Guitar buying advice from nerds please - not a newbie question

allen

Hi all,

Grateful for the collective wisdom of the group here as I'd like to add a guitar with a Floyd Rose to the stable, but a bit unsure of the direction to take.

Background: I've got about a dozen guitars and they're generally, although not all, quite high end (i.e. a couple of Tom Andersons and a Huber in my collection). I'm a home player and have never played anything more than a couple of Van Halen riffs as I tend to play Hendrix/SRV/Sayce kind of things - so I'm dipping a toe in the water here and plan to use the guitar to inspire me to learn a few EVH style things. The cost of the guitar isn't the issue as I budget my guitars in terms of loss on resale, not initial investment.

So I'm thinking about a guitar with a Floyd and not quite sure of the direction to go in considering the main options. I tend to be fairly picky about guitars so I don't play guitars with 25.5 scale length, only 24.75 or 25 at a push. I also tend to like a neck on the chunky side.

When trying to buy a 24.75 scale guitar with a floyd there is not that much choice on the market - although I have found a fair few.

I've ruled out an older jackson/charvel fusion as the ones I've looked at on ebay (a lot) always seem a bit tatty. Here are the main choices as I currently see it.

1. GJ2 Shredder. Grover Jackson's take on the super shredder can be bought new for about £650. Thin neck but good reputation for quality and nice spec. Will lose about 300 on resale.

2. Various les paul types. ESP/LTD or an Epiphone ProFX. I'm not totally convinced about the les paul shape with a floyd, although see 3. Won't lose on resale if I buy it second hand - fairly good supply of them on ebay. I suspect that they all have thin necks.

3. Gibson or Epiphone Alex Lifeson. I have once played a Gibson Alex Lifeson and the neck felt a bit thin to me. Advantage is the piezo system and a high quality graphtec floyd. Should have a good resale in the long run, but a bit thin on the ground and the price seems to be in the top half of 2 to 3k. I mention Epiphone because they have shown a version at Namm 2020, but it has not surfaced yet. I am expecting this namm season in 2021.

4. Partscaster strat. This appeals to me quite a lot because I can spec a chunky neck and would quite like a relic stratocaster with a floyd from someone like SC relics. I can spec the neck size just to my requirements and I am fairly handy with a soldering iron and can do my own set up. Can also put high end hardware on it. Downside is that I am guessing it will cost me about £1200 and I'd be lucky to get back half of that on resale.


I warned you that this was a nerd question! 

Philly_Q

allen said:

3. Gibson or Epiphone Alex Lifeson. I have once played a Gibson Alex Lifeson and the neck felt a bit thin to me. Advantage is the piezo system and a high quality graphtec floyd. Should have a good resale in the long run, but a bit thin on the ground and the price seems to be in the top half of 2 to 3k. I mention Epiphone because they have shown a version at Namm 2020, but it has not surfaced yet. I am expecting this namm season in 2021.

Take a look at the Dave Amato Les Paul, if you can find one.  It has the Axcess neck joint and - if you like bigger necks - a big fat chunky '58 style neck.

Originally he had a single-pickup model but that's been replaced with a two-pickup version.

ennspek

PRS floyd?

Kvaksalver

Kramer Nightswan or Pro Axe?

musteatbrain

Caparison Horus?
think they are 24.75 and can come with a floyd.

allen

Philly_Q said:

allen said:

3. Gibson or Epiphone Alex Lifeson. I have once played a Gibson Alex Lifeson and the neck felt a bit thin to me. Advantage is the piezo system and a high quality graphtec floyd. Should have a good resale in the long run, but a bit thin on the ground and the price seems to be in the top half of 2 to 3k. I mention Epiphone because they have shown a version at Namm 2020, but it has not surfaced yet. I am expecting this namm season in 2021.

Take a look at the Dave Amato Les Paul, if you can find one.  It has the Axcess neck joint and - if you like bigger necks - a big fat chunky '58 style neck.

Originally he had a single-pickup model but that's been replaced with a two-pickup version.

Good shout. Interesting guitar. Thomann have the 2 pickup one for 3,699 and Peach have the single pickup one at 2,699. I don't have much faith in the resale of either of those. I'd have thought I'd be lucky to get 2.5k back from the 2 pickup model. That's a hefty cost to pay.

allen

ennspek said:

PRS floyd?

Yes, been looking at those. It's the wide thin neck on all of them, but could be alright. So it's either the SE or the full fat american version. 

The SE is not bad and I can get a second hand one on ebay for about £600 and probably not lose anything on resale. That needs to go on the list I think.

The american one is about 3,900 - I would lose at least £1k on that

The dustie Waring model is about 2,500 - Not sure on the residuals on that. And it has a special 'thin' neck.

allen

Kvaksalver said:

Kramer Nightswan or Pro Axe?

I am going to rule out the pro axe on the basis of age.

The nightswan looks good, but 41.2mm nut width - and I'm not sure I can get past the lack of neck pick up and the paint job.

prlgmnr

Wolfgang or Axis in Eb EVH style with 9s gives you the feel of a shorter scale at 25.5 in terms of string tension, if that helps.

Philly_Q

allen said:

Philly_Q said:

allen said:

3. Gibson or Epiphone Alex Lifeson. I have once played a Gibson Alex Lifeson and the neck felt a bit thin to me. Advantage is the piezo system and a high quality graphtec floyd. Should have a good resale in the long run, but a bit thin on the ground and the price seems to be in the top half of 2 to 3k. I mention Epiphone because they have shown a version at Namm 2020, but it has not surfaced yet. I am expecting this namm season in 2021.

Take a look at the Dave Amato Les Paul, if you can find one.  It has the Axcess neck joint and - if you like bigger necks - a big fat chunky '58 style neck.

Originally he had a single-pickup model but that's been replaced with a two-pickup version.

Good shout. Interesting guitar. Thomann have the 2 pickup one for 3,699 and Peach have the single pickup one at 2,699. I don't have much faith in the resale of either of those. I'd have thought I'd be lucky to get 2.5k back from the 2 pickup model. That's a hefty cost to pay.

I should think you're spot on about the resale value, it's the kind of signature model people might buy due to the specs, but not because they're big Dave Amato fans (with the greatest of respect to him).

I very nearly bought the single-pickup one from Peach.  I don't even like Floyds but I do like all the rest of the specs and I think it looks cool.  They'd reduced the price quite a lot as well.  But someone else bought it in the end. 

AlexHunter

If you’ve got some already and like them, find a Tom Anderson Shorty (Pro AM or Drop Top)

allen

prlgmnr said:

Wolfgang or Axis in Eb EVH style with 9s gives you the feel of a shorter scale at 25.5 in terms of string tension, if that helps.

Good point, but it's my short fingers that I need help with. And FWIW I play with 10s which basically feel like 9s on 25.5 scale. I think.

allen

AlexHunter said:

If you’ve got some already and like them, find a Tom Anderson Shorty (Pro AM or Drop Top)

You know what, I had ruled it out on the basis that a TA in that spec is hard to find and usually 3k, but I might be coming round to the idea that it's better to spend the money on something that you really want and then it's a keeper that is enjoyable rather than something you don't play for 5 years and then sell.

warhead

You might take a look into a Peavey Vandenberg.

BlueStrat

Shorty TA would be a great choice, i had one but a classic and it was amazing. Kick myself for parting with it. 

Else the prs

skullfunkerry

I had a GJ2 Shredder and the neck wasn't that thin, actually. Definitely chunkier than my Jackson & Ibanez necks

PolarityMan

Id go with Ibanrz for a Floyd equipped guitar, plenty of choice at the high end.

Winny_Pooh

Heretic here. Buying a new guitar is over the top for this scenario based on your skill level and volume of guitars. You sound bored and adding more gear is not condusive. Use your Tom Anderson or such with the trem set floating (even though EVH was downbend only) try 9.5s if you want a lighter feel. 

CarpeDiem

It might be a bit leftfield, but it might be worth considering a 7 string as the wider neck width may work for you. 

allen

Winny_Pooh said:

Heretic here. Buying a new guitar is over the top for this scenario based on your skill level and volume of guitars. You sound bored and adding more gear is not condusive. Use your Tom Anderson or such with the trem set floating (even though EVH was downbend only) try 9.5s if you want a lighter feel. 

You may be a witch and need to be burned at the stake. Actually, it's a very astute point. The trem equipped guitars that I've got don't go out of tune and they're all set floating.

In my defence I often inspire myself to play more with a new guitar purchase. And what would be doing on this forum if we knew that actually playing the things improves your musicianship more than discussing them?

allen

PolarityMan said:

Id go with Ibanrz for a Floyd equipped guitar, plenty of choice at the high end.

Yes, but all 25.5 scale. They did do a 24.75 floyd guitar. It's the highest of the high end. JCRG-11