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OT: Guitar / Guitarist Appreciation Thread

Soliciting recommendations here.

Relative beginner here. Looking to upgrade soon from my cheap ibanez gio (first guitar). Most of what I like to play is in drop D. Other music I like is even more down tuned. The fret buzz, muddy pickups, and cheap tuners are starting to bother me

Thoughts on which of these would be a reasonably priced choice for my purpose? Prefer a double cut profile..

Ibanez RG
Ibanez S
PRS SE Standard 24
ESP LTD M200 series
...
Or one of the Schecters with active pickups?

I'm familiar with the Ibanez wizard neck. I have tried an older prs custom 22, which I loved the feel of, but have heard that they aren't great for down tuning. Haven't tried an ESP. Schecter feels decent in hand, maybe not as great as the PRS or Ibanez, but the active pickups are tempting at this price point.
 
RUevolution36 said:
Soliciting recommendations here.

Relative beginner here. Looking to upgrade soon from my cheap ibanez gio (first guitar). Most of what I like to play is in drop D. Other music I like is even more down tuned. The fret buzz, muddy pickups, and cheap tuners are starting to bother me

Thoughts on which of these would be a reasonably priced choice for my purpose? Prefer a double cut profile..

Ibanez RG
Ibanez S
PRS SE Standard 24
ESP LTD M200 series
...
Or one of the Schecters with active pickups?

I'm familiar with the Ibanez wizard neck. I have tried an older prs custom 22, which I loved the feel of, but have heard that they aren't great for down tuning. Haven't tried an ESP. Schecter feels decent in hand, maybe not as great as the PRS or Ibanez, but the active pickups are tempting at this price point.
Click to expand...

The Drop D affinity tells me you like your metal riffs.

Obviously, when you drop the tuning on a string you're making it looser and any propensity the guitar has toward fret buzz will be magnified.

At a high level - any really good guitar will be able to handle dropped tunings if properly set up. Emphasis there on "good guitar".

Of the instruments you've listed, the PRS SE is probably the best. It's not a "PRS core", which means it's not made in the U.S., but none of the guitars you've listed are made here.

Get the best instrument you can afford. Actually, get the best instrument that costs just a bit more than you can afford. Then have it professionally set up, so that the intonation is accurate, the neck is properly relieved and the frets are leveled. You should be fine with that.

IMO, avoid active pickups, as the tone reproduction just isn't as accurate as a good set of traditional humbuckers. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy that I'm currently looking to sell because it brings nothing to the table. The Fender American Ultra Tele that I just bought has all the mechanical goodies - locking tuners, asymmetrical neck, compound radius fretboard and heel-carved body - but it has good, old-fashioned pickups and is extraordinary. It cost 3x what the Epiphone cost, but... that right there is my point. There is a genuine, no shit difference between a mass-produced Asian guitar and a hand-built American guitar. @RUScrew85 will be pleased to learn that "Made in the USA", for guitars, really does mean something.
 
RU4Real said:
The Drop D affinity tells me you like your metal riffs.

Obviously, when you drop the tuning on a string you're making it looser and any propensity the guitar has toward fret buzz will be magnified.

At a high level - any really good guitar will be able to handle dropped tunings if properly set up. Emphasis there on "good guitar".

Of the instruments you've listed, the PRS SE is probably the best. It's not a "PRS core", which means it's not made in the U.S., but none of the guitars you've listed are made here.

Get the best instrument you can afford. Actually, get the best instrument that costs just a bit more than you can afford. Then have it professionally set up, so that the intonation is accurate, the neck is properly relieved and the frets are leveled. You should be fine with that.

IMO, avoid active pickups, as the tone reproduction just isn't as accurate as a good set of traditional humbuckers. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy that I'm currently looking to sell because it brings nothing to the table. The Fender American Ultra Tele that I just bought has all the mechanical goodies - locking tuners, asymmetrical neck, compound radius fretboard and heel-carved body - but it has good, old-fashioned pickups and is extraordinary. It cost 3x what the Epiphone cost, but... that right there is my point. There is a genuine, no shit difference between a mass-produced Asian guitar and a hand-built American guitar. @RUScrew85 will be pleased to learn that "Made in the USA", for guitars, really does mean something.
Click to expand...
Maybe the PRS SE Mark Tremonti then. Designed for drop tuning with its longer scale. Heavy Seymour Duncan pickups. Just need to be able to explain it to the wife lol.
 
FWIW, my advice for those starting out is to learn on acoustic guitar first. Your hands, fingers , etc. need to be strengthened. Developing your musical ear is important and that is more difficult if you are listening to music with a lot of distortion in it. In the end, developing “your sound” is much more about your hands, mind and heart than the equipment or gear you are using.
 
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RUGuitarMan said:
FWIW, my advice for those starting out is to learn on acoustic guitar first. Your hands, fingers , etc. need to be strengthened. Developing your musical ear is important and that is more difficult if you are listening to music with a lot of distortion in it. In the end, developing “your sound” is much more about your hands, mind and heart than the equipment or gear you are using.
Click to expand...
I tried acoustic. Lost interest. I'm not trying to learn everything there is to know about guitar. I just want to learn how to play some of the music that I listen to and turn some of the riffs in my head into something I can hear for real. I have a musical brain... just need an outlet for it. A D chord is still a D chord, distorted or not. My issue is that the sound coming from the guitar is being hindered by the guitar itself. And i know this because I can play the same thing on a different, higher quality guitar and it doesn't have the same issues.
 
RUevolution36 said:
I tried acoustic. Lost interest. I'm not trying to learn everything there is to know about guitar. I just want to learn how to play some of the music that I listen to and turn some of the riffs in my head into something I can hear for real. I have a musical brain... just need an outlet for it. A D chord is still a D chord, distorted or not. My issue is that the sound coming from the guitar is being hindered by the guitar itself. And i know this because I can play the same thing on a different, higher quality guitar and it doesn't have the same issues.
Click to expand...
Good luck to you. I understand you want to play what you like to hear and that is fine . As a hobby, there needs to be fun to it, that is important.
 
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My first guitar was a PRS SE 245, had it for 5 yrs and I liked it a lot - Korean made and I tried out many different guitars before buying it. One of the reasons for buying it was the shorter scale. The tech who did a setup two years ago at 30th St Guitars in the city said he thought the foreign made PRSs were the best non-US made guitars on the market at the time. I asked if he was shinning me on and he said no and I believe him.

I later found myself trying out Strats, then rented one for a week and decided to switch so I traded the PRS for a Player Plus Strat a year ago - couldn't be happier with it. I would have kept the PRS but at my skill level and with not much space, I just couldn't justify having more than one. I don't know about models good for Drop D tuning but I don't think you can go wrong with a PRS. Good luck.
 
RUevolution36 said:
I tried acoustic. Lost interest. I'm not trying to learn everything there is to know about guitar. I just want to learn how to play some of the music that I listen to and turn some of the riffs in my head into something I can hear for real. I have a musical brain... just need an outlet for it. A D chord is still a D chord, distorted or not. My issue is that the sound coming from the guitar is being hindered by the guitar itself. And i know this because I can play the same thing on a different, higher quality guitar and it doesn't have the same issues.
Click to expand...
An economical method to get better sound from an inexpensive guitar is to swap out the pickups. Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan give you a huge selection to tailor a sound. They provide a lot of sound samples for their products. Last week, I put a set of Fender Tex-Mex pickups in to a Squier Strat and now it sounds like a Strat. The original ceramic PUs made it sound like an electric guitar and seemed to work well with pedals, but just didn't possess that Strat jangle and chime.
 
jerseybird said:
An economical method to get better sound from an inexpensive guitar is to swap out the pickups. Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan give you a huge selection to tailor a sound. They provide a lot of sound samples for their products. Last week, I put a set of Fender Tex-Mex pickups in to a Squier Strat and now it sounds like a Strat. The original ceramic PUs made it sound like an electric guitar and seemed to work well with pedals, but just didn't possess that Strat jangle and chime.
Click to expand...

I own an Epiphone Les Paul ES Pro that's a fascinating little guitar. All Les Paul, except that the body is semi-hollow. Friggin' great for old school blues. My short-term plan for it is to drop in a set of SD Pearly Gates and upgrade all the switchgear. I expect it will be a monster.

BTW - On the subject of non-US guitars, I have a Fender MIM Strat (Player series) and it's an outstanding guitar. It really doesn't have any faults other than being mildly intonation-challenged.
 
RU4Real said:
I own an Epiphone Les Paul ES Pro that's a fascinating little guitar. All Les Paul, except that the body is semi-hollow. Friggin' great for old school blues. My short-term plan for it is to drop in a set of SD Pearly Gates and upgrade all the switchgear. I expect it will be a monster.

BTW - On the subject of non-US guitars, I have a Fender MIM Strat (Player series) and it's an outstanding guitar. It really doesn't have any faults other than being mildly intonation-challenged.
Click to expand...
Totally agree on my MIM Strat. I like everything about it. It has locking tuners and I was neutral on them at first but now I’m very glad it has them. TBH, I haven’t noticed an intonation issue but don’t check it routinely and doubt my ear would just pick it up.
 
29PAS said:
Totally agree on my MIM Strat. I like everything about it. It has locking tuners and I was neutral on them at first but now I’m very glad it has them. TBH, I haven’t noticed an intonation issue but don’t check it routinely and doubt my ear would just pick it up.
Click to expand...

Tune the open strings and then look at where the tuner is landing when you strike a note at the 5th fret. Easiest way to tell.
 
This man…
1OQbXFV.jpg
 
Knight Shift said:
Did not realize Leslie West was so revered by peers, including Jeff Beck

www.guitarworld.com

Watch Mountain’s Felix Papplardi and Leslie West tear Pennsylvania a new one on Mississippi Queen as they redefine ‘heavy’ for the 70s

“All stoner and doom bands are foam in the wake of Mountain!” An unmissable performance that generated some amazing YouTube comments
www.guitarworld.com www.guitarworld.com

View embedded media
Click to expand...

So was Papplardi. The amazing thing is in 1969 they were playing high schools in Bergen County.
 
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mdk01 said:
So was Papplardi. The amazing thing is in 1969 they were playing high schools in Bergen County.
Click to expand...
Leslie West struggled with his weight for most of his life, and his leg was amputated due to complications from diabetes. Did not realize he and other band members had issues with heroin too.

Found this on Pappalardi- his wife apparently shot him with a derringer he gave to her (pro- tip: don't give your spouse a gun if you are in an open marriage)> :

On April 17, 1983, Felix Pappalardi was shot once in the neck in the fifth-floor New York City apartment he shared with Collins Pappalardi. He was pronounced dead at the scene and Collins Pappalardi was charged with second degree murder.[2][3] Collins Pappalardi claimed that the killing was an accident. During the trial it was revealed that the couple had an open marriage and that Collins Pappalardi had shot her husband after he had returned in the early morning from seeing his girlfriend.[4] She was acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter, but found guilty of criminally negligent homicide[5] and sentenced to 16 months to 4 years in prison.[6] On April 30, 1985, she was released on parole.

Gail Collins Pappalardi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Knight Shift said:
Leslie West struggled with his weight for most of his life, and his leg was amputated due to complications from diabetes. Did not realize he and other band members had issues with heroin too.

Found this on Pappalardi- his wife apparently shot him with a derringer he gave to her (pro- tip: don't give your spouse a gun if you are in an open marriage)> :

On April 17, 1983, Felix Pappalardi was shot once in the neck in the fifth-floor New York City apartment he shared with Collins Pappalardi. He was pronounced dead at the scene and Collins Pappalardi was charged with second degree murder.[2][3] Collins Pappalardi claimed that the killing was an accident. During the trial it was revealed that the couple had an open marriage and that Collins Pappalardi had shot her husband after he had returned in the early morning from seeing his girlfriend.[4] She was acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter, but found guilty of criminally negligent homicide[5] and sentenced to 16 months to 4 years in prison.[6] On April 30, 1985, she was released on parole.

Gail Collins Pappalardi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
Click to expand...
Seems like a light sentence.
 
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RU4Real said:
The Drop D affinity tells me you like your metal riffs.

Obviously, when you drop the tuning on a string you're making it looser and any propensity the guitar has toward fret buzz will be magnified.

At a high level - any really good guitar will be able to handle dropped tunings if properly set up. Emphasis there on "good guitar".

Of the instruments you've listed, the PRS SE is probably the best. It's not a "PRS core", which means it's not made in the U.S., but none of the guitars you've listed are made here.

Get the best instrument you can afford. Actually, get the best instrument that costs just a bit more than you can afford. Then have it professionally set up, so that the intonation is accurate, the neck is properly relieved and the frets are leveled. You should be fine with that.

IMO, avoid active pickups, as the tone reproduction just isn't as accurate as a good set of traditional humbuckers. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy that I'm currently looking to sell because it brings nothing to the table. The Fender American Ultra Tele that I just bought has all the mechanical goodies - locking tuners, asymmetrical neck, compound radius fretboard and heel-carved body - but it has good, old-fashioned pickups and is extraordinary. It cost 3x what the Epiphone cost, but... that right there is my point. There is a genuine, no shit difference between a mass-produced Asian guitar and a hand-built American guitar. @RUScrew85 will be pleased to learn that "Made in the USA", for guitars, really does mean something.
Click to expand...

Took your (and many others) advice and picked up a PRS SE Mark Holcomb about a month ago. Seymour Duncan pick ups, slightly longer scale length than a Custom 24. Really flat radius on the fretboard. Love it. WAY more guitar than my skills are capable of, but I can aspire to be better. Neck pickup is really bright and lovely sounding in any mode. Bridge pickup is high output and can chug super heavy.

l88236000001000-02-720x720.jpg


 
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RUevolution36 said:
Took your (and many others) advice and picked up a PRS SE Mark Holcomb about a month ago. Seymour Duncan pick ups, slightly longer scale length than a Custom 24. Really flat radius on the fretboard. Love it. WAY more guitar than my skills are capable of, but I can aspire to be better. Neck pickup is really bright and lovely sounding in any mode. Bridge pickup is high output and can chug super heavy.

l88236000001000-02-720x720.jpg


Click to expand...

Outstanding! Congratulations! I'll get a PRS eventually, but I'm pretty sure that, for now least, my wife thinks I've spent more than enough on guitars. :)
 
RUevolution36 said:
Took your (and many others) advice and picked up a PRS SE Mark Holcomb about a month ago. Seymour Duncan pick ups, slightly longer scale length than a Custom 24. Really flat radius on the fretboard. Love it. WAY more guitar than my skills are capable of, but I can aspire to be better. Neck pickup is really bright and lovely sounding in any mode. Bridge pickup is high output and can chug super heavy.

l88236000001000-02-720x720.jpg


Click to expand...
RUevolution36 said:
Took your (and many others) advice and picked up a PRS SE Mark Holcomb about a month ago. Seymour Duncan pick ups, slightly longer scale length than a Custom 24. Really flat radius on the fretboard. Love it. WAY more guitar than my skills are capable of, but I can aspire to be better. Neck pickup is really bright and lovely sounding in any mode. Bridge pickup is high output and can chug super heavy.

l88236000001000-02-720x720.jpg


Click to expand...
Got me curious, so I watched the PRS video on this guitar. Wow! That's some great clarity there. Looks like Mark and PRS spent a good amount of time developing the pickups.
 
Posted some new music from Extreme in the new music thread. Their guitarist, Nuno Bettencourt was considered by some to be in the same league as Eddie Van Halen. I'm not an Extreme fan, but have been listening to their back catalog. This caught my ear. Thoughts from the resident guitar gurus? Mindless playing or talent?

 
I wanted to post this , Eric Clapton will be having one more Crossroads Guitar Festival in Sept in LA. It benefits the Crossroads Rehab Facility. This is a great lineup this year and includes a number of younger and first time invitees which I think is great. If you check out the poster, this is quite a lineup.
 
RUGuitarMan said:
I wanted to post this , Eric Clapton will be having one more Crossroads Guitar Festival in Sept in LA. It benefits the Crossroads Rehab Facility. This is a great lineup this year and includes a number of younger and first time invitees which I think is great. If you check out the poster, this is quite a lineup.
View embedded media
Click to expand...
The War on Drugs is on the bill. Adam Granduciel is currently my favorite guitarist.
Also good to see Stephen Stills there.
I can't figure what Sheryl Crow is doing there though .
 
Last edited:
RUGuitarMan said:
I wanted to post this , Eric Clapton will be having one more Crossroads Guitar Festival in Sept in LA. It benefits the Crossroads Rehab Facility. This is a great lineup this year and includes a number of younger and first time invitees which I think is great. If you check out the poster, this is quite a lineup.
View embedded media
Click to expand...
A couple of guitarists I learned about from previous Crossroads shows are on September's bill.
We really enjoyed Sonny Landreth and Albert Lee. Both incredibly talented.
 
Kbee3 said:
A couple of guitarists I learned about from previous Crossroads shows are on September's bill.
We really enjoyed Sonny Landreth and Albert Lee. Both incredibly talented.
Click to expand...
Yes and there are some younger and less known excellent players this year, Eric
Gales, Kingfish Ingram, Samantha Fish, Marcus King and others. They all are bigtime players. BTW, I’ve been checking out your band, The War On Drugs and so far I really like them. Some really good songs and good playing and singing.
 
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RUGuitarMan said:
Yes and there are some younger and less known excellent players this year, Eric
Gales, Kingfish Ingram, Samantha Fish, Marcus King and others. They all are bigtime players. BTW, I’ve been checking out your band, The War On Drugs and so far I really like them. Some really good songs and good playing and singing.
Click to expand...
Granduciel plays more on the live stuff..... their live album Live Drugs and their most recent Austin City Limits show. It's never enough though. I'm currently playing to death a song from their latest album...a song called Victim. But I love so many of their tunes. UTube has a bunch of them.
Honestly, their last three studio albums are among my favorites put out in the last decade.
 
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I'll leave it to the real experts (of which I am NOT one) to educate everyone on great guitarists. (I'll throw Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame right here.)

But one performist that always made me smile was guitarist Ann Wilson of Heart and the intro that was spliced together of "Crazy on You" live circa 1976 when Heart first came on the scene. I thought Ann Wilson's plucking was going to spontaneously combust the guitar!

 
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I mentioned above local Staten Islander Vito Bratta from White Lion, who is a great guitarist lists his 11 influences. Vito is not a shredder, but more melodic. Interesting story how that came to be:

“The result is I have a bone that overgrows the other bone in my right wrist,” Bratta continues. “It’s not a problem, it’s just a weird little lump where the bones met and fused together. And later I found out that it affected me as a guitar player because I can only go so fast with my right wrist. So, it turns out that I was never gonna be as fast as some guys, so I never bothered to try.

“I found my own voice and my own voice turned out to be melodic solos and not worrying about ‘shredding.’ I could try to do the shred and just throw something out there, but that never appealed to me. I went a different way, and I guess it’s what made me stand out.”


www.guitarworld.com

Vito Bratta names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound

The virtuoso behind White Lion’s platinum rock sound pays dues to the players who showed him what to do on guitar (and what not to do), and recalls an emotional encounter with Eddie Van Halen
www.guitarworld.com www.guitarworld.com

Here's one of his solos.

 
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Knight Shift said:
I mentioned above local Staten Islander Vito Bratta from White Lion, who is a great guitarist lists his 11 influences. Vito is not a shredder, but more melodic. Interesting story how that came to be:

“The result is I have a bone that overgrows the other bone in my right wrist,” Bratta continues. “It’s not a problem, it’s just a weird little lump where the bones met and fused together. And later I found out that it affected me as a guitar player because I can only go so fast with my right wrist. So, it turns out that I was never gonna be as fast as some guys, so I never bothered to try.

“I found my own voice and my own voice turned out to be melodic solos and not worrying about ‘shredding.’ I could try to do the shred and just throw something out there, but that never appealed to me. I went a different way, and I guess it’s what made me stand out.”


www.guitarworld.com

Vito Bratta names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound

The virtuoso behind White Lion’s platinum rock sound pays dues to the players who showed him what to do on guitar (and what not to do), and recalls an emotional encounter with Eddie Van Halen
www.guitarworld.com www.guitarworld.com

Here's one of his solos.

View embedded media
Click to expand...
All of my favorite players are not “shredders”, they are melodic, lyrical , emotive players. I’m not a fan of shred and don’t like how the word is used today, “watch Santana shred on this tune”. That would be the last thing he would do. That style hasn’t helped guitar playing, what’s the point of it? It seems to be more about ego than music. To me, the idea is to sing through the guitar. Good singers don’t hit endless notes at high speed. Good singers don’t go up and down scales at 100 mph. Vibrato, phrasing, tone are all terms used to describe both singers and guitar players. Speed of playing should be one of the last things a guitar player should worry about. Try learning how to hit notes just right, to bend , slide, pull off and hammer on the right way. That’s what is about in my opinion.
 
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RUGuitarMan said:
All of my favorite players are not “shredders”, they are melodic, lyrical , emotive players. I’m not a fan of shred and don’t like how the word is used today, “watch Santana shred on this tune”. That would be the last thing he would do. That style hasn’t helped guitar playing, what’s the point of it? It seems to be more about ego than music. To me, the idea is to sing through the guitar. Good singers don’t hit endless notes at high speed. Good singers don’t go up and down scales at 100 mph. Vibrato, phrasing, tone are all terms used to describe both singers and guitar players. Speed of playing should be one of the last things a guitar player should worry about. Try learning how to hit notes just right, to bend , slide, pull off and hammer on the right way. That’s what is about in my opinion.
Click to expand...

The very best guitarists are those who have mastered the use of space in their composition. Gilmour comes to mind, as does Frampton.

You and I are 100% in sync.
 
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