What is your #1 axe, and why?

[GuitarGuyLP]

I am thinking about adding a second guitar to my collection. I really like my Ibanez RGA121, but I am thinking about something else. I have been looking at Jackson, ESP, EVH, and just about everything else. I am not really looking for recommendations, I am just looking to see what people like, and why. I think this will help me open my eyes to some guitars that are not on my list.

 

[spanny]

Paul Reed Smith Custom 24. Just love it, plays great, sounds great, very versatile.

 

[Shark Diver]

Because I had this custom built and was able to hand pick every aspect of it. Just adding or subtracting what I have learned over the years what I need or don't. Simply a feel I love. Also, it just exhumes a kick ass rock vibe that makes me want to play the Hell out of it.

 

[Badronald]

Fender American Stratocaster my wife bought me for Christmas in 2001.

Locking tuners, Dimarzio VV Heavy Blues at bridge, blocked down trem, rear tone pot attached to bridge pickup and I got rid of the awful straplocks and put eliptical pins on. Perfect.

Plays perfect, feels perfect and the ridiculous amount of tones that come out of that guitar make it invaluable.

Tone is on the fat side for a Stratocaster. Darker than standard which works well with a ton of gain if that's what I want to do.

It's the tobacco sunburst on the far right.

 

[Mudder]

My #1, or at least the one I grab the most, is a mid 80s Greco John Sykes LP. Just a perfect guitar for me, and really the first LP I've grown attached to. After that it's a mid 80 tele custom, which is a completely different animal than the LP, and rocks just as hard.

 

[sandman]

My american standard strat. Sanded body and tung oiled it. Dimarzio at1 and cruiser pups.

 

[TrueTone500]

I'd have to give the #1 trophy to my USA Hamer Korina '58 V. My Epiphone banjo is no slouch either...

 

[TrueTone500]

Because I had this custom built and was able to hand pick every aspect of it. Just adding or subtracting what I have learned over the years what I need or don't. Simply a feel I love. Also, it just exhumes a kick ass rock vibe that makes me want to play the Hell out of it.

I like this!

 

[Rock Bodom]

I'm generally a super strat player, but this R0 is pretty much perfection for me, overall fantastic player, super resonant and killer feel to the neck (doesn't look too shabby either

 

[Deleted member 16554]

Les Paul Custom for sure

 

[tripstan]

RGA121 was second fiddle to my Suhr Modern. They play similar. Flat fretboard (16" on the Modern 15" on the RGA). Thin fast neck, 24 frets. But I just sold it and bought another modern that has completely different tone woods. For the money those RGA121's and smoking guitars.

 

[rupe]

My all time favorite would be the purple Rand in the middle. When my guitars were stolen in '88, I took my insurance money to 48th St to buy a replacement (in addition to the yellow Jem that I had already scored). I tried a few guitars at Manny's, Rudy's, and 48th St Guitars. Feeling a bit dejected as I hadn't found anything that wowed me, I reluctantly headed to Sam Ash and figured I try out a few Jacksons. I played a Dinky that I liked alot, then there they were...6 Rand guitars like the one in the "Still of the Night" video that I had fallen in love with purely from its looks. I played all of them and it came down to two...the purple one and a yellow one (which I scored many years later...its the one in the pic). They were very close and both sounded better than the rest but I liked the neck a bit more on the purple (plus purple was my favorite color)...sold. I was shocked by how well they played and how huge they sounded for a Floyded guitar. I was only used to hearing that type of ballsiness from a hard tail or stop/TOM setup. It immediately became my number 1 guitar and has remained so for hard rock/metal to this day.

These days, I don't play hard rock/metal all that often so the Rands see much less use. For other gigs (blues, classic rock, etc) my Anderson Hollow Classic is the clear number 1:

 

[stemlife]

Schecter C1-EX Baritone. Nothing else like it.

 

[Valtyr]

For guitar it's my Parker Fly Classic. It is more stable, better intonation, better action, less weight, and better balanced than any other guitar I have every tried. It sounds great too, but I think I like the tone of my Gibson SG just a little better.

for bass, it's my Rickenbacker 4001. I have never found another bass that sounds better to me.

 

[Anonymous]

I play all my guitars on a rotating basis, but if I had to pick one, it would be the white one in this picture:

The robin's egg blue one is a VERY close second, only because it has just one pickup and the pickup is a Custom Custom, which I like, but is not my fave...

The reason this is my favorite is that:

1.) I absolutely love the neck profile on certain Charvel Custom Shop Music Zoo models - the easiest way to explain it is that it is the Music Zoo Nitro Relic profile. Fatter than "normal" generic Custom Shop Charvel necks, with a 1 3/4" nut width and 21 frets. These necks are like an old friend to my hands. The blue one (and another custom shop I just got and is being painted) have the same neck. I also LOVE the look of birdseye maple, one piece necks...

2.) This guitar sounds great and has versatility - My favorite combo of pickups - Super Distortion bridge and Humbucker from Hell neck. Lots of great tones from these pickups and just a couple of great slabs of wood (alder body and maple neck).

Now, as I said, I just got something from the Charvel Custom shop that I ordered almost two years ago that is with Dan Lawrence for a paint scheme that the Charvel Custom Shop won't do anymore due to trademark issues. That guitar will have a NOS Holdsworth pickup in it and may very well end up being my new number one... Time will tell and I'll post pics here when I get the guitar back in a few weeks...

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Because I had this custom built and was able to hand pick every aspect of it. Just adding or subtracting what I have learned over the years what I need or don't. Simply a feel I love. Also, it just exhumes a kick ass rock vibe that makes me want to play the Hell out of it.

It removes a kick ass rock vibe from the grave? That's heavy, man!

Steve

 

[Shark Diver]

Because I had this custom built and was able to hand pick every aspect of it. Just adding or subtracting what I have learned over the years what I need or don't. Simply a feel I love. Also, it just exhumes a kick ass rock vibe that makes me want to play the Hell out of it.

It removes a kick ass rock vibe from the grave? That's heavy, man!

Steve

I have to evoke the spirit of somebody since just me is pretty lame

 

[Anonymous]

Because I had this custom built and was able to hand pick every aspect of it. Just adding or subtracting what I have learned over the years what I need or don't. Simply a feel I love. Also, it just exhumes a kick ass rock vibe that makes me want to play the Hell out of it.

It removes a kick ass rock vibe from the grave? That's heavy, man!

Steve

I have to evoke the spirit of somebody since just me is pretty lame

Oh please, you exude cool!

Steve

 

[Devin]

I gotta go with my old reliable - 1989 Hamer USA Californian Standard. Solid honduran mahog body, 3 piece stressed maple neck, slab brazillian rosewood board, SS frets, and my all-time favorite pickup, the BG Hellabucker

It has the huge fat tone you'd expect from a set-neck all mahogany guitar, with the comfort and playability of a shredder.

I will say my new Ibanez Artist AR320 is giving it hell, though! What an incredible value that guitar is

 

[Shark Diver]

Because I had this custom built and was able to hand pick every aspect of it. Just adding or subtracting what I have learned over the years what I need or don't. Simply a feel I love. Also, it just exhumes a kick ass rock vibe that makes me want to play the Hell out of it.

It removes a kick ass rock vibe from the grave? That's heavy, man!

Steve

I have to evoke the spirit of somebody since just me is pretty lame

Oh please, you exude cool!

Steve

So much for 2 English degrees