What's your next guitar?

Actually, a few days ago I posted in my learning log a bit about my relapse to GAS. Without repeating the whole post, my ideas are, in more or less the order of magnitude:

Fender Player Plus Stratocaster in Tequila Sunrise - demo video here

Although a lot of my favourite players have played a Strat at one time or another, I found the Strat body shape itself a bit too ubiquitous. You know, itā€™s ā€œtheā€ guitar shape everyone has in mind. Of course, thereā€™s a reason why the Strat became so widespread.

However, during the past year or so Iā€™ve gone though a bit of conversion, so to say. I got interested in transcribing melodies, and the sources I turn to often fall under the umbrella term of jazz or jazzy music. Itā€™s not always a conscious decision, but I gravitate to transcribing various horn parts, not only guitars. For this reason, I think a Strat would be ideal given its variety of tones. Also, the whammy bar seems to be an interesting addition that I think could help me achieve vibrato/glissando effects more typical of brass instruments. And to approximate some Hendrix trickery, of course. :smiley:

Also, my Epi Les Paul has dual humbucker pickups with the option of coil splitting, so the Stratā€™s noiseless single-coil pickups would be a welcome addition in my guitar collection.

Gretsch G5422G-12 ElectromaticĀ® Classic Hollow Body Double-Cut 12-String in Walnut Stain - demo video here

Do you need anything to justify getting an electric 12 string other than its mere existence? :slight_smile: I have a Yamaha acoustic 12 string (tuned a semitone lower than standard tuning) and even though my fingertips sometimes take up a bit too much space between the courses to let each string ring out clearly, I love picking it up and playing it. I plan to properly practice on it and improve my fingering and the picking of individual courses.

Of course, an electric 12 sting is different, but since Iā€™ve had the Yamaha and my ears got used to the 12 string sound, I realized that a lot of the music Iā€™d already known have a 12 string in them (whether acoustic or electric).

My Epi Casino is a hollow-body guitar with dual P90 pickups and a trapeze tailpiece. It looks fabulous and sounds pretty great, too. Somehow I have a soft spot for the look of hollow-body guitars with f-holes and tailpieces, thinline or not. So this model looks like a contender to my collection.

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster in Aged Candy Apple Red - demo video here

I still think that in my eyes the Telecaster body shape is the perfect one (besides the Les Paul). Somehow the ratios of the curves have a strangely pleasing and calming effect on me.

Several of my favourite players have used a Tele as well, but while this model also seems to be of very good quality and capable of producing a variety of tones, it just doesnā€™t seem to cover as many bases as the Strat or the Gretsch 12 string. Thatā€™s why itā€™s not no. 1 on my list.

However, given the less-than-ideal financial situation of Hungary and the atrocious exchange rates, I donā€™t know when Iā€™ll be able to buy any of them. Hopefully sometime this year. I think the Gretsch one would require a bit of investigation with the actual brick-and-mortar stores in order to try it out as Iā€™ve seen it available in online stores, but buying something unseen for that price is a bit risky.

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Hi destroyer of dreams, er, I mean Roger. :rofl:

Yeah, Iā€™ve heard those stories too, that there is better bang for buck elsewhere. But, Fender American, still? So much history and heritage there, itā€™s the real thingā€¦ I have a couple of friends with them and they are quite happy with them.

Itā€™s a maybe thing, in the distant future anyway. Iā€™m pretty happy with what Iā€™ve got now :smiley:

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:joy: :rofl:ā€¦ :innocent:

Justin,and others say that they are good guitars,ā€¦of course they are good ,and of course people who play them say they are good and happy with them :grimacing:,ā€¦but where fender have not done their best to keep their american their competitors have not been sitting still and can make the same quality much cheaper (of course you pay for the name), ā€¦ but now arrived names have apparently become better and you get ā€œmore guitarā€ for the same money, ā€¦ .actually what you have heard yourself,ā€¦

Ultimately I am curious how much it all matters for ā€¦for exampleā€¦myself over the next 5/10 years whether I would notice such differences at my level,ā€¦ if you can afford it, experience/name may cost a bit :sunglasses:,ā€¦I havenā€™t played 1 hour a month on my PRS for a long time,ā€¦and it wasnā€™t really cheap when I bought it ,ā€¦I now enjoy watching it to the wall where it hangs and I think ā€¦ your time will come,mayby ,i think ā€¦, and meanwhile I look at other guitars that are even lighter than my Ibanez,ā€¦but donā€™t rush, because this one hangs around my neck easily 3 x an hour a day :sunglasses: :sweat_smile:
Iā€™am happy that you are happy :sunglasses:

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Another one of the reasons Iā€™m interested in Revstars. Iā€™ve heard similar things and the new Revstars (not the element I think the standard an the professional) have stainless steel frets.

Me too, lol! I have way more guitars than my skill level justifies if thatā€™s even a thing. Thatā€™s why Iā€™m waiting at least another year before buying something else.

The age old debate and not just with Fender is of course: Are American made guitars better? I can say that my Gibson Les Paul Tribute feels better to me than my Epiphone Les Paul Studio. However, they are different guitars with different neck profiles. I often wonder if I would feel a difference between my Epi Les Paul Studio and A Gibson Les Paul Studio.

The more important thing about the"Made in (Country of origin)" guitars I think is the material used. Cheaper guitars tend to of course use cheaper parts and electronics. So they might feel cheaper as well, but what about high end Epiphones with good materials? And look at the Revstars, the Made in Japan Revstars are 99% the same guitar. Same materials, same electronics, same features. But the made in Japan ones are $2000 and the made in indonesia ones are $800. How much of that is the brand name?

I donā€™t think I know enough about guitars to really know but I know that for some reason I want the Made in Japan Revstar. Probably because of the prestige of the luthiers in Japan is similar to American ones.

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I bought the Player with peace of mind instead of an American after an old friend told me that he even preferred to play it than the American,ā€¦a waste of money, who said ,ā€¦he told me that during a performance on which he played with it (when the photo was taken March 1, 2020 in my profile / bio story , he also played with that guitar in stadiums for tens of thousands of people around the world but especially in Asian countries as the main actā€¦

Oh well,ā€¦just do what you think is good or fun,ā€¦with a guitar youā€™re always good ,even if itā€™s just for the beauty on the wall :sunglasses:
Greetings,ā€¦

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Itā€™s a tough question to answer. Thereā€™s also the matter of what local wages are and how many hours a true craftsman has put into the instrument versus something that is mass produced. You definitely do pay a premium for a big brand but itā€™s not as much of premium as some people make out when you consider all of the factors involved. Itā€™s great that we live in a time where we have the choice based on what we can afford and what we value. In years gone by, a cheap guitar was very frequently a bad guitar.

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Hello! Iā€™ve been thinking about a Fender Player Pluss HSS in Cosmic Jade. Why, well I like the color. How stupid is that.

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Nothing wrong with getting a guitar cause you like the look. Getting something that inspires you to pick it up and play more has its purpose too!

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I committed myself to not buying a second guitar until I complete all three beginner grade levels and Iā€™m ready to move on to intermediate. It will be a reward and I imagine it will be an acoustic of some sort since I currently have an electric.

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So I know my next guitar is going to replace existing acoustic which is Fender CD 60SCE. Itā€™s a very good guitar but I would like something else as this one is a bit too glossy for me and I think sound of it was a lot more shallow than one I am interested in, which is Faith FKVMG Naked Venus. Just love the finish of it and I played it in a music store and just sounded lovely!

One day I plan to replace my Eastcoast too as this is a great guitar for beginners but it has itā€™s shortcomings here and there. I am with @jkahn on the same boat and I dream about American Strat in some funky finish :smiley: However I am not super keen on replacing Eastcoast yet, as for the acoustic I hope to replace it perhaps next year, year after or when my Fender for some reason gets injured :smiley:

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My next guitar will be my dream acoustic - but I havenā€™t figured out what that will be yet. Iā€™ve tried a Taylor 322ce a couple times and although itā€™s very nice Iā€™m not sure itā€™s the one. Right now I have just my American Pro Strat, which is perfect for me, and my Blue Sky electric (diy Tele style), which I love, as I sold 3 guitars in the fall. I will be happy with those 2 and my acoustic, once I figure out what it will be!

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I have a pretty good collection of guitars at this point. Right now Iā€™m not feeling a burning need for any more, but I know that can change without warning.

I suspect my ā€œnext guitarā€ might be a baritone or a bass, actually.

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For me itā€™ll be either an explorer shaped guitar or another Ibanez (by far my favorite brand).

My dream explorer is an LTD Snakebyte, but those are 1500 euros and I donā€™t feel like theyā€™re worth it. Their price always keeps going up for some reason, when I started in October they were listed for 1300.

If itā€™s an Ibanez it will be either a hardtail RG (my first guitar ever as a teenager was an Ibanez RG, I still own it but I grew to dislike the black finish) or an AZ (if they ever release a non prestige version, I donā€™t want to pay 2000 EUR).

The truth is that between my Ibanez S5470 (mahogany with a Floyd rose style tremolo), my RGR321EX (hardtail basswood body) and Telecaster (for the single coil cleans) I got all my bases covered when it comes to electrics.

Any other guitar is a ā€œwantā€ and will have less of a practical benefit.

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I have both an indonesian made Ibanez and a Japanese made Ibanez. The body woods and pickups are different so hard to compare those, but the main difference is in the necks.

My Indonesian Ibanez has a fine neck, nothing wrong with it. I used it exclusively up until 1 month ago and had no complaints.

When I picked up my Japanese Ibanez the difference in the neck was instantly noticeable however. Itā€™s hard to describe, but everything about it felt better and on a whole different level.

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Curious which one is your Japanese made?

Same here hobart. At least Iā€™ll have a good amount of time to shop
around. :grinning:

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Ive got a yamhaha classical, faith venus accoustic and american strat. My daughter has two guitars as well so we are out of space, so no new guitar for me. If i did buy something new, it would probably be a semi hollow. I was considering a Yamaha SA2000 as it has amazing reviews but is no longer produced, every time I see one up for sale it seems like its on its last legs.

Iā€™m going for an electro-acoustic next but Iā€™m not sure which Iā€™ll be going with. Iā€™ve saved my pennies and Iā€™ll be off to the guitar store within the next few weeks to pick one up.

Iā€™m also looking at getting one of these to practice some luthier skills on and do some upgrading on it.

Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series

Hi Stefan,ā€¦
I had to pick out a guitar for my 10-year-old nephew of 100 euros from my mother to give to him for Christmas ā€¦ with slight reluctance (because I said buy a 2nd hand one for about 150/200 euros) gives a lot longer pleasure,ā€¦well,ā€¦this one was pretty oke,ā€¦maybe itā€™s a coincidence,ā€¦but for 10 minutes of feeling the frets, playing a bit, etc,ā€¦it surprisedme a lot ā€¦(and of course that also says something about my qualities), and certainly for the tim beeing and for how my nephew will probably use it and for what he had for an acoustic-like piece of wood with rusty strings, ā€¦ but to give free rein to your guitar making skills hereā€¦perfect :sunglasses:

Or buy an old 2nd hand and refurbish it :smiley: :sunglasses:

Have Fun :sunglasses: :clap:
Greetings,

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Thank you for the feedback Rogier. Some of the reviews said how good it was for the price. I love the colour as well, so for Ā£90 it seems like a no brainer to have a dabble at playing with guitarā€™s innards. :smiley:

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