Factory Guitars

[syndromet]

Hi

was just wondering who you guys think make the best guitars, without hand-building them?

From what I've tried, I'll say ESP makes some great guitars, if you buy their more expensive guitars. Don't know if they are worth the money, though. I don't like fender for anything other than the looks, and think both Gibson and PRS are deasent, but overpriced.

The best guitars I have ever played was a Carvin ct6m, a framus ka 1974 and a samic jz3 with duncans.

The carvin was absoloutly amazing to play, but could need new pickups, the framus was the guitar of my dreams, and still is, and the Samick was my biggest suprise ever.

Other than that I love the schecter c1.

[verhoevenc]

Parker. My fly classic is magical! it's better than the customs i have. my best PLAYING guitar by far.

Yes, they are expensive too, like PRS and Gbison, however, 1, they are worth it, and 2, you can get them for decent prices on ebay if you have patience.

Chris

[Scott Rosenberger]

The best guitars I have ever played was a Carvin ct6m,

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Its up there on my list too

Here's Mine

[JPL]

Carvin makes some fine guitars, this DC127 is probably my number two favorite. I think they offer some of the best bang for the buck around.

The pickups in this one aren't my first choise but good enough not to rush to change them out. I do like the Holdsworth pups.

[Hughes]

i always hated parker flys...until i went to my guitar store and tried one, very nice neck, very comfortable, and very nice sounding...weird looking though haha

[Mickguard]

I have a Samick RL-1...their entry level...but the neck is great, really well done. I can only imagine what the upper level Samicks are like. I think they went to town with the Greg Bennett series.

Only problem for me with the RL-1 is that I'm just not comfortable playing wide-body guitars. I'm thinking of taking the neck off and building something else around it...

[Mattia]

Parker Flys, higher end Fender stuff's good, PRS.

I don't rate Gibson highly AT ALL. They're very close to the bottom end of my list of quality factory guitars; the fact Epiphones often have better fit+finish (but worse hardware+pickups) tells you all you need to know.

[ooten2]

Add another one to the Carvin "bang for the buck" factor.

[syxxstring]

+1 on the Parker love.

My nightfly sa is the only electric I keep purely because its such a player. Im quite attached to it now as well. Great stock pickups, great playing, great looking.

[Jehle]

and the Samick was my biggest suprise ever.

No suprise there. I think Samick is the same factory that makes other "name brand" guitars. I've played one or two of theirs in the past and have been impressed with the feel and quality of them as well.

One of the biggest surprises that I had in a guitar shop was this one by ESP... The Earvana nut was freaky. I've never played a guitar that was that in tune before.

FEATURES: set-thru construction; 25.5” scale; mahogany body w/flamed maple top; 3-piece maple neck; rosewood fingerboard; abalone offset block inlays w/model name at 12th fret; Seymour Duncan JB/59 pickups; volume & tone controls w/3-way slotted switch; black hardware; Sperzel locking tuners; Earvana compensated nut; TonePros locking bridge w/string-thru-body; white w/abalone binding on body neck & headstock; 24 XJ frets

FINISHES: Amber Sunburst (ASB)

[Pr3Va1L]

Well, gotta say parker wins it for me (I never tryed a carvin btw (my guitar is with one of their necks though))

Tryed a fly mojo at my local store... If I had that money, i'd buy one right away! And they're my favorite guitar shape as well (unconfortable a bit for my playing position... good enough, it would put it back to where it should be )

I'm sorry, but compare a gibson to a fly...

same price...

less than 1/2 the weight of the gibson and at least twice the features (including a piezo and a neck completely covered of carbon composite (the back of the body too... it's essencially a set-neck that the outer layer does the whole guitar)

Anyways... Fender and Gibson (and ibanez) are VERY overpriced for the quality they exibit...

a 2000$ guitar with a sub-par fretjob?? whatever...

Anyone knows about Schecter's quality?

[GMan123]

I love carvin and jackson. The more expensive Jacksons, that is.

[crafty]

My Gibson Les Paul Classic was $1599--and the fretwork and construction quality are quite excellent. The tone is also something that no other instrument can touch, either. Not even the mighty PRSi and Parkers I auditioned for months until I found my LPC.

There are two types of people: those that hate Fender and Gibson, and those that own a Fender and/or a Gibson. I have found that most people who tend to love ESPs are the Fender/Gibson haters until they realize that just about every song ever recorded in modern rock history was recorded with a Fender or a Gibson guitar. They set the standard, and continue to lead the pack not through glitz, glamour, or new fangled features. It's the sound and the feel--and knowing that the money you plunk down on an instrument isn't going to be wasted.

I'll plunk down a couple grand on a Gibson that'll still be worth a couple grand in 10 years over a Schecter or ESP that'll be worth a couple hundred. But in the end, buy whatever makes you happy and feels good to you. Some people like different things, and if that Kelly-style Jackson or duct-taped up Ibanez feels right to you, then buy it and love it.

[Primal]

You don't hear about them often, but I LOVE my Dean bass.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/ins...00/Deanbass.jpg

Its not one of the cheap Edge basses, either. Its an Improv 5 (discontinued -- I have a knack for buying discontinued basses) and it feels absolutely wonderful. They are apparently made in the same factory as the Czech Spector basses.

My only gripe is that its not that great for slap, however I don't know how much of that is due to the EMGs (real-deal EMG 40-CS) or even my amp (100w Trace-Elliot Commando head and 2x10" Behringer cab). It does just great for jazz and rock, though. I'd like to swap the pickups out for some Bartolinis (or maybe even some EMG 40-DCs) to see if I can get a slap tone, though.

I would definately grab another one of these babies if I ever got a chance (although, I'd like either a 4-string or 6-string version).

For a bit of reference, for the most part I hate Fender basses. There have only been a few that I've actually been impressed by (the Highway basses and a new Japanese J-Bass). I am VERY picky when it comes to type of bass I find comfortable. I've tried many different brands including a custom B.C. Rich, Fender, Carvin, Ernie Ball, etc. Nothing so far has come close to touching my Dean in the playability department. I was impressed with the Carvin's slap tone, though, so I could see myself getting one for playing funk.

[Gemm012]

I love my Fender bass, but don't care too much for Fender guitars. Probably cause on bass I play more jazz/blues/classic rock stuff, and on guitar I play more metal/neo-classical/shred stuff. My three guitars are a 91 Ibanez RG 550 with a Dimebucker in the bridge and a Breed in the neck and an HS-3 in the middle. A 99 RG 7621 (fixed bridge seven) with the stock pups, and an 89 RG570 that I'm "Jematizing" and it doesn't have anypickups in it yet. But my Fender Geddy Lee jazz bass just blows everyother bass I've EVER played out of the water, and strangely enough, before buying it, I had never heard a single Rush song.

[eddiewarlock]

USA Jacksons, the consistency and quality is great, those are the only guitars i've tried that felt like an expensive guitar should feel, Gibsons in my opinion, are overrated, and they take for granted their name, I think they only have a bit of extra care with the Les Pauls, but i really hate the way most, for not saying all Gibsons play, sound is subjective, and reallt, sound comes from the wood and construction and scale lenght ( i don;t like to use the almighty word tone), i think Gibsons don;t do a proper fretwork...2000$ and not having a good fretwork...nope, sorry, i could have a custom shop guitar for that money and would play circles around it, but that's just what i think, anyways, back to the question, Jackson any usa model, but specially the Soloist SL 2 and the Randy Rhoads RR1

[Jester700]

There are two types of people: those that hate Fender and Gibson, and those that own a Fender and/or a Gibson. I have found that most people who tend to love ESPs are the Fender/Gibson haters until they realize that just about every song ever recorded in modern rock history was recorded with a Fender or a Gibson guitar. They set the standard, and continue to lead the pack not through glitz, glamour, or new fangled features. It's the sound and the feel--and knowing that the money you plunk down on an instrument isn't going to be wasted.

I'll plunk down a couple grand on a Gibson that'll still be worth a couple grand in 10 years over a Schecter or ESP that'll be worth a couple hundred. But in the end, buy whatever makes you happy and feels good to you. Some people like different things, and if that Kelly-style Jackson or duct-taped up Ibanez feels right to you, then buy it and love it.

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Tone is taste. Some love Gibson "thickness", others hate it's "muddiness"

That history thing is baloney. They were the MAJOR good guitars until the 80's, so anything before then doesn't count. Since then, yeah, many people still love them, but many guitarists are also "vintage buffs" for no good reason; there's nothing about a Fender or Gibson that a Yamaha, Heritage, Hamer, or other make couldn't dupe at the same price point (well, except psychologically). And since the 80's PLENTY of great rock has been done on non-fender, non-gibson guitars.

As for value, well, OK if you're into collecting. But percentage is kind of misleading. You'll lose every bit as many dollars on reselling your overpriced gibson as any other brand, and lose more right off the bat when you "drive it off the lot".

As you say, buy what you want & love it. I never understood the gibson "thing", but obviously many people do.

[Pr3Va1L]

Surely no one would argue that a 80's or before fender/gibson were REALLY great guitars! But the recent models are really starting to decline in quality (and tu augment in price)

and as jester said, a 2005 gibson doesn't really have more value than any other guitar for the same price...

And btw... I tryed an explorer recently... My dream guitar before I tryed one.....

The neck feels like it hasen't even been fully rounded... Whatever lol

[Jester700]

Surely no one would argue that a 80's or before fender/gibson were REALLY great guitars! But the recent models are really starting to decline in quality (and tu augment in price)

and as jester said, a 2005 gibson doesn't really have more value than any other guitar for the same price...

And btw... I tryed an explorer recently... My dream guitar before I tryed one.....

The neck feels like it hasen't even been fully rounded... Whatever lol

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Actually, there were also american made Fenders in the 70's that were terrible for the price. CBS started really cheaping out at one point. A pal once had an official strat that only had 2 knobs. He said he got it because he heard they were soon going to move production offshore. IMO he should have waited for the first Japanese run...

And there are definitely Gibson clunkers, even at their price point.

[crafty]

I'm still trying to figure out this whole "poor fretwork" thing that everyone keeps talking about on the Gibsons. Most of the problems I've seen on new Gibsons have to do with finish and electrical problems more than fretwork.

I think Ibanez and Jackson make great guitars for live performance. My Lester feels very heavy after a couple hours of playing, no matter what. But for recording and important performances, I can't see myself playing anything else. They're just great guitars. And to pick nits, no guitar over $50 is really that great of a deal because it's just bits of wood and wire. Nothing like palladium, silicone, or gold that's in the computer you're sitting in front of.

[Jester700]

I'm still trying to figure out this whole "poor fretwork" thing that everyone keeps talking about on the Gibsons. Most of the problems I've seen on new Gibsons have to do with finish and electrical problems more than fretwork.

I don't think it's a universal problem. Some Pauls are awesome (well, if you LIKE that sort of thing). Others make you wonder "how the heck did THAT get through QA?" If you like pauls, you can surely get a great guitar - I'd play several and pick the best one. Actually, that's good advice on ANY guitar, but especially so on Gibsons, given the (IMO) poor QA/price ratio.

Having said all that, I haven't looked at them much in the last few years, so maybe they've improved the issues since then.

[Guitarfrenzy]

Funny this subject came up. Just yesterday, I went to a local Guitar Center to buy a case for my last guitar I built. I decided it was time to try out all the new guitars while I was there. First off, I noticed that the quality on almost everyone of them wasn't very good. I guess it's because when you actually know what goes into building one, you can really spot things (flaws) that you would have never noticed before. For instance here was some things I noticed about the guitars I played.

Schecter C-1 Blue Transparent: First off, the nut was plastic and the slotting wasn't very good. The frets was flat and not recrowned after leveling, which I personally like, but some wouldn't. The action was higher than I'd like, and it wanted to buzz even then. I was really shocked at the fretwork being as poor as it was. Still it's not bad for the price.

Jackson SL-3 Red Transparent: Again, sloppy fretwork as I found it unbelievable that I could see glue squeeze out on the fret edges just before the neck binding. It looks like they would have cleaned up the Titebond glue before it dried. It was on at least 5 of the middle frets, very unprofessional. The guitar did play better than the Schecter though with less buzz and slightly lower action, but still not as low as I'd have liked. BTW Jackson is now made by Fender, so not sure of the quality differences since the switch but could be a factor.

Ibanez RG1570 Blue: The nut action wasn't the best, probably needed lowering or taking out the metal shim from under the locking nut. The action wasn't as low as I assumed it would be on a nicer mid priced Ibanez. The workmanship on the guitar was good though, and overall the fretjob looked great although the fret ends needed to be deburred better.. oww... But overall one of the better guitars I played.

PRS Custom 24: Nice guitar but the plastic nut would have to go.. lol I have no idea why they don't at least sand down the top of their nut, it looks really bad and isn't good for the tone. The action wasn't as low as the other guitars, but it wasn't bad either, about average for production guitars. Fretjob was much better than most of the other guitars as was the overall workmanship of the guitar. It played pretty good, but it should for that price.

These are just some I tested, but I was overwhelmed with how terrible the action was on most production level guitars.

[Scott Rosenberger]

PRS Custom 24:  Nice guitar but the plastic nut would have to go.. lol  I have no idea why they don't at least sand down the top of their nut, it looks really bad and isn't good for the tone.

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PRS nuts aren't plastic. They're made out of a material similar to a Graphtech trem Nut, but you're right they're too blocky I'd like to see them shaped and finished as well

[Guitarfrenzy]

PRS Custom 24:  Nice guitar but the plastic nut would have to go.. lol  I have no idea why they don't at least sand down the top of their nut, it looks really bad and isn't good for the tone.

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PRS nuts aren't plastic. They're made out of a material similar to a Graphtech trem Nut, but you're right they're too blocky I'd like to see them shaped and finished as well

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Ah.. ok.. didn't know that, it looked like Plastic to me, thanks for the info. That's not as bad then, but I still don't like the blocky nut and if your going to pay that much for a guitar, shouldn't they at least make it look halfway decent? That's my only gripe, I could understand that on a 600 dollar guitar, but we are talking about a guitar that's close to 4 times that amount.

[Primal]

Going to Guitar Center... 2 days after Christmas... and you are surprised that all they had were the sloppier guitars? Hehe. Go back in a month or so, I would image the selection would be a bit better.