Recommend me a guitar for studio!

[nervirasme]

Hey guys,

first of all, I now sh*t about guitars when it comes to playing... I'm about to open a small studio and I'd like to have a decent and versatile guitar in-house for usual scenarios when a demo band comes in with a broomstick with strings... I know nothing about playing and/or any specs that affect playing (wood, scale, tunings, bla, bla), but I am really keen on the tone, so I do have one requirement - it has to have EMG 81/85 or 81/89 set of pickups. For now the logical choice of brands is Schecter and LTD, but please give me your opinion, especially if you have a certain model on your mind...
As I said, different persons are going to play it, so it has to be versatile enough for various players and playing styles (if this is possible at all)...
Thanks!

EDIT: When I said versatility, I meant different kinds of heavy genres of music (no pop, jazz, or blues are going to be played with it...)

 

[oroinvictus]

Why does it have to have EMGs? There are much better pickups, in my opinion. I've heard a lot of good sounds come out of ESP EC-1000s, those go for around 6 or 700 bones. Some higher-end Schecters are okay, LTDs are generally pretty good, Agile guitars are also pretty fair from what I hear about 'em. Ibanez also makes pretty good products, as does Fender, Gibson, PRS, Novax...

 

[Robert W]

Actives are good for certain types of "metal", but if you're looking for an " all around" guitar, then something with passives would be a better choice.

 

[nervirasme]

Why does it have to have EMGs? There are much better pickups, in my opinion. I've heard a lot of good sounds come out of ESP EC-1000s, those go for around 6 or 700 bones. Some higher-end Schecters are okay, LTDs are generally pretty good, Agile guitars are also pretty fair from what I hear about 'em. Ibanez also makes pretty good products, as does Fender, Gibson, PRS, Novax...

Thanks for the response. Well s few months ago I actually managed to record and make a shootout out of these three:
- EMG 81
- Seymour Duncan Blackout (Don't know which version exactly)
- DiMarzio D Activator

I liked D Activator the least, EMG 81 the most, and Blackout was really good on its own... So that's why I'm hesitant to experiment since I know what to expect from EMG. But I'm willing to hear more opinions...

In the mean time, found some interesting deals on Epiphone guitars - how do they compare with other brands in that price range? (which actually brings me to important detail - I don't want to cash out that much, and it's also hard to tell you guys my price limit since prices in Europe are much different for different brands than in US... But consider that the rough limit in US currency would be 600$)...

 

[nervirasme]

Actives are good for certain types of "metal", but if you're looking for an " all around" guitar, then something with passives would be a better choice.

Actually I am planning to use this one only for heavier genres of music anyway, and when I said "versatile" I meant that it could suit different players WITHIN that genre (sorry for confusion)... If you still think that I should go with passives feel free to recommend one...

Thanks.

 

[CubanDude]

Well.. If you judge by empiricism, you should go with either a strat-ish or a les paul-ish guitar. like already mentioned, the ESP / LTD Eclipse guitars are quite good, but it's like almost impossible to buy a guitar which every player likes.

 

[oroinvictus]

Epiphones are made by Gibson, like Squier is made by Fender. That being said, Epiphone guitars (in my experience) are usually cheap trash, and I would avoid them. I would stick with DiMarzio or Seymour Duncans. I've found both of those to be much more EQ-neutral than active EMGs. The DiMarzio XN2 is a great pickup with high output. Blackouts and Dimebuckers are also good pickups. I've also heard good things about Bareknuckle's lines. As CubanDude said, a strat or les paul-type guitar is probably your best bet, and it's very hard to find a guitar that every kind of player will like. There's a lot that goes into what sound makes what, like woods, strings, electronics and such, but I don't want to write out a whole of essay of information that's one or two google searches away, and I am certainly not the end-all expert on guitars.

 

[FIXXXER]

i owned an LTD MH-400 with EMG 81/85 pickups. great guitar, i still hat emyself for selling it.
i also owned a schecter damien-6, which was ok but not as half as good as the MH. it was a bit cheaper though.

have you cehcked out the new LTD "H" series!?

http://www.espguitars.com/guitars/ltd-standard-deluxe/h-series.html

cheers
S.

 

[oroinvictus]

I'm liking the looks of the H series, I just wish the 7 and 8-string variants came in a 27" scale.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Actives are good for certain types of "metal", but if you're looking for an " all around" guitar, then something with passives would be a better choice.

+1, exactly what I was thinking. Versatile is not a word I'd use when describing EMGs. If we're talking "versatile for metal," then I guess they're ok, but I definitely wouldn't want to be using an 81/85 combo for anything but hard rock/metal, whereas something like a JB/59 set will get you much further in most any genre.

 

[CubanDude]

Btw, yeah, i +1 the "no EMGs". I personally prefer Seymour Duncans

 

[Strachan of D]

http://www.espguitars.com/guitars/ltd-standard-deluxe/ec-1000fm.html

 

[Robert W]

If the OP's budget is around $600ish USD, then maybe a used Les Paul, SG, or something by Ibanez (great necks).

As for passives, I think the Bare Knuckles ceramic Warpig is a good choice.

 

[Robert W]

i owned an LTD MH-400 with EMG 81/85 pickups. great guitar, i still hat emyself for selling it.
i also owned a schecter damien-6, which was ok but not as half as good as the MH. it was a bit cheaper though.

have you cehcked out the new LTD "H" series!?

http://www.espguitars.com/guitars/ltd-standard-deluxe/h-series.html

cheers
S.

That's weird. ESP is making Schecter clones now?

 

[Sloan]

Find a used fixed bridge schecter. C1 body style would be best since I think it's easier for lp players to go to a strat style than vice versa.

 

[nervirasme]

And what about the scales? Again, in terms of versatility...

 

[CubanDude]

Vaguely said: The lower the tuning, the longer the scale should be - so if you gonna record mainly breakdown-running-in-places-metalcore-crap bands, you should consider that

 

[Sloan]

25.5 scale should cover most. i play an lp and have no problem switching to 25.5

hence the schecter recommendation. get a used C1 classic or whatever for $200.

 

[Wohma]

I had a Schecter C-1 Classic and while it cannot compare to my current PRS CE24 in terms of playability and "feel", the tone was definitely not bad in comparison - and we're talking guitars with different pickups here, so that might be more of a matter of preferences...
No one mentioned Ibanez - does it mean that Ibanez does not have a nice competitor in that price range? I've never really played a mid- or high-end Ibanez, so I can't recommend any particular model, but I've seen many rock/metal musicians use it and get nice tones from it. And Ola prefers Ibanez, that means something

 

[Line666]

A few people have said it so far but for mid priced guitars LTD is by far and and away the best for the price bar none. I have played and owned a lot of mid priced guitars - Ibanez (generally disappointing but have never tried Prestige models), Epiphone (like Gibson - so so), Fender (fairly standard - nothing to write home about), Schecter (seem to look and feel a bit cheap), and the only ones that I've had that have been consistent have been LTD's - always good build quality and action without having to do a stupid pickup upgrade or something.