Question for the guitarists

800$? Go second hand and buy a petrucci, they should be knocking about, and you may be able to score one for that. Failing that, I'd try for one of the Ibanez RG2020x series (with piezo's) and, again, look second hand. The 3120 is pretty damn sweet as well. Failing that, you could always get an older universe for that amount if you wanted to.

Basically, my advice would be to make a trip to a well stocked guitar store, try out loads of brands and guitysrs, get a feel for what you like and then shop around second hand. You can get some damn goo deals that way, and if you don't like it later down the line you won't lose cash on it.

Am not a fantastic fan of jacksons, unless it's their neck through stuff. For some reason I don't get on with the feel of their necks and fretboards :?

BCRich is good as well, but steer clear of anything non-usa.

PRS I dunno, and gibson has too short scale length for my liking, but the tone and sustain is damn good. But I like my floyd rose systems :D

And the boss metal zone is the antichrist of tone. They really do blow goats arses, as does any distortion pedal. Preamp distortion is the way to go, with a booster pedal if need be.
 
Originally posted by david411
simple things every guitar player should know when buying a guitar:

Judging by your opinions you are simple

-neckthrough isnt as good as people say it is, most guitar metal bands dont use neckthrough guitars and it costs ALOT more money, stick with bolt on necks, its the most reliable
Really? So you don't think that one whole piece of resonating wood will have an effect as opposed to having to transfer vibrations through neck bolts into another piece of wood which is a mechanically lossy sytem? They have more sustain. Simple. bolt ons sound different, set necks sound different and neck through has yet different tonal qualities. Just dismissing them because you are a fan of bolt ons is a bit biased don't you think? Bolt on does have the advantage that you can replace the neck if you break it. And as for not many metal bands using neckthroughs, have a think about this list (for starters): Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Fear Factory, and pretty much every large band that uses Jackson/ESP, which you harp on about.


-Ibanez RGs suck (thats why none of the bands you like use them)
Subjective opinion, really. Dismissing something out of hand is like never opening your mind to new ideas. But I see you are in love with your elitisdt USA jackson ideal. Different guitars, different tone. Your opinions are subjective, and as far as I can see, you have already panned most of the USA jackson by listying neck through as being shit.

- EMG = best pickup for metal, but have fun trying to get a clean tone with them
Sometimes. I find them too clinical at times. They do one thing great, but nothing else. And clean is possible, but passives are nicer clean. More character, although this is my opinion , not a fact.

- Gibson and PRS are overpriced, mikeal uses PRS because he can afford it, they are wicked guitars but overpriced
True, then again, PRS's are made with some very nice woods and hand made. You pay for what you get. Gibsons are currently way too overpriced, but that's supply and demand for you.

- Can't go wrong with an AMERICAN made Jackson
Probably not, but you can't really go wrtong with a USA BCRich or top of the line/high end guitars by any manufacturer.

- You most likely DONT need a Floyd rose, pluse tunamatic hold tuning better
Tunamtics will still go out of tune. Floyd roses if locked properly and maintained, and with a good quality bridge hold tuning perfectly, even after dealing out abuse. A floyd rose is a tool, there are things you can do with it to add texture, and they are a hell of a lot of fun. If you play death metal lead, you may want one to divebomb those harmonics etc. The only disadbvantage is string breakage and detuning on the fly. But if set up correctly then they are well good. Best of all for tuning stability are double locking fixed bridges (like a foyd rose attached to the body with locking nut and fine tuners). Again, you are stating your personal preference to be fact which is pretty much like telling an amutee that it'll grow back if they water the stump. Dumb.