need help with a new guitar

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

so basically im set ampwise so soon ill be getting a new guitar (once i have enough cash)

im not sure what my budget is but im looking for more or less an intermediate guitar. good enough to be pro but not top of the line. also i want it to be a fender (i just love them).

my favourite guitarists are John Frusciante, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Hazel,Jimmy Page, Mike Mc Cready, James Williamson, Matt Bellamy

basically grunge/funk/blues and general rock..mainly funk rock though

while most of those use a strat i already have one (a squier only but i want a different guitar), id go for one if it was just that but id rather not

any ideas?

thanks

[Serious Cat 0]

I would go eighter for a: ''Telecaster, (with hotrail/humbucker at the bridge) Jaguar (hotrail humbucker in the bridge) or a Mustang (with hotrail/humbucker in the bridge)

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

i would prefer to keep to single coils but what if i were to add a hotrail to my strat (so it would still have a use and ill be able to get more sounds)?

also if i were to get a humbucker guitar what about the jag HH. and how does the coil split compare to the normal SS jag?

[gilmourish 3]

look into the classic players jag and jazzys. I have a jazzy which due to the hotter pickups sounds a bit more strat like and can pull off classic rock tones with ease, aswell as that gorgeous clean tone..

[Serious Cat 0]

i would prefer to keep to single coils but what if i were to add a hotrail to my strat (so it would still have a use and ill be able to get more sounds)?

also if i were to get a humbucker guitar what about the jag HH. and how does the coil split compare to the normal SS jag?

If you really like your Squier Strat why not? It gives you a hotter sound + you can still play Funk/Blues with it. Altough i myself prefer to use the neck or middle single coil for Funk.

I can't say to much for a Classic Player HH Jag since i never played one. I do have a MIJ Jag with 2 standard Jaguar pickups and to me, they sound really thin for funk/blues etc. It's getting modified for 2 full humbuckers + coil tap at the moment.

But the standard HH Jag pickups aren't that bad from what i've heard. They are pretty decent i believe........

BTW, the: ''Fender FMT Telecaster'' is also a really good guitar. But it plays a little bit different then a normal Tele since it has body contours and a different scale lenght i believe.

But believe me the sound is amazing!!!!!!!! It has 2 Seymour Duncan humbuckers. ('59 in the neck, and a Pearly Gates in the bridge) + both pickups can be coil tapped. (and it has binding around the body/neck)

I had one, but i sold it. (because i brought it secondhand and got ripped. the neck was a bit out of straightness so i took it to my guitar tech and he said he couldn't do anything to keep it from buzzing. So somebody ####ed up and i was paying the price for it. (and it still didn't help) So always keep a eye out if the neck of the guitar is straight!!!!!!!

Just try that Classic Player HH Jaguar out to see if you like it.

Or even better try MORE guitars out. Even if you have to get a Fender try some other Brands aswell, (Gibson, G&L, Ibanez, Jackson, Michael Kelly, Aria, Schecter, PRS etc.) you might end up with a total different guitar then you orginally had in mind.

Hack, i have a Jackson Professional with 2 standard Jackson single coil pickups and they sound really good. Even though the guitar is orginally meant for hard rock/metal.

[Richie 17]

Based on you liking Frusciante, Hendrix, Hazel and McReady, I would say get a strat, but then for Teh Kurtzz or Matt Bellamy tones you might want to consider a humbucker in the bridge position. So an HSS strat would be my recommendation.

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

Based on you liking Frusciante, Hendrix, Hazel and McReady, I would say get a strat, but then for Teh Kurtzz or Matt Bellamy tones you might want to consider a humbucker in the bridge position. So an HSS strat would be my recommendation.

would the bridge in my strat (is i change it to a hot rail) be enough for grunge and muse?

the funk tone i like is more based around the bridge pick up...very dry and with twang

sort of like of if you have to ask

in general though how good are coil taps compared to real single coils?

[feedbackismyfriend 37]

Based on you liking Frusciante, Hendrix, Hazel and McReady, I would say get a strat, but then for Teh Kurtzz or Matt Bellamy tones you might want to consider a humbucker in the bridge position. So an HSS strat would be my recommendation.

would the bridge in my strat (is i change it to a hot rail) be enough for grunge and muse?

the funk tone i like is more based around the bridge pick up...very dry and with twang

sort of like of if you have to ask

in general though how good are coil taps compared to real single coils?

In my experience coil taps are close but sound a tiny bit different

also yes you can do grunge with a hot rails, but I dun think you actually need em..... I could swear there was somebody who used lower output pups for grunge.....

[Disappearer 15]

To be honest, the whole thing that you need humbuckers for good high gain tones is a load of bull####. Obviously if you want Metal tones humbuckers are better, but if yr going for messy Muse-ish fuzz or just Grungy distortion, singlecoils will be fine.

[Serious Cat 0]

You can play Grunge with single coils but it sounds fuzzy and dirty. (if you know what i mean) It sounds fuller with a humbucker/hotrail in the bridge.

I like a distorted Strat bridge single coil for a more classic punk rock kinda sound. Or for a more blues rock kinda tone.

Just look at Jimi Hendrix's sound. His tone is not the brightest sound there is. (which is a good thing, so don't get me wrong on that!!!!!!!) Of course Hendrix used a number of Fuzz boxes + Marshall amps for his muddy sound so that explains a lot, but you can stil hear how dirty and muddy a Distorted single coil sounds when you listen to him in one of his videos. (with a Strat of course)

Just search some guitars on the internet and see if someone springs out. (you still need to try it in real life of course)

[gilmourish 3]

Hendrix's tone is not muddy in the slightest? Live his tone would be hugely saturated because he was using fuzz faces/axis fuzz to push his amp even more, then it would be muddy on the neck pickup, thats why live especially he uses bridge pickup on most of the fuzzed out songs.

Think you need to find out wht muddy really means

[Richie 17]

Hendrix's tone is not muddy in the slightest? Live his tone would be hugely saturated because he was using fuzz faces/axis fuzz to push his amp even more, then it would be muddy on the neck pickup, thats why live especially he uses bridge pickup on most of the fuzzed out songs.

Think you need to find out wht muddy really means

As I recall, Serious Cat has also once said that he dislikes SGs because they have "really long necks", or words to that effect, which confused me to no end seeing as they're a shorter scale than most Fenders, and he actually owns a Les Paul which is the same scale length. I seemed to be the only person who picked up on it at the time though...

EDIT: Just to prove that I'm not insane...

I played a Gibson SG once. (old one) To see if i liked it.

The Results = ''Pickups weren't that great, body didn't feel right, not to talk about the huge ass long neck the thing has.

Overall it just wasn't my kind of guitar.

I apologise for the off-topicness, but it still tickles me.

[Serious Cat 0]

Hendrix's tone is not muddy in the slightest? Live his tone would be hugely saturated because he was using fuzz faces/axis fuzz to push his amp even more, then it would be muddy on the neck pickup, thats why live especially he uses bridge pickup on most of the fuzzed out songs.

Think you need to find out wht muddy really means

As I recall, Serious Cat has also once said that he dislikes SGs because they have "really long necks", or words to that effect, which confused me to no end seeing as they're a shorter scale than most Fenders, and he actually owns a Les Paul which is the same scale length. I seemed to be the only person who picked up on it at the time though...

You're right,

I thought the SG had a longer scale lenght because the neck doesn't go as deep in the body like on a Les Paul. My mistake back then, i actually like SG's now....... (it's just that i had to get used to them)

@Henry: I know what you mean, but this sound is what i call: ''muddy:''

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYg-pUfkjwM&feature=fvst

[Richie 17]

Well. Egg on your face, eh?

To get back on-topic: You still haven't told us what kind of budget you're working with, which would help a lot.

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

Well. Egg on your face, eh?

To get back on-topic: You still haven't told us what kind of budget you're working with, which would help a lot.

a good intermediate guitar...say 600-800 euro, maybe slightly more but i wouldnt like to spend that much

while i know that i dont need humbuckers for grunge (mike mcCready didnt use humbuckers for ten) i would like to able to get a different sound and the strats pick ups arent too great so in order to make it not obsolete i think i will change them. a compltely different sound imo would give me more variation (i know it wont be that different but different enough)

[Robbmonster 10]

I love my Squiers, so I would probably suggest one of the Classic Vibe strats.

Or hunt around and find a nice MIM Fender strat.

I'm in the process of putting a GFS Lil Killer (hotrail) in the neck position of one of my strats.

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

I love my Squiers, so I would probably suggest one of the Classic Vibe strats.

Or hunt around and find a nice MIM Fender strat.

I'm in the process of putting a GFS Lil Killer (hotrail) in the neck position of one of my strats.

i was hoping for something better than a squier (although i love mine)...any other ideas?

also what does everyone think about the baja telecaster?

[Robbmonster 10]

I love my Squiers, so I would probably suggest one of the Classic Vibe strats.

Or hunt around and find a nice MIM Fender strat.

I'm in the process of putting a GFS Lil Killer (hotrail) in the neck position of one of my strats.

i was hoping for something better than a squier (although i love mine)...any other ideas?

also what does everyone think about the baja telecaster?

There are those in the world who believe the Classic Vibe series are equal to - if not better than - the MIM Fenders.

But if you are determined to have something that says 'Fender' on the headstock (which is a desire I completely understand), but still keeping the spending down, then yeah, and MIM might be the way to go.

There is also a new Fender series called the American Special, or American Standard or something like that. What they are (I believe) are Fenders that are made in the USA (where the craftsmanship and quality control are supposedly better), but they are made with slightly cheaper components to keep the costs down. I understand the prices for these are about the same as for MIM's.

That said, I haven't seen this series being heavily promoted, but I'm sure the Fender website can shed some light.

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

I love my Squiers, so I would probably suggest one of the Classic Vibe strats.

Or hunt around and find a nice MIM Fender strat.

I'm in the process of putting a GFS Lil Killer (hotrail) in the neck position of one of my strats.

i was hoping for something better than a squier (although i love mine)...any other ideas?

also what does everyone think about the baja telecaster?

There are those in the world who believe the Classic Vibe series are equal to - if not better than - the MIM Fenders.

But if you are determined to have something that says 'Fender' on the headstock (which is a desire I completely understand), but still keeping the spending down, then yeah, and MIM might be the way to go.

There is also a new Fender series called the American Special, or American Standard or something like that. What they are (I believe) are Fenders that are made in the USA (where the craftsmanship and quality control are supposedly better), but they are made with slightly cheaper components to keep the costs down. I understand the prices for these are about the same as for MIM's.

That said, I haven't seen this series being heavily promoted, but I'm sure the Fender website can shed some light.

its not that i dont want a squier...rather that i want one of the higher end MIM...like a classic player or a jag or something like that

imo my best bets are either classic 60s telecaster, baja telecaster or classic player jaguar

what are people experiences with these?

[gilmourish 3]

what kind of tone are you looking for? what is your amp?

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

what kind of tone are you looking for? what is your amp?

i need a warm neck tone with a dry bridge tone. i want it to handle dist decently but be good clean. i also was it to ring out in chords

my amp is a marshall jcm 800 bass amp which sound really good bu has no drive setting so i use a ds-2 ( which i love)

[Disappearer 15]

Then I second what Henry said earlier and will say get a Jazzmaster. The CP ones have warmer pickups, meaning they'll have a less icepick-in-the-ear distorted tone than a standard Strat, and Jazzys are famous for being great clean. You might have to try one first to see if the bridge pickup is suited for what you want to use it for though.

[Robbmonster 10]

what kind of tone are you looking for? what is your amp?

i need a warm neck tone with a dry bridge tone. i want it to handle dist decently but be good clean. i also was it to ring out in chords

my amp is a marshall jcm 800 bass amp which sound really good bu has no drive setting so i use a ds-2 ( which i love)

You say you want a 'dry' bridge tone that will 'ring out' chords. It sounds like a difficult juggling act.

Can you give an example of a song with the tone you are looking for?

But I would say that if you after 'dry' - even though I'm not even sure what that means - I would rule out a tele. Out of everything a tele bridge pickup could be called, I don't think 'dry' is one of them

It actually sounds like it may be a Jaguar sound you are after, but they don't come cheap.

[frufrukurtjimi 0]

what kind of tone are you looking for? what is your amp?

i need a warm neck tone with a dry bridge tone. i want it to handle dist decently but be good clean. i also was it to ring out in chords

my amp is a marshall jcm 800 bass amp which sound really good bu has no drive setting so i use a ds-2 ( which i love)

You say you want a 'dry' bridge tone that will 'ring out' chords. It sounds like a difficult juggling act.

Can you give an example of a song with the tone you are looking for?

But I would say that if you after 'dry' - even though I'm not even sure what that means - I would rule out a tele. Out of everything a tele bridge pickup could be called, I don't think 'dry' is one of them

It actually sounds like it may be a Jaguar sound you are after, but they don't come cheap.

for ringing out chords imagine under the bridge and for dry imagine if you have to ask (the bridge doesnt have to ring...the neck can )...yeah i know...loads of rhcp

i would look at a jazzmaster but they dont have where i go to buy and where i go to buy are the fender agents for my area (and i prefer to try before i buy for obvious reasons)

at the same shop the jag is like 750 euro which im willing to spend (been saving up for a year not buying anything that i dont need whle playing loads of guitar and still getting good grade...ive worked hard for this )

[Robbmonster 10]

It really does sound like you are heading in a strat/jazzy/jag direction.

I'm no expert on Jazzy's and Jag's but there are certainly people who are.

Might I suggest typing something like 'classic player jazzmaster demo' into youtube and see what you can hear