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Like 10 years ago I got into guitar playing. Initially hardrock/metal, later fusion ans jazz (and also a lot of classical).
Back then I bought a Washburn Dimeback guitar, an ugly green explorer flying v hybrid. It was half the money and I had only a 150 euro practice guitar.
I live in a 2000 person town and had 'extreme' taste in music, so there was 0 odds of me ever getting in a band.
So I bought a digital piano and switched to that for a bit.
Now I live in an university town. There are some odds I can get to play with other musicians. I think I am also much more tolerant now about other styles of music.
With classical piano it frustrates me I forgot how to play so many pieces I used to be able because I don't play them often enough. So I kind of decided that I can just improvise once or twice a week in a group of musicians and there will be little tension to practice hard or memorize stuff.
If I show up with my Dimebag guitar, I look really silly. And now, I also have problems with it. I am sure the truss rod needs to be adjusted. To get the right intonation, some of the saddles need to move more than they can. A tuner is half broken so I can still tune it. But last weekend, the high e string slipped from the Floyd Rose socket. I don't know if it is the string but I guess it isn't as I tried to put it back in and it just doesn't lock tightly anymore to tune it up to E.
I always imagined that when I would buy another guitar I would know exactly what to get. I would order a 6000 euro guitar from a custom shop, being 100% certain about every option. I would be some virtuoso. But that obviously never happened. I never got much gear fever. I practiced without an amp on cords, arpeggios, legato, scales and theory, mostly.
I have all these things in my mind the guitar I buy should have. A completely flat fretboard. Small or even medium frets. No tremolo (I hated to learn how to use my Floyd, so I never did). Something that can be kept in tune all over the fretboard. I always hated it that my guitar wasn't in pitch up high in the neck and it was a pain to try to adjust it. Medium or even small frets. Semi-hollow. Maybe even a reverse headstock.
But I have no clue about all of that and some of those things are quite rare.
I also always had this idea that with some different guitar, it would be easier to do reserve hammer-ons (you hammer on the new note rather than pull of, like a touch guitar player would). I used to practice that endlessly, trying to emulate Holdsworth, Garsed, Lane. But with practice I didn't see much improvement, so I thought it was the guitar.
I also have this idea I need low output pickups, like PAF air classic. But I have no idea how any pickup sounds. I have a Marshall tube amp that I should have never gotten. I kind of think that if I would ever perform, I would use some digital amp, not the Marshall. I don't have a car so whatever I carry, I have to carry with me on my bicycle.
I also feel that almost every guitar with a pain finish is ugly. Don't ask me why! So I would like to get one with a natural finish.
I remember looking online at the Eastman T185 and similar models. At the Carvin guitars. At some super strats. At custom shops like Strandberg.
I think my current guitar has a really big body and a big neck. I am 6'4" and have large hands. I also sat down 100% when I played. I think now I may want to get used to standing. In that respect, the dime body model is really nice, as it would never ever slip off your leg. I think whatever I like about any new guitar is probably how similar it is to my current one, which isn't what I want, kind off.
Maybe a semi-hollow would suit me. But maybe it is too jazzy and not as durable/practical?
I also feel that when I go into a shop, they probably don't have what I want. I am not even sure what I want, at this point.
This is probably a very open-ended question, but every comment or advice is welcome.
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04-09-2016 07:11 AM
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I don't think a semi-hollow is too jazzy
Listen to Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour (I recommend that you listen to both solos):
I don't have much to say that won't be said by others. I play a Gibson semi-hollow (ES-139, can be had for under a grand) with 011 flats and I play 90% fusion w/ distortion. I'm playing this one 'til I die(unless it goes before me)!
Like you, I also try to be compact. I have many amps but use none of them. Last year I got a Boss SY-300 Guitar Synthesizer because I'm a fusion guy so I try to stay ahead on new tech
I only bought it for its synth appeal(any sound signal, no special pickup required) but found that it also works fantastically well as a guitar multi-fx board. It also has an amp simulator for the OD/DS effects, so I don't use an amplifier at all. When at home, I usually just use the headphones out and practice like that. For gigs, I CAN just go direct. Hell, that's what I do at home if I want to ditch the headphones! I go direct into my two monitors.
It also has a great built-in tuner and if you plug it into a PC using the USB connection, you get sound from the pc through the synth so you can jam with tracks, and you can also use Boss Tone Studio to make patches
As a result, my entire rig goes into one bag- the padded bag that came with my Gibson
I'm not trying to sell you an ES-139 and an SY-300 but I'm just saying that I for one, think your plan to go digital + semi-hollow is a good one.
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Where are you and what's your budget?
Originally Posted by Almeisan
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The Netherlands and I guess 1500 to 3000 euro, though I am a bit unsure if spending above 2000 really gets a better guitar.
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Maybe in the Netherlands you might be able to find a shop that sells FGN guitars; I know they are available in Germany.
They have fretboards that are particuarly in tune and the semihollow Masterfields are said to be almost feedback-free.
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I saw a used Gibson ES-335 in the shop the other day for 1350 euros.
Inner Mounting Flame was a Les Paul I think. DiMeola/RTF was a Les Paul. Some Strat guys with 70s Miles. Stern is a Tele guy. Blow by Blow was a Tele and Wired was a Tele w humbuckers. Otherwise JB is known for a Strat. The 70s -80s LA guys (see above) were ES-335 guys. Vai and Satch = super Strats.
Bottom line: semi or solid guitars, played in a fusion style. Find a guitar you like and find the right amp/pedal combinations.
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I know fusion can be played with almost any guitar. But I am considering buying a new one, and I can buy only one and it has to be of some type. I guess I do want something that when I have to play in a true jazz setting sometimes, it is going to work out.
To ask something more concrete, what about the durability of semi-hollows vs solids?
While describing what I want, is a semi-hollow really what I want?
I guess I should just try out guitars all over.
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Fender Telecaster! Don't bother with that F-hole rubbish.
:-)
As a second option I would say 335 or one of those Ibanez thingies that look a bit like a 335 on a diet. Or a 339, for that matter... Tele's are cheap though, for what you get. Easier to make.
If you want heavier drive tones, a 335 might be a better bet, but for bluesy tones, straight jazz and a spot of twang and funk, I am as happy as anything with my American Deluxe Tele. The thing even has a switch that turns it into a Les Paul. Woot!
Don't get a Strat tho. Great for everything but straight jazz.Last edited by christianm77; 04-09-2016 at 02:53 PM.
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This is how mine sounds, amp is a Fender Princeton '65 reissue, but I reckon this guitar would sound great through any Fender amp, obviously.
Straight Jazz
Bit of Twang
Fusion
Last edited by christianm77; 04-09-2016 at 02:53 PM.
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A Sadowsky Semi-Hollow or SS-15 fits the bill.
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carvin holdsworth HH2 is versatile, light weight, perfectly balanced and can do pretty much anything you want.
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Take this one:
Fender Modern Player Tele Thinline.
Sounds good, little money, virtually indestructible, 25,5" scale suits big hands, does jazz, rock, fusion (I've got it as well).
Last edited by Little Jay; 04-09-2016 at 03:50 PM.
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TBH I don't think the Carvin has much reach, which would make it less useful in a confrontation. Losing the headstock does reduce the combat effectiveness of the instrument.
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You could go custom with a company like Warmoth. I don't (can't) play fusion, but a guitar like my semi-hollow Mooncaster would be a great guitar for such a style (also, quite a few styles available in the Tele/thinline dept).
The high quality necks have nearly limitless options available. The down side is if you get too fancy with options, you will really raise the $$$, and if you decide you don't like it, it'll have zero resale value. I have to say their gold fretwire GD6150 (German made copper alloy-looks like gold, wears like stainless) is very, very awesome. (see photo)
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For the natural look, there's the Jim Adkins models. I never tried it, but if I were shopping for a new guitar I definitely would. (But you said you want a flat fingerboard, so you might not like the 9.5" radius fretboard.)
Last edited by Little Jay; 04-10-2016 at 04:43 AM.
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A strat or tele makes for great fusion sounds....Scott Henderson, Bruce Arnold, Wayne Krantz, Oz Noy, Mike Stern, Chris Crocco, Eric Johnson, Bill Frisell, Bryan Baker....even Adam Rogers and Sco will strap on a Fender style guitar if need be.
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From my own experience while Fenders are great for fusion, a Tele works better than a Strat for straight jazz. I have to say since I got my Tele, my Strat doesn't come out of its case. YMMV... Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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I like Tele a lot but I started to play jazz on Strat...
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It seems my current guitar has a 15 3/4 inch 400mm fretboard. I think I want a flat/flatter fretboard. But I didn't even realize mine was already quite flat. I see most ES-335s have 12 inch radii.
Are there even production models out there that are (slimmed down) ES-335 clones with a (near) flat fretboard radius?
I realize there are compound ones out there as well.
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How about a strat with humbuckers and a tele neck?
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Well I don't know about fretboard radius (that sort of thing doesn't really bother me) but the Ibanez's always have great necks. I played one the other day (a friends) and it was great, super easy to play... Originally Posted by Almeisan
Ibanez John Schofield Signature JSM10-VYS (Vintage Yellow Sunburst)
That sort of thing. Depending on your budget there should be one to suit.
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Prob is the Strat, unless a rare hard tail, is hobbled by the vibrato bridge structure, tho many wouldn't be bothered by the loss of intrinsic sustain this causes. Fender is really doing some really comfy looking body relief on Teles now. They've learned that much. That Baja Player looks like a winner, more or less, for not a lot of money. You can get hum bucking tones without changing PUs for quieter passages. That's why I like my Reverend Slingshot in the middle position. It's quiet as a mouse, with P90 roar for when things pick up (no pun) volume wise.
Also, the 'player telecaster', which is a better price than the Baja, with 3 PU's(not sure i'd like that much pulling on my strings) looks pretty nice, and has a pine body, as per the earliest ones, though it is contoured, another plus to me.Last edited by guitarbard; 04-11-2016 at 11:58 AM.
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Googling around a bit, it seems Carvins have very flat fingerboards -- 20" on the Holdsworth. Gibsons are all 12" SFAIK. Fenders vary - vintage and reissues are Originally Posted by Almeisan
7.25" and "modern" ones are 9.5". I suspect that if you truly need a flat fingerboard, your options are pretty limited -- "superstrats", or have the fingerboard on another guitar planed flat and re-fretted.
John
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My favorite fusion guitar was my old PRS Hollowbody. They don't make the model any more, but you can find used ones.
My Ibanez JSM-10 is also great for it.
And I love my strat for fusion (HB in the bridge position)
More important, I think is the amp. I think the modern sounding amps like Mesas and Soldanos work best, but with the right OD pedal, Fenders and Voxes are good too.
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I was so I made my own hardtail Strat. Keep wondering if I will ever own a guitar with a vibrato. Originally Posted by guitarbard
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