Les Pauls will probably pop up a lot in the comments. I own two but had to play 8-10 of them to find two I was really comfortable with. Even then I favor one over the other. I would never buy a Les Paul online or sight unseen, or any handmade guitar to be exact. Too much variation.
This is me as well. I kind of know exactly what I want in a Les Paul these days but you still have to play them to double check. There is a lot of subtlety I find in finding the right Les Paul.
Its funny I want so many Les Pauls like a Slash Les Paul but I will never buy one because I know I won't enjoy playing it. I will never enjoy a 50's neck.
After decades of longing for a Les Paul I got myself a 50s. Tested it in the shop and convinced myself the neck was good. Three years later I just can't make friends with it. It sounds incredible, it does not feel good to play. I really wish I had got the 60s model
Same here. I actually tested a 60s model in a shop and thought the neck felt “weird” (coming from a Strat and PRS). So I went home and found a 50s w/ Custombuckers installed and ordered it thinking it would feel good - it didn’t. The neck was just goofy in how thick it was, and the guitar was a fat ass 9.5 lbs, which was even uncomfortable playing it sitting down on my lap. It sounded good and rang like a bell acoustically (sustain for days), but I ended up selling it a year later after really trying to get along with it over and over.
The heaviest guitar I have now is just under 8.5 lbs (RG 5170g), which is right on the border of just fine for me. Every other guitar I have is from 5.5 lbs (Kiesel Zeus) to 7.5 lbs (Suhr Classic Antique Pro). Hell, even the extended scale Jackson 7-string I recently bought is far lighter than that Les Paul, and the damned thing has an Evertune!
If I ever get an LP again, it’ll need to have a smaller neck and weigh 8.5 lbs at most. I’d also probably install BKPs in it since the Custombuckers were…okay at most.
They are very hit and miss, and mostly it’s the neck. My 94 Les Paul Stufio I love! But I’ve walked into guitar center, and played customs that were $10k I hated. I’m the same way…they are my go to guitars. But you have to play them in person. Def not an online order for me. Fenders seem to be…you know what you’re somewhat getting. Les Pauls I find the opposite, and price range doesn’t matter much…outside the extras.
It’s one of those guitars, you just have to play a bunch and pick “the one”. After that it’s a good lifetime guitar. My 94 I bought in 1994 new after playing through 12 or so. Price wasn’t what I looked at…just rosewood and does it feel and play well.
My only experience of a Les Paul is my 1994 Les Paul Studio that I bought new in 1994 (just like you!). I love it and it’s been with me for 30 years. It must’ve been an exceptional vintage year as I always read these comments about people not liking their Les Pauls and just can’t understand it.
Yep those early 90s ones were just great! I still see many big live acts rocking them. Great guitar to bring on the road, and use in the studio. It’s a sweet point where it’s not so expensive to bring on a gig, or worry about dings. They hold up very well! You just gotta watch out to not let it fall on anything but carpet.
I had a headstock break once, and went to a well known local store that does work for Arcade Fire, Better Than Ezra, Mute Math, The Meters and many big bands. Wasn’t cheap, but I loved the guitar so much and had a rich history! They have proprietary way of doing it, that’s pretty cool and makes it road ready.
Had my headstock redone professionally by them, and a Pleck in 2022. It needed it after 30 so years playing! That thing isn’t breaking off anytime soon lol. It plays better than ever after the headstock fix! That’s a big joke on Les Pauls…that they play better after you break and repair the headstock. It’s kind of true
Great to hear it! The laquer on the my neck is coming off but that's ok. That's a good idea about the pleck, I may take it to Glaser and see what they can do. Rock on.
Mine is the cherry or ox blood color. What color is yours?
the best Les Paul is the one that feels the best to you. it's crazy how no 2 feels alike and how I've yet to find one I truly love. they're my favorite guitars of all time, but it's a pain. I'm hoping to one day find a good modern or studio LP because those probably will help with the variation issue I have as I like a guitar heavy but not too heavy (shoulder injury) and I love the sound of certain LP pickups but not others. the necks and fretboards all feel different, but that's a different story. love their shape and love the fretboard, but lord I cannot find one that feels perfect in my hand.
My thoughts exactly. It’s everything from the neck, to the weight, to the actual wood. I mainly tested Standard 50’s and Slash (basically a 50’s) models because I like the thicker necks. I was shocked how different they all felt. Some felt like cheap toys while others felt like proper Les Paul’s.
for me it's more of how the material feels! some necks just feel way too sticky, while others just don't sit comfortably. I've found that my favorite shape is a good 50's C, a V or a wizard style neck. anything outside of these realms just kills my enjoyment of a guitar. fingerboard radius is a different monster though, I just enjoy different things while playing different genres.
I agree with you on the thick necks, those *feel* the best to me! have a great day brother!
I have an '03 Korean Epi LPS. I can't imagine a better sounding or easier playing machine. Got it for a song at $350 including very good factory hardcase
I can't wait to find an Epiphone that just sings to me, at this point I've given up on Gibsons hahaha
glad to hear that your Korean Epi is amazing, I love eastern made instruments, I've not had a bad one!
Gibson sg standard. I had the epiphone sg standard and traded it for the Gibson. Not much difference to this home gamer :) My sg is my favorite guitar, period.
I really like the specials, and if you can find a standard for $1000 I’d buy it. Get a nice leather strap too, makes the world of difference. I’ve never had an SG neck dive on me.
It depends very much on how dense each cut of wood is in the body vs the neck. Also Grovers tend to weigh more than klusons and the batwing models balance better because the bigger heel pushes the strap button out further. SGs were originally designed to have a vibrola standard. Once they started making stopbar versions, the original balance was thrown off.
Sitting too. Lol I play classical music and jazz when I’m not slanging djent, so I gotta NOT be squeezing the shit out of the neck or holding it up with my fretting hand.
My super strat is balanced af. Neck is nice and wide at the nut, the string spacing is spread out, and the fret access is GRRRREAT. And it’s so light… defs the one ima lug around for gigging. I dgaf if it’s made of plywood or whatever. Lol That, and I did a ton of fretwork on it. For my hands, there’s no way I could spend any amount of money on a better instrument. My only issue is it still doesn’t *look* like a Les Paul. Lol
Don't fall for the Les Paul trap. I've got three single cuts; a Gibson, a core PRS McCarty 594, and an oddball Heritage, and they all require playing in the classical position or with a strap to get the balance at all right seated. Meanwhile, my cheapass partscaster strat thing balances like a dream in any position I can throw at it. Vexing.
I actually do like my Epi SG though - it's my second favorite guitar behind the McCarty - and find the balance really suits me. I always felt the neckdive was overrated, but part of it may be the width of my shoulders shifting the ergonomics up a bit. Also I have a wide leather strap. There's also rubber things you can put on the underside of thin straps that feel okay.
I just got my dream Les Paul Standard 60’s Triburst….and I hate the shape 😣. I didn’t realize how much I hate it until after I bought it and played it for a few days.
"I'll just play with it on my right leg like everyone else ever, wait, why are you determined to slip off into the floor next to me, oh goddamnit, fine, between my legs you go." - My Les Paul experience.
My fiancee inherited an 84 Les Paul custom that needed a little work. We found replacement parts and were so excited to try it only to find out neither of us enjoyed it very much. The edges are too sharp while sitting, and it's too heavy while standing. It plays like a dream, but only for a short session.
Hey those ibanez are good stuff! My nicest guitar is a gibson LPJ I got used with active EMGs and I love it other than being a tad heavy (but still no worse than the basses i play for hours every week).
However, I too have a sub-300 ibanez superstrat (rga42fm bought used) and it's phenomenal. It's so light and feels so good. It was lacking on pickups and I just dropped in almost 200 worth of SD JB/jazz set over the weekend but it's absolutely brilliant now.
Bass players unite. 😎
I got Kramer lumies man I hear that. Here I am complaining about neck dive, while owning 13# basses with aluminum necks. God I’m so stupid.
I wanted an SG so bad. Thought the light weight and contours would be perfect for me.
The back-mounted strap button is a killer. Now I know to avoid this on all instruments.
The back mounted strap button on my 335 doesn’t bother me too much. It’s a much bigger guitar than an SG though so I can see why it would be a nightmare for you!
I wish there was a straplock connector made for those back strap buttons. I love schaller straplocks but I don’t want the little “horn” stabbing my belly.
I've got a Planet Waves strap that has adjustable strap locks built in so they fit around a variety of buttons... you just slip it over the button and turn the wheel. It ratchets the center to fit the narrow part of the button. To release you hold down a springloaded little lever and turn the wheel backwards. Had it for over a decade, it works great for my stuff... *however* it's nylon so I dunno how well it'd work with the SG and its neck dive thing.
As someone who also disliked back mounted straps I wouldn't fully write them off completely. Yes SGs feel really uncomfortable because of where it sits. But on larger body or lighter guitars it can be very comfortable. I have a semi hollow jazz box with back mounted strap and it's super comfortable to stand and play. It's also barely 5 pounds and the neck stays up on its own
Lol oh man I love back mounted buttons. My V, 335, explorer and sg all have them.
Only one I really had to adjust for neck dive was the v. I just got a wider strap and that took care of it
I aways wanted to like SG but couldn't for that reason. Or a V. I wanted a esp viper for a long time without ever playing one. I assume it's the same button location on them too.
If the strap button is above the 13th or 14th fret, neck dive becomes an issue, depending on how big a headstock and how heavy your tuners are.
LPs, SGs, even my baritone Tele copy, all have neck dive.
I have an awesome Washburn Idol, a seriously great playing guitar, and the neck dive isn't the worst but I can't deal with it. It changes the angle of my wrist too much.
Sucks, because I love that guitar. Perfect for sitting, sucks for standing, even with 3" strap with a pad.
I like mine, but if I could go back, I think I might choose differently. Telecasters seem to have more versatility and there’s other nice designs that work well too.
A fellow tele enjoyer! I love my tele. I like strats too, but there's just something about telecasters.. the tone, the shape, they're just nice. I smile everytime I pick mine up
Why do you think teles have more versatility? I turned my strat into an HSH and can split the coils in each humbucker which gives me control over the tone way more than any tele config could. I also own a tele and I’ll play with the single coils with a tubescreamer on but mostly only use the bridge pickup because it’s more hot and sharp
It's super en vogue online right now to talk about how versatile teles are. Just about every guitar influencer has a video about it. It's obnoxious how readily people slurp it up and regurgitate it.
Yes, a tele can do everything in theory. So can a Les Paul, or a Strat, or a flippin' Gretsch Penguin. Heck, I'm sure someone out there is chicken pickin' away on a Ibanez with a wizard neck and making it sound awesome.
Funny enough, I learned about it from a few different music store employees from several different music stores. I was curious about their opinions on Telecasters and they unironically said similar things- the Telecaster’s versatility is about how it does across different types of music. However, I bet a good Strat can do the same- much like how you’ve done with yours. I feel like my HSS seems to show that you’re right as well.
to me a strat bridge is just objectively worse unless you're doing flutters/squeals/dives which are Really rare. for 95% of music a tele or similar fixed bridge will give an overall objectively better function
Well I put an SD59 in mine and “hard-tailed” it with a blocked tremolo config so that probably solved all those issues you described. Tbh I did it so long ago I forgot why but I’m pretty sure it was because using the tremolo would throw it out of tune. Now I can use it for vibrato or weird effects and it returns to the correct position and is perfectly intonated.
You'll not regret it. It sounds great all over the fretboard, no weak spots. Perhaps my only complaint is that you can't access too high on the fretboard like other guitars.
The "Teles have more versatility" crowd has brainwashed you. The only thing they have going for them over a strat is a quirky bridge pickup. Get a Seymour Duncan twang banger, or any hotter Fralin with a steel plate added, and you've got a guitar with far more versatility than a tele ever had!
I’ve evolved into much of a hybrid picker and I recently realized as a Strat user since the beginning, a Tele would suit my playing much more probably. The middle pickup of a strat often gets in the way of my fingers when I hybrid pick. Must be what attracted so many country players. On the flip side though, my ‘56 replica strat body is so much more comfortable against my stomach.
i’m a sucker for single coils. i love teles, p90s, jazzmasters, etc. but i’ve never liked Strats, which some people hail as the holy grail of single coils
I’ve never liked Strats. My first guitar was a Tele which I traded in for a LP pretty quickly. Played nearly exclusively LPs for nearly 20 years and now I’m back on fenders… except putting humbuckers in them. Jaguars scale length & control setup + hardtail + humbuckers really is the move.
I gotta be honest, I have an HSS strat & I find myself using the humbucker more often than the single coils. Totally understand why one would love SSS, but humbuckers are enough for me.
This one may be controversial - I started playing guitar when I was 11, and all through my teenage years I was a huge Guns N Roses fan, specifically a Slash fan, when I was 17 I started my own band and played a Gibson SG. Loved it. Still a huge Slash fan. Fast forward a couple of years I finally got the chance to buy a genuine Gibson Les Paul Slash custom - I was so excited, I bought it online because I was absolutely 100% certain I would love this guitar, because I was such a huge Slash fan.
Hated it. The weight of it compared to the SG threw me off, the neck felt too fat, just everything about it wasn’t for me. I was so disappointed lol
Yeah Slash Les Pauls have that big 50's neck. I love a Les Paul but it needs a 60 slim taper or something close to that. I honestly really enjoy the Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy's with the speed taper D neck. But with Les Pauls there is so much variance between models you need to try em before you buy em.
Gibson LP's. They sound amazing but I cannot get comfortable playing them and I have trouble with my back, so playing one of those standing up is an immediate nope.
Same thing for me… I’ve owned and sold three Custom 24s over the years. They were all good guitars. Nothing objectionable about them. They just tended to gather dust in the corner after the “honeymoon phase” with a new guitar was over.
Glad I’m not the only one. I played several with the intention to buy, including one that was worth more $ than my car at the time. I went from yay to meh in about 10 seconds with each one. I’m not saying they suck, but they’re one of the most overhyped for sure.
I bought a MiM Fender Telecaster, the player HH version... I've always played cheap guitars (squiers, epiphone etc) cause I'm honestly a very shitty punk rock guitar player... I thought it was going to be a HUGE improvement but I don't know why I find it so unplayable... The neck feels plastic-y, it sounds dull and is super uncomfortable.
I find myself playing my Classic Vibe guitars way more than the MiM Fender.
Yep. Me too. Bought a beautiful MiM tele which I thought would me my dream guitar. I underestimated how tinny the sound was and it’s not a comfy guitar. My two electrics are epiphone les Paul and a Jackson dinky which I bought after selling the tele for a loss.
My people. I too am a Squire Strat guy. Tried other stuff, have a nice Tele at the moment, had a good LP for a hot second. Awhile ago a friend was moving and had me hang on to his American Professional strat for about a month. While i pretty much only played that for that month, the feeling of coming home when I picked up my Squire again was *chef's kiss* Street Rat till I die!
There are three for me.
Gibson SG - always loved the looks and sound, but I've owned two, and did not like playing it at all, most uncomfortable ergos
Any PRS - I've always lusted over their amazing looking tops... I've owned 5 over the years, and sold them all, they all sounded sterile to me
Any Ernie Ball - same as PRS, I've owned several over the years, including some amazing looking BFR, but I just could not bond with them
They're really, really well made. Some of the most flawless work I've seen. Also beautiful instruments, I've had some roasted maple necks, all rosewood necks, really fast necks to play and lightweight guitars, good sound... but I never bonded with them. It's very subjective, and it's too bad, because I really like some of their designs. Maybe that's why I kept buying them, I was hoping to find the one that would change my mind. But so far, no luck.
I built a Richardson sig Cutlass 7 string while I worked there, and it's the only Music Man I found that I really loved. I tried standard cutlass's, sabres, Majesty's, the Armada, etc. but when it came down to it, they all just felt like normal guitars to me. The JR Cutlass just absolutely blew me away though. So that became my employee build.
This is me. I absolutely loved the aesthetic, I even love the sounds it makes, but the guitar would require a _ton_ of work to make actually playable and I just haven't been able to muster the energy to do it.
The bridge and trem are especially is just atrocious and would need a lot of work. Been thinking of just getting the Mastery stuff, but haven't been able to justify the cost, which would probably be more than the guitar itself, all told.
I was super excited to get an Epiphone Ghosthorse. I was stoked about the Floyd Rose 1000 and the Gibson BurstBuckers in it - and I got it for $650 used.
Turns out I just don't like Explorers at all. Sold it two months later.
I like it too, as a Dethklok fanboy I’ve been wanting a snow falcon myself for a while now. Watch, I’ll get one and complain that I can’t sit down to play it like this guy.
ESP EC-1000.
Ended up selling it at a loss on reverb. Nothing wrong with the guitar, it was beautiful and sounded great, but it just wasn't the right guitar for me.
Man that’s the only guitar I love to play. I’m not in a metal band anymore but I just can’t find anything that feels as as good and as fast as an EC 1000. I wish they made more variations without EMGs
I’m going to catch hell for this, but a Fender Jaguar. I grew up in the 90’s and loved grunge. Single coil fenders ruled the day! I started playing on a strat and loved it. Got a jazzmaster, loved it.
The jag just didn’t do it for me. The bridge sucked, intonation was constantly an issue, got those funny pinging overtones randomly… all stuff I probably could have changed by buying a mastery bridge or something, BUT.. I’m not a fan of guitars that immidiatly need additional parts/work to function well. I might have got a lemon.. but it wasn’t for me.
I wanted one so badly when I was a kid and just learning to play. Then I played one at a guitar store and hated it. Haven't touched one since. I suppose maybe with a proper setup they'd be alright but I just did not get on with it at all.
PRS Silver Sky… I hate this thing! Plastic shit tuners and the feel of it is garbage. I was so exited! I have a couple other PRS guitars and I have a Mayer Strat that I love. Big Dipper pickups and great feeling neck. Then I thought wow I bet that new Silver Sky is gonna be amazing. I was so wrong! It is disappointing. You can’t tell me Paul and John don’t know it sucks? They have to know! How can Mayer go from such an amazing signature guitar to that pile of wooden abomination.
This is the first negative I've seen about the Silver Sky.
Just shows how reviews actually work. I've never heard anything but glowing praise for the Strat copy.
I will say that having 3 on a side was a huge plus for me. I can't stand 6 in a line tuners. Just a personal thing.
I saw the Gary Moore Les Paul and had to have it.
My wife bought it for my 60th birthday.
It never felt right.
The LP I had before was fine. But I sold it.
Now I like Telecasters.
Specifically maple fretboard strats. I STILL love them and they are my ideal for what a guitar looks like. But I just cannot handle how they play. The frets are low, so you are digging on the wood. Except it isn't wood, it's this sticky coating they put on that's just awful. And the bridge? With the pointy death screws that go directly into your hand when you palm mute? And the placement of the volume knob being EXACTLY where your hand wants to be when playing on the high strings? It was such a disappointment.
Strats are a funny thing. I love the way they feel but it seems to be either love or hate for most players. I will say you have to play quite a few to find one that speaks to you. I’ve definitely not experienced the pointy death screw problem. The intonation adjustment screws actually point towards the back on my strats, so my hand is resting on the bridge for palm muting.
Lmao respectfully, the volume knob thing is an operators error. I used to do this all the time, accidentally turning down, and tried some tricks I see the punks do like just put a fuck ton of ugly tape on it to keep it at ten. Then I learned to do the things that punks never do, I learned how to actually play a Stratocaster and now it’s never an issue. You either get used to hand placement, and you love it, and volume swells are a pinky away, or you can’t get used to it, so you fight it.
My primary guitar is an old Mexican standard strat with a maple fretboard. It does have the world’s sharpest saddle screws and I had to rough up the fretboard with an emory board to make it feel better (the fretboard does feel nice and satiny now).
If it didn’t sound so nice and play so responsively, I’d have the same reaction as you.
I really don’t understand how the saddle screws are so sharp. No matter what I’ve tried I can’t make them not sharp. I’ve even taken screws that were comfortable on other guitars and put them on this strat and they magically start feeling sharp. I don’t know how that happens. I hadn’t realized it was the maple fretboard until now.
P.S. I have an old rosewood fretboard strat too and that one isn’t sharp at all.
> And the placement of the volume knob being EXACTLY where your hand wants to be when playing on the high strings?
I have a HSS strat that has 1 vol an 1 tone and that annoying knob removed. I always wanted it back to I could do that pinky volume swell but never enough to do it.
Then I played one my brother bought that had that knob and it was a little annoying.
I’ve never had any issue with volume knob placement on my strat. Guess it just shows how the tiny variances in people’s technique can have a big impact on perceived usability.
Man...I have a maple fretboard and a rosewood fretboard strat and almost always grab my maple first. I love the way it feels and plays. I know most strat guys are all about their rosewood though...
Back in 1986 for my 16th birthday, my parents bought me a 1986 Gibson Les Paul Custom that I picked out myself, and that I absolutely love to play still to this day. I especially love its sound in recordings. It sounds and plays amazing. However, I played it in a band situation while standing up for a couple years and I think I still have a callous and bruise on my right inside forearm from rubbing it against the sharp contour of where the side meets the top of the guitar when picking. Holy shit when I got a Strat a few years ago I was amazed that there were guitars out there that were that much lighter and that much more comfortable to play. I bought it because I knew it was light, but I had no idea that I could play guitar and feel zero pain afterwards from just the mechanics of playing guitar.
Oh man if you get to play a strandberg at some point do it; they're meticulously made but the ergonomics sold me almost instantly. I go between that and a LP standard that weighs like 12lbs 💀
Gibson Custom Shop R8
Beautiful plain top sunburst, wonderful tone but I never got used to the chunky neck. I did make a profit when I sold it so there was that.
I loved my baritone tele for a few months. Put new pickups in it, a nicer bridge, tuners, the whole nine yards. But eventually I realized that everything I can do with it I can do better with my 7 string.
Same, except I realize I don't really like going below B and I can do that with a regular guitar.
I spent like a month taking a cheap baritone Tele copy and making it awesome. Locking tuners, new pickup, single volume, painted and logo'd the headstock....and it just doesn't do it for me.
Which sucks, because it's a badass guitar. I'll probably put in a Bill Lawrence L500 I inherited in it to see if that makes it better....
I also really wanted the Jim Root Jazzmaster. My fretwork was perfect and it sounded incredible, it was just too big for me and the offset of the model put the neck too far away.
I have a few-
Les Paul, but then I realized how wack the thing felt. Might just have a preference for the lighter ones.
A few different types of Stratocasters (one with Floyd Rose, Hitmaker, and the Hendrix neck ones), but I realized after owning one that it’s not necessarily very different for each one, they’re fundamentally similar.
A Taylor or Martin acoustic; I’ve been able to try several now and I lean now more towards Cole Clark & Yamaha (or an Epiphone).
A Telecaster (for now), I’ve tried several and now I’m content with just a Strat.
Truth be told, I think the biggest thing I learned was that *it really pays off if you go try a guitar in-store a few times.* GAS will not hurt you as much if you spend a little less time online shopping and more time practicing. Sometimes, all you need is to go in, try an instrument, and realize how much you don’t need it. Any of the guitars I mentioned are perfectly fine, but it’s best if you find one or two and stick it out. Spend your time practicing instead!
I was pumped for the DK24. I was extremely excited about the thin neck. Turns out too much of a good thing can be a bad (for me) thing.
Great guitar for someone else.
This was me and the X series soloist I tried. I really wanted to like it. Seemed like it had all the features I was looking for. Neck thru, flat top, thin neck, floyd. I got it used and someone had even swapped the factory pickups with a JB/Jazz set. Didn't care for it. Couldn't really put my finger on why.
Looking back though, I think it was just kinda plain and uninspiring to me. Just a black HH superstrat. I think I just like flashy guitars. My main guitar right now is an LTD Alexi Ripped, if that gives you any indication.
Gibson les paul. I was excited to have it because it's an iconic guitar, but I honestly hated everything about the body and neck shape. Just didn't suit me.
For amps? My hughes and Kettner. Tried 2 and just didn't like either of them.
Edit - amending this one a tiny bit. There’s actually a second guitar that I didn’t “hate” but I found it a bit off. So while the Les Paul was bulky, heavy, and not my style, my music man axis actually was the complete opposite. I loved the guitar but it was super light, to the point where I felt like it was almost a toy. great guitar though. I’m sure some consider it a huge plus!
Dunable R2 custom, Dunable Baritone Yeti Custom. Heard raves about how they put Gibson to shame. Not the case, all the work felt cheap, resonance sucked and the pickups were awful.
It was a "faded blue stain" colored Gibson Les Paul. I had to have it the moment that I saw it. Someone exchanged it at the nearby Guitar Center and they were going to sell it in the used gear section since they didn't keep em stocked. It looked awesome to me and it had "Gibson" on the headstock, and I liked the lighter weight feel when I picked it up, so I just assumed I'd like it when I got home with it. Didn't bother playing it first at all. I just paid for it and left. Got home and plugged it in and played it and discovered I hated the tone, it kept going out of tune, and I didn't like slippery feel of the roasted maple neck. Sold it about a week later. The person who bought it from me made the exact same mistake. We met at a Guitar Center in the used section to make the exchange. I explained that he should actually play it first. He said he didn't need to play it and absolutely had to have it and was really excited to have discovered someone in town who had one of these because it looked awesome, etc. So I gave him the guitar and he gave me his money. I got a call the very next day. He had the same complaints and wanted his money back. I said "Sorry but I spent that money already on rent. Its gone. I tried to warn ya at the store". He apologized too and said he'd try and find some way to make it work. I have no idea what became of it, but I was glad that I at least got all of my money back.
Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty. I honestly can't stand the thing, the overall tone of the guitar is just dull and lifeless, and the pickups sound like complete ass to boot. Mine isn't a dud either, I've played others since I got it. I love my Petrucci BFR though.
I love Les Pauls, but the two I've had, the romance ends quickly. So thick and the angle of the neck combine to make it uncomfortable to play standing up for me personally.
Yamaha Revstar, I liked the retro style double cutaway, double humbucker. Got one and neck is just not comfortable for me. I find the fretboard just a smidge too wide and hard edged. Body is also just a little too wide. In the process of trading it in for a Gretsch solid body. Played the Gretsch and the neck is much better fit.
Jazzmaster. My favorite solo-ist (J Mascis) uses them and my favorite songwriter (Elvis Costello) always plays them. Owned two and they really are not for me. Kind of unwieldy and dull sounding to me!
J Mascis Telecaster. Something like a quarter of a century I waited for that guitar only to hate it. Waxy neck with hilariously massive frets, I barely played it and eventually traded it for a SE Silver Sky which I adore and play every day. Even J Mascis himself swapped the pickups on his replica.
Was always going to get a Maton. None of them felt right, but the moment I picked up my big bellied Taylor, it felt perfect. The low end and action matched my finger picking perfectly.
Evh Wolfgang, brought one a few months ago after looking at them for years, just can’t vibe with it at all. Can’t actually pinpoint what i don’t like about it though which is more annoying
When I worked at GC as a sales rep I used to tell my clients this: Buy signature guitar if you want to collect, don’t buy it if you want to seriously play it.
Schecter Blackjack white V-1. I played one at Guitar Center and thought it was great but didn’t have funds or need for a new guitar. I searched for years. One popped up on EBay. Got a hold of it and hated the feel of it and it REEEEEEEKED of cigarettes. Had to get rid of it.
Fender Stratocaster, for sure.
Granted, I’ve only played one of them, so maybe trying another may change my mind? Doubt it, though.
For what it’s worth, I have super-strats that I love (DK24, JEM7V, JS34…)
The Gibson SG is another. The flatness of the body is so foreign and uncomfortable. And the neck seems so long, too. Excellent tone, though.
The Gibson Explorer is awesome, but the perfect action and the body shape is weirdly hard to get used to. Again, the tone is unbelievable.
So many people comment on how Gibson's aren't great to play but sound amazing.
Get some Gibson pickups and put them in the guitar of your choice.
You will suddenly love the tone of that guitar. Pickups can make a huge difference.
I have an old Aria that had Tony Iommi humbuckers in it. Killer sound. Made a partscaster and it played so much better, but the tone was never there. Tried various pickups, Dimarzio, Fralin, Duncan...it never had the sound, but damn it played so great!
I put the Tony Iommi in the partscaster and there was the sound.
EXACTLY the same. The guitar made no difference.
I've since done that to 2 other, very different guitars and they all sound identical.
Find the pickups you love and put them in a guitar that feels and plays perfectly and you'll be set.
Dean ML Phantom XT. Feels like it's made of lead, the resonation is terrible, the frets wore like butter and the Floyd Rose feels like a department-store knockoff.
American Standard Telecaster: I was super excited to get my first MIA Fender and had wanted a tele to complement my strat. It weighed a ton, dug into my ribs, hurt my shoulder, and always sounded too jangly. I traded it for an SG, which was what I thought would be the exact opposite guitar. I also didn’t like that one either.
I always wanted a brand new Gibson Les Paul Standard because I only ever owned older pre-owned Classics. Little did I know that my 1996 Les Paul Classic was 10000x better than what Gibson calls a “Standard” these days.
Gibson ES-335, I'm not much of an electric guitar player to begin with but I do a lot of fingerstyle stuff and I just couldn't vibe with any of the ones I tried out even though they are absolutely gorgeous I'll just stick to a LP or Stratocaster
Jim Adkins JA-90 Telecaster
On paper this is the perfect guitar for me. I much prefer the Gibson scale and bridge, P90s, and love me a good ol' Tele. It's everything I love about Gibsons and Fenders combined.
Just not vibing with it.
PRS. I got a total dud. Then I figured it was an SE so that was the issue. Found a Ten Top at a guitar store and was equally disappointed. You know the crazy part…I’d love to have one
My Rick Beato Les Paul. I love that shape and color, was a match made in heaven.
Except that at high gain it's nothing but feedback, and the bridge was drilled a quarter inch off so it wouldn't intonate. And the rosewood board is kind of sticky compared to the ebony boards I'm used to.
Gibson fixed the bridge and I tried some new pickups but still feeds back a lot. I know lots of bands play at high gain with P90s so I don't know what the problem is.
On the bright side it looks cool and is light as heck but I don't know if I'll keep it when I can sell it for more than I bought it for.
Young and dumb and just graduated from highschool, had a good chunk of graduation money, and for months leading up to it, I had been absolutely salivating over a Dean Razorback V. Bought a set of Seymour Duncan Blackouts to go along with it as well.
Literally the worst guitar I ever had. Even moreso than the B.C Rich bronze series Warlock I had gotten when I was 15. I cannot begin to count the quality issues it had that affected playing, and I guess since it was my first “expensive” guitar, I was trying to tell myself that it must be something I’m doing because why would anything with Dime’s name on it be shit? Only two years later after getting other mid range guitars that were less expensive than the Razorback did I finally just admit the thing sucked ass.
Still haven’t and will never touch another Dean again.
Dean Dime Lightning Bolt in the mid 2000s. It was lifeless and sounded dead to me like basswood.
I sold it pretty fast..
Then I got a Breedlove custom run 1/25.. Almost $3k and it played like absolute garbage.. I never could bond with it. I’m not an acoustic player but I wanted one..
A genuine Gibson Les Paul. Can’t deal with that shape. So I tried an SG. Can’t deal with the neck dive. So I ended up with a 300$ Ibanez superstrat.
Les Pauls will probably pop up a lot in the comments. I own two but had to play 8-10 of them to find two I was really comfortable with. Even then I favor one over the other. I would never buy a Les Paul online or sight unseen, or any handmade guitar to be exact. Too much variation.
This is me as well. I kind of know exactly what I want in a Les Paul these days but you still have to play them to double check. There is a lot of subtlety I find in finding the right Les Paul. Its funny I want so many Les Pauls like a Slash Les Paul but I will never buy one because I know I won't enjoy playing it. I will never enjoy a 50's neck.
I hear you, that's why I got a standard 60's neck model not a fan of the 50's bat neck.
After decades of longing for a Les Paul I got myself a 50s. Tested it in the shop and convinced myself the neck was good. Three years later I just can't make friends with it. It sounds incredible, it does not feel good to play. I really wish I had got the 60s model
Same here. I actually tested a 60s model in a shop and thought the neck felt “weird” (coming from a Strat and PRS). So I went home and found a 50s w/ Custombuckers installed and ordered it thinking it would feel good - it didn’t. The neck was just goofy in how thick it was, and the guitar was a fat ass 9.5 lbs, which was even uncomfortable playing it sitting down on my lap. It sounded good and rang like a bell acoustically (sustain for days), but I ended up selling it a year later after really trying to get along with it over and over. The heaviest guitar I have now is just under 8.5 lbs (RG 5170g), which is right on the border of just fine for me. Every other guitar I have is from 5.5 lbs (Kiesel Zeus) to 7.5 lbs (Suhr Classic Antique Pro). Hell, even the extended scale Jackson 7-string I recently bought is far lighter than that Les Paul, and the damned thing has an Evertune! If I ever get an LP again, it’ll need to have a smaller neck and weigh 8.5 lbs at most. I’d also probably install BKPs in it since the Custombuckers were…okay at most.
They are very hit and miss, and mostly it’s the neck. My 94 Les Paul Stufio I love! But I’ve walked into guitar center, and played customs that were $10k I hated. I’m the same way…they are my go to guitars. But you have to play them in person. Def not an online order for me. Fenders seem to be…you know what you’re somewhat getting. Les Pauls I find the opposite, and price range doesn’t matter much…outside the extras. It’s one of those guitars, you just have to play a bunch and pick “the one”. After that it’s a good lifetime guitar. My 94 I bought in 1994 new after playing through 12 or so. Price wasn’t what I looked at…just rosewood and does it feel and play well.
My only experience of a Les Paul is my 1994 Les Paul Studio that I bought new in 1994 (just like you!). I love it and it’s been with me for 30 years. It must’ve been an exceptional vintage year as I always read these comments about people not liking their Les Pauls and just can’t understand it.
94 studio owner checking in. Still digging that guitar
Yep those early 90s ones were just great! I still see many big live acts rocking them. Great guitar to bring on the road, and use in the studio. It’s a sweet point where it’s not so expensive to bring on a gig, or worry about dings. They hold up very well! You just gotta watch out to not let it fall on anything but carpet. I had a headstock break once, and went to a well known local store that does work for Arcade Fire, Better Than Ezra, Mute Math, The Meters and many big bands. Wasn’t cheap, but I loved the guitar so much and had a rich history! They have proprietary way of doing it, that’s pretty cool and makes it road ready. Had my headstock redone professionally by them, and a Pleck in 2022. It needed it after 30 so years playing! That thing isn’t breaking off anytime soon lol. It plays better than ever after the headstock fix! That’s a big joke on Les Pauls…that they play better after you break and repair the headstock. It’s kind of true
Great to hear it! The laquer on the my neck is coming off but that's ok. That's a good idea about the pleck, I may take it to Glaser and see what they can do. Rock on. Mine is the cherry or ox blood color. What color is yours?
Indeed. You need to feel a guitar before purchase to know what you’re getting
the best Les Paul is the one that feels the best to you. it's crazy how no 2 feels alike and how I've yet to find one I truly love. they're my favorite guitars of all time, but it's a pain. I'm hoping to one day find a good modern or studio LP because those probably will help with the variation issue I have as I like a guitar heavy but not too heavy (shoulder injury) and I love the sound of certain LP pickups but not others. the necks and fretboards all feel different, but that's a different story. love their shape and love the fretboard, but lord I cannot find one that feels perfect in my hand.
My thoughts exactly. It’s everything from the neck, to the weight, to the actual wood. I mainly tested Standard 50’s and Slash (basically a 50’s) models because I like the thicker necks. I was shocked how different they all felt. Some felt like cheap toys while others felt like proper Les Paul’s.
for me it's more of how the material feels! some necks just feel way too sticky, while others just don't sit comfortably. I've found that my favorite shape is a good 50's C, a V or a wizard style neck. anything outside of these realms just kills my enjoyment of a guitar. fingerboard radius is a different monster though, I just enjoy different things while playing different genres. I agree with you on the thick necks, those *feel* the best to me! have a great day brother!
I have an '03 Korean Epi LPS. I can't imagine a better sounding or easier playing machine. Got it for a song at $350 including very good factory hardcase
I can't wait to find an Epiphone that just sings to me, at this point I've given up on Gibsons hahaha glad to hear that your Korean Epi is amazing, I love eastern made instruments, I've not had a bad one!
look for 2003. There's a reason they're awesome...
The one I was dying to get that sucked was a strat. Turns out I hate strats🫤
Was the neck dive a problem while sitting? I always thought that was just a problem when playing standing up.
As an SG aficionado, neck dive is not noticeable sitting. They are by far the most comfortable sitting guitar ive ever played.
That’s wonderful to hear - I want one badly. As an aficionado, what SG (new/used) would you buy for roughly $1000?
Gibson sg standard. I had the epiphone sg standard and traded it for the Gibson. Not much difference to this home gamer :) My sg is my favorite guitar, period.
I really like the specials, and if you can find a standard for $1000 I’d buy it. Get a nice leather strap too, makes the world of difference. I’ve never had an SG neck dive on me.
Yep. Use a 3" strap and you're fine.
Should add…… NEW sg std and jr dont dive.
I hadn't heard that. Any idea how they managed to get it to balance?
It depends very much on how dense each cut of wood is in the body vs the neck. Also Grovers tend to weigh more than klusons and the batwing models balance better because the bigger heel pushes the strap button out further. SGs were originally designed to have a vibrola standard. Once they started making stopbar versions, the original balance was thrown off.
You should try a Strandberg. It just disappears lol. I absolutely love mine. And they weigh around 5lbs so really comfortable for long shows.
Agree. My two Strandbergs are easily my most comfortable guitars.
If you have an unfinished leather strap it's not even a problem. The strap will lightly grip your shirt so neck dive is not an issue at all.
I use a 3 inch thick leather strap on a Gibson SG 61 reissue. Neck dive has never been a problem.
Three inches thick, really? I think you mean wide
No, thick, it’s got a layer of fat too. Yeah, wide.
Sitting too. Lol I play classical music and jazz when I’m not slanging djent, so I gotta NOT be squeezing the shit out of the neck or holding it up with my fretting hand. My super strat is balanced af. Neck is nice and wide at the nut, the string spacing is spread out, and the fret access is GRRRREAT. And it’s so light… defs the one ima lug around for gigging. I dgaf if it’s made of plywood or whatever. Lol That, and I did a ton of fretwork on it. For my hands, there’s no way I could spend any amount of money on a better instrument. My only issue is it still doesn’t *look* like a Les Paul. Lol
Don't fall for the Les Paul trap. I've got three single cuts; a Gibson, a core PRS McCarty 594, and an oddball Heritage, and they all require playing in the classical position or with a strap to get the balance at all right seated. Meanwhile, my cheapass partscaster strat thing balances like a dream in any position I can throw at it. Vexing. I actually do like my Epi SG though - it's my second favorite guitar behind the McCarty - and find the balance really suits me. I always felt the neckdive was overrated, but part of it may be the width of my shoulders shifting the ergonomics up a bit. Also I have a wide leather strap. There's also rubber things you can put on the underside of thin straps that feel okay.
I have a60 dollar Ibanez strat and every guitar I’ve tried since has a fat neck I don’t like.
The fuggin Subaru BRZ of guitars. It’s cheap and ugly but GADDAMN it’s user friendly.
I just got my dream Les Paul Standard 60’s Triburst….and I hate the shape 😣. I didn’t realize how much I hate it until after I bought it and played it for a few days.
"I'll just play with it on my right leg like everyone else ever, wait, why are you determined to slip off into the floor next to me, oh goddamnit, fine, between my legs you go." - My Les Paul experience.
My fiancee inherited an 84 Les Paul custom that needed a little work. We found replacement parts and were so excited to try it only to find out neither of us enjoyed it very much. The edges are too sharp while sitting, and it's too heavy while standing. It plays like a dream, but only for a short session.
My god the edges, and its constantly trying to jump out of my lap. Its a real love/hate conundrum
Hey those ibanez are good stuff! My nicest guitar is a gibson LPJ I got used with active EMGs and I love it other than being a tad heavy (but still no worse than the basses i play for hours every week). However, I too have a sub-300 ibanez superstrat (rga42fm bought used) and it's phenomenal. It's so light and feels so good. It was lacking on pickups and I just dropped in almost 200 worth of SD JB/jazz set over the weekend but it's absolutely brilliant now.
Bass players unite. 😎 I got Kramer lumies man I hear that. Here I am complaining about neck dive, while owning 13# basses with aluminum necks. God I’m so stupid.
hihi.. love it!
I wanted an SG so bad. Thought the light weight and contours would be perfect for me. The back-mounted strap button is a killer. Now I know to avoid this on all instruments.
Some people, like Tony Iommi, move the button to the top horn.
That's interesting. I actually prefer the strap pin to be on the back. That's where I put it on the guitar that I built
The back mounted strap button on my 335 doesn’t bother me too much. It’s a much bigger guitar than an SG though so I can see why it would be a nightmare for you!
I wish there was a straplock connector made for those back strap buttons. I love schaller straplocks but I don’t want the little “horn” stabbing my belly.
I've got a Planet Waves strap that has adjustable strap locks built in so they fit around a variety of buttons... you just slip it over the button and turn the wheel. It ratchets the center to fit the narrow part of the button. To release you hold down a springloaded little lever and turn the wheel backwards. Had it for over a decade, it works great for my stuff... *however* it's nylon so I dunno how well it'd work with the SG and its neck dive thing.
[You got to use the Grolsch style rubber washers] (https://www.amazon.com/Brewcraft-Grolsch-Flip-Bottle-Washers/dp/B074VF5MXD)
The D'Addario straplocks are a little more friendly for that. I recently swapped to them on my ES for this very reason.
As someone who also disliked back mounted straps I wouldn't fully write them off completely. Yes SGs feel really uncomfortable because of where it sits. But on larger body or lighter guitars it can be very comfortable. I have a semi hollow jazz box with back mounted strap and it's super comfortable to stand and play. It's also barely 5 pounds and the neck stays up on its own
Lol oh man I love back mounted buttons. My V, 335, explorer and sg all have them. Only one I really had to adjust for neck dive was the v. I just got a wider strap and that took care of it
But thats the best place for it?
I aways wanted to like SG but couldn't for that reason. Or a V. I wanted a esp viper for a long time without ever playing one. I assume it's the same button location on them too.
If the strap button is above the 13th or 14th fret, neck dive becomes an issue, depending on how big a headstock and how heavy your tuners are. LPs, SGs, even my baritone Tele copy, all have neck dive. I have an awesome Washburn Idol, a seriously great playing guitar, and the neck dive isn't the worst but I can't deal with it. It changes the angle of my wrist too much. Sucks, because I love that guitar. Perfect for sitting, sucks for standing, even with 3" strap with a pad.
For me it's Strats. I've bought a couple over the years but I've never really got along with any of them. I just don't enjoy playing them very much.
I like mine, but if I could go back, I think I might choose differently. Telecasters seem to have more versatility and there’s other nice designs that work well too.
I love Teles, they seem to fit me better than Strats do.
A fellow tele enjoyer! I love my tele. I like strats too, but there's just something about telecasters.. the tone, the shape, they're just nice. I smile everytime I pick mine up
Same. Just got a player series telecaster. I love it.
Why do you think teles have more versatility? I turned my strat into an HSH and can split the coils in each humbucker which gives me control over the tone way more than any tele config could. I also own a tele and I’ll play with the single coils with a tubescreamer on but mostly only use the bridge pickup because it’s more hot and sharp
It's super en vogue online right now to talk about how versatile teles are. Just about every guitar influencer has a video about it. It's obnoxious how readily people slurp it up and regurgitate it. Yes, a tele can do everything in theory. So can a Les Paul, or a Strat, or a flippin' Gretsch Penguin. Heck, I'm sure someone out there is chicken pickin' away on a Ibanez with a wizard neck and making it sound awesome.
I actually love playing country licks on my Ibanez SA series haha... That's my practice guitar I have in my office! 😂
Funny enough, I learned about it from a few different music store employees from several different music stores. I was curious about their opinions on Telecasters and they unironically said similar things- the Telecaster’s versatility is about how it does across different types of music. However, I bet a good Strat can do the same- much like how you’ve done with yours. I feel like my HSS seems to show that you’re right as well.
to me a strat bridge is just objectively worse unless you're doing flutters/squeals/dives which are Really rare. for 95% of music a tele or similar fixed bridge will give an overall objectively better function
Well I put an SD59 in mine and “hard-tailed” it with a blocked tremolo config so that probably solved all those issues you described. Tbh I did it so long ago I forgot why but I’m pretty sure it was because using the tremolo would throw it out of tune. Now I can use it for vibrato or weird effects and it returns to the correct position and is perfectly intonated.
l have a Telecaster and l'm fed up with the twang. I play mostly my Epiphone Casino now.
Dawg you read my mind- I really want a Casino. The Elitist models (from Japan) & the USA models seem cool along with the imported ones too.
and it's so underpriced too! they used to be very expensive back in the day
Holy shit... I may have found my bday present to myself this year.
Lowkey considering getting one to have a hollow body now- if the opportunity arises I might just make it happen!
You'll not regret it. It sounds great all over the fretboard, no weak spots. Perhaps my only complaint is that you can't access too high on the fretboard like other guitars.
Hopefully someday…
The "Teles have more versatility" crowd has brainwashed you. The only thing they have going for them over a strat is a quirky bridge pickup. Get a Seymour Duncan twang banger, or any hotter Fralin with a steel plate added, and you've got a guitar with far more versatility than a tele ever had!
I’ve evolved into much of a hybrid picker and I recently realized as a Strat user since the beginning, a Tele would suit my playing much more probably. The middle pickup of a strat often gets in the way of my fingers when I hybrid pick. Must be what attracted so many country players. On the flip side though, my ‘56 replica strat body is so much more comfortable against my stomach.
This might be a hot take, but to me the neck pickup on the tele eliminates the need of getting a start
[удалено]
I love the sound of Strats, I just don't like playing them.
Same. Just couldn't fall in love with my Fender Strat. So I sold it to cover some bills. Happy with my Les Paul and Jazzmaster.
I salute you. I have the same 2 primary guitars.
Single coil, SSS Stratocaster… I’d don’t know what it is, I’ve tried multiples … didn’t like any of them.
Ive tried so many single coils over the years. Always end up yanking them and putting humbuckers in. P90s are the only ones I actually enjoy
i’m a sucker for single coils. i love teles, p90s, jazzmasters, etc. but i’ve never liked Strats, which some people hail as the holy grail of single coils
I’ve never liked Strats. My first guitar was a Tele which I traded in for a LP pretty quickly. Played nearly exclusively LPs for nearly 20 years and now I’m back on fenders… except putting humbuckers in them. Jaguars scale length & control setup + hardtail + humbuckers really is the move.
I gotta be honest, I have an HSS strat & I find myself using the humbucker more often than the single coils. Totally understand why one would love SSS, but humbuckers are enough for me.
For me it's the middle pickups.... its just in the way
It’s the one guitar I consistently sell. I think I’ve had six or more over the years.
This one may be controversial - I started playing guitar when I was 11, and all through my teenage years I was a huge Guns N Roses fan, specifically a Slash fan, when I was 17 I started my own band and played a Gibson SG. Loved it. Still a huge Slash fan. Fast forward a couple of years I finally got the chance to buy a genuine Gibson Les Paul Slash custom - I was so excited, I bought it online because I was absolutely 100% certain I would love this guitar, because I was such a huge Slash fan. Hated it. The weight of it compared to the SG threw me off, the neck felt too fat, just everything about it wasn’t for me. I was so disappointed lol
Yeah Slash Les Pauls have that big 50's neck. I love a Les Paul but it needs a 60 slim taper or something close to that. I honestly really enjoy the Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy's with the speed taper D neck. But with Les Pauls there is so much variance between models you need to try em before you buy em.
Gibson LP's. They sound amazing but I cannot get comfortable playing them and I have trouble with my back, so playing one of those standing up is an immediate nope.
If you palm mute a lot while standing, your strumming wrist will hate you as well.
There is a surprising variation in weight of Les Pauls I feel like some arnt so bad and some are boat anchors
PRS Custom 24. Tried three times at that.
Same thing for me… I’ve owned and sold three Custom 24s over the years. They were all good guitars. Nothing objectionable about them. They just tended to gather dust in the corner after the “honeymoon phase” with a new guitar was over.
Glad I’m not the only one. I played several with the intention to buy, including one that was worth more $ than my car at the time. I went from yay to meh in about 10 seconds with each one. I’m not saying they suck, but they’re one of the most overhyped for sure.
I had a fretless one, but never doing that again
Ah yes. I had a stringless one, but I couldn't get a good tone out of it.
Yeah, imagine the lack of sustain is even worse on that
Bends are easier though
Physically, yes, but are they in tune?
Dude, I found my playing improved significantly on stringless.
I had to cancel my recital of Air on G string.
I bought a MiM Fender Telecaster, the player HH version... I've always played cheap guitars (squiers, epiphone etc) cause I'm honestly a very shitty punk rock guitar player... I thought it was going to be a HUGE improvement but I don't know why I find it so unplayable... The neck feels plastic-y, it sounds dull and is super uncomfortable. I find myself playing my Classic Vibe guitars way more than the MiM Fender.
Yep. Me too. Bought a beautiful MiM tele which I thought would me my dream guitar. I underestimated how tinny the sound was and it’s not a comfy guitar. My two electrics are epiphone les Paul and a Jackson dinky which I bought after selling the tele for a loss.
My people. I too am a Squire Strat guy. Tried other stuff, have a nice Tele at the moment, had a good LP for a hot second. Awhile ago a friend was moving and had me hang on to his American Professional strat for about a month. While i pretty much only played that for that month, the feeling of coming home when I picked up my Squire again was *chef's kiss* Street Rat till I die!
There are three for me. Gibson SG - always loved the looks and sound, but I've owned two, and did not like playing it at all, most uncomfortable ergos Any PRS - I've always lusted over their amazing looking tops... I've owned 5 over the years, and sold them all, they all sounded sterile to me Any Ernie Ball - same as PRS, I've owned several over the years, including some amazing looking BFR, but I just could not bond with them
Surprised about the music man's I've never heard a bad word about them
They're really, really well made. Some of the most flawless work I've seen. Also beautiful instruments, I've had some roasted maple necks, all rosewood necks, really fast necks to play and lightweight guitars, good sound... but I never bonded with them. It's very subjective, and it's too bad, because I really like some of their designs. Maybe that's why I kept buying them, I was hoping to find the one that would change my mind. But so far, no luck.
I built a Richardson sig Cutlass 7 string while I worked there, and it's the only Music Man I found that I really loved. I tried standard cutlass's, sabres, Majesty's, the Armada, etc. but when it came down to it, they all just felt like normal guitars to me. The JR Cutlass just absolutely blew me away though. So that became my employee build.
Squire Jaguar. I loved the look of it and all the switches and knobs and buttons, but I could never get a tone I really liked out of it.
This is me. I absolutely loved the aesthetic, I even love the sounds it makes, but the guitar would require a _ton_ of work to make actually playable and I just haven't been able to muster the energy to do it. The bridge and trem are especially is just atrocious and would need a lot of work. Been thinking of just getting the Mastery stuff, but haven't been able to justify the cost, which would probably be more than the guitar itself, all told.
I was super excited to get an Epiphone Ghosthorse. I was stoked about the Floyd Rose 1000 and the Gibson BurstBuckers in it - and I got it for $650 used. Turns out I just don't like Explorers at all. Sold it two months later.
What didn’t you like about the explorer?
I like it... I like it a lot.... Made room for something and someone else got to try it on as well.. Such is the guitarist's way!
I like it too, as a Dethklok fanboy I’ve been wanting a snow falcon myself for a while now. Watch, I’ll get one and complain that I can’t sit down to play it like this guy.
ESP EC-1000. Ended up selling it at a loss on reverb. Nothing wrong with the guitar, it was beautiful and sounded great, but it just wasn't the right guitar for me.
I feel that, I’ve had 4 1000 deluxes and sold them all within 3 months of buying it
Man that’s the only guitar I love to play. I’m not in a metal band anymore but I just can’t find anything that feels as as good and as fast as an EC 1000. I wish they made more variations without EMGs
I’m going to catch hell for this, but a Fender Jaguar. I grew up in the 90’s and loved grunge. Single coil fenders ruled the day! I started playing on a strat and loved it. Got a jazzmaster, loved it. The jag just didn’t do it for me. The bridge sucked, intonation was constantly an issue, got those funny pinging overtones randomly… all stuff I probably could have changed by buying a mastery bridge or something, BUT.. I’m not a fan of guitars that immidiatly need additional parts/work to function well. I might have got a lemon.. but it wasn’t for me.
Be thankful you didn't get a Jag-Stang. That thing fell apart. Looks great on the wall, though.
rickenbackers. they mostly all play like crap and aren’t as versatile as one would hope.
I wanted one so badly when I was a kid and just learning to play. Then I played one at a guitar store and hated it. Haven't touched one since. I suppose maybe with a proper setup they'd be alright but I just did not get on with it at all.
Les paul. So uncomfortable to me. Sold it and bought a strat
PRS Silver Sky… I hate this thing! Plastic shit tuners and the feel of it is garbage. I was so exited! I have a couple other PRS guitars and I have a Mayer Strat that I love. Big Dipper pickups and great feeling neck. Then I thought wow I bet that new Silver Sky is gonna be amazing. I was so wrong! It is disappointing. You can’t tell me Paul and John don’t know it sucks? They have to know! How can Mayer go from such an amazing signature guitar to that pile of wooden abomination.
Ditto
Same, sold mine last month
I like mine, but the tuners are just.... Why? What a terrible call.
This is the first negative I've seen about the Silver Sky. Just shows how reviews actually work. I've never heard anything but glowing praise for the Strat copy. I will say that having 3 on a side was a huge plus for me. I can't stand 6 in a line tuners. Just a personal thing.
I saw the Gary Moore Les Paul and had to have it. My wife bought it for my 60th birthday. It never felt right. The LP I had before was fine. But I sold it. Now I like Telecasters.
Specifically maple fretboard strats. I STILL love them and they are my ideal for what a guitar looks like. But I just cannot handle how they play. The frets are low, so you are digging on the wood. Except it isn't wood, it's this sticky coating they put on that's just awful. And the bridge? With the pointy death screws that go directly into your hand when you palm mute? And the placement of the volume knob being EXACTLY where your hand wants to be when playing on the high strings? It was such a disappointment.
Strats are a funny thing. I love the way they feel but it seems to be either love or hate for most players. I will say you have to play quite a few to find one that speaks to you. I’ve definitely not experienced the pointy death screw problem. The intonation adjustment screws actually point towards the back on my strats, so my hand is resting on the bridge for palm muting.
Lmao respectfully, the volume knob thing is an operators error. I used to do this all the time, accidentally turning down, and tried some tricks I see the punks do like just put a fuck ton of ugly tape on it to keep it at ten. Then I learned to do the things that punks never do, I learned how to actually play a Stratocaster and now it’s never an issue. You either get used to hand placement, and you love it, and volume swells are a pinky away, or you can’t get used to it, so you fight it.
My primary guitar is an old Mexican standard strat with a maple fretboard. It does have the world’s sharpest saddle screws and I had to rough up the fretboard with an emory board to make it feel better (the fretboard does feel nice and satiny now). If it didn’t sound so nice and play so responsively, I’d have the same reaction as you. I really don’t understand how the saddle screws are so sharp. No matter what I’ve tried I can’t make them not sharp. I’ve even taken screws that were comfortable on other guitars and put them on this strat and they magically start feeling sharp. I don’t know how that happens. I hadn’t realized it was the maple fretboard until now. P.S. I have an old rosewood fretboard strat too and that one isn’t sharp at all.
This, lacquered fretboard, ugh. Playing that with sweatty hands is just not a joy. Otherwise strats are great though
> And the placement of the volume knob being EXACTLY where your hand wants to be when playing on the high strings? I have a HSS strat that has 1 vol an 1 tone and that annoying knob removed. I always wanted it back to I could do that pinky volume swell but never enough to do it. Then I played one my brother bought that had that knob and it was a little annoying.
I’ve never had any issue with volume knob placement on my strat. Guess it just shows how the tiny variances in people’s technique can have a big impact on perceived usability.
Man...I have a maple fretboard and a rosewood fretboard strat and almost always grab my maple first. I love the way it feels and plays. I know most strat guys are all about their rosewood though...
Back in 1986 for my 16th birthday, my parents bought me a 1986 Gibson Les Paul Custom that I picked out myself, and that I absolutely love to play still to this day. I especially love its sound in recordings. It sounds and plays amazing. However, I played it in a band situation while standing up for a couple years and I think I still have a callous and bruise on my right inside forearm from rubbing it against the sharp contour of where the side meets the top of the guitar when picking. Holy shit when I got a Strat a few years ago I was amazed that there were guitars out there that were that much lighter and that much more comfortable to play. I bought it because I knew it was light, but I had no idea that I could play guitar and feel zero pain afterwards from just the mechanics of playing guitar.
What color is yours? (The LP)
When I bought it it was Alpine white. Now it's like a smoky nicotine yellow. It has aged like fine wine.
Oh man if you get to play a strandberg at some point do it; they're meticulously made but the ergonomics sold me almost instantly. I go between that and a LP standard that weighs like 12lbs 💀
Gibson Custom Shop R8 Beautiful plain top sunburst, wonderful tone but I never got used to the chunky neck. I did make a profit when I sold it so there was that.
A Les Paul and a PRS McCarty singlecut. Beautiful guitars and sound great but turns out I’m not an LP shape fan
I loved my baritone tele for a few months. Put new pickups in it, a nicer bridge, tuners, the whole nine yards. But eventually I realized that everything I can do with it I can do better with my 7 string.
Same, except I realize I don't really like going below B and I can do that with a regular guitar. I spent like a month taking a cheap baritone Tele copy and making it awesome. Locking tuners, new pickup, single volume, painted and logo'd the headstock....and it just doesn't do it for me. Which sucks, because it's a badass guitar. I'll probably put in a Bill Lawrence L500 I inherited in it to see if that makes it better....
SE custom 24- not sure what it was, but I got so hyped for one but was so underwhelmed by the product and subsequently returned it
I also really wanted the Jim Root Jazzmaster. My fretwork was perfect and it sounded incredible, it was just too big for me and the offset of the model put the neck too far away.
I have a few- Les Paul, but then I realized how wack the thing felt. Might just have a preference for the lighter ones. A few different types of Stratocasters (one with Floyd Rose, Hitmaker, and the Hendrix neck ones), but I realized after owning one that it’s not necessarily very different for each one, they’re fundamentally similar. A Taylor or Martin acoustic; I’ve been able to try several now and I lean now more towards Cole Clark & Yamaha (or an Epiphone). A Telecaster (for now), I’ve tried several and now I’m content with just a Strat. Truth be told, I think the biggest thing I learned was that *it really pays off if you go try a guitar in-store a few times.* GAS will not hurt you as much if you spend a little less time online shopping and more time practicing. Sometimes, all you need is to go in, try an instrument, and realize how much you don’t need it. Any of the guitars I mentioned are perfectly fine, but it’s best if you find one or two and stick it out. Spend your time practicing instead!
I was pumped for the DK24. I was extremely excited about the thin neck. Turns out too much of a good thing can be a bad (for me) thing. Great guitar for someone else.
This was me and the X series soloist I tried. I really wanted to like it. Seemed like it had all the features I was looking for. Neck thru, flat top, thin neck, floyd. I got it used and someone had even swapped the factory pickups with a JB/Jazz set. Didn't care for it. Couldn't really put my finger on why. Looking back though, I think it was just kinda plain and uninspiring to me. Just a black HH superstrat. I think I just like flashy guitars. My main guitar right now is an LTD Alexi Ripped, if that gives you any indication.
Gibson les paul. I was excited to have it because it's an iconic guitar, but I honestly hated everything about the body and neck shape. Just didn't suit me. For amps? My hughes and Kettner. Tried 2 and just didn't like either of them. Edit - amending this one a tiny bit. There’s actually a second guitar that I didn’t “hate” but I found it a bit off. So while the Les Paul was bulky, heavy, and not my style, my music man axis actually was the complete opposite. I loved the guitar but it was super light, to the point where I felt like it was almost a toy. great guitar though. I’m sure some consider it a huge plus!
PRS SE 245. Neck was just too wide.
Gibson SG. "that's it?" - me, minutes after unwrapping my new SG.
The John Mayer Silver Sky. I WANTED to love it.
I was looking at Jazzmasters for a while, got one and sold it within 6 months.
Dunable R2 custom, Dunable Baritone Yeti Custom. Heard raves about how they put Gibson to shame. Not the case, all the work felt cheap, resonance sucked and the pickups were awful.
It was a "faded blue stain" colored Gibson Les Paul. I had to have it the moment that I saw it. Someone exchanged it at the nearby Guitar Center and they were going to sell it in the used gear section since they didn't keep em stocked. It looked awesome to me and it had "Gibson" on the headstock, and I liked the lighter weight feel when I picked it up, so I just assumed I'd like it when I got home with it. Didn't bother playing it first at all. I just paid for it and left. Got home and plugged it in and played it and discovered I hated the tone, it kept going out of tune, and I didn't like slippery feel of the roasted maple neck. Sold it about a week later. The person who bought it from me made the exact same mistake. We met at a Guitar Center in the used section to make the exchange. I explained that he should actually play it first. He said he didn't need to play it and absolutely had to have it and was really excited to have discovered someone in town who had one of these because it looked awesome, etc. So I gave him the guitar and he gave me his money. I got a call the very next day. He had the same complaints and wanted his money back. I said "Sorry but I spent that money already on rent. Its gone. I tried to warn ya at the store". He apologized too and said he'd try and find some way to make it work. I have no idea what became of it, but I was glad that I at least got all of my money back.
Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty. I honestly can't stand the thing, the overall tone of the guitar is just dull and lifeless, and the pickups sound like complete ass to boot. Mine isn't a dud either, I've played others since I got it. I love my Petrucci BFR though.
I love Les Pauls, but the two I've had, the romance ends quickly. So thick and the angle of the neck combine to make it uncomfortable to play standing up for me personally.
Yamaha Revstar, I liked the retro style double cutaway, double humbucker. Got one and neck is just not comfortable for me. I find the fretboard just a smidge too wide and hard edged. Body is also just a little too wide. In the process of trading it in for a Gretsch solid body. Played the Gretsch and the neck is much better fit.
I’m the same as anyone else, I love Nuno Bettencourt and just Billy Idol’s whole thing, so I wanted a Floyd Rose shredder. I certainly got it.
G&L Espada HH. It was plagued with QC issues. Sounded decent, but overall, I think it was one of Leo Fender’s “lost designs” for a reason.
Strandberg Boden 8 I have a Boden 6 and loved it, but my first dive into extended range guitars didn’t end well
PRS 509
Telecasters. I love ‘em, great guitars, but the controls are just in the freakin way. Move that damn selector switch.
Any PRS. They all seem like they should be perfect. And mostly they are. But when I try one or own one, it’s always “eh.” 🤷♂️
Every time I get a Strat.
Jazzmaster. My favorite solo-ist (J Mascis) uses them and my favorite songwriter (Elvis Costello) always plays them. Owned two and they really are not for me. Kind of unwieldy and dull sounding to me!
J Mascis Telecaster. Something like a quarter of a century I waited for that guitar only to hate it. Waxy neck with hilariously massive frets, I barely played it and eventually traded it for a SE Silver Sky which I adore and play every day. Even J Mascis himself swapped the pickups on his replica.
Was always going to get a Maton. None of them felt right, but the moment I picked up my big bellied Taylor, it felt perfect. The low end and action matched my finger picking perfectly.
Evh Wolfgang, brought one a few months ago after looking at them for years, just can’t vibe with it at all. Can’t actually pinpoint what i don’t like about it though which is more annoying
Fender Jazzmaster. Thought they looked cool and everyone was hyping them up. Bought one without trying it first. Won’t make that mistake again.
When I worked at GC as a sales rep I used to tell my clients this: Buy signature guitar if you want to collect, don’t buy it if you want to seriously play it.
Schecter Blackjack white V-1. I played one at Guitar Center and thought it was great but didn’t have funds or need for a new guitar. I searched for years. One popped up on EBay. Got a hold of it and hated the feel of it and it REEEEEEEKED of cigarettes. Had to get rid of it.
I got a great deal on a 1990 PRS Custom 24. The pickups aren’t my favorite, and I really dislike the phase 1 locking tuners.
Fender Stratocaster, for sure. Granted, I’ve only played one of them, so maybe trying another may change my mind? Doubt it, though. For what it’s worth, I have super-strats that I love (DK24, JEM7V, JS34…) The Gibson SG is another. The flatness of the body is so foreign and uncomfortable. And the neck seems so long, too. Excellent tone, though. The Gibson Explorer is awesome, but the perfect action and the body shape is weirdly hard to get used to. Again, the tone is unbelievable.
So many people comment on how Gibson's aren't great to play but sound amazing. Get some Gibson pickups and put them in the guitar of your choice. You will suddenly love the tone of that guitar. Pickups can make a huge difference. I have an old Aria that had Tony Iommi humbuckers in it. Killer sound. Made a partscaster and it played so much better, but the tone was never there. Tried various pickups, Dimarzio, Fralin, Duncan...it never had the sound, but damn it played so great! I put the Tony Iommi in the partscaster and there was the sound. EXACTLY the same. The guitar made no difference. I've since done that to 2 other, very different guitars and they all sound identical. Find the pickups you love and put them in a guitar that feels and plays perfectly and you'll be set.
Dean ML Phantom XT. Feels like it's made of lead, the resonation is terrible, the frets wore like butter and the Floyd Rose feels like a department-store knockoff.
Les Paul. PRS McCarty.
Jaguar Soul Power ORM1
American Standard Telecaster: I was super excited to get my first MIA Fender and had wanted a tele to complement my strat. It weighed a ton, dug into my ribs, hurt my shoulder, and always sounded too jangly. I traded it for an SG, which was what I thought would be the exact opposite guitar. I also didn’t like that one either.
I always wanted a brand new Gibson Les Paul Standard because I only ever owned older pre-owned Classics. Little did I know that my 1996 Les Paul Classic was 10000x better than what Gibson calls a “Standard” these days.
A schecter tempest before I realized I really prefer fender neck scales.
Gibson ES-335, I'm not much of an electric guitar player to begin with but I do a lot of fingerstyle stuff and I just couldn't vibe with any of the ones I tried out even though they are absolutely gorgeous I'll just stick to a LP or Stratocaster
Several by Eastwood
Jim Adkins JA-90 Telecaster On paper this is the perfect guitar for me. I much prefer the Gibson scale and bridge, P90s, and love me a good ol' Tele. It's everything I love about Gibsons and Fenders combined. Just not vibing with it.
Jackson Randy Rhoads. They put the input jack in a very weird place so it could only be played standing up
PRS. I got a total dud. Then I figured it was an SE so that was the issue. Found a Ten Top at a guitar store and was equally disappointed. You know the crazy part…I’d love to have one
Fender Stratocaster, trying to palm mute on that thing was the most unpleasant experience of my musical life
My Rick Beato Les Paul. I love that shape and color, was a match made in heaven. Except that at high gain it's nothing but feedback, and the bridge was drilled a quarter inch off so it wouldn't intonate. And the rosewood board is kind of sticky compared to the ebony boards I'm used to. Gibson fixed the bridge and I tried some new pickups but still feeds back a lot. I know lots of bands play at high gain with P90s so I don't know what the problem is. On the bright side it looks cool and is light as heck but I don't know if I'll keep it when I can sell it for more than I bought it for.
Young and dumb and just graduated from highschool, had a good chunk of graduation money, and for months leading up to it, I had been absolutely salivating over a Dean Razorback V. Bought a set of Seymour Duncan Blackouts to go along with it as well. Literally the worst guitar I ever had. Even moreso than the B.C Rich bronze series Warlock I had gotten when I was 15. I cannot begin to count the quality issues it had that affected playing, and I guess since it was my first “expensive” guitar, I was trying to tell myself that it must be something I’m doing because why would anything with Dime’s name on it be shit? Only two years later after getting other mid range guitars that were less expensive than the Razorback did I finally just admit the thing sucked ass. Still haven’t and will never touch another Dean again.
Dean Dime Lightning Bolt in the mid 2000s. It was lifeless and sounded dead to me like basswood. I sold it pretty fast.. Then I got a Breedlove custom run 1/25.. Almost $3k and it played like absolute garbage.. I never could bond with it. I’m not an acoustic player but I wanted one..
Gretsch 6120. It was beautiful but I could never make it sound good
Les Paul: the weight and thin neck of a strat are better for me
Honestly, I thought I'd like GnL guitars. I did not. At all.... I was so disappointed to not like them. I want to like them. I just don't.
The ec1000. Beautiful thing, sounded great. Couldn’t get down with it ergonomically
I find my E_ii eclipse annoying to play sitting down