Looking for a guitar with tons of tonal options, primarily for rhythm work. Suggestions?

DC11GTR

DC11GTR

Inspired
I spent all damn day at Guitar Center in Hollywood, which is taxing even when you get to leave with something nice, but I left with jack-freaking-squat... I did, however, finally settle on what I want, even though I don't think it exists for a modest+ budget.

What I'm wanting is an HSH (or HSS) guitar with the switching options of a Guthrie Govan Charvel or Martin Miller's Ibanez. That much is set in stone. How I get there is a different story. I can get there with a Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 and a Dyna-Mix 10 or Mad Hatter Terminator, or with an Ibanez Premium AZ and a Dyna-Mix 10 or Mad Hatter Terminator. I think those 2 options would involve a drill, but I'm okay with that. There might be other brands and models that do what I'm wanting, but I liked the feel of the Charvel and I'm a bit of an Ibanez fanboy already lol I think I can also get close to that with a push/pull pot like I have on my JS guitars, but I'm not sure.

If I wasn't trying to keep it under $1300 or so, I'd just get a Guthrie Charvel or a Prestige AZ, but those far too much for what I'm wanting from it. I love my JS's but I need something that can METAL!! and CHUG!! like I want it to do and also have that gorgeous middle single coil clean at the least, and having all of those other options keeps all these possibilities on a single axe!

Is any of this shit feasible? Or am I crazy?
 
I never gave any PRS guitars a chance before. But there are a ton at the Hwood Guitar Center. They always looked nice but I could never “De-Creed” them, even though Tremonti is an awesome player lol
 
I've been intrigued by the PRS 513 especially. You probably couldn't go wrong with one. I've been keeping an eye out and will probably get one eventually.

My most versatile guitar is my Schecter Ultra III. It can do anything. If you get a chance, definitely check one out.
 
I have a PRS 509, and think it’s a great guitar, but it leans a bit more into the Strat sound than being balanced with that and a Les Paul sound. To me it’s Strat and ES-335-ish sounding, which I think is the result of the 25.25” scale length, or maybe it’s partly because I switched to a half-step lighter gauge string set, to .095s.

I also have a Special Semi-Hollow which has a 25” scale length and the regular .10 string gauge. To my ear it’s a better mix of the Les Paul and Strat sound, and is much more fun to play because it’s light and very resonant and responsive. In no way does that mean that the 509 isn’t responsive, because it is, it’s just sitting a bit more on that Strat side of things tonally. The Semi-Hollow has also got enough of the 335 sound from it being semi-hollow that it fits well with jazzy stuff too.

I also have their Studio, which has the two Narrowfield pickups in the neck and middle, and a splittable humbucker at the bridge. It sits somewhere between a Strat and a Les Paul with P-90s, depending on where the volume knob is set. It’s one of the most fun guitars I have ever played.

The Studio is my favorite when I’m in a blues/rock mood. The 509 is great when I think I’ll be in the Strat mood but might need to occasionally need humbuckers, and the Semi-Hollow is when I want the balance.

And, of course I have Strats and a PRS DGT and SC-245 when I’m only in Strat or LP mood.

I think scale length has a lot to do with the overall sound, maybe even more than the pickup type. The 509 taught me that.
 
Suhr Thornley Roughneck

I got mine off of Ebay last year. The seller posted it just before Christmas and no one was bidding on it, so I got a mint unused guitar for less than half price.
It's HSH and has a very versatile switching arrangement

Really Really versatile guitar
 
Greg Ferguson said:
I have a PRS 509, and think it’s a great guitar, but it leans a bit more into the Strat sound than being balanced with that and a Les Paul sound. To me it’s Strat and ES-335-ish sounding, which I think is the result of the 25.25” scale length, or maybe it’s partly because I switched to a half-step lighter gauge string set, to .095s.

I also have a Special Semi-Hollow which has a 25” scale length and the regular .10 string gauge. To my ear it’s a better mix of the Les Paul and Strat sound, and is much more fun to play because it’s light and very resonant and responsive. In no way does that mean that the 509 isn’t responsive, because it is, it’s just sitting a bit more on that Strat side of things tonally. The Semi-Hollow has also got enough of the 335 sound from it being semi-hollow that it fits well with jazzy stuff too.

I also have their Studio, which has the two Narrowfield pickups in the neck and middle, and a splittable humbucker at the bridge. It sits somewhere between a Strat and a Les Paul with P-90s, depending on where the volume knob is set. It’s one of the most fun guitars I have ever played.

The Studio is my favorite when I’m in a blues/rock mood. The 509 is great when I think I’ll be in the Strat mood but might need to occasionally need humbuckers, and the Semi-Hollow is when I want the balance.

And, of course I have Strats and a PRS DGT and SC-245 when I’m only in Strat or LP mood.

I think scale length has a lot to do with the overall sound, maybe even more than the pickup type. The 509 taught me that.
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I have a lot of options with my JS's, but it just don't METAL!! like I need it to. The Charvel I tried today have that. I tried a used Martin Miller Ibanez as well, and though it doesn't really METAL!! either, it did have those tonal options I'm after. I more or less put the 2 things together and decided upon that.

I had a guitar made for me in '03 that was the spitting image of the Guthrie Charvel but with a JS-style neck and coil taps (and almost 20 years earlier). It was mahogany with a maple top and had the pickup selector more like where it is on the Petrucci guitars. I'm trying to get that one back, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I would be perfectly fine adding a Dyna-Mix to that and be set for life!

Part of my thought process with this is that I have all of the everything ever made in my lone Fractal unit, so I'd like to have access to as many different tones as well, also in one unit. That might be flawed, but I'm okay with that haha.

ak301 said:
Suhr Thornley Roughneck

I got mine off of Ebay last year. The seller posted it just before Christmas and no one was bidding on it, so I got a mint unused guitar for less than half price.
It's HSH and has a very versatile switching arrangement

Really Really versatile guitar
Click to expand...

I played a Tom Anderson today that had all of the specs I want, but 4x's the price. And it was used. Freaking awesome guitar though. If it was just a little bit cheaper, I might have broke the bank for it.

Androo said:
In an attempt to De-Creed you
View attachment 147925
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Well, that's just cheating.... It's like responding to "I don't really like acoustic guitar" and then throwing a Michael Hedges CD in my lap lol
 
DC11GTR said:
I spent all damn day at Guitar Center in Hollywood, which is taxing even when you get to leave with something nice, but I left with jack-freaking-squat... I did, however, finally settle on what I want, even though I don't think it exists for a modest+ budget.

What I'm wanting is an HSH (or HSS) guitar with the switching options of a Guthrie Govan Charvel or Martin Miller's Ibanez. That much is set in stone. How I get there is a different story. I can get there with a Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 and a Dyna-Mix 10 or Mad Hatter Terminator, or with an Ibanez Premium AZ and a Dyna-Mix 10 or Mad Hatter Terminator. I think those 2 options would involve a drill, but I'm okay with that. There might be other brands and models that do what I'm wanting, but I liked the feel of the Charvel and I'm a bit of an Ibanez fanboy already lol I think I can also get close to that with a push/pull pot like I have on my JS guitars, but I'm not sure.

If I wasn't trying to keep it under $1300 or so, I'd just get a Guthrie Charvel or a Prestige AZ, but those far too much for what I'm wanting from it. I love my JS's but I need something that can METAL!! and CHUG!! like I want it to do and also have that gorgeous middle single coil clean at the least, and having all of those other options keeps all these possibilities on a single axe!

Is any of this shit feasible? Or am I crazy?
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Premium Ibanez AZ, you can't go wrong.
SS frets, gotoh bridge, diMarzio pups, etc... https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/az47p1qm_1p_01.html
You can just add a push/pull to add more flavours and reach more configurations
 
Riccardo Ros said:
Premium Ibanez AZ, you can't go wrong.
SS frets, gotoh bridge, diMarzio pups, etc... https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/az47p1qm_1p_01.html
You can just add a push/pull to add more flavours and reach more configurations
Click to expand...

Riccardo Ros said:
let me add the "final" configuration.
I'm going to do the same on my AZ2407f

View attachment 147926
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This model, the Black Ice Burst especially, is what I was talking about in the original post where I'd install a Mad Hatter. But good call on the push/pull. It's the same idea as the Dyna-mix for the most part, right? https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/az24p1qm_1p_01.html was another option since it already has the Dyna-mix installed.

I think what kept me from this one is that I've heard that the quality of the Charvel Pro-Mods are more consistent than Premium, though it's not often you'd end up with a lemon. That said, Rich at IbanezRules has one of each (though in DEB not BIB) and he doesn't mess around with subpar axes.
 
DC11GTR said:
This model, the Black Ice Burst especially, is what I was talking about in the original post where I'd install a Mad Hatter. But good call on the push/pull. It's the same idea as the Dyna-mix for the most part, right? https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/az24p1qm_1p_01.html was another option since it already has the Dyna-mix installed.

I think what kept me from this one is that I've heard that the quality of the Charvel Pro-Mods are more consistent than Premium, though it's not often you'd end up with a lemon. That said, Rich at IbanezRules has one of each (though in DEB not BIB) and he doesn't mess around with subpar axes.
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In my personal experience the Premium were always good and consistent... if only the Charvels had SS frets! I like them a lot but nickel frets it's a no-go personally.

The AZ24P1QM is gorgeous!!!
 
DC11GTR said:
Its these damn little things that makes this all so tough to decide... I hadn't even considered this part yet. Thanks for mentioning that. And dammit, why did you have to mention that lol
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sorry my friend, I'll lose myself in a vaporised stainless steel cloud.
 
DC11GTR said:
I spent all damn day at Guitar Center in Hollywood, which is taxing even when you get to leave with something nice, but I left with jack-freaking-squat... I did, however, finally settle on what I want, even though I don't think it exists for a modest+ budget.

What I'm wanting is an HSH (or HSS) guitar with the switching options of a Guthrie Govan Charvel or Martin Miller's Ibanez. That much is set in stone. How I get there is a different story. I can get there with a Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 and a Dyna-Mix 10 or Mad Hatter Terminator, or with an Ibanez Premium AZ and a Dyna-Mix 10 or Mad Hatter Terminator. I think those 2 options would involve a drill, but I'm okay with that. There might be other brands and models that do what I'm wanting, but I liked the feel of the Charvel and I'm a bit of an Ibanez fanboy already lol I think I can also get close to that with a push/pull pot like I have on my JS guitars, but I'm not sure.

If I wasn't trying to keep it under $1300 or so, I'd just get a Guthrie Charvel or a Prestige AZ, but those far too much for what I'm wanting from it. I love my JS's but I need something that can METAL!! and CHUG!! like I want it to do and also have that gorgeous middle single coil clean at the least, and having all of those other options keeps all these possibilities on a single axe!

Is any of this shit feasible? Or am I crazy?
Click to expand...
If it wasn't for that $1300 limit, I'd tell you to go check out Dean Zelinsky's Private Label. A life-long Gibson guy, who appreciates Fender and Gretsch as well, I've found some DZPL models that not only have amazing tonal options and incredible feel, but gorgeous tops as well.
 
OP, you’re 100% going to use all the options you want?

Its a buyers market, find a used GG sig and go.
 
ipressthebutton said:
IMO, the PRS Special Semi Hollowbody is one of the most versatile guitars out there. With the 5 way and split coil options, there are a lot of tones in that instrument. Also, the split coil sounds have almost no volume drop.
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I may have to take another run at seeing if i could bond with a PRS, that looks right up my alley. All respect for their quality and all, but i never felt drawn to any of the ones i tried. Who knows, maybe I'll fall in love. Too bad those cost what they cost though...
 
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