Best guitar around 1200 or under?

[fuzzyratfarts]

What company will give me the best sound and easiest play? I DON'T want a 'standard' guitar, i.e. not a Strat, LP, Tele, I don't want it to be a recognized guitar. Resonant and full sounding, and as far as style I like the look of the Briggs or PRS Santana Model (the ones Santana plays) style or something similar...I want humbuckers or P90s, and I am open to any ideas...I really enjoy exotic wood schemes and I want a solid feeling guitar, but it need not be LP heavy. No guitars with pickguards. I want a woody looking guitar...SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!

[Lerxst2112]

I hate to say this, but you're asking the impossible. POSSIBLY Hamer?

[Jaya]

McInturff Royal or Sportster.
Jaya

[gpro34]

Check out the Ernie Ball music man line of guitars. They are made in the USA and sound and play great.

[saxophonist56]

don't laugh...micheal kelly patriot. made in korea sounds great plays killer and has gold hardware. grover tuners. $350 tops

[K-man]

You should be able to pick up a used Hamer Newport for around $1200. P90's and a Bigsby, an absolutely killer axe.

[atquinn]

Definitely a used Hamer of some sort. Studio, Artist, Special, Newports, you can get them all for $1200 or less (far less depending on the model) used and Hamer makes great guitars.

-Austin

[gtraddict]

I personally would have to agree with the Ernie Ball suggestion I think for the money they are the best built guitars with G&L being a very close second. I have owned the guitars mentioned so far.

[amper]

What company will give me the best sound and easiest play? I DON'T want a 'standard' guitar, i.e. not a Strat, LP, Tele, I don't want it to be a recognized guitar. Resonant and full sounding, and as far as style I like the look of the Briggs or PRS Santana Model (the ones Santana plays) style or something similar...I want humbuckers or P90s, and I am open to any ideas...I really enjoy exotic wood schemes and I want a solid feeling guitar, but it need not be LP heavy. No guitars with pickguards. I want a woody looking guitar...SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!

$1200 or under? Rickenbacker 650D. As woody as they come (neck-through rock maple and walnut with an oil finish), and lists under $1100. Not the usual thing you see on stage. Nice full sound with two humbucking pickups. Even available with a trem. 100% Made in USA, and like any Rickenbacker, will *always* hold it's value.

Highly recognizable, though, so you may not want it...

[MOJO]

i would talk to Doug at Soulmate guitars

http://www.soulmateguitars.com/

might be a tad bit more the $1200 though ( depending on woods and otions)

[gkelm]

don't laugh...micheal kelly patriot. made in korea sounds great plays killer and has gold hardware. grover tuners. $350 tops

I've wondered about those...they really have a boutiquey look.

I was also going to mention Hamer.

[photoguy]

A friend just picked up a Yamaha RGX-A2 and is very impressed.

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/PressReleaseDetail/0,,CNTID%253D48561%2526CTID%253D%2526CNTYP%253DNEW S,00.html

When he went looking, he had something entirely different in mind...when he picked this up and played it for a while, he knew this was the one.

[Thor]

The Carvin California Carve Top has the PRS vibe and seems to be a solid guitar and in your specified price range. You can also customize it to your tastes when you order.

Herritage is another option (though it definatly is a Gibson vibe).

Lots of other good suggestions listed in the previous posts. Good luck with your search, and let us know what you end up with.

[12stringer]

Check out the Washburn Pilsen Idol. Made in USA, got great reviews in all the guitar rags and the street price is in your range. Great guitar and an amazing value.

http://www.washburn.com/products/electrics/idol/pi70.aspx

You can see some reviews here:
http://www.washburn.com/about/reviews/index.aspx

Cheers,
12

[lhallam]

There was a thread here about a year ago on the topic of "best off the shelf gtr". I went through all the pages and Ernie Ball/Music Man was mentioned more than any other company. High raves on price and quality. It's probably worth your while to check it out for yourself.

[Luke]

You should narrow your criteria a bit. Do you have a scale length, neck construction method or fingerboard material preference? For that matter, what about issues like neck wood type, body wood type, solid body or chambered construction. If you are shopping used there are many choices, that's why think you need to focus the search a bit more so you are not overwhelmed.

[sw686blue]

You could pretty much get any type of Hamer for that price. Best bang for the buck IMO.

[fuzzyratfarts]

You should narrow your criteria a bit. Do you have a scale length, neck construction method or fingerboard material preference? For that matter, what about issues like neck wood type, body wood type, solid body or chambered construction. If you are shopping used there are many choices, that's why think you need to focus the search a bit more so you are not overwhelmed.

Rosewood fingerboard for sure

and I would love one of these on it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/fuzzyratfarts/tail1.jpg
or
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/fuzzyratfarts/tail2.jpg
But I realize that is an uncommon feature, so that is not overly important.

Also important is NO SOLID COLORS. I want to SEE some nice wood all over, covering up nice wood is ridiculous!



I want two humbuckers or an HSS configuration.

[Blauserk]

Another vote for Hamer. Particularly the stuff they've made since the move to Connecticut in the late 1990s. Incredibly consistent, toneful stuff.

If you're after an exotic wood, they made a Koa guitar in the mid 1990s called the Mirage which is sonically quite versatile. HHB on this forum is a gigging pro who swears by his.

Personally, I like the Artist Korina (mine is with P90s, but they also come with hums), which can be had with 2 pups in minty condition for under $900, and with three pups for about $1100. Incredibly versatile sonically, but korina is no longer "exotic" wood.

[Dan Desy]

Ernie Ball/Music Man Axis Rosewood. The best thing for around $1200, period. That things sounds and feels great. The perfect rock machine!

Or any EBMM for that matter...

[gtraddict]

quoting Barney off the Simpson "here here for the EB":BEER Burrrrrrrrp

[Chris Rice]

Another vote for Hamer. Particularly the stuff they've made since the move to Connecticut in the late 1990s. Incredibly consistent, toneful stuff.

I live about 3 blocks from the old factory. Found out a few months afer they moved.:jo

[Long2Play]

Godin LG Signature... North American made, real Lacquer finish, real Duncan's, and under $1000.00. Righteous guitar for reasonable dough, IMO.

http://www.godinguitars.com/gtrlgsignatures.jpg

Good luck! :JAM

[Luke]

The bridges you have shown are the type you would see on hollowbody construction instruments. Are you looking for a hollowbody? Do you understand the feedback issues of such an instrument under volume?

It appears as though your quest for an instrument is all about aesthetics. A beautiful guitar is useless if it does not feel right in your hands or sound right to your ears. I think you are going about your quest completely wrong. Determine what feels and sounds right, then go about locating a pretty guitar.

[tms13pin]

Gadow Custom Single or Custom Hollow

www.gadowguitars.com (http://www.gadowguitars.com)

Here's a nice deal on a new Custom Single:

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Ryan-Gadow-Custom-Single-Cutaway-Electric-Guitar_W0QQitemZ7401131937QQ

(I'm not affiliated with this seller at all... this is *not* a FS ad).

Pics of my Gadow Classic Hollow are here:

www.ece.cmu.edu/~tms/gadow (http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~tms/gadow)



--Tom

[Bassomatic]

Why do you care if it's a "recognized" guitar?

(where's the "confused" icon?)

[hemlock]

Used Melancon P90 Artist. Right in that price range and super-duper guitars!

[CNP]

G&l

[JoeinLA]

You can find a used PRS CU22 or McCarty for around $1200 every now and again on eBay... I haven't played the EB or Hamers, but PRS is pretty damn good to me.

[reentune]

No question: used Melancon of any sort.
That's what they're going for used: $1,000 to $1,200.

[Matt F]

Used Zion ?

[tone4days]

brian moore i series ... maybe even a used custom shop

t4d

[73171]

used McInturff Polaris or Polaris Pro (Polaris with flame maple top)

[PlexiBreath]

I have about 10 guitars I've carefully selected over the years. Most are over $2000 with one at $6000. But of these one of my favorite is a cherry finished PRS Soapbar II, made in Korea. I paid $380 out the door new, of course I've poured money into it getting Lollar P90s, bell knobs, better PRS tuners, a bridge that lets me slot the saddles for wider string spacing and I cut a new nut for it, again for wider string spacing.

But I can't believe what a fine playing, solid instrument this is. Very light weight, no pickguard, set neck. Tunes well and stays in tune well. And I really love the tone. I had been looking at getting a Les Paul Special, but I see it as a design flaw if the volume knob is too far away to easily do volume swells, this little PRS has a comfortable volume knob placement.
Currently this is the guitar I'm using everyday for my classes at GIT.

[crazy4blues]

Go to eBay and search Lowel. This makes guitars for under $1k. I'm tempted myself.

[phatsolid]

If you're looking for SSH - the MusicMan Silhouette and Silhouette Special are awesome guitars, to be had for about $700 used. Also Melancons are simply fabulous (hand-picked wood, etc) for about $200 - $300 more. Also, Robin Rangers and G7l Legacys are good options too.

For HH, I would agree that Hamer and Heritage are great. Used Hamer USA guitars have got to be the best guitar deal on the planet.

- D.

[enharmonic]

You might be able to find a used Framus Tennesse Pro or Custom in that range. I did, but it was also the deal of a lifetime for me...as that's about half of what they typically command

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=267044&highlight=Framus+Tennessee+Custom

Not a lot of exposure for these here in the USA, so you might be able to score BIG if you can find someone who took a chance on one. Mine came from an artist endorsement deal, so the guy moved it for whatever he could get for it...which was great for me, but a great disservice for the instrument.

This guitar will hang with anything in the sub $5k market.

[MattB]

Hamer all day.

[jtg116]

McInturff or Melancon :BEER

[enharmonic]

McInturff or Melancon :BEER

A second on the TCM suggestion. Though you won't find many in exotic wood configurations at this price point, you should be able to find a nice variety of used TCM's in this range if you keep your eyes peeled. Some models to look out for:

Taurus Sportster
Polaris or Polaris Pro
The occasional Empress...though most go for a bit more than $1200 used.

Outstanding guitars, and highway robbery at used prices if we're talking guitar for the money.

[jcground]

$1200 or under? Rickenbacker 650D. As woody as they come (neck-through rock maple and walnut with an oil finish), and lists under $1100. Not the usual thing you see on stage. Nice full sound with two humbucking pickups. Even available with a trem. 100% Made in USA, and like any Rickenbacker, will *always* hold it's value.

The Ric is a good recommendation.

[Balance]

In that price range, I'd look for a used McInturff, but I don't think you'd go wrong with any guitars mentioned.

[ford]

Lots of good choices here.

I'd say Robin Wrangler/Rawhide, but it has a pickguard on it.

So look for Hamer, EB, and Terry McInturff in the used market.

They all make great guitars.

Keep watching ebay or if you are really patient, stick around the TGP guitar emporium. So many great people to deal with here.

rock

bford:dude

[dankayaker]

used McInturff Polaris or Polaris Pro (Polaris with flame maple top)



Yes McInturff (Sportster or Taurus). . there is not a guitar made for any price that is better IMO.