Completely lost guitarwise...

[Fender92]

Hi all, I'm finding myself in quite a dilemma at the moment. I've got my telecaster, which I built myself, which is a great guitar! It's the first guitar I've ever built and I love it. Great Tele twang, but not too icepick as many Fenders (IMO).

Problem: I miss having a more "heavy" guitar with humbuckers.

I've sold my vintage v100 (cts pots,PIO caps, 57classics) just because the price was right and I felt I was ready for the next step.

The weight of the v100 was getting a bit annoying when my Tele is so light. The real les paul sound is in a full (non chambered!) mahogany/maple top body (IMO) but I found myself rehearsing more and more with the tele. So, lightweight it is! Off to Gibson!

I fell in love with SG standards but now I'm not sure if it's the right guitar.
Why ? Should be a good choice?
It's got that heavier sound, it's light. .... Well.... It's a lot of cash for a student and I find myself also listening alot to people like John Mayer, Eric Johnson, Clapton. Those guys use strats...? I like Fender guitars as much as Gibson (style) guitars

I also like Hollowbody players, Kings of Leon for example with their ES style guitars (those older sheraton II .... drewl)...

Long story short: I like a lot of guitars and I'm not sure what to choose.
My budget is max 1000eu, I'm not comfortable spending more on a guitar at the moment. What I like? Rock and blues, examples: Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, John Mayer, Hendrix, Rolling Stones, U2, Kings of Leon..... etc...


If you guys got some ideas on how to start this journey finding a good asset next to my tele for the more "heavier" stuff I would love to hear your opinion.


Btw, my setup: Blues Jr III stock tubes + Celestion rola g12-80, Carl Martin Delayla, Tubescreamer TS-9.
Also got a vertical 212 which I also built myself, not entirely happy with the speakers but It sounds fine.


All input is welcome

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

Tele, Les Paul, SG

 

[Ledheadforlife]

Les Pauls are cool, but if I could only have 1 guitar for the rest of my life it would be a strat with a humbucker.

 

[sonar1]

When it comes to "heavier" than tele's sounds, I like SG's for their howl when disorted. they get a half-cocked wah sound for me, and the body resonates a bit like a tele, and they are light.

You might also invest in a set of tele pickups that humbuck when combined (both on).

The Fender CS Nocaster set in my partsotele does humbuck when they're both on: then I just roll back the tone knob and set the amp to get as heavy as I need. Win-win.

There are certain things my ES-335 will get for me when distorted that the Tele won't exactly do quite as well, but for wearing all night I usually prefer the Tele anyway.

The Gibsons have a shorter neck scale length. When I bend on the Tele that longer scale length neck really shrieks, and clean I get more twang. But an SG has charms too.

 

[stock_hippie]

Les Paul broken neck cool..

 

[So What]

Light weight, slim neck, humbuckers, inexpensive.

 

[cherryles]

Electric Guitars | Ibanez guitars

The thrill is in the chase, or so they say, happy hunting

 

[colchar]

There are less expensive SG models as well.

 

[LPG]

I would suggest an Epi Les Paul or a Gibson Studio (Les Paul) if you want the hums but need the price range. Both great guitars if you find the one for you.

I bring a Strat & a Les Paul to every gig.
They cover 100% of my material....and I have a LOT of material.

I would suggest a Stratocaster.
A lot of blues players around the world swear by them.
You can get some sweet, sweet tone from a Strat.
I use mine for everything from Satriani & Van Halen to RHCP and The Police.
(Beats bringing 4 guitars to every gig.)
Not to mention a little Deep Purple & Jimi.
It's light and I believe it will certainly fit within your budget.
Very playable guitars as well.
Almost....ALMOST...bullet proof.
(Sweet looking axes too )

Just MHO

Peace Bro

 

[Barcham]

Look for a nice used Epi Elitist LP. Well within your budget and great guitars.

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

damn the gas these threads create,...DAMN YOU!!!!

..that LP special? Jr? in post #6 looks pretty freakin' Rn'R!!!

 

[sonar1]

damn the gas these threads create,...DAMN YOU!!!!

..that LP special? Jr? in post #6 looks pretty freakin' Rn'R!!!

Loves me some slab mahogany in red stain.

Mine had P-90's, no neck binding, and an ebony fretboard. Sounded awesome, like a Tele on steroids!

 

[Tim Fezziwig]

Here is my SPECIAL w/ minis. The best $550 I ever spent.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrzxOWtm_F4&feature=c4-overview&list=UUtKiNiqWoZ_vtb8UjH0gW6Q]Les Paul Special - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Shred Astaire]

Tele, Les Paul, SG

I have to agree with this. I have one of each...plus a Flying V.

 

[Frogfur]

I really like my SG. As you stated, light and they have a great bite to them. I have P=90s on mine but I've had at least two others over the years with humbuckers. Great guitars and so easy on the shoulder.

 

[Fender92]

thx for all the input!

The SG standard fits precisely in my budget. An American Standard strat could be in there too.... It doens't necessarily have to be new, I'm ok buying a used guitar. I've looked at tribute studio models but the finish is just terrible on a lot of those guitars; paint, fingerboad/neck joint etc etc. Tthe SG standards just had way better overall quality.

 

[parts]

Maybe Tele..get Epi LP and Epi 335...

Should give you a lot of variation..
I am finishing my 72 Strat to go with My LP..355 and 175...

Variety as they say...

 

[Cpt Matt Sparrow]

Hi

In my stable, amongst the electrics, are Fenders and Gibsons and my main electric guitar, a customised Brian Setzer Hot Rod, but the one that does it all is the Gibson m3 Deluxe!

It is made from poplar and walnut, has 24 frets, a floyd rose term and the m3 switching means it can go from tele twang, to fat clean jazz tones in an instant. The pick ups are super hot too and it plays VERY easily, much like a high end Ibanez shred guitar.

I have seen the standard models secondhand fo for under $1000 too!

 

[Rich]

From what I gathered from your message, it seems like you're looking for a combination of reasonable weight AND versatility.

First off, with the diverse guitars you've owned, I think it's sometimes tough accept each guitar for what it is and accept it for what it is. For twenty years, it was all humbuckers and Les Paul for me; I decided that I finally wanted to get a Strat to have something different to play and find out what all the fuss was about them so I snagged a good one for minimal bucks at a clearance sale. I swear, it took me probably a good month to stop trying to make it sound like a damned Les Paul. After that, I started to explore the guitar sonically on its own terms and came to really love it. When I want a Les Paul sound, I play a Les Paul; when I want a Strat sound, I play a Strat.

That's all fine and good for me, I'm not a student working on a more limited budget. However, I am a guy who has to shlep a guitar all over creation (from home to work, from work to dinner, from dinner to rehearsal, from rehearsal back home - each time taking it to and from the car) so I understand the need for wanting a single guitar that does a lot of sounds and won't won't wrestle you to the ground. For me, that guitar turned out to be a Strat style one with a humbucker in the bridge that has a coil tap switch for that pickup. The only sound that is missing is a humbucker in the neck which I don't really miss anyway as I love the sound of a Strat neck pickup.

There used to be more choice available for that style guitar (usually accompanied by a Floyd Rose whammy bar - not my thing) but there are still great offerings from companies like Ibanez, Fender, Charvel and the company that made my work horse - G&L. I get great Strat tones (better than my Am 57 RI) and chunky humbucker tones out of the bridge and tons in between. It's also a good weight; enough meat to it so it feels substantial but you can still wear it standing up for hours.

The blue bomber:

 

[Fender92]

Thx again for the replies.

To be more precise, my tele left in avatar is my only axe at the moment. It's a great guitar and I wound up playing it much more than my les paul because it just plays way nicer. I also wanted to go up in quality for my more heavy sounding guitar.


Old setup: Tele main axe, les paul for the more heavy stuff.

Now I'm looking to upgrade my 2nd axe for the more heavy stuff. I say heavy because my tele has really low output vintage voiced pickups.

Another thing I have to mention; I'm really old skool I'm not really into HSS models or superstrats... sorry ^^

I'm really doubting between a Fender american strat and an SG. I guess I'll just have to try and see which suits my sound best. I took my sound ideas alot from Bonamassa and Eric Johnson, always a subtle delay on. And for dirt I go John Mayer rout : Ts9 with more "volume" than "drive"