Electric guitar players: What kind do you prefer?

[old mark]

Poll question: Electric guitar players: What kind do you prefer?

Please be specific in your many responses...
Thank you.



(Personally, I prefer Teles over Strats, and love my SG's and my Les Paul Special...I'm still a mixed up kid.)

Thanks
mark

[mitchum]

1. SG and Rickenbacker

but I prefer Fender amps

[driver8]

14. I love SGs and Rickenbackers...

I would love to have one of each!

[The Midway Rebel]

2. '59 Vintage Gretsch Double Anniversary

I prefer the bright punchy tone of a 24.5 inch scale neck combined with Filtertron (TM) pickups. Those pickups, despite technically being humbuckers, ain't twangy like a Tele--they growl when pushed with a hard string attack. The maple ply hollow body provides lots of harmonic overtones to single notes and whole chords which is really handy when you are the only guitar in the band. And, there is nothing like the smell of old growth American Maple mixed with animal glue, blood , sweat, tears, smoke and beers of a thousand gigs and rehearsals. This guitar has lots of bass thump too, gotta keep the bass level on the amp cranked low or it gets flubby sounding. Replaced the original plastic nut with a bone one that I like a lot. Right now, I am using a Bigsby compensated aluminum bridge with an ebony floating base but, I want to get one of those new True-Arcs in chrome steel. A Bigsby bar adds to the fun and adds a rock n' roll factor of 10 to the guitar. The springs are weak and the connections shoddy so she only dives down about a half-tone. A Whammy-Bar it ain't. I use flat-wound medium guage chrome strings with an unwound third too. My guitar is set up like a jazz players, or Chet's guitar, (it is his design) but, I wail on that sucker like Angus Young. I like the sunburst, extremely checked and weathered vintage shellac finish. Shiny, new, orange, dipped in polyurethane ain't my style. I need a refret but cannot afford it right now. Vintage Gretsch fretwires kind of suck IMHO, super soft metal and super thin wire. Can't wait to get it refretted. Had a '67 6120 that I refretted and it played like a dream. Some asshole stole it about 10 years ago. I love an ebony fretboard and a c-shaped chunky neck with neo-classic half-moon shaped fret markers. Lots of luxurious space between strings for fingerpicking. Made in the USA in Brooklyn NY by Union labor in '58 or so. New ones (sort of) like this from Fender custom shop are going for 5-7k. No distortion pedals, but you didn't ask so...I like my guitar a lot. I think I will go play it now...really loud.

Specific enough for ya'? Wanna hear about my '72 Guild Starfire IV or my 1 of only 50 made Bozeman, Montana Epiphone?

[old mark]

18. I used to own a Chet Tennesseean from the early '60's, with the

wood based floating bridge that would never stay in tune when I hit the Bixby.
The smoothest neck I have ever played and they are GREAT blues guitars, which most people don't realise...
If I get another hollow body, I believe it will be a Gretsch.

mark

[The Midway Rebel]

22. re Floating bridges

That is the primary reason for my use of medium guage strings. The heavier tension keeps the bridge stuck in place better than light guages. That and the way the heavy mass of the strings vibrate the top of the guitar really adds to the depth of the tone. I like a guitar to sound like wood. Try it. It takes a while to develop a taste and the hand strength for that kind of stiff action on a guitar (I don't/can't do noodley whole step bends on my G string ala Carlos Santana or a plethora of blues players) but the pay off in sweet harmonic tones and Bigsby/tuning stability is worth it.

If you don't go the heavy string route, it is not at all uncommon to pin that pesky floating sucker to the top of the guitar with .26 guage wire brads. I have thought about doing that myself as I have tendency to get violent and jump around on stage and knock the bridge loose even with heavy strings.

Tenneseeans are nice guitars. Not a fan of Hi-Lo-Tron's though. They sound great--just listen to the Beatles, Byrds, or about any jangly guitar riffs from the '60s--they just aren't my style. You should have kept that Gretsch OM, those old suckers appreciate in value every year. Get a used one from the 60's. They are fairly common on the Bay.

Grestsch's do make great blues guitars!

[old mark]

30. I should have kept a lot of the old guitars I had...I paid $225 for the Gretsch,

with the factory case...I think it has held its value...
I used either 11's or 13's back then - I just changed to 9's in my old age - my fingers are pretty screwed up from decades of playing bass and find that I can really do what I like on them.

mark

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. My Les Paul...

:toast:

[old mark]

17. How could anyone not like the looks of that...I had a '74 Custom

and a '68 Black Beauty, now have a 2002 Les Paul Special, whish is not so pretty, but just yells and carrys on...:D


Good ol' Les Paul!


mark

[Rob H.]

4. Rickenbacker 360/6

The glossy fingerboard and narrow nut width aren't for everyone, but I love the sound of mine. (I also have long, skinny fingers, which helps. :P )


Edited to add: I have a swamp ash Telecaster body that I hope to get finished soon because I've been amassing parts (pickups, bridge, saddles, etc.) to turn it into a complete guitar for a while, and I'm almost there.

[pink-o]

5. I have a strat and a Les Paul

Love 'em both for different reasons...but if I were a bass player I would want a Rickey all the way!!!

[Xipe Totec]

6. This one

http://www.youtube.com/user/mapachtli42#p/f/152/f2VROY01EAg

Admit it. It is electric!

[Iggo]

7. Les Paul, but I'm coming around to the Strat style.

I'm pushing 50 and my shoulder just can't take it anymore.

Also, the better I get at lead playing, the more I pick up the Strat (copy) instead of the Lester.

[Twillig]

8. Strat 'type'

Because I'd die before I'd play a Fender or a Gibson. Ok, maybe not. I'm an Ibanez and Schecter
guitar guy, just by convenience sake.



I don't play that Ibanez JPM P2(don't even think about touching it), or the Ibanez JS 2000, or the 20th anniv. Ibanez RG550 RFR, as they are mint.

The strap is on the Schecter Tempest (most Les Paul Style (scale length, etc.)) which I play the most, so that makes me a liar.

One cool unit. Ebony board and Duncan 59's, the smaller scale length, as I'm not finger-hung like Vai, etc...And then the blue Ibanez RG470 (genuine Floyd Rose trem dropped in) as a whammy bar is a whammy bar.

[old mark]

16. That's why I added "type" - the guitar I play most right now is an old

Samick, made in Korea...one of the SG copies that Gibson sued to stop them from making.
I bought it last November for under $200, and it's one of the best guitars I ever owned.

I KNOW many people love guitars not made by the "big" manufacturers.


mark

[Kali]

9. ...

B-)

[panader0]

10. My Gibson ES335

It's pictured in my avatar.

[harmonicon]

11. hollowbody

I've got a cheap-ass epiphone sheraton, but that's alone semi-hollow. I'd really like an es 330 or 225, but can't justify the expense because I don't play all that much, and to find one in good condition is a pain. In any case, a guitar needs a bigsby; I'd take (and in some cases love) a tele with a bigsby over a 330 without.

[driver8]

24. I inherited my father's 1967 ES-330. Yes, it's got a Bigsby.

It was all I wanted after he passed away. It is a beautiful guitar and sounds absolutely amazing.

[Crabby Appleton]

12. I've got Teles, Strats, and LPs and like them all

but my number 1 is a 335

[driver8]

13. Beautiful...

That is a great looking guitar! I'll bet is sounds amazing.

[HEyHEY]

15. Hollow body, baby

With a couple humbuckers. :)

[HopeHoops]

19. Hollow body accoustic - a '74 Craviola 6-string nylon to be specific.

I have two solid body electrics, but this is my favorite "guitar":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craviola

Apparently, Giannini is making them again:

http://www.giannini.com.br/eng/inst_brazil.asp

[old mark]

20. I saw a Craviola once many years ago - never played one, though....nt

[HopeHoops]

21. My dad bought it new in '74 (and a lesser nylon Giannini for me).

I still have mine and he gave me his craviola a few years ago. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing, has a sound even close to as full as that instrument.

[SoxFan]

23. Would love to have a Rick

I love the jangle of a Rickenbacker 12 string. They have a sweet, timeless look about them, too.

As it is, I have an inexpensive Aria Strat copy. Works fine for most purposes.

[guitar man]

25. Strat type

My main axe is a St. Blues "Blues King" that was made by Strings N Things Workshop in Memphis. I bought it new in 87, put a set of EMG SA pickups in it and have been playing the crap out of it ever since. She's scratched, dented and worn but it plays and sounds better to me than anything I've ever played. Basically a strat with binding around the body and a flat top



Lately I've also been playing this little Epiphone Les Paul Jr I picked up last year at the Guitar Center "Black Friday" sale. It plays really nice and has a brick house tone, but it can be a pain to keep in tune sometimes.




and here's some of my amps

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

26. I play my Epiphone Les Paul the most...

...at least for now, because I'm putting together another band with a heavier sound, and I'm planning to use my Ibanez Jem 7PBK in that.

But, right now, if I could have any guitar I wanted (other than the ones I have), it would be a Washburn N4 (natural wood finish). Don't know what it is about it, but I really like it. Of course I can't justify the expense, especially since I'm looking to buy a used Single Rectifier. :headbang:

[DevonRex]

27. Definitely Les Paul. I like more sustain and depth. Strats seem shallow to me.

I've never tried a Tele and I'd like to. Problem is, my hands are giving me trouble and I may have to switch to something else completely pretty soon. The doc said I might be better off on keyboards but I've always done strings. :cry:

[eyepaddle]

28. Top end Jackson Soloist

Of this list I went with the Tele--a buddy of mine had one and I loved it but, my favorite guitar of all time was a Hamer Flying V, and for a future investment I am going to get a high end Jackson Soloist and I'll put a Kahler Trem on it.

It would seem that since my teenage years I've wanted a Jackson, but I got it in my head that I couldn't afford one and I've spent years finding a guitar that plays like one, but isn't. At this point in my life I just won't really accept substitues any more. I need to check, but I think I'd go with Schaller Humbuckers as well. I think that was the pickup my V had and it had marvelous flexibility--I could leave my amp set to pure, scorching, crunch and just by turning down the guitar's volume I could have a sweet, beautiful clean tone--and anything in between. I foolishly thought all pickups' volume knobs acted like that! It seems that for the most part they are like on/off switches....

Oh yeah, for the record, the high end (as opposed to budget models) Jacksons just seem to fit my hands really well nd playing seems to take less effort and I make fewer flubs.

[Kaleva]

29. solar powered

[Tikki]

31. I play a 1975 Fender Musicmaker Bass...

Works for me.


Tikki

[Sebastian Doyle]

32. If it's good enough for Keith Richards and Bruce Springsteen....

[CrownPrinceBandar]

34. Keith's so good he only needs 5 strings!.........

I don't know if anyone has soaked open G tuning for more songs than he has.

[mitchum]

38. Like Keef said, "Five strings, three chords, two fingers, one asshole"

[CrownPrinceBandar]

33. I guess Strat style.............

I have an '89 Fender American Strat that I just put a Warmoth compound-radius w/ a pre-CBS headstock neck onto. Original neck torsioned due to wild humidity fluctuations around these parts. Plays like a dream but the neck adds a few pounds (due to dual truss-rods) to what was once a light guitar. It now looks like the Edge's Strat from back in the 80's.

I also own an Ibanez Ghostrider series that I would love to change the original humbuckers out for some Seymour Duncan's as the bridge p/u does not clean up very well.

[RedXIII]

35. Fender strat and Schecter....

Even though i'm trying to save up money for a Schecter to replace my Squier Strat.

[DoBotherMe]

36. A place to talk about guitars & 60s music

Hi Fellow Guitarists! I wanted to let you know about Beatgear Cavern since many of you like 60s music and gear. I’m a regular lurker and occasional poster at that site and I thought some of you may be interested as well. Here’s a link to the registration page, you can’t get to the main forums without registering.
http://www.beatgearcavern.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5213

Many of the posters are in active performing bands and there are quite a few members who are in Beatles Tribute Bands, including Rain http://www.raintribute.com and The Fab Four http://www.thefabfour.com. Plus lots of step-by-step guitar builds and tips from top-rated luthiers. And guitar porn galore!

Here is a clip from the info page. Enjoy! Dana ; )

What is the Beatgear Cavern?
The BGC is a free "members-only" message board where you'll find nearly 300,000 posts submitted by more than 1200 members from around the globe, pertaining for the most part to 1960s music; guitars; amplifiers; drums & other gear; pop culture; etc. -- not to mention The Beatles! Despite the emphasis on the aforementioned topics, the discussions are quite wide-ranging in content, and there's something of interest here for just about everybody . . .
The current "member-only" forum lineup:
The Fab Forum - General discussion of all things Fab & Gear.
Expert-Texpert/Fixing a Hole - Ask the experts; projects, repairs & other tech stuff.
And Your Bird Can Sing - Chords, tabs, music analysis, etc.
Listen to Me - Music recordings submitted by our members.
The Marketplace - The place to buy, sell or trade your gear.
Dead Grotty - Off-topic or controversial topics not germane to the other forums. Viewer discretion is advised.
How do I become a member?
Simply click on the "Register" link at the upper right of the Forums page and follow the instructions.

[Tikki]

37. Hey DoBotherMe...HI...do you play?

:hi:

I play a Fender Bass.


Tikki

[DoBotherMe]

39. I'm a beginner

I have a 2009 Martin 0018 and I'm taking lessons from a co-worker in exchange for half of my CSA veggie box. But I love guitars and guitar music and of course George Harrison! I'm learning the chords for "My Sweet Lord" and I hope to be able to play it at Christmas for the family.

Are you in a band? Dana ; ):hi:

[Tikki]

40. Was just out of HS..

Long ago.
I am teaching my grandson some bass runs (8 years old) in exchange for
him promising to eat his vegetables. :)

He's learning quickly but time will tell if he'll stay with it or not.


Tikki
Robbie

[Rabrrrrrr]

41. I likes 'em all! Though I love the SG and the Strat. Les Paul, too.

And of course the Rickenbockers...

and... well, they're all great. I just love the sound of an electric guitar.

Except that plunky smooth/fusion jazz guitar sound. Fucking hate that.

[Zavulon]

42. Strat, Strat, Strat.

If it's good enough for Ritchie Blackmore, it's more than good enough for me.

Seriously, I prefer the feel and sound, too.

[Taverner]

43. Strat - although a Fender Hollowbody was an OH so CLOSE contender

[Ahpook]

44. Les Paul:)

I have a Jackson Dinky that gets used some of the time. Mostly used when Floyd Rose haunts me:)

Also have a Strat, which can fill a gap.

Ultimately find myself back on the Les Paul. It does everything :)

[applegrove]

45. If you love electric guitars you'll love the movie the "Runaways". I thought

it was pretty good.

[old mark]

46. I have to check it out - thanks, AG!

Added: Oh, THOSE Runaways!!!

I love Joan Jett - thanks!!!
I put it at the head of our Netflix list!


mark

[old mark]

47. I'm thinking about one of these for myself for christmas....

Link: http://www.rondomusic.com/al3100ambbird.html


Under $400.

mark