Dream guitar

[jdsowa]

When you say "Dream Guitar", people are going to think "if money was no issue...". Not "$500-750 budget". $500-750 is "what sort of thing can I settle for that I won't be massively disappointed with?"

[rogerbrain]

I usually build my guitars... but its not to save money..its to get what i want at the time .. you be the judge.. price a neck body pickups bridge tuners pots finish strap buttons .. I have never done one for under 1K but if you know what you want and know what you are doing you can have the 'dream guitar' ... the real down side is if/when you go to sell or trade you have nothing ...parts casters go cheeeeeeeeeeeep

buy one that is close to what you want .. 20 cents on the dollar is about rite

[Min7sharp5]

I would get a used PRS SE Model, and change out the tuners, bridge and pups. Seems like you would have quite a decent axe with those straight-forward mods and all could be accomplished within your budget range.

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

If I was going to have another guitar made, it would be simple, with body parts from Warmoth (the Soloist body style), and a single pickup... one of those triple-emulations from Duncan, with whatever switching that required, Torres pots, and an electronics bypass switch. (I have one on another guitar, love it.) Plain as it would be, it would still end up costing about $1400, just because finished body and neck parts are expensive.

[Tinderwet]

A roundneck dobro that plays in tune up the neck.

[chaosgow]

For that budget, I'd just buy a well made guitar with what I like (Mahogany body, maple top, rosewood fingerboard, medium frets) and drop whatever electronics I want into it. I did that with an ltd Viper. Looks like shit but sounds awesome with a p-rail in it, pretty versatile too because the p-rail is made to be that way.

Was pretty skeptical about that pup, thought it would be too good to be true, but it is 2 nice sounding single coils that you can wire to buck. Not as nice as an actual p-90, but it's got that vibe and its own character. Lovely guitar.

Yes, I did the Phil X thing all the way, I took out the neck pup and just run the bridge.

I already own my dream guitar. Gibson Les Paul Custom. Sold my car to buy it at the time. No regrets

[smili]

Originally Posted by Dwssoundz

Me and a friend were having an interesting discussion if you could build a guitar that would be cost friendly 500-750. What would you want in it?

For me, a Dream Guitar is a mythical thing that doesn't exist. In reality each guitar has its own character and reasons I like it, and often these reasons are mutually exclusive. Before I owned several different guitars I didn't even notice the differences until I played them and things become rapidly apparent.

But that said:
- I do like the longer 25.5" scale.
- I like a fixed bridge more than tremelo.
- I love the single coil sound, but HSS is probably my ideal setup for versatility.
- Get the volume knob out of the way - I'm always bumping into it.
- Rounded body style at the point where the pick arm crosses over the guitar body. The flat squared edges/corners (like on the Les Paul style) dig into my arm.
- Minimal electronics. I'm not saying get rid of the tone knob necessarily, but I do generally leave it full open and could probably live without it. (Maybe it's just me and guitars I've played - but guitars that have lots of knobs seem to kill the magic for me. In this area less is more for me.)
- I like natural wood tones for body color. I don't have a favorite wood. (for electrics anyway)
- Frets not too high - not too low - but smooth to touch sortof "middle" height.
- Can't remember neck radius, but I've played guitars w/ flatter necks and prefer more curve.
- A little more action is preferable to very low action. No matter what I try w/ setups I like the tone better when the action is a little higher - even though it might be a tad harder to play.
- Normal strings (10s or 11s) works for me. Some folks like 12s but they hurt my fingers too much. I played thinner strings when I was younger, but like the more normal gauge strings now.

But in the end there's no "one" guitar. It's kindof like asking a painter the characteristics of his dream paintbrush. He'll just turn his head sideways.

And one more thing: Some of my favorite guitars cost less than $200-$300 - I like some of the old Japanese guitars - they can be found for not so much $. More $ doesn't necessarily mean you won't be disappointed.

[fastlanestoner]

a nice Gibson ES335 would be a great start...

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

Originally Posted by fastlanestoner

a nice Gibson ES335 would be a great start...

Have you tried the 336? I got one of the early ones, with the pointed headstock... very cool, like a cross between a 335 and a Les Paul. I made one change (uncharacteristic for me, I believe in leaving guitars stock) I had Duncan Fat Cats put in it. (P-90 sound, humbucking size format.)

[fastlanestoner]

I've never heard of a 336! Very cool! I love the "bigness" of the 335 body, and I feel 339s are a bit too small. A buddy of mine has a beautiful LP doublecut with that rare, pointed headstock.

[drbob1]

Yeah, that wouldn't be a dream guitar but a good tool. Mine is a 90s Parker Nightfly with Duncan Cool Rails and a Seth Lover in the bridge, plus an added Spectrum preamp with 40 dB of gain and two band EQ. I can set it up with one sound using passive electronics, then switch in the preamp for a second set of sounds, then have the piezo for when I need a sort of acoustic.

In this day and age, though, I'd get the $400 Korina PRS SE from Hello Music and upgrade that!

[the donal]

I don't think I have one single dream guitar.

I'd have Fender build a replica of my HRR Strat without all the issues (two repairs around the Floyd Rose post bushings and creaking truss rod that puts the tuning out with extreme whammy bar use) and a few cosmetic/wiring upgrades.

Other than that and a Les Paul, I'd like a custom Jaden Rose Original Series (or two) made to my specs.

Those aside, I'm pretty happy with where my guitar collection is right now. And I'm hoping for the Les Paul in the new year..

[tfbattag]

Some of the other posters have already mentioned this. With today's manufacturing techniques, the $500 "lower-brand" (i.e PRS SE, ESP LTD, Epiphone, etc.) guitars are pretty decent instruments. If I was limited to your budget, I would seek out one of these models that has the wood, body, neck that I want. Then, I would purchase high quality pickups, tuners, bridge, etc. to customize it to my liking.

Spend a bit on having an expert set it up for you, you'll have a great playing and great sounding guitar. Once recorded, nobody will know what you played to get the sound.

[Jfalikman]

My dream guitar would be a
7 strings,strings through body,HSS fender strat
With elder body,passive PUs,24.5 scale (small hands)
And really tight string tension.

Someday !

[Bristol Posse]

With $5-700 I'd invest it until I had enough earnings and interest to get my dream guitar

I have a $500 (price new) guitar that is certainly not a dream (unless you dream of generic mediocrity), it's just OK. Well actually it's better than OK because I put $600 of work and parts into it so it's actually now an $1100 guitar and I gig with it when I'm playing somewhere new that I don't want to risk my more Name Brand (dream) guitars getting stolen or damaged

[John Eppstein]

Originally Posted by Jfalikman

My dream guitar would be a
7 strings,strings through body,HSS fender strat
With elder body,passive PUs,24.5 scale (small hands)
And really tight string tension.

Someday !

Then it's not a Fender Strat.

[psychedelictrip]

You and your friend need to practice day dreaming some more. However I believe your point is how to get the most bang for the buck. Several routes here. There is hunting for something used. Sometimes fairly nice old guitars with a lot of mojo sell for cheap. To build a guitar? It's more along the lines of assembling one you have to keep things simple to get as much twang for the buck. I'd avoid trem tail pieces as they wont come cheap and will give your more problems than their worth. I'd start very basic. Ash Tele body or similar, maple neck, I'd skimp on one pickup before I would the bridge. You can always add a neck pickup. Whatever pickup you stick in it is going to have to be perfect for your style. Used pickup is a good option here since so many people modify their guitars(often unnecessarily). Again don't skimp on that bridge. The bridge in many ways will be the heart of your guitar. Try to find a Callaham. Try to hunt for a decent neck on ebay. Perhaps you'll find some one unloading one for a project they had intended to do but didn't get around to it. There is a marriage consideration between the neck and the body but 5-600 doesn't give much room for wiggle. Again ebay used for some quality tuners. People like to mod. Some guy wants locking tuners so he removes his perfectly good non locking ones and has them for sale in an auction. Avoid cheapos here. You don't want someone's used Squire tuners. You'll need electronics too and they will push the cost. You might go over budget but it might be worth it...It also might be better to just hunt around for a guitar in that price range. If you have to assemble a guitar by buying from here there and everywhere you are going to pay more in the end. You could possibly run into neck pocket problems as well if the neck and body are not pre arranged.

[Strangeland]

For $500-750, I'd probably just go for another American made strat on the used market, maybe HSS. For acoustic, I'd try to grab a nice lawsuit era Takamine.

[Jazz Noise]

Fender Jazzmaster or a Gretsch Corvette.

Tremolos are awesome, being in tune is overrated!

[kneelie]

My next dream is a 9 string multiscale guitar and a 9 string multiscale bass. Maybe one day.

My dream guitar that I own is a Carvin DC747 7 string in ash with a quilted maple top and a clear satin finish. Its a gorgeous guitar, and plays and sounds amazing. They are a great deal starting at $879 and around $1500 fully loaded.

[GearAndGuitars]

[mcgruff]

For $5,000 I can have a nice dream. For $500... I'd be experiencing a Freddy-Kruger kind of anxiety about whether it's safe to shut my eyes.

I'm an archtop guy so I'd have a lot of fun with an Epiphone 339 or 335, a bunch of magnets, and some pickup wire to squeeze the very best out of it.

[tonejunkee]

I'm looking at a few acoustics from recording king (RP2 series) but keeping an eye out for used gems.

[Anadrolic]

Mother of god.


Mother of god take 2


And a Gibson J-45 true vintage, along with a hollow body PRS, and a fender Start relic

[kneelie]

Originally Posted by Anadrolic

Mother of god.

Wow that is a beautiful guitar.

Originally Posted by Anadrolic

Mother of god take 2

That is gorgeous! Blackmachine makes some amazing guitars. I would love an F8 from them.
__________________
550 chords sorted into 128 equivalent sets for 8, 7, and 6 string guitar in normal, P4, and drop tuning, and every scale there is arranged by mode:
http://www.kneelie.com/guitar/

[rksguit]

Beautiful instruments above!

My IbaFrank is bare woodgrain and plays so much better since I stopped slicing slits in my fingertips by going to Eb.

I'm afraid for out and out tone,wether its clean,in between or singing,is my stock 2010 Gibson Les Paul Studio before they abandoned rosewood,and although the 50's neck is pretty thick[especially compared to Frank],and once I get the pots to spin "counter-clockwise-on"[lefty pinky vol. control]its will be a "Dream Guitar",but until then its unplayable Live.

[ears2thesky]

Body: 1-piece mahogany (blood-red stain w/clear poly in Gibson RD shape) $50

Neck: Carvin bolt-on maple w/ebony 'board (black V headstock) $209

Bridge: black hardtail string-thru w/black ferules $46

Tuners: black Sperzel locking 3+3 $69

Neck P/U: Seymour Duncan P-Rail $90

Bridge P/U: Carvin Holdsworth H22T-1 $62

Master Vol: 500k push-pull switch (single/double coil) $10

Master Tone: 500k push-pull switch (in/out phase) $10

P/U Select: black 3-way Gibson-style $9

Neck P/U coil select: mini 3-way $3

Out Jack: black flush-mount $7

Total (minus shipping and production costs): $565


I've already got the stain and poly and purchased the body blank as a large board that yielded several one-piece bodies (hence the low cost). The body shape has already been cut, and I have all of the electronics as well.

I built a guitar a few years ago with similar specs in the shape of an Ovation Breadwinner, and it's my best sounding axe by far. BTW I prefer a 25.5" scale, 12" radius, and medium jumbo fretwire. I typically tune to Drop C.

[thebennyd]

With a budget like that I'd get a LPJR or Special & call it a day hoping that a nightmarish dream of such limitations doesn't haunt me again

[axxessdenied]

Probably a custom ViK... with fanned frets :D