Favorite Brand

[Wolfgang_'99]

I know this is a very genaric question but who, in your opinion makes the best guitars?

[STC5150]

I know this is a very genaric question but who, in your opinion makes the best guitars?

For what little my opinion is worth, I only have experience with two different types of guitars, and that is my Fender Squire Strat, and my OLP MM1. For what I am used to, my MM1 is the best I have ever played. I like it not because so many people say they sound like the ebmm's, but just because I like it. I'd love to own a real ebmm, but why spend all that money when I am satisfied with the $200 I spent on this guitar ? Just my two cents......

[AT]

I know this is a very genaric question but who, in your opinion makes the best guitars?

Indeed, sir... a very generic question and one that is probably impossible to answer objectively.

There are many factors worth considering, two obvious ones being labor and materials.

There's a running joke about modern Gibson guitars--that the cost of one is what you pay plus a $100 fret level. They still make great guitars, but they don't match the quality of the past and the prices have gone sky high. But people still want to own it, a lot of them just because it says 'Gibson' on it. Just about the same goes for Fender.

For the money Paul Reed Smith really does it well right-out-of-the box. And they seem to be one of the few who has been able to do import guitars (the SE series) that don't sacrifice BOTH labor and parts. Lakland basses are similar in this way with the Skyline series.

There are a lot of smaller companies taking an old fashioned approach to guitar making and doing them well, Ernie Ball and Godin come to mind.

We're also in an age where machine and computer design make manufacturing a cheap guitar very easy to do, thus we have an abundance of low-level guitars showing up in regular retail stores. Have you seen the 'Les Paul' thing they sell at Target? Against my advice I had a student that bought one. It was one of the biggest pieces of shit I've ever seen; when he plays it I cringe at the pinching and lack-of-intonation coming from that obscenity that has been labeled a 'guitar.'

The world economy and free trade has really made the cheap labor thing a factor in guitar-making (like everything else), but materaisl are another big thing to think about. For all practical purposes, the really good wood from 100 or so years ago is gone. We've cut down all the old trees and now count on faster growing woods for everything--including guitars. I live in Minnesota, and my instruments really get tested in a year's time living in this state. We have four completely different seasons, each one brings big climate and weather changes. My best guitars handle them all well with little change in adjustment. On the other side of it, you find out real fast if that "okay" guitar you bought in the summertime--when it was humid--was really worth the money once the dry, cold winter hits.

You guys have all heard me rant about how great I think the Wolfgang is. I'll put my best couple of them up against any top-notch guitar. As far as what thes best brand is... beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If a guitar is perfect to you, that's the best guitar there is.

[tommywho5150]

i agree if you found your perfect guitar the it is the best there is, i have tried many guitars over the last 20 or so years from les pauls, strats, jacksons, esp's, ebmm the list goes on
currenly i have a gibson m3 a kramer beretta and a frankie rep i built myself and each of those guitars are totaly different.
the m3 has a ton of different sounds available due to the pup switching which makes it very versitile the down sides are the frets are crap it needed a re-fret after just 2 years and the electrics started to get scratchy about 2 weeks after i bought it (classic gibson) also its not a pretty guitar but it stays intune verywell the intonation is spot on and it sounds great it makes me wonder why they stopped making them they are very underrated.
the kramer feels like nothing else in this world the neck is awsome its like butter its 22 years old and the frets are still pretty much perfect the pup went sour on me so i replaced it with an sd custom and it sounded even better than before its light and reliable and pretty good looking to boot.
and what can i say about the frankie i built myself, its my guitar i dont care what anyone says(about it being a rip off of ed's) i didnt stripe it the same as ed's and i dare say its made from different woods etc, i built it as a tribute and didnt really care how it played or what it sounded like but i have to say its sounds and plays great.

but to keep on track with this thread, there is no "best" brand its all subjective to requirements weather it be jazz blues soul metal whatever
everyone has different needs and tastes.
my only advice is test run a few guitars that u can afford and buy the one that suits u best, and dont just buy a guitar because your hero plays one i found that out when i bought an ibanez js

hope this is helpfull

[AT]

Yes... Play LOTS of guitars before buying one. That's the advice I give my students when they ask me about getting a new guitar. I tell them this long story about how I played an 40th Anniversary American Strat as my main axe for almost four years, and I was never willing to admit I didn't like it. The volume knob was placed so I couldn't rest my hand where I preferred, so I moved my hand up and then couldn't mute the way I like to and the tone thinned out. In turn, I started playing harder to try and get better tone, and I also couldn't play with the precision I always wanted to hear (minimal muting). Then, because I was playing harder, I started to break strings like crazy. I upped the gauge to help with the string breaking thing, then I was uncomfortable with bends and everything else. I "fought" with the Strat for a good while, and it wore on my esteem as a player and even made me avoid the guitar except when I absolutely needed to play. It wasn't until the manager of my favorite music store put a Wolfgang in my hands one day and said: "You should try one of these out," that I realized what I'd been missing. The Wolfgang made guitar playing fun for me again. All the crazy runaround was because of a stupid volume knob!! (Of course I only figured that out in hindsight.)

[STC5150]

Yes... Play LOTS of guitars before buying one. That's the advice I give my students when they ask me about getting a new guitar. I tell them this long story about how I played an 40th Anniversary American Strat as my main axe for almost four years, and I was never willing to admit I didn't like it. The volume knob was placed so I couldn't rest my hand where I preferred, so I moved my hand up and then couldn't mute the way I like to and the tone thinned out. In turn, I started playing harder to try and get better tone, and I also couldn't play with the precision I always wanted to hear (minimal muting). Then, because I was playing harder, I started to break strings like crazy. I upped the gauge to help with the string breaking thing, then I was uncomfortable with bends and everything else. I "fought" with the Strat for a good while, and it wore on my esteem as a player and even made me avoid the guitar except when I absolutely needed to play. It wasn't until the manager of my favorite music store put a Wolfgang in my hands one day and said: "You should try one of these out," that I realized what I'd been missing. The Wolfgang made guitar playing fun for me again. All the crazy runaround was because of a stupid volume knob!! (Of course I only figured that out in hindsight.)

I remember when I was a teenager, I used to walk 4 miles to the closest guitar shop that sold peaveys to play the wolfgang (I didn't have a bike). I remember spending an hour playing it, and going home and going to play my strat, and vowing to save any penny I could get my hands on to get one. Here we are a decade later, and still no wolfgang. Buying a house sucks........

[AT]

I remember when I was a teenager, I used to walk 4 miles to the closest guitar shop that sold peaveys to play the wolfgang (I didn't have a bike). I remember spending an hour playing it, and going home and going to play my strat, and vowing to save any penny I could get my hands on to get one. Here we are a decade later, and still no wolfgang. Buying a house sucks........

That's kind of funny, friend, because I now own 18 Wolfgangs, and I basically gave up buying a house for the next couple of years because I put my money into guitars and gear rather than an abode of my own!

Actually, buying a house is a really cool thing. So don't feel like you shorted yourself. Congrats on doing it.

Just a couple weeks ago I bought another 'gang, and I funded the purchase almost entirely this time by selling off tons of stuff on eBay. If you are able to come up with some spare change, USA Wolfgang Specials (the solid color/basswood models) still go relatively cheap on eBay ($450-$650). Even though it was the "cheaper" line, they cut no corners in quality of craftsmanship or materials--just in the looks and fancy-bits areas. My first Wolf was an inory Special (picture on the front page of my website right now: www.andrewthomas.net), and it's been a rock since '98. Just amazingly well-made guitars...

[STC5150]

That's kind of funny, friend, because I now own 18 Wolfgangs, and I basically gave up buying a house for the next couple of years because I put my money into guitars and gear rather than an abode of my own!

Actually, buying a house is a really cool thing. So don't feel like you shorted yourself. Congrats on doing it.

Just a couple weeks ago I bought another 'gang, and I funded the purchase almost entirely this time by selling off tons of stuff on eBay. If you are able to come up with some spare change, USA Wolfgang Specials (the solid color/basswood models) still go relatively cheap on eBay ($450-$650). Even though it was the "cheaper" line, they cut no corners in quality of craftsmanship or materials--just in the looks and fancy-bits areas. My first Wolf was an inory Special (picture on the front page of my website right now: www.andrewthomas.net), and it's been a rock since '98. Just amazingly well-made guitars...

Aren't the specials the ones with the stoptail bridges ? This may sound hillarious, but I really do want a floyd, but I have never owned one, I'm almost afraid of having one....... I have used one a few times, but I'd have no idea how to adjust it, change strings, ect.. I've seen the specials going for 450.... But I've also seen mean Street guitars sell their versions for 500, with all the bells and whistles. I haven't heard much about them, so I don't know........Know what though ? Buying a house has it's perks..... I.e. basement......loud amp....., not in this case, cause I have a small amp, but someday............

[vanzefflin]

Aren't the specials the ones with the stoptail bridges ? This may sound hillarious, but I really do want a floyd, but I have never owned one, I'm almost afraid of having one....... I have used one a few times, but I'd have no idea how to adjust it, change strings, ect.. I've seen the specials going for 450.... But I've also seen mean Street guitars sell their versions for 500, with all the bells and whistles. I haven't heard much about them, so I don't know........Know what though ? Buying a house has it's perks..... I.e. basement......loud amp....., not in this case, cause I have a small amp, but someday............

The Special came either way, hardtail or Floyd. For me, I prefer the Music Man guitars. I own 3 Evh's right now, and have had a few more and they consistently kick ass. I also own an Axis and find them to be of excellent quality as well, basically the same as the sigs..

I have been or worked for a Peavey dealer for almost 20 years and I played their guitars pre- Ed and obviously after and always thought they made a better product than they were given credit for. I have owned numerous vintage guitars and truly believe the quality left Fender and Gibson years ago. These two companies are the biggest whores in the industry IMHO.
They no longer spend any time setting up the product and even less on selecting quality materials.

[WinterlessIceness]

Ibanez, hands down. Hate Fender, totally not into Gibson, and the Peavey I have is awesome, but within it's limits. And though I believe that Jackson are kewl and all - Ibanez nontheless

[lil'devil]

andrew i couldn't agree more on the wolfs.

its funny how you describe your experience with a strat ... i did the exact same thing.

i tried everything out there as well thinking you know its all in the fingers, then one day i ran into a wolf in a store and what was remarkeable about that instrument to me is that to my hands it felt like a real instrument made to be played by a real person.

this is the first guitar that i ever felt i could just start playing instead of haveto 'train the muscles' to play around the quirks of the design. to this day whenever i run into a wolf in a store, i sit down and play say like 6 different guitars, then pick up the wolf and the wolf is the only one that i feel like i'm not having to 'work' at when playing.

so my fav brand is the wolf standard by peavey - very very unique design. i can't find anything that comes even close. if supplies of wolfs ever start to get low i will have someone digitize the neck and redo all the other components as close as possible.

andrew, if you are ever selling ivory or black wolf standards, give me a shout. i would rather buy one from someone that understands the instrument than random joe blow on ebay.

[AT]

STC5150, as our other buddy stated you could get the Specials with either a Floyd Rose or stop tail. Generally they made more with Floyds because the guitar was just more popular that way. I have a few stop tails and there is a noticeable difference in tone and sustain (they "sing" for sure), but I have really become a Floyd player in the last few years, so those are the ones I take out live. String changes are indeed a pain in the ass; I've got the process of unstringing, cleaning, oiling the neck, and restringing down to about an hour-and-a-half. The time is well worth it, though. My Wolfs have all stayed in top-notch condition with regular care.

lil'devil, I only have one solid color Wolf Standard--black. It's one of the early ones and is definietly built very well. Right now I can't see myself ever selling it, but there is of course no rhyme or reason to owning so many of the same guitar, so who knows what the future holds. If you ever need help finding a good 'gang, let me know. I'm happy to help.

[AT]

Here's a shot of me playing my aforementioned black Wolfgang Standard with my band in October.

[fast98dodge]

Let's see...

My first guitar was a Peavey Patriot.

My second guitar was a Peavey Vandenberg.

My third guitar was a Peavey Wolfgang Standard Quilt Top.

My first amp was a Peavey Rage.

My second amp was a Peavey 5150 Combo.

I'm a bit partial to Peavey because they are built in the USA, are a great value, and have always held up very well...

[Mikey Metalhead]

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