Homepage Forums Guitar Discussion Guitar Difficulty picking a guitar – penny for your thoughts?

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  • #24572
    Consterock
    Participant

    Ok my first question is, are alot of guitar fanatics concerened more with the look of the guitars than the sound?(thats not as important to me unless it looks bad)

    Second question: Is there much difference between the top makers at the same price range?(ie do they all offer the same value for money near enough?)

    Third question, Ive been doing some hunting and Ive narrowed my search down to these guitars, which is the best deal?(Ive put them in order of my current preference but thats just goin with my gut feelings on them).

    Here’s what Ive narrowed it down too based on maximum price, features and hopefully capability of the right sound too(heavy metal but able to sound great whatever style you are playing):

    Schecter OMEN 6 FR BK

    Jackson JS30DK TBK

    Ibanez SA120 BK

    Any other contenders?

    Also is Thomann the cheapest place to buy guitars online these days?

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    • #74208
      lee_UK
      Participant

      Vox Valvetronix, another hit with me, one of the best value for money amps out there.

    • #74229
      Consterock
      Participant

      Yep WizardII neck on this one according to the Ibanez site, the ZR bridge sounds pretty promising actually and having heard someone demo this model on youtube it seems some comments about not having enough sustain on some frets arent true or exagerated(glad I found that, I was pretty impressed with the sound myself so I feel a bit better about this now). There is one thing I cant beleive I never spotted… it only has inlays on the twelfth fret? Ah well… Im aware that people change inlays and have their guitars re-fretted alot, even found someone’s site who works on guitars for a living, in my city too(Manchester… infact Ive been pestering him with questions too via email, lol).

      I really cant afford it but Im thinking about buying it and then getting the vox valvetronix with it anyway(it basically sounds like that amp blows my practise amp away for range of sounds and features ect so it will really feel more like a new level alltogether if I switch both amp and guitar).

      Now to find the cheapest prices there is on them. 🙂 Not because Im a cheepskate… well maybe I am but I really need to get that price tag down a bit.

      Thanks for the input guys!

    • #74244
      lee_UK
      Participant

      I have an SA series Ibanez and its fantastic, its similar to the one on your link, but mine has 3 pickups, humbucker-single coil-humbucker.
      plays like a dream straight from the box, low action, never ever goes out of tune and is very versatile, i love the neck on mine, i think its called a ‘wizzard 2’ or something like that, check that yours has that.
      I’ve played Jacksons and never been too impressed with them.
      Never played a Schecter though.

    • #74223
      Consterock
      Participant

      Ok found one that might be better, especially reading bad things about the bridge/tremolo on the other Ibanez.

      Ibanez S320

      The only thing about it is that it would have been nice to have 24 Frets, but Im not sure its necessary to have them really, its just incase right? lol

      Its bit more expensive(they must do this on purpose to get more and more out of you, as with all things today) which is a shame because there was post that convinced me to change my amp to a Vox Valvetronix, maybe if I can find a bargain price on either of them(ebay? or cheaper store?) I might beable to afford both but I doubt it.

    • #74219
      Consterock
      Participant

      Ok Ive been doin some review reading and it seems alot of people agree Mahagony gives a better tone, so that could sway it.

      Ive also read some comments from Schecter owners elsewhere now, the pros seem to be little to no fretbuzz, great for playing with distortion(no noise), good clean sound for most types of rock. The cons seem to be durability and from what I can see most are saying they are good but not great.(maybe they are just less wide spread but there dont seem to be many saying they think they make the best guitars, like the other two brands)

      So Im interested in an Ibanez now me thinks(Jackson seem good but maybe a little pricey for what you get… value for money wise) but Im not sure that particular guitar is as good at metal as Id be hoping for. I really have my heart set on one with a tremolo so its hard to chose one for the budget I have(there seems to be far more models without one fitted) and that particular tremolo crops up under the cons of almost every user review Ive read so far.

    • #74231
      glw
      Participant

      Mahogany, because usually it is a good tone wood. Actually, all three guitars look pretty good for their price range – I don’t see that you can go far wrong with any one of them.

    • #74205
      Consterock
      Participant

      Hmmm thanks, but why mahogany?(does it just look/feel better?)

      Also I see what you mean about the pickups but I was under the impression that both Jackson and Schecter are more highly regarded(slightly more expensive too), so although nondescript Im guessing the quality will show.

      I really like the look of that Schecter too Id be intersted to hear from any Schecter guitar owners. I know none of these will be a bad guitar and owners of any of them are likely to side with their manufacturer, so I’ll just have to find the pros and cons of each if possible and decide myself.

      But doesnt that Schecter look great?

    • #74193
      glw
      Participant

      None of those are to my personal taste (not a fan of locking trems) but I understand where you’re coming from given you’re chosen playing style. Out of those, I’d go for the Ibanez – which has Mahogany body and Ibanez pickups – the others have nondescript pickups and basswood (Schecter) and Poplar (Jackson) bodies.

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