What 6 string guitar to get?

[Cognition]

My Ibanez Rg321Ex with SD Blackout pickups sounds thin, so I need to upgrade.

Is the Schecter Demon 6 decent?
Or what about the Schecter C1?
Or do I have to save up for something like a Schecter Hellraiser (not really within my budget) to get something decent?

My budget is max £600 but preferably less. However, I do want a guitar that will last so I won't have to upgrade again any time soon.

I'm playing in standard E tuning and sometimes drop D. Since I've read the guitar should be set up for lower tunings, I plan to at a later stage invest in a 7 string dedicated to lower tunings and keep the guitar I am now getting in E and drop D.

 

[Trevoire520]

Best bet is to go play as many guitars as you can and see what you like. There's just too many variables and no-one can tell you what you're going to like.

As a general rule something with a Mahogany body and decent pickups from Seymour Duncan, EMG, etc then you'll be fine.

Assuming you wan't a similar feel to your RG then you'll be wanting to look at guitars with a 25.5" scale length and a wide thin neck.

Go to all the guitar stores you can and play EVERYTHING with humbuckers in your price range, not just from Ibanez/LTD etc. You might just fall in love with a Epiphone or Cort or PRS. Once you've sampled everything from every store then you'll have probably found a handful of guitars that really stand out, go back and try them again and make a decision.

Try and find a guitar that sounds good acoustically as well as plugged in, and if something sounds really off then see if there's another one in the store incase it's a duffer (I played an absolutely awful with PRS Tremonti then went through everything else in the shop, tried out the black PRS on the wall and the difference between the two was HUGE!)

All in though, don't spend £600 on a guitar without playing it first, you'll probably regret it.

 

[Cognition]

Thanks for the answer, Trevoire520! That makes a lot of sense!

I'm guessing it might be important to have a neck-through and not bolt-on neck as well? Or is it not necessarily so?

 

[006]

Trevoire is dead on here, you really have to try out something and find out what you like from what is out there. Everyone is different so it's hard to recommend something. Best bang-for-buck guitars out there, in my experience and opinion, are Schecter and LTD. Anything around $600 and up new should be a good grab from either company. But, again, you gotta see what works for you

As far as bolt-ons...honestly I use to be a set-neck/neck-thru-ONLY kinda dude but there really is nothing wrong with bolt-on. If anything they can be considered to have a slight edge in their favor since you can replace the neck easily if it ever gets broken, messed up or if you just want a different fingerboard etc. I own 3 Strats (bolt-ons of course) and a Gibson Explorer (set) currently, and have owned a shitload of other guitars mostly with set-neck or neck-thru construction... these days I'm over the whole thru/set being "better."

 

[Metaltastic]

ESP LTD H-1001
Some Schecter Hellraiser/Blackjack/whatever

Take your pic, but you'd be crazy to get anything else IMO

 

[Trevoire520]

Neck thru, set neck and bolt on neck are all fine I feel. As 006 said bolt on does have the edge if something were to happen to the guitar. I've got 3 set neck guitars and 2 bolt on guitars. and as long as it has decent fret access I'm happy personally.

 

[JayB]

I love my Shecter C-1

 

[Cognition]

Thanks a lot for the tips!

Will be sure to demo the Schecters and the ESP

 

[Rex Rocker]

Ibanez SZ (if you can find a new old stock one, they're discontinued, but they seem to be somewhat common still). Those are great. I have a 320 and it's a great guitar. The body's pretty thick... not quite as thick a Les Paul, but thicker than the average super-strat for sure. Mahogany body, Mahogany neck... so yeah, it's fat sounding.

 

[Trevoire520]

Ibanez SZ (if you can find a new old stock one, they're discontinued, but they seem to be somewhat common still). Those are great. I have a 320 and it's a great guitar. The body's pretty thick... not quite as thick a Les Paul, but thicker than the average super-strat for sure. Mahogany body, Mahogany neck... so yeah, it's fat sounding.

+1 they're best with a change of pickups imo but my SZ is the guitar that just feels right to me. The new SZR's are ugly as hell though.

 

[Metaltastic]

Oh word, I forgot about the SZ's, I've always liked 'em

 

[Lazzari]

Oh word, I forgot about the SZ's, I've always liked 'em

maybe the old version but the new one is ugly as hell and the inlays are UGLY..

anyway thats just my opinion..

 

[Last_Confession]

my prs se feels and sounds pretty damn good to me