Jump to content

what do you think is the best guitar (electric)


Recommended Posts

That thing looks great. I used to have an '81 Les Paul standard (black). It was an amazing guitar, but I traded it in on some '65 Ludwig drums in black diamond pearl. Wish I stil lhad that guitar, but the drums have served me better than any guitar ever has. Nowadays I have a Muddy Waters Telecaster. My next guitar will either be an Epiphone Dot, an Ibanez Artcore AS73 and possibly an Epiphone Casino. I'm leaning towards the Dot or Artcore since they have humbuckers and my tele has single coil pickups.

 

How do P-90s (which is what the Casino has) compare with Tele-style single coils?

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 64
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

How do P-90s (which is what the Casino has) compare with Tele-style single coils?

 

Not similar at all, especially in the Casino. I'd stay aways from the new Epi Casino, I had one and it was pretty bad. The pups were weak and not very P-90-esque and the guitar had a rattle I could never find. Read the reviews on Musicians Friend or Harmony, most will share my opinion.

 

It sounds like you're after a semi-hollow body. However, so you know the SG I posted is only $699 and is a real USA Gisbon, the P-90 in these scream. The reviews on these are great. However it is somewhat limited being a one pup guitar.

Link to post
Share on other sites
It sounds like you're after a semi-hollow body.

 

Semi-hollow would probably be the way to go, althought there's something enticing about a Casino. I enjoyed the one I tried out a couple months ago. I have to admit I didn't realize it was a full hollowbody until today. When you say stay away from the "new Casinos", do you mean the very new ones (as in, the last few years worth of production), or ALL of the reissue Casinos (going back to mid-90s, or whenever the reintroduced them)?

 

I was more impressed with the Ibanez than the Epiphone Dot. I didn't get to try either of those through an amp, but the Ibanez felt better in my hands (possibly due to the bound neck) and seemed to have a nicer finish (thinner layer of clearcoat, or whatever they put on those things). I'd have to cover up that goofy lightning bolt on the headstock with some black tape if I got one of those.

 

So I guess the contenders are:

Used older model Casino (very likely over $500)

Epi Dot ($399)

Inbanez Artcore AS73 ($329)

Link to post
Share on other sites

The problems I had had with mine and what others have complained about are with the new and used recent Korean made Casino's.

 

People rave about the construction of the Artcore. But most that rave about these guitars are "modders". They usually only use the body as a platform and completely replace the electronics and the hard parts, bridges and tuners etc.

 

The Dot is Chinese made and reviews have not been favorable. Most prefer the higher end Korean made semi hollow Epi models like the Sheraton.

 

You may want to check out Musicians Friend from time to time. A few weeks back they had a sale on the USA Epi Sheraton, the John Lee Hooker sig models, for $749.

 

Another thing to consider is Orville. If you're comfortable doing the ebay thing the semi hollow Orville's show up cheap from time to time.

Edited by danelectro
Link to post
Share on other sites
People rave about the construction of the Artcore. But most that rave about these guitars are "modders". They usually only use the body as a platform and completely replace the electronics and the hard parts, bridges and tuners etc.

 

I've found that people rave and complain about anything and everything, regardless of price. Electonics on guitars seem to be the thing most people are unhappy with. According to what I read on guitar boards, 95% of all production guitars have crap pickups and/or switches/knobs/jacks.

 

I don't know what I'll wind up getting, but I certainly appreciate your input.

 

Orville...interesting. I had not heard of those. The 335 style Orville on ebay now is $900. I'll keep an eye out for those, you never know when one will slip through the cracks.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Another semi hollow that can be a great guitar is the Tokai 335 copies.
Really?!? I am longing for the "perfect deal" for a 335 on ebay and always see those. I just figured they were junk, as many copies of guitars tend to be, IMO. I've never played one.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Of all the Korean stuff made these days Tokai makes the nicest Gibson style copies, so they say. People complain the pups are muddy but I think that's what you get with any budget model guitar. Easy enough to fix. People are saying good things about GFS pups and these can be bought real cheap, less than $100 for both the neck and bridge. They make some pups modeled after the original PAF that is supposed to be great.

 

I don't have any hard core experience with either Tokai or GFS but the guys at the guitar forum I frequent do. Most there are the "modder" types so they usually have the scoop on the good cheap stuff.

Edited by danelectro
Link to post
Share on other sites
would you mind disclosing said forum? I wouldn't mind poking around there.

 

I'll chime in, though these might not be the forum that was alluded to...

 

thefret.net

 

fenderforum.com (the name sounds like a Fender oriented site, but all guitar related discussion is welcome)

Link to post
Share on other sites
What was a 15 year old metal kid to do :). We did a lot of stupid stuff with nice guitars back then and beyond. During the Nirvana craze I traded a 1984 Gibson Explorer for one of those Univox Mosrite copies Kurt was fond of.

 

I'm pretty happy with my current collection. Affordable guitars are much better now than before. All of my Fender's are vintage reissue imports, though some have been modded with USA CS parts. My Gibby's are as good as any I've previously owned except were much more affordable. I doubt I'll part with the guitar I have now unless something really gets to me. If I get anything else it will be a P-90 equipped Gibson, maybe one of these.

 

404004.jpg

 

 

My question is why the compensated bridge isn't tilted. The intonation must kinda suck on that...

Link to post
Share on other sites
Not sure if anyone cares, but Paul Languedoc is now selling guitars to the public for 10k a pop. For many years he only built guitars for Trey Anastasio from Phish. Good for Paul, I'm sure he'll sell a few....just not to me.

 

....But it is pretty sweet to look and drool. Check the site.

http://www.languedocguitars.com/

 

Oh man....that is awesome.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...