Best Guitar Parts?

[LeftyBlues]

As I picked up my guitar yesterday, I thought of the question "What part of the guitar do I like best and why?" . Another way to put it would be, if you were buying a guitar, what makes or breaks the guitar. Is it the body? neck? pickups? even color? I just thought it was an interesting question and thought it would be fun to hear your guy's opinion.

[HalfBlindLefty]

In fact I don't care to much how it looks, it''s the feel and the sound that a guitar the right one for me

[MikeJackal]

I'm not sure that can be answered with a simple answer. There are far too many things that go into the decision for me.
I think looks out weigh sound for me though, for example I like the sound of the Telecaster, but I hate the body shape. Just does something to me that I don't like and there's no good reason for it.
Same with the Les Paul, a really good sounding one could have the sound of Greeny's '59 LP, but if it was a peculiar colour or had a Bigsby (nothing against Bigsby's just not on a LP please), then i wouldn't even pick it up....i guess you could say I'm superficial when it comes to guitars.
Other things I dislike...Humbuckers with no metal cover, just the plastic bobbins on display...A guitar covered in stickers...stupid shaped guitars...heavy metal guitars.....Gibson Flying V's...and Modern Gibson's in general because I can't afford them and the build quality is going downhill, from what i read.

[LeftyBlues]

In fact I don't care to much how it looks, it''s the feel and the sound that a guitar the right one for me

Here's a twist Hans; What would you do if you had a guitar that had the perfect sound you wanted, but you didn't like the feel of the neck, or vice versa?

[Strummer07]

This raises interesting questions.....leftyblues
To an extent I agree its about the sound at the end of the day.
However, as a very visual person ...........( you buy with your eyes ) its what the guiatr looks like that will get me to pick it up 1st.

I don't have to play a Stratocaster to get a buzz from it ....just looking that shape on my wall is enough.... that Iconic shape and the wonderful pickguard.. a design dream....and the headstock shape is just Wow!! ( although I think it looks dreadful on an Acoustic !!)

The top of the Gibson Headstock with the curly 'moustache' top and the tulip tuners is another great image.

The strip of darker coloured wood inlayed on the back of a Strat fretboard I always think is real cool

I don't like to see classic shapes messed with ....f. instance.humbuckers on a Strat ....NO !!! .. may sound cool .....but a visual No No !

Odd shaped guitars just turn me off .....or cannot (IMO) be thought of as a 'serious' instrument .... Flyin V's are for fun or showing off !
Danelectro and Burns shapes ..yuk !.....and some of the Ibanez shapes .. particularly the one with a hand hole . ..........Yuk !!
Acoustics with sound holes in weird places ............won't end up in my collection.

Classic Acoustic guitar shapes have the same effect .... Classic ( for me) has to be the Martin 000 series and the Gibson J45 ...Oddly ... I am not a fan of the Martin D28 ... body shape is too undefined and fat at the lower bout !! ??? .I know ... odd!

Its the shape and the look of the woods that are visually very iconic and smack of great craftsmanship, smell a new guitar straight out the case too.... rich and woody !!.

So for me .............some guitars are visually really exciting, and grab my attention..........and then comes the sound !! ...are we not super lucky !!

But each to their own ...............

[HalfBlindLefty]

In fact I don't care to much how it looks, it''s the feel and the sound that a guitar the right one for me

Here's a twist Hans; What would you do if you had a guitar that had the perfect sound you wanted, but you didn't like the feel of the neck, or vice versa?

Would be a no go (buy) Changing or reshaping the neck would change the sound characteristics......

I do love a strat, LP or es335 shape visaul they are great. Still sound and feel (together) say yes or no for me

[VikingBlues]

As I picked up my guitar yesterday, I thought of the question "What part of the guitar do I like best and why?" . Another way to put it would be, if you were buying a guitar, what makes or breaks the guitar. Is it the body? neck? pickups? even color? I just thought it was an interesting question and thought it would be fun to hear your guy's opinion.

Very complicated answers spring to mind for what would appear a simple question.

Trying as brief a summary as possible:-

Gibson SG Standard - sold to me by the sound and tone of the first note I played on it. I didn't choose even to try it as I was trying some PRS guitars - 'twas my wifes suggestion to try the SG. Didn't choose colour - second hand one came up at a reputable dealer.

Tokai LC85 - took a fancy for a Les Paul type guitar (probably due to Peter Green) - while looking for one I chanced on a second hand Tokai - liked the tone and sound and playing feel. Found a new one would be similar to second hand Gibson price, if not cheaper. Only element of choice was I liked the wine red custom colour and style a bit more than the others.

These are the only two electrics I've had resulting from trying guitars in a shop. I find the general environment and poorly set up (for me) guitars with poor strings of very little help to the decision making process.

Hagstrom Viking Deluxe. Main reason for purchase - I liked the sound of semi-acoustic electrics I heard. The Hagstrom came up on e-bay when I was looking. Liked what I found out about it in reviews, opinions, and specs. Saw Matt Thorpes YouTube videos of him playing a Hagstrom .... sold! I didn't immediately "click" with the Hagstrom. That took several months, when I suddenly discovered with the help of upgrading to a decent amp how good it was. If I'd tried it in a shop I'd probably not have bought one.

Vintage VSA590. Main reason for buying - I found in blind tests i was invariably choosing P90 tones (then single coil, then humbuckers). Continuing to like semi-acoustic tones more than solid body. So a semi-acoustic with P90s. Not many about, particularly in my price range. Asked at my favourite guitar shop - found what they could get - the VSA was the only one that ticked the boxes for apparent quality / budget / etc. Took a gamble and ordered one, partly based on my high regard for Trev Wilkinson hardware to get the most out of budget end guitars. If I'd tried it in the shop I wouldn't have bought it - the strings totally ruined the feel and tone. Put new strings on at home - instant "click" - lucky one that!

PRS SE Soapbar - can't really do this one yet - still a work in progress - but bought to get P90 tone in a solid body and there were so few of these to choose from in my price range and so few of any of those in the UK in stock that the choice was almost nil. My favourite guitar shop said they'd like to have P90 solid body guitars as they rated the sound highly but knew from experience they'd end up unsold hanging on the wall. But - main objective - tone (still to find out if successful - Alnico IIs to go in and electrics to be upgraded).

I can't include my self build "Strat" in this question. That was done for logistic reasons - if you're going to do a self-build it's the easiest type to get parts for by a long way. I hugely admire Golfxzq and Aggiefan for being able to do that work on building a Les Paul type around the same time - much more difficult.

Really all my recent purchases have a starting point of tone. Then budget. Then availability. Then if there's any choice I may be swayed by visuals. But I only really find semi-acoustics to have the real look of works of art to me. Some solid bodies may look good to me (particularly if they've got good wood grain finishes) but they don't give me that "wanna have" feel. I suppose I'm not to keen on solid colours - unless the wood grain shows through. And I find green difficult to take (natures great range of green makes any painted green look "wrong" to me). The necks on my 4 main guitars have a whole varity of shapes - the chunky strat neck and the thin Hagstrom neck are miles apart but I like them both. My "Strat" has a maple fingerboard, the others Rosewood - I have no preference. Body shape - I've had semi-acoustics, les pauls, telecasters, strats - again no real preference, as long as the guitar is reasonably balanced and I have the strength to stand with it hanging on the strap.

[LeftyBlues]

I was thinking about this and I think the part that I value most in my guitars are the necks. The neck on my Les Paul feels like tree trunk, but thats what I love about it. I love the sound of strats and would love to get a real strat, but it makes me wonder how someone like EC for example can prefer such a thin neck like the V necked strats.

[MikeJackal]

Of course there is a scenario where all of the boxes are ticked and there are no drawbacks or downsides to the guitar in question.......

4538432851.jpg (24.01 KiB) Viewed 13508 times

Except it's not a Lefty....

greenylefty.jpg (24.49 KiB) Viewed 13508 times

...That's better. (If only it were that simple in real life)

[Blindboy]

That's a tough one... Every guitar I have (9 or 10, I'm not real sure), has a different voice and personality, and story to tell (song to sing?). It isn't any one factor that makes me want it, it is the whole package. I love achtops visually as well as tonally, I have a Strat as my default guitar (love the tones, learned to play it for that reason), I like Gibsons, but don't want a Les Paul (a 335, now...). I am currently in love with my Casino for a few reasons, the tone is killer, the neck is nice, I can play it with fingers or a pick, it looks good, and it was a gift from the family of my best bud after he passed. There is no one factor that is a deal breaker or maker for me. If I like a guitar enough, I will learn to overcome any drawbacks it might have, and if it doesn't "speak" to me, I won't like it, no matter how good the neck is....

[Golfxzq]

This is a hard question to answer.... it's sort of like falling in love. If you see a girl that you think is pretty and you are attracted to her you go in for a closer look. You do a little research to see about her background and if she comes from a good family. If you are still interested you ask for a trial run. You caress her long slender neck and hold her body in your lap. Then you take a chance and pluck her strings just to see how she reacts. Then you amp it up a bit and turn her on. If she responds to your touch and you are both well pleased with each other then you are totally in love with no hope of ever recovering... you have to open up your wallet and fork out a bunch of cash just to get her to go home with you. After that you must play her every day, oil her neck, change her strings, polish her body, and protect her from damage. And after a few years, if you are attracted to a newer model then you ditch her and start all over again. That is.... unless you are lucky enough to have found the guitar that you plan to live with for the rest of your life.

[MikeJackal]

Golf that was quite amusing. I guess when it comes to guitars most of us here are Mormons, who want's one when you can have multiple lovers! For example I have 3 guitars that I will never ever sell already.

[doc]

I have way too many guitars and way to little talent to really say much on this ... but when has stopped me before? For me it it is the sound first and foremost. After that it is the easy of playing it. Ease of playing is a sum of the elements more than one thing. Scale length, action height, neck comfort etc. interact. For me my Strats fight me the most ... the position of the knobs and switch is just not right for me. I also go in phases ... I am in LP style right now. So the LP's, Hamers and Washburn idol are getting the most use. I play a CP Jag a fair bit as well. It has a way different feel ... neck and scale. I really like that guitar as it is easiest on my beat up hand and wrist joints. The tele gets playing time as well though and it has a huge neck. So ... whatever one gets me the sound I am looking for ... of course that opens the amp and speaker discussion then as well! ;-)