What are your guitar "must have" features?

When you are going to buy a guitar, are there any essentials/must haves that you look for in terms of features, whether at the moment or in the past? For instance, I notice that I have been strictly looking for 24 fret guitars because my last two purchases have only been 22.
 
22 frets. Stainless steel frets. Noiseless pickups or similar system. Roasted neck with satin finish. Either hardtail or a vibrato system that actually works, no string trees. Locking tuners.
 
Huh interesting, I've never really made that a priority for my guitars. Why are those a must for you?

I won't speak on behalf of DLC .... But when I got a chance to play stainless steel frets for the 1st time ..., control of my vibrato increased by a factor of "10" as well as my ability to bend strings exactly in tune !

I've gone back and played friends guitars that are silver/nickel and they just don't feel as accepting or receptive to what my fingers are trying to do !
 
Huh interesting, I've never really made that a priority for my guitars. Why are those a must for you?
What @R.D. said, plus they last really looong.
My first warmoth strat is 9 years old and I've played it almost daily in these 9 years, the frets still look like almost new frets.
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PS: One thing to consider though is that SS frets make the tone a bit brighter and the attack snappier, here's a comparison with standard frets:
 
Minimum of 22 frets. I prefer Jescar EVO Gold wire to nickel silver or stainless. Single volume, single tone, and a blade selector. I don’t like push-pulls (too difficult to hit mid song), tunamatic bridges too sharp on my hand, or heavy guitars.
 
I tried to resist the urge to write this. I don't believe there is any "must have" feature. I think you are hurting yourself by imagining this category. Choose a guitar because it suits you, plain and simple. That might mean a totally different instrument from one person to the next, one gig to the next, or one minute to the next. Some people choose 10 of the same guitar. Others choose 10 wildly different instruments. About the only observation I have is that it is less likely for a mail order guitar to become as beloved as one that I picked out myself from a number of instruments on offer.
 
I'm still learning what makes for a great guitar (for me). I own all kinds of different ones and like or don't like certain things about them all. Only recently, tho, I've found two things that became "MUST" because they improve my playing so much. Or at least, they make me feel improved.

1) Pickups. Not noisy pickups.

2) Defectless fret bars. Don't like them sharp.


Beyond that, I like to try different things so I'm okay with plenty of variation. Seems each variation has an effect on the way I want to connect with the guitar and the type of stuff I'll use it for.
 
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I'm pretty much of the same mindset as M@. As long as it has approximately 6 strings, a reasonably playable action, and stays in tune, I'm happy. I have guitars with 21, 22, and 24 frets. (I think the old Silvertone I used to play when I was teaching only had 18 or 20, come to think of it.) Scale lengths and fretboard radii all over the map, too. They all have different personalities, and they all bring out different aspects of my playing.

I do want to try stainless steel frets one of these days, but after 50+ years playing non-SS frets, I could probably make it to the end of my road without them.
 
I basically look for three things.

1. A resonant body.
2. A comfortable neck.
3. The feeling that the guitar has some SONGS in it.

Sometimes you pick up a guitar and it’s like “naw man...I’m done...no music here.” And some guitars you pick up just make you play the craziest things or they make the simplest chords feel weirdly satisfying. Without that feeling, it doesn’t matter what hardware or specs it has, you won’t play it after the NGD honeymoon phase is over.
 
I have 2 guitars with stainless frets now and even though the feel is improved, I do believe they change the tone in a not so good way but I can adapt to them.

My favorites - trem, bridge humbucker, 5 way blade switch - slim wide necks, huge frets, no pick guard, high pass on volume, strat/super strat, love exotic woods and dense neck woods.
 
IT must make me play exactly like John Petrucci! Also, I just can't live without a floyd (even though I grew up with a les paul for my first 13 years of playing). Must be a thin neck.
 
I can't find all the "must have" things in one single guitar, that is the reason why I have 4 guitars:

- Ibanez JS2450
(must have: thin neck, cool pickups, lightness and ultra-playability)
- Ibanez RG550LTD with Dimarzio Gravity Storm and Bluesbucker
(must have: special tones of the Gravity Storm and the Bluesbucker with a multi-switch)
- Fender American Deluxe Strat with Seymour Duncan SSL-5 and Fender CS Fat '50
(must have: it is a Strat with a Gilmour tone)
- Fender Mex Deluxe Strat with American Deluxe Bridge, scalloped neck "Blackmore style" and EMG SA EXG/SPC
(must have: it is a Strat with another Gilmour tone and a Blackmore scalloped neck)

And there are no more "must haves" because there is a wife
 
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