Guitar recommendation?

I'm with Rex. Play them all, and take your time. One should jump out at you and say "pick me!"

Guitars are like girlfriends, we can all pretty much agree on which ones are hot, but we will all have different tastes as to the personalities involved. Guitars have personalities. You need to like the neck (wide, think fat, slim, finished, unfinished) the scale, the action, the weight, the tone, comfort, the finish, the tone, the tone, and the tone. I don't think you ever really said what you were after... if you did, I forgot since yesterday, so sorry about that. Blues, metal, jazz, rock... while any guitar can do any job, they have different qualities. You generally have 5 or 6 styles... Strat, Les Paul, Tele, hollowbody, Superstrat (Ibanez, Schecter, all those), and other (Like SG, Explorer, Flying V, weird ass Dean shapes. I like Superstrats. You might not.

On the used market you can sometimes grab higher end guitars for lower end money. That is the way to go IF you know what you are looking for. (EX. I go searching for 87-90 RG's 560's on Ebay) If you are not sure, and only have $500... then you get an Epiphone, Squire, LTD, or similar econoline guitar from a store that you really like, or a used guitar at a store. I would not buy a $500 guitar without playing it though. There are gems to be found, but you have to look (and touch)

Play them all. Keep the best kisser.
 
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Play them all, and take your time. One should jump out at you and say "pick me!"
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True that! And that's how I usually go about choosing the basses I own (but I don't mind opening up my pocket book and going deep if I find a bass I really like).

For me, this is just as much a way to have some fun as it is anything, and I doubt that it will lead to anything in front of a paying audience, though I can't rule it out. So, this is just like dipping my big toe in the water. I'm not a beginner, and I'd lose my mind on an instrument that played like crap, wouldn't stay in tune, and had lousy sounding pickups. But knowing the quality of guitars that are available these days, I understand that I don't need to spend crazy $$$ on anything at the moment.

I'm a rock/metal guy at heart...all kinds, but not a big fan of cookie-monster vocals or djent or the like. I enjoy all of the "classic" guitar tones as well as a fair share of the more modern metal stuff that is Drop tuned , such as TOOL, SOD, Disturbed, et al. This is why I'm looking for a guitar that has flexibility in its pickup configuration (humbuckers with coil splitting or a H-S-S configuration), so I can be somewhat appropriate to the style that I'm messing with, from Skynyrd to Slayer. LOL.

Being a bassist, I'd also prefer a neck that is on the beefy side, and if not thick, then wide rather than the really narrow, thin necks that seem to be desirable for speed playing. I'm no metal shredder, and I'm going to concentrate on just basic rhythm playing and some lead noodling of simple stuff.

One other thing worth mentioning is that I do a lot of acoustic duo work, supporting as a bassist. Sometimes I get the feeling that it would add more value if I had the ability to double on guitar, even if only adding rudimentary rhythm pars and lead lines. To that end, the AxeFx will be a key tool to allow me to switch things up. This aspect alone makes the low-end Parker guitars with the piezo pickup a little more desirable since I could also jangle away with the other acoustic player in the duo.

So, there it is. Thanks again everyone for the suggestions.
 
jimfist said:
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One other thing worth mentioning is that I do a lot of acoustic duo work, supporting as a bassist. Sometimes I get the feeling that it would add more value if I had the ability to double on guitar, even if only adding rudimentary rhythm pars and lead lines. To that end, the AxeFx will be a key tool to allow me to switch things up. This aspect alone makes the low-end Parker guitars with the piezo pickup a little more desirable since I could also jangle away with the other acoustic player in the duo.

So, there it is. Thanks again everyone for the suggestions.
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For that use consider picking a guitar that would let you add a Fishman Power bridge (I believe they do LP, tele and start-style Power Bridges) - they add an acoustic sound to the electric guitar, they sound wonderful on their own and opens the door to tone matched acoustic guitar tones from the Axe or TM'ed electric guitars !
To my ears they sound way better than the higher end piezo-equiped Parker I owned on their own. That was pre-Axe Fx though so perhaps they'ed be equally good with the Axe.
If you want to hear the Power bridge check you tube for Pinks live version of Led Zep's Babe I'm gone leave you i.e. - Justin plays a LP equipped with a Power Bridge - opened up a lot of possibilities for me when I added a power bridge to one of my workhorse guitars.
 
I compared the Yamaha Pacifica to many other comparably priced guitars. None of them came close. If you can find a better guitar from under $200, I want to know.
 
steadystate said:
I compared the Yamaha Pacifica to many other comparably priced guitars. None of them came close. If you can find a better guitar from under $200, I want to know.
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just to understand, you mean the lower end Pacificas like this one?

Yamaha PAC112J Electric Guitar | Musician's Friend

If so, it would make sense to go the Pacifica route, if these $200 guitars are solid, and as Rocket Brother mentioned, add a Fishman system down the road to broaden versatility. I like the idea of purchasing new, and the low end Pacifica is readily available locally. I might as well just try one regardless.
 
Another vote for the Carvins. I've owned several since the 80s, still have two, and they've all been well made guitars that stay in tune. Buying used, you can get a truly professional level set-neck instrument for a beginner guitar price. You can look on Ebay or other online sites and find them in your price range in a variety of pickup configurations.
 
I'm interested to know about the Pacifica 611H... I can't find any used at all whereas I can find dozens of the cheaper HSS varieties. Is the 611H a new model or just a resounding "keeper".

I am interested to know because my local has a sale for this at the moment.
 
Online, I've only seen a new one listed in the EU, nothing here in the states:

Yamaha Pacifica 611HFM RTB - Thomann UK

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In any event, I came across a used, near mint condition Parker P-38 (with soft case) for a little over $350, private sale. Tried it and pulled the trigger. I'm able to easily deal with some of the minor compromises in terms of the feel of the neck and fingerboard in exchange for the versatility of the pickups (SSH+Piezo Bridge). The instrument sounds good, holds its intonation and tuning well, and is should be perfect for getting me off the ground, all things considered.

Thanks for all of the advice. Much appreciated. Who knows? This may turn into just another source of GAS, so I may not be done after all. LOL.
 
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JJunkie said:
I'm interested to know about the Pacifica 611H... I can't find any used at all whereas I can find dozens of the cheaper HSS varieties. Is the 611H a new model or just a resounding "keeper".

I am interested to know because my local has a sale for this at the moment.
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IIRC the 611H came out in 2011 - great guitar
 
Rocket Brother said:
IIRC the 611H came out in 2011 - great guitar
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OK well I will see if its there to try out.

To be honest the Tom Quale review/demo of this guitar put me off a bit. I know it happens everywhere but he was so obviously not being subjective. Plus I didn't like the tone they had at all, but to be fair I think they recorded it with the same overhead mic that they used for Tom.
 
Rick said:
Another vote for the Carvins. I've owned several since the 80s, still have two, and they've all been well made guitars that stay in tune. Buying used, you can get a truly professional level set-neck instrument for a beginner guitar price. You can look on Ebay or other online sites and find them in your price range in a variety of pickup configurations.
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I play Carvins exclusively, but I wouldn't call $800 a "beginner guitar price". Do you know of a cheaper Carvin model?
 
steadystate said:
I play Carvins exclusively, but I wouldn't call $800 a "beginner guitar price". Do you know of a cheaper Carvin model?
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You're right on the new ones. I suggest finding a nice second hand one. They hold up very well and you'd be surprised how often you can find one in near new shape for $500 or less. Take a look on Ebay, Im sure you'll find one there!
 
I picked up the Pacifica 611 HFM for $620 AUD this week. Its a very different guitar to my LPs and JP that I have and I am still getting to know it. I've been spending most of the time with the P90 - great tone in that.
 
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