neck that often so 22 frets are fine. I also can't stand a Floyd Rose. That is just my personal preference though and everyone has their own taste.
I am having a hard time getting to the point, but basically if you like the way the guitar plays, buy some pickups and shred away. If you don't try something else.

Bryant

 

[dethrock666]

thanks for the advice bryant. ive got an x2n on the way and at the moment im really happy with the way the guitar plays but i havent tried a lot of guitars particularly 'shred' guitars so im not sure how valid a judgement i can make....

im not sure about the floyd rose i m considering a whammy pedal instead, is this a valid option?

 

[Sunbane]

thanks for the advice bryant. ive got an x2n on the way and at the moment im really happy with the way the guitar plays but i havent tried a lot of guitars particularly 'shred' guitars so im not sure how valid a judgement i can make....

If you like the way it plays, you'll be ok. =)
Just don't shorten the wires on the X2N when you install it - you'll have an easier time reselling it if you'd like to try another pickup somewhere down the line.

im not sure about the floyd rose i m considering a whammy pedal instead, is this a valid option?

Hmm, I don't use a whammy pedal, just tried one (very briefly) once. In my opinion, it's a very different beast from a trem bridge - while the trem is a mechanical device that affect the strings before the signal is created, the whammy pedal is just a foot-controlled pitch shifter effect that you run your signal through. The Floyd will have a wider array of tricks that you can do with it, and will sound a lot more "organic" than the pedal. The whammy pedal on the other hand, can do stuff the Floyd could never do. For instance - you can strike a chord and push down on the pedal and have a perfectly harmonic dive. So...none of the two can fully replace the other, and you can definately hear hear the difference between them. The whammy pedal tends to sound more like a robotic slideplayer on crack IMO. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, is up to you to decide...

I didn't personally dig the "feel" of the pedal, but I've listened to guys that can do some really sick stuff with it. The lead guitarist in DragonForce comes to mind - the solo in "Valley of the Damned" is a must listen if you're interested in the whammy pedal.

'bane