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Purchasing online and the stress of hoping you get a good guitar-


CamaroKid2SS

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So, lately I've been setting up shop and putting together a new rig. Suffice it to say the stores around me are useless for a good quality well... anything. What the hell happened to Guitar Center!?! I have ordered 3 guitars online. ALL 3 were utter failures. So badly put together it's heartbreaking. It's almost like they tried to make them awful. Finally, I stumbled across a new Mick Thompson signature Jackson. Not my first choice, but certainly not my last. This guitar plays and sounds like a dream (amazing cleans out of Blackout pups, really?) So I have my first bedroom guitar. Let's face it though, it ain't going gigging. So I'm kinda back at square 1. What is a good guitar for rock/metal that is a good risk? My budget is $1,500 give or take. My amp is a Peavey Invective 120 with matching 4X12 cab. I also use about 10 Boss pedals off and on, the usual suspects, delay, chorus, reverb, etc:

What guitar would you guys recommend? I'm open to anything, especially good advice!

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Sweetwater did not work out for me, although they did make things right and I can't say anything negative about them except I still didn't have a guitar when all was said and done. These big online entities are definitely not the answer to my problem. Which sucks because the stock at my local guitar center was nothing short of mortifying. They no longer exist for the serious musician, and that's their choice. PRS looks appealing. Thanks for that tip.

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So, lately I've been setting up shop and putting together a new rig. Suffice it to say the stores around me are useless for a good quality well... anything. What the hell happened to Guitar Center!?! I have ordered 3 guitars online. ALL 3 were utter failures. So badly put together it's heartbreaking. It's almost like they tried to make them awful. Finally, I stumbled across a new Mick Thompson signature Jackson. Not my first choice, but certainly not my last. This guitar plays and sounds like a dream (amazing cleans out of Blackout pups, really?) So I have my first bedroom guitar. Let's face it though, it ain't going gigging. So I'm kinda back at square 1. What is a good guitar for rock/metal that is a good risk? My budget is $1,500 give or take. My amp is a Peavey Invective 120 with matching 4X12 cab. I also use about 10 Boss pedals off and on, the usual suspects, delay, chorus, reverb, etc:

What guitar would you guys recommend? I'm open to anything, especially good advice!

 

The made in the USA Mick Thompson Signature guitar is 3700 dollars new, so I assuming this is not the guitar you are talking about. There a Mick Thompson S2 that is crafted in Indonesia I believe for 800 bucks, and I believe this would be the one you are speaking about.

 

Never played that Jackson guitar and just for the record I'm not into metal. However I also believe that pickup don't need to be to hot to get a killer metal tone. I would let the amp do the heavy lifting in that area.

 

I have many guitars, from old school Gibson LP and SG's to Blues Jazz Box Gibson and Fender Strats and Tele's.

 

One thing I am after maybe later this spring is another PRS. Even the import PRS are rather nice, but the USA made ones are really really nice.

 

I would not hesitate to recommend the S2 series which fits you budget. However it does not come with a hard shell case and you might want to consider one.

 

I have never heard of Mick Thompson, but I have heard of the band Slipknot. I guess for many many years he used Ibanez guitars.

 

So I guess this is what you are looking at.

[video=youtube;oiqXQ7TRrC0]

 

My recommendation Made in the USA. With PRS himself talking about the guitar. Not metal, but Paul is righteous dude.

[video=youtube;T2Qx2gcimao]

 

Here's a carved top one, with some guy playing metal.

[video=youtube;NIcgBjtbX_s]

 

 

Develop your own sound. Play one of the PRS's and see if it works for you. The necks may not be as flat of a radius as what you are use too. IDK

 

I live is a small town with minimal access to gear and purchase many many instruments on line. My contact is Derek White at Musicians Friend Private Reserve. I haven't returned an instrument yet. He cherry picks through some boxes, send me pics, and discounts for me. Great guy. If he's not there a guy named Mike will do the same. They both work and run the warehouse in KS.

 

 

 

 

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There are some interesting paradoxes here. I don't understand why anyone would buy a guitar that they hadn't played. So what do you do? Go to the local brick and mortar music store, play their inventory, go on line and buy it for "less". Oh, and go back to the brick and mortar store for some strings and a cable and bitch about the price, but you need them today.

 

On the other hand, I build a few guitars, custom, on consignment. My customers don't (usually) get a chance to play a Keller, they trust me and I try my darnedest to live up to that trust. They pay money up front, wait, and with luck, are happy when it finally arrives.

 

Interesting.

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If you are buying a guitar this time of the year in the northern hemisphere remember that they can get pretty cold during shipping and this can cause finish to cloud if they are opened too soon. Happens the worst with nitro, but just be aware.

 

Also budget for a possible setup when you get it - I'm seeing a lot of new guitars that need some work. Gibbies seem to be the worst, but others have had issues too.

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There are some interesting paradoxes here. I don't understand why anyone would buy a guitar that they hadn't played. So what do you do? Go to the local brick and mortar music store, play their inventory, go on line and buy it for "less". Oh, and go back to the brick and mortar store for some strings and a cable and bitch about the price, but you need them today.

 

On the other hand, I build a few guitars, custom, on consignment. My customers don't (usually) get a chance to play a Keller, they trust me and I try my darnedest to live up to that trust. They pay money up front, wait, and with luck, are happy when it finally arrives.

 

Interesting.

 

Many mom and pop shops do not carry a lot of stuff. All the big box guys will give you a trial period to sit back in your own living room and play your purchase. Some as long as 90 days.

 

You would think folks would be sending back a lot of stuff, with a trial period like that, but it doesn't seem to be the case. I have purchased many things for mom and pop shops. Some guitars, a lot of amps and fx.

 

Now we have 2 luthiers in the area here. If I had a custom made guitar build, I would trust there judgment. Off the rack guitars are pretty consistent. Most modern stuff is not handed crafted. They will us CNC machines ad PLEK Machines and whatever else it takes. This is not what you do, nor what the local luthiers here do. They custom build to order, handcrafted instruments. No stockholders to worry about, no CEO or VP. The local guy here is on my list of dream guitars. 30 years ago I thought he was reasonably priced, but he worked his way up on the prices.

 

Just my cents and keep building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Well, so much for the Mick T. Jackson. Input is already coming in and out and it's getting hardet to keep in tune. Another guitar return. This is ridiculous. My only option is go to guitar center and buy a 4K Les Paul and call it a day I guess. Sigh. So far I've learned if a guitar is under 1K, RUN, don't walk away from it. I decided to give Sweetwater another go. We'll see what happens. On the upside, my amplifier purchase is working out very well. I bought a Peavey Invective 120 with the matching 4X12 cab and it's awesome for what I paid for it. Im also almost done making a cool pedalboard with that new Boss BCB 60. It fits and powers like 8 pedals and looks slick doing it.

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....My only option is go to guitar center and buy a 4K Les Paul and call it a day I guess. Sigh. So far I've learned if a guitar is under 1K' date=' RUN, don't walk away from it. I decided to give .....[/quote']

 

Its some of the 4K Les Pauls that seem to have QC issues. I've been more impressed by the Epi's I'm seeing lately. I did a thread about some of these a while back, don't know if the new management at Gibson is getting their act together or not.

 

 

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Ok if it's going out of tune its probably user error. Why do so many of you new guys have so many problems? That Jackson you own has a Floyd on it but are playing in a non standard tuning? How long have you been playing? Do you know how to setup your guitar? You are probably the problem not the guitars you keep sending back.

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Thanks Mikeo, I'm just an old curmudgeon who remembers the day of real stores with real clerks and real merchandise. I still support then when I can, even if it means paying a little more. I think the guitar industry is kind of in a weird state right now - it seems like some of the big domestic manufacturers have lost their identity, the PacRim imports are better than ever (sometimes), and the high end luthier build market has become the realm of collectors who just put them in a glass box.

 

I feel really blessed that my local brick and mortar store has a reasonable inventory and the guitars are available to try out. Their prices are competitive with the on line retailers and they have knowledgeable staff who really want to make people happy with their purchase.

 

If the OP was to take his guitar there someone would help him understand why it goes out of tune, would help him select strings for his tuning and playing style, if the Floyd needed a tweak they know how to do it. Its kind of interesting how many people buy a guitar on line and bring it to the store for a setup or to fix something that isn't right.

 

End of rant, I know I won't change the world

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Ok if it's going out of tune its probably user error. Why do so many of you new guys have so many problems? That Jackson you own has a Floyd on it but are playing in a non standard tuning? How long have you been playing? Do you know how to setup your guitar? You are probably the problem not the guitars you keep sending back.

 

It has a floyd type of bridge but the bridge itself is basically countersunk so it doesn't move. It doesn't have place to to but a bar. I don't know why it's not in tune.

 

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Ok if it's going out of tune its probably user error. Why do so many of you new guys have so many problems? That Jackson you own has a Floyd on it but are playing in a non standard tuning? How long have you been playing? Do you know how to setup your guitar? You are probably the problem not the guitars you keep sending back.

 

Yeah, thanks for the productive tip. I think I know what I'm doing, and it's really ignorant of you to assume otherwise. I play in all different tunings but usually start off a new guitar in standard. Also, the guitar does NOT have a Floyd on it. Its a Jackson made hardtail bridge. You dont even know what your talking about. Problem is fixed because the guitar is gone now. I got a new LTD M Black Metal guitar donated to me by my *cough* guitar tech and it's already set up and plays great. Problem at least temporarily resolved. I've been told to stick to ESP's for what I like to play. If this LTD serves as an introduction to ESP, perhaps he's right. This SD Black Winter pick up sounds great to me.

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Its some of the 4K Les Pauls that seem to have QC issues. I've been more impressed by the Epi's I'm seeing lately. I did a thread about some of these a while back, don't know if the new management at Gibson is getting their act together or not.

 

 

I was kinda just venting when I said that, no way i could afford a new Les Paul. You are spot on about your Epi comment, I totally agree. I'm happy for now. My guitar tech did the best set up on my LTD. I definitely shouldn't have ignored ESP. I just figured they were out of my price range. I'm gonna save and get a custom one though. Had another crappy experience with Sweetwater too. .:rolleyes:

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I'm never buying another guitar online. I have had nothing but bad luck. Last one was Sweetwater. Their 55-point inspection is nothing but marketing, IMHO. They sure didn't "inspect" the guitar they sent me. It will never be a good player. I decided never again.

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I'm never buying another guitar online. I have had nothing but bad luck. Last one was Sweetwater. Their 55-point inspection is nothing but marketing' date=' IMHO. They sure didn't "inspect" the guitar they sent me. It will never be a good player. I decided never again. [/quote']

 

If I may ask, what was wrong with it?

 

I can see not liking a setup, one person's perfect action is too low for others. But basic structural issues and overall geometry are hard to correct.

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If I may ask, what was wrong with it?

 

I can see not liking a setup, one person's perfect action is too low for others. But basic structural issues and overall geometry are hard to correct.

 

Uneven fret board is my main complaint. In order to make it right, the frets would need to be removed and the fret board leveled. That would cost more than a new guitar. So - I'm done with online purchases.

 

But they did take great pictures of it:

 

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"ICS18240013-angle-xlarge.jpg","data-attachmentid":32482608}[/ATTACH]

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Unevenfret board is my main complaint. In order to make it right, the frets would need to be removed and the fret board leveled. That would cost more than a new guitar. So - I'm done with online purchases.

 

But they did take great pictures of it:

 

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"ICS18240013-angle-xlarge.jpg","data-attachmentid":32482608}[/ATTACH]

 

Fender should have caught that in QC.

 

 

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