Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

Ok, so I talked to a guy in GuitarCenter to help me find a good metal guitar.
I'm going to go with a Jackson...but, none of their models fit what I'm looking for.
So, the guy told me it might be best to order the parts of a guitar and give it to a luthier to put to gether and intunate.

I'm thinking about:
X Warrior (body), black, with Volume, a 3 way switch, and maybe a tone nob.
A speed neck, bolt-on (cause I'm a bit skittish about part replacements), 24 jumbo frets, Ebony, and no inlays.
Floyd Rose Dubble locking tremolo (w/ locking nut obviously).
Seymour Duncan SH-4 + TB-4 pick-ups.
All black hardware.

Is this a good idea? How much should it cost?
As far as the pick-ups. What would be a good choice? I've never heard any good pick-ups that are crunchy and can scream really well. I like Seymour Duncan's passive pick-ups, but I don't know which ones are best for heavy metal. (No active pick-ups)

Most custom guitars will cost you $4,000+ to have made. Jackson would be happy to make on for you, if you are willing to pay.

If you are willing to scrap the X-body and go with a super-strat body, you easily find a decent guitar either Jackson, ESP, or Ibanez, that comes close enough to your specs to be able to customize it yourself to meet your criteria. The ebony fretboard might be the wrench in the machine though, as they are very uncommon these days.

Ebony fretboards are superior for their warm tones, but even more so for their support to the guitar's sustain. Using a bolt-on neck model is literally taking two steps forward and then two steps back, as all the gain you get from ebony, you will lose with the bolt-on. I'd say you should compromise, stick with a good rosewood fretboard and then shoot for a *true* neck-through guitar (NOT a set neck), and you will get more sustain than any ebony fretboard can offer with a bolt-on neck.

The only guitar I'm familiar with that has both the ebony fretboard and neck-though is the Kramer 'paul dean' signature model, which goes for about $3-4k used.

Good luck

$4000? No...not gonna happen. The guy I talked to told me it's possible to order REPLACEMENT parts and put it togather cheeper than $750.
Especially since I could get a guitar with a run-of-the-mill body for that price or cheaper. I'm not just going for sound, I'm going for looks too.
I'm NOT getting a neck-thru OR a set-neck, because they're a pain to replace...DUH! I'd spend more money on the body than the strings.
I had a neck-thru once, I was too afraid of the neck or head stock breaking that I didn't want to take it anywhere.
I've never had a problem with sustain in a bolt-on before. I know it's better for sustain. Maybe when I get famous or get the best paying job in the world then I might get a neck-thru again. But not now.

Sorry if it seems like I'm being rude. I'm just tired of people encouraging me to get a guitar that's worth over $1,000.

check eBay..

I put together my favorite strat for 160$.

And lemme tell you that strat outperforms;

an ibanez rg550
a hamer flying v w/kahler
an epiphone g-400 sg
a mex lefty strat, with righty neck custom, custom, custom
a mex 60th anniversary strat
a jap 60's RI strat..

I never played a custom shop strat, but I never found a better feeling and sounding strat yet. Ie. No need?

If you know what you like and what you are looking for, eBay is for you.
Most of them do not know what they are selling, makes sure you do before you buy.

Eh...get a spiffy BCRich. They got the look, & from the ones I've played, they don't perform too badly, & they ain't too expensive.

What about a Jackson WRMG Warrior?
I looked it up and I guess I can put up with the active pickups for now.
If I deside to stay with the EMGs I'm going to get a mod for it so it'll have a higher output.

I'm not much in the market for a strat. I have one (and have had one before this one) I'm not real fond of the sound they put out.
I found some EMGs that I actually like.
EMG 81TW (bridge)
EMG 89 (neck)
They act like a strat in the fact that they have a push/pull knob on them. So I'm going to have 2 volume knobs put in for both of those and see what becomes of it. It might make my playing style a bit more unique, y'know?

I don't know what style you play in, as you have NO AUDIO.

Metal mostly. I like to practice in blues and classic rock too.

I wish I could find passive pickups that do what the 81TW and 89 do; with the same sounds.

Check out the Schecter C1 series. Not overly expensive.

The Ibanez Xiphos is a rocking guitar ...

It has neck through and comes with Dimarzio D' Activator pickups ... 24 jumbo frets and sustain like you wouldn't believe

This baby is made for playing metal my friend ... you can't go wrong here AT ALL !

You can get this puppy for around 7 bills and it's worth EVERY penny

I hate Dimarzio pickups and neck through designs. The pick ups for one reason; I've never heard one I like.
As for the neck through; I'm still too afraid of it breaking and having to replace the whole body or having to have it glued back and loosing it's sound.

Untill someone shows me a guitar that is completely opposite of what I usually like/know and it blows my mind...then I'll consider it.

Confusious say, "He that won't economize must agonize."
And, it's very true.

Well if you're that rough on a guitar then go get a First Act and throw whatever pickups float your fancy in it ... and that way when ya do break the neck it won't cost ya much to replace

DiMarzios are used by some pretty heavy playing guys so I have no idea what your issue is with them


Anyways ... good luck in your search

I'm not rough with my guitars. I just have a bad habit of letting the head and keys find their way into people's faces. lol
That, and people have never really been careful around my things so I tend to keep an eye on -whatever-, even when i'm on the other side of the room talking to several people.
I have a first act. I practice with it all the time. It sounds better than a squire...by far.

Ibanez is probably your best bang for the buck on a shredder guitar. I agree with the used RG550 suggestion.....very popular metal guitar. I wanted a shedder guitar but also wanted one with a mahogany body for a warmer tone so I got the RG520QSB. It has a similar body style as the RG550 but with a mahogany body, no face plate and HH pick pick-up configuration instead of the HSH (this was the other reason I chose the RG520QS). It's got the edge trem, a super fast bolt on Wizard neck w/24 jumbo frets and was made in Japan (not Korea). Great working man's ax. It's probably my favorite guitar to play even over my Lester. They were discontinued but you can pick them up on Ebay for about $350 and use the extra cash to customize the electronics.

Your ideas all sound pretty good.
If you are absolutely stuck on that body, then that is the way to go and you have answered your own questions already.

Do you care about where the guitar is from???
For metal, I would highly recommend Schecter although their body styles are somewhat more traditional than what you are looking for.

You really can't beat a Jackson for those kooky shapes and I honestly have little to no faith in Deans.

Good luck though...you seem like you are on the right track.