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Post by Johnkenn on Dec 25, 2019 11:47:30 GMT -6
Don’t all the Gibson’s go through a plek machine?
Also - wondered about just buying new pickups for my Somnium. The concept is killer, but they are built to a price point. Not sure the brand of some of the pickups but the Humbucker is a little dark and muddy. The one cartridge with strat pickups are active EMG’s that I don’t particularly care for. Just wondering how much the body is going to affect how the pickups sound. Then I’m left with the general cheapness of the neck anyway. I just need to drop this thing with a pro and say what kind of budget I have.
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Post by Guitar on Dec 25, 2019 12:32:24 GMT -6
Don’t all the Gibson’s go through a plek machine? Also - wondered about just buying new pickups for my Somnium. The concept is killer, but they are built to a price point. Not sure the brand of some of the pickups but the Humbucker is a little dark and muddy. The one cartridge with strat pickups are active EMG’s that I don’t particularly care for. Just wondering how much the body is going to affect how the pickups sound. Then I’m left with the general cheapness of the neck anyway. I just need to drop this thing with a pro and say what kind of budget I have. If you have any doubts about the pickup, I would swap them straight away. |
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Post by notneeson on Dec 25, 2019 12:47:11 GMT -6
I definitely don’t think of “classic tones” and EMG in the same sentence. Maybe in Metal (albeit not their strat pups).
It’s all so subjective.
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Post by Bob Olhsson on Dec 25, 2019 13:30:39 GMT -6
I'm an observer, not a player but from what I've seen, Strats were always considered disposable for touring while recording was all about carefully chosen and prized Teles and Les Pauls. When a friend and I were given a tour of the Gibson factory ten years ago, we were actually advised to look for a really good Epiphone because they were given the very same QC process! The Gibsons were mostly headed overseas to collectors.
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Post by Johnkenn on Dec 25, 2019 14:24:28 GMT -6
I definitely don’t think of “classic tones” and EMG in the same sentence. Maybe in Metal (albeit not their strat pups). It’s all so subjective. Got some free cartridges...wish I could have picked. |
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Post by notneeson on Dec 25, 2019 15:14:33 GMT -6
I definitely don’t think of “classic tones” and EMG in the same sentence. Maybe in Metal (albeit not their strat pups). It’s all so subjective. Got some free cartridges...wish I could have picked. Yeah, gotcha. And on the humbucker thing, one player’s “muddy” is another player's “warm.” And on and on. Come to think of it, a couple of my friends who are working musicians play setups that baffle me. Not the gear or the sounds, but the feel of the instruments. If I had to go one way though, I suppose it would be a killer Tele with a proper high output tele bridge pickup and a humbucker neck. You can cover a lot of twang, pop, and rock with one of those. |
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Post by Guitar on Dec 25, 2019 15:59:58 GMT -6
I'm an observer, not a player but from what I've seen, Strats were always considered disposable for touring while recording was all about carefully chosen and prized Teles and Les Pauls. When a friend and I were given a tour of the Gibson factory ten years ago, we were actually advised to look for a really good Epiphone because they were given the very same QC process! The Gibsons were mostly headed overseas to collectors. Gibson is pretty famous in the guitar world for their terrible lack of quality control. At least they were a few years ago, hopefully things have improved. They keep changing CEO's and etc. |
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Post by wiz on Dec 25, 2019 16:18:41 GMT -6
The best fenders (in my hands) have always been 89 strat plus's
something about that year
Cheers
Wiz
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Post by popmann on Dec 25, 2019 17:08:15 GMT -6
Buy a Silver Sky and Paul’s Guitar. Thats what I’d do today starting over. Both PRS.
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Post by hadaja on Dec 25, 2019 17:36:12 GMT -6
I have had a few late 1980’s fender strats over the years and they have always been stand out Strats. I am enjoying the early 1990’s PRS models at the moment had about 6 of them ver the last few years. Felt a lot better then the 2000 era PRS’s. Just talking about the CE22 and 24 series and the custom 22 and 24 series.
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Post by dmo on Dec 25, 2019 19:37:19 GMT -6
Love my '87 Custom 24 - it just works for me.
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Post by Johnkenn on Dec 25, 2019 20:43:56 GMT -6
The best fenders (in my hands) have always been 89 strat plus's something about that year Cheers Wiz Is that the lace sensors? |
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Post by sirthought on Dec 25, 2019 20:47:02 GMT -6
I have a strat from 1989 or 90. I didn't think it was anything unusual when I bought (used cheap) but it is the nicest guitar I've come across personally. Just stock everything.
I also think Reverend is offering great quality at an affordable price. They have so many pickup options, but the necks are all really nice to play, often now with roasted maple. I've really considering getting a baritone model from them that's kind of Tele inspired.
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Post by wiz on Dec 25, 2019 21:09:29 GMT -6
The best fenders (in my hands) have always been 89 strat plus's something about that year Cheers Wiz Is that the lace sensors? Yes, mine has the gold.. .but there was a model that had red, silver and blue... and coincidentally I was at a guys house just the other day, and he had a 89 plus he had just bought, it had the 3 different colour lace ones, and I picked it up and it felt fantastic.... Sounded great too, was playing it though a 64 bassman head and cab, which he had just bought and gotten serviced, it was a great setup Cheers Wiz |
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Post by gwlee7 on Dec 25, 2019 21:14:21 GMT -6
The best fenders (in my hands) have always been 89 strat plus's something about that year Cheers Wiz Is that the lace sensors? I will double check the serial number for the correct year but I bought this strat deluxe plus around that time. It may be a a little later. It has the blue, gold, and red lace sensors in it and a wilkinson nut. I have several other nice guitars but this one I have had the longest. ETA: Mine is ‘91. Attachments:
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Post by hadaja on Dec 25, 2019 21:32:52 GMT -6
I must say my older 1983 strat wasnt too bad either.
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Post by Johnkenn on Dec 25, 2019 21:36:25 GMT -6
I had a ‘91 with lace sensors.
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Post by sean on Dec 25, 2019 21:54:53 GMT -6
I think a lot of the higher end Mexican Fender beat out many of the American models. I prefer the thin nitro finish that the Road Worn series has. A lot of the necks feel sticky, but you can always get the finish taken off it that bothers you.
My absolute favorite electric guitar is an early 60’s Melody Maker with a Lollar P90 in it that Will Kimbrough plays. It just sounded like rock and roll. Big fat Gibson neck but lightweight body.
Of my personal guitars my ‘62 Jaguar is my favorite in a track. It just doesn’t interfere with anything else in the mix. I also have a Gibson SG Melody Maker which was a cheap model that made with a single humbucker that I replaced with a P94 (humbucker sized P90) and I love the sound of that guitar but it needs a new nut because it goes out of tune when you bend the G. The paint job is a joke. But I paid $175 for it.
I think if you have a good Telecaster, I would get a Les Paul. It’ll do a totally different thing. It depends on how much coin you want to drop. I think there are some great Les Paul Studios our there
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Post by notneeson on Dec 25, 2019 22:12:43 GMT -6
I must say my older 1983 strat wasnt too bad either.
I had a cream white one from that same year, it was a very nice guitar. Got stolen in the mid 90s, sadly. |
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Post by shoe on Dec 26, 2019 0:12:22 GMT -6
I'd have to say that the nicest and best-sounding traditional strat I've ever played was the 1954 60th Anniversary Fender Reissue. That thing sounds amazing, feels great, and the one I played was also very comfortable and lightweight. Really wish I had gotten the one I tried.
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Post by shadowdog on Dec 26, 2019 7:25:05 GMT -6
Many great comments here. I think the suggestions on high quality Fender clones are great but when looking at Fenders made in Mexico or Epiphone/Gibsons, I do think there are many tradeoffs for price. Thinner gauge wire, p/u quality, electronics, workmanship. By the time you upgrade everything, you could have bought the real deal. I bought several Les Pauls around 1999-2000. Centre City Guitar (at the time) stocked over 300 Gibson guitars and I chose one for tone and playability. They are still in business. I just tracked rhythm and slide tracks to demo the TG Microphone on that thread. When I bought a Jeff Beck reissue Black Beauty from GC that year (Gui-target) the serial number was not legible due to the paint job but the pups were the best I ever heard and it played like butter. I always went for the “Les Paul Standard”. The Deluxe models had tuning issues for me (not a fan of Kluson tuners) and the Classic models were more than I needed in a guitar design. I’ve owned a Melody Maker in CA and they were so popular I traded it for a LP Deluxe sunburst in 1975. I wish I had them both now. I even found a Squire Strat in pieces at a pawn shop and upon buying a few parts to rebuild it I discovered the “Squire” neck was actually an American Fender neck shipped to Mexico after a factory fire to to enable them to meet production deadlines.
So many guitar makers out there but my ‘74 Strat is a hardtail and I’ve never missed the whammy bar on that one. I also own a “Z Guitars” LP Junior model clone with double cutaway and P90 pups. Some finishing flaws snagged me that baby for $200 and it plays great ( noisy as hell). For a simple answer, an American Made Fender Strat just about any year pre 1980 and Les Paul Standard pre 2000. I can’t comment on the recent lines for quality control.
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Post by Ward on Dec 26, 2019 19:36:28 GMT -6
1982 Is behind question the finest year of the Les Paul. Standards and customs. At least from all the ones I’ve owned/own. Which are 1955 56 57 59 60 70 75 79 80 81 82 83 85 87 90 92 95 99 2000 Damn what was wrong with the 59 and 60? Any chance you still have those? The 55 was gross. A junior that stunk The 56, well I'm still trying to get her back. LPC serial 6-9274 . . . I pawned her at a music store and the owner is a Can't Understand Normal Thinking type and wouldn't honor the buy her back deal . The 57 . . . is a Junior that has the loudest P90 I've ever heard but a neck like a log The 59 and 60, also Juniors. The 60 has the best neck of that era The 70 is a standard that was ordered in black and is quite okay, the 75 was a boat anchor 79 80 and 81 gone. The 81 was damned near an 82 82, I have a tobacco sunburst standard and a black custom. INCREDIBLE guitars the 83 and 85 gone. 87 is a black custom and is also near incredible the others are meh |
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 15,946 
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Post by ericn on Dec 26, 2019 20:07:26 GMT -6
Depending on what you buy budget another hundred or so for a pro setup. Gibson is plekking everything now I think, which should theoretically mean a damn good setup, but I’ve heard that even then things can often be improved. But yeah, you kinda have to sit down with the individual instrument. Coming from single coil land you might find Les Pauls a bit muddy or lacking in high end. Good ones shouldn’t be. You can also try Gretsch and Firebird styles for more brightly/twangy in a Humbucker style. And, there’s also the noiseless single coils. I haven’t met one I’ve personally loved, but there’s lots of new ones I haven’t tried. A good Tele is a good thing to have and covers a lot of ground. Hold on to that. Personally I’d add Gretsch to your list. Some of their Electromatic lines are decent and not too much dough. Then again there’s a ton of stuff from overseas that seem to be pretty decent quality and/or a cheap mod platform. Could be one way to go. Cheers, Geoff I’ve wondered about just taking all my guitars in and say, “set these up and do whatever you need to make them sound the best they can sound.” Replacing nuts, bridges, etc. sometimes I wonder if what I don’t care for is more about terrible setup and intonation. A well set up Squier or Epiphone, will kick the ass of the most expensive stuff hanging on the wall at any GC. That said if it’s the LP your chasing, just say used Heritage, real Les Paul’s were made in MI not Nashville and the guys who built those are the guys at Heritage! |
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Post by Johnkenn on Dec 26, 2019 20:53:14 GMT -6
I’ve wondered about just taking all my guitars in and say, “set these up and do whatever you need to make them sound the best they can sound.” Replacing nuts, bridges, etc. sometimes I wonder if what I don’t care for is more about terrible setup and intonation. A well set up Squier or Epiphone, will kick the ass of the most expensive stuff hanging on the wall at any GC. That said if it’s the LP your chasing, just say used Heritage, real Les Paul’s were made in MI not Nashville and the guys who built those are the guys at Heritage! Funny you mentioned that. I looked up Heritage today and they’re the same freaking price as the Gibsons. |
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 15,946
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Post by ericn on Dec 26, 2019 21:27:46 GMT -6
A well set up Squier or Epiphone, will kick the ass of the most expensive stuff hanging on the wall at any GC. That said if it’s the LP your chasing, just say used Heritage, real Les Paul’s were made in MI not Nashville and the guys who built those are the guys at Heritage! Funny you mentioned that. I looked up Heritage today and they’re the same freaking price as the Gibsons. Used my friend, used! GC or Music Go Round Sean to discount every now and then, but then I’m the guy who can’t play and owned a 68 LP studio and an Alembic California Special. |
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