Good Electric Guitar For Hard Rock/Hair Metal Covers Band

Charvel1975

Active member
Hello all, so I'm thinking of selling my 1998 Gibson Les Paul Special that has a Dimarzio super distortion p90 in the bridge and factory Gibson p100 pickup in the neck and using the funds to go towards another electric guitar as I'm trying to get the miles off my MIK Epiphone Les Paul Custom that's in my sig and maybe going for something lighter as my Epiphone weighs a ton and takes a toll on my back! I'm trying to stay on a budget below $1,500 if possible and I've even been looking at guitars in the $400 on up range.

I've been looking around online a lot and watching Youtube videos and reviews for some time, it's very hard for me to get to a music store like Guitar Center in Fairlawn, OH for example which is the closest to me, due to my work schedule. I'm in a classic/hard rock cover band and we play 70's/80's classic rock/hard rock in standard E tuning and are a 2 guitarist band. My primary Live rig right now is EVH 5150 III 50 Watt V2 6L6 head thru my Marshall 1960A w/2 WGS Retro 30's and stock celestion g12t75's in xpattern with my pedalboard: Korg Pitchblack tuner, ZOOM MS-70CDR and ModTone Clean Boost. As we are doing more shows, the EVH rig will be for live shows and right now my other guitarist is letting me use his Blackstar HT5R 1x12 Combo running through the matching Blackstar 1x12 cab and my aforementioned pedalboard is running through the effects loop.


Anyone have any suggestions or input? Thank you
 
I'd get a superstrat or if you want to say on the more classic side maybe an SG as it is pretty light compared to an LP.
 
To me, an Hss or Hsh superstrat cover all the bases (no floyds for quick tuning changes). Pick your brand, but I'm partial to Charvels these days.

You might also be able to find a used PRS DGT, very versatile,
 
Look for a uaed MIJ Jackson DKMGT or the equivalent with passives. MIJ Jacksons are a gem for the money they go for. $250-300 can land you a beast.
 
You could find a nice used Tom Anderson for about $1,500. It would fit the bill for a cover band as they are extremely versatile.
 
jski59":ff0x0zgg said:
To me, an Hss or Hsh superstrat cover all the bases (no floyds for quick tuning changes). Pick your brand, but I'm partial to Charvels these days.

You might also be able to find a used PRS DGT, very versatile,

You might want to keep your modified Gibson Les Paul Special and budget some money for a different type of guitar. I like P-90 equipped guitars and single coil Strats & Teles. The HSS or HSH super Strat guitar with or without the Floyd Rose tremolo bridge would be my suggestion as well and I like the new Charvel guitars especially the Pro Mod, but would mod the pickguard to my specs. I've never got to play an actual PRS DGT guitar yet so I can't comment on the price/sound/feel of that guitar or how it would sound with your amp/effects rig for your cover band.

Concerning your amp/effects rig, I like the EVH 50 watt 6L6 amp head, but you may find the 4x12 cab to be too big & loud for your cover band gigs unless you're playing a big stage. A 1x12 or 2x12 closed back guitar cab that takes up less stage space and having a lower stage volume would be a better set up without having to buy a new amp or sizing down to a 1x12 guitar combo amp for set up/portability while still using your current effects rig would work. At the end of the day, if it works for your cover band that you're in and your bandmates are happy with your playing style & sound without being loud & having the right sounds for your set list, then it's all worth the effort.
 
I second the DGT, a workhorse of a guitar. Failing that try and find a prs brent mason or if you don’t like prs have a look at a used music man Luke 3.
 
swamptrashstompboxes":3zzarcb7 said:
Look for a uaed MIJ Jackson DKMGT or the equivalent with passives. MIJ Jacksons are a gem for the money they go for. $250-300 can land you a beast.

yep I would second this, and for the price you can pick them up for you could get a couple (always good to have more guitars haha)...just make sure you can get the neck specs though as I have found they can be quite different. I have 2 rhoads dkmgt from the same year and the necks are completely different, one is "baseball" like with a flat back and the other is thin and slick :LOL: :LOL:
 
sytharnia1560":gn0wtal6 said:
swamptrashstompboxes":gn0wtal6 said:
Look for a uaed MIJ Jackson DKMGT or the equivalent with passives. MIJ Jacksons are a gem for the money they go for. $250-300 can land you a beast.

yep I would second this, and for the price you can pick them up for you could get a couple (always good to have more guitars haha)...just make sure you can get the neck specs though as I have found they can be quite different. I have 2 rhoads dkmgt from the same year and the necks are completely different, one is "baseball" like with a flat back and the other is thin and slick :LOL: :LOL:

I own at least five MIJ Jacksons. I don't think I ever paid over $250 for one. EMG 81/85 or JB/Jazz. Four got gotoh Floyd's at $120 a pop and they slaughter. Hard to beat. I like my main MIJ Jackson's with Gotoh Floyds over my Ibanez Prestiges at a lower cost all said and done.

Ibanez Prestige is a great deal too. They are easy to find for $500-$600 and can kick ass, but the hardtails are harder to find and generally cost more. Also Ibanez branded pickups generally suck. I stay with the 3___×series mainly except for one 2570 that now has a DiMarzio CL/LQ in it, which I love.

Two solid bets for me.
 
Also, me and the other guitarist both do rhythm and leads. My other guitarist also usually does anything requiring whammy but I'm not 100% opposed to doing anything requiring whammy. He also uses newer Ibanez Premium JEM's (I'm pretty sure he has all of them in the Premium JEM series! He loves them!) through Line 6 Relay G55 (Live) then into the newest version of the Marshall DSL100 head through a Bugera slant 4x12 with a mix of Celestions Vintage 30's and G12K100's through a Line 6 POD HD500 for just effects.
 
swamptrashstompboxes":iv310etf said:
Four got gotoh Floyd's at $120 a pop and they slaughter. Hard to beat. I like my main MIJ Jackson's with Gotoh Floyds over my Ibanez Prestiges at a lower cost all said and done.
I can attest the fact that Gotoh Floyds are amazing. I have one in my partscaster and it is the best floyd that i've ever played. I just wonder that why most of the manufacturers haven't switched to them yet.

And yes, MIJ Jacksons are great.
 
Thunkful":cmauifyg said:
swamptrashstompboxes":cmauifyg said:
Four got gotoh Floyd's at $120 a pop and they slaughter. Hard to beat. I like my main MIJ Jackson's with Gotoh Floyds over my Ibanez Prestiges at a lower cost all said and done.
I can attest the fact that Gotoh Floyds are amazing. I have one in my partscaster and it is the best floyd that i've ever played. I just wonder that why most of the manufacturers haven't switched to them yet.

And yes, MIJ Jacksons are great.

I can hammer the shit out of my gotohs for three hours and not need to tune. I prefer Schaller's Floyd feel though TBH. I Have one in my Eclipse and one in a Charvel.

IMO the Premium Ibanez are far off of the quality of the Prestige. Try one and see what you think. For me it was blatently appearant.
 
I played in a cover band for about 15 years. After my second lower back surgery I switched to Peavey Wolfgangs because of the weight. Mostly played the stop tail models either a special or standard. I also used IEM's and ran direct from a GSP1101 :) We covered everything from 60's-current with a 3 piece and no tracks.
 
Sorry to bump an old thread, still searching for another electric guitar and after having to return the new Ibanez RG421HPFM and now a defective new Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HH 2PT - Chlorine Burst, I came across this PRS SE Custom 24 Electric Guitar - Faded Blue Burst but seen a lot of complaints on the pickups, etc. With recent changes at my job, I have to try and stay on a budget. My MIK Epiphone Les Paul Custom that's in my sig has been the main guitar I was using at shows and practices but I'm trying to keep the miles off it and definitely looking for something lighter as my Epiphone weighs a ton and takes a toll on my back! I'm trying to stay on a budget below $1,000 if possible and I have a feeling I'm partial to Mahogany soundwise with maybe a maple cap for the brightness. I've also really got used the the Seymour Duncan hot rod pickup set that's in my Epiphone; JB in the bridge and Jazz in the neck. I would maybe like to have the option for coil splits as some of the stuff we cover almost requires a single coil kind of sound but I don't think that would be a deal breaker and I really don't care for having a single coil pickup in the middle as I find it gets in the way of my picking. The main things that are important to me is the guitar has to sound good, stay in tune, have 22 frets and be light.
 
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