'Super guitars' - am I missing out?

thomasross20

Will check out the thread and good point about the neck....!

richh

As somebody else said, the improvements are going to be more incremental.  A £2k guitar is not going to be 10 times better than a £200 guitar.  For example, a Yamaha Pacifica offers (last time I tried one) amazing value for money at entry level, and I suppose you could then take that and mod it with better pickups.

I've played Fender for decades now, and love Strats and Teles, but am currently playing Parker NiteFly guitars (old ones, not the current range).  Lots I like about these, especially in terms of playability, tuning stability and so on.  The only question for me is the sounds I can get out.  I'm pretty happy with the 2 single coil pickups, but may experiment with a different bridge humbucker.

But if I go back to one of my other guitars, it is not a case that the traditional guitars are that much harder to play, it really is a subtle thing.  I'd say go for a guitar that you feel comfortable with, like the sounds of, and if you buy an expensive one, try to reduce the loss you will make if you do sell.  It can be very hard to be sure what you really like until you've had a chance to record with it, gig with it and live with it for a while.  So buying secondhand from a trusted source is probably the best option, if you do decide to go for a really top range guitar?

grungebob

thomasross20;545776" said:

Quick google shows... pickup switching is a major difference. Looks similar to a Les Paul in many ways (not surprising!). Are they all 22 fret?

Have you seen these Les Paul double cutaways? Look strange (not used to seeing double cuts on a Les Paul!) but way more practical than single cut!

Headstock on the McCarty is also thinner and slightly different angle than a CU 22 or 24

DamianP

PRS don`t make anything that`s close to a LP.     Despite what they tell you.  Despite their co-opting the McCarty name and history, they miss that particular mark by a pretty wide margin.

grungebob

DamianP;545818" said:

PRS don`t make anything that`s close to a LP.     Despite what they tell you.  Despite their co-opting the McCarty name and history, they miss that particular mark by a pretty wide margin.

In your opinion

usedtobe

I don't think you're missing out. By all means try stuff, though..

samzadgan

ICBM;545763" said:

I don't get it... it's a Fender Telecaster with the wrong headstock. What does it give you that a Fender doesn't? (Other than an ugly headstock.)

I can see the point in high-end near-copies when they have improved features, but I can't see the point in this at all.

Unless you're getting a big price reduction for the chip on the body, anyway...

I see the problem @ICBM, i posted this late last night and forgot to include one of those winking smiley faces at the end of my post.

Completely agree...they are priced at £1700...for that price i can get a MIM fender, and upgrade hardware and pickups (if needed) and still have about £500 left over!

Expensive custom shop or super guitars arent reallly worth it for me, if they are just copies of something else, even if it is improved.

Skipped

Maybe Paul Reed Smith, possibly the worlds biggest Gibson fanboy, will buy Gibson?
Stranger things have happened. I would welcome it.

OP - You said you love vintage type guitars.....
I said a couple of years ago (what was the name of that forum?) that the Historic Gibson Les Pauls were hitting maybe 75% of the real thing. I think a good one might be a couple of points higher than that.What's not to like?

Flanging_Fred

I think you need to buy one of each.

And then buy a backup.

Just to be sure.

richardhomer

Flanging_Fred;545922" said:

to be sure.

You're not Jim McDonald are you?

lustycourtier

You never know if somethings right (or wrong) until you try. I was a LP and Tele guy for years, then accidently tried a Gretsch electromatic 5120, which always looked HUGE but when playing, felt 'perfect'. Ok, dusty end access isnt as easy, but my logic is, if I can play Mr Brightside and Sweet child of mine, the access is ok!

I now only play a 6120 and 6128 on stage, and a few friends have steeped into the gretsch camp now.

dindude

ICBM;545763" said:

I don't get it... it's a Fender Telecaster with the wrong headstock. What does it give you that a Fender doesn't? (Other than an ugly headstock.)

I can see the point in high-end near-copies when they have improved features, but I can't see the point in this at all.

Unless you're getting a big price reduction for the chip on the body, anyway...

Spot on, adds nothing to the guitar world IMO, although I'm sure quality is high. And that "relicing" does just look like a shop ding from the photo.

ab2014

richardhomer said:

I both agree and disagree with this.

I'm not a fan of 'improved' Fenders, such as Suhrs, et al.

I want my Strats to be rattly, prone to hum and not too easy to play. The 'perfected' versions simply rob the design of its personality for me....

When it comes to Les Pauls, I find them heavy, unwieldy - yet strangely 'small', to have awful 'dusty-end' access and controls in all the wrong places. My PRS McCarty gives me all I want from a Les Paul - without any of the down-sides.

I recognise this is very much a matter of personal taste - but hopefully it illustrates that 'traditional' and 'modern' each have their merits....

This just shows the guitar is totally subjective as each individual has their own taste and approach. That is a wonderful thing. I think the opposite to you.. I am 70% traditionalist 30% modernist. I don't like USA Strats mainly because of the neck radius and neck shape but like the stratty tones. I tend to either prefer warmoth compound radius necks with slightly thicker profile or traditional strats with 7.25 radius and big headstocks. I also think the typical bridge strat pickup has to be rewired with the tone pot in that position and normally for me a hotter single coil or humbucker with split option fitted.

Tremolo's/Vibrato's whatever people call them. I cant stand the usa standard 2 point and prefer the feel of a wilkinson vs100 or even a traditional 6 point.

Les Paul guitars for me shouldn't deviate from the classic configuration. I don't like weight relieved ones and all the modern junk like e tuners and pcb wiring circuits aren't my thing. However saying that i've always had to change out or magnet swap the stock gibson pickups. Don't really understand the issue some people have with upper fret access Gary Moore or Zakk Wylde seemed to have no troubles.

PRS never at all attracted me maybe because i'd have either one or the other. LP or Strat.

I think its fine to have or go for custom super guitars because of non standard options but don't see the point if its a near replica of something widely available like a standard strat.

ab2014

ICBM said:

I don't get it... it's a Fender Telecaster with the wrong headstock. What does it give you that a Fender doesn't? (Other than an ugly headstock.)

I can see the point in high-end near-copies when they have improved features, but I can't see the point in this at all.

Unless you're getting a big price reduction for the chip on the body, anyway...

Totally agree with you. I scrolled up thinking fender and somebosy swapped the bridge and then see that ugly headstock.

Philly_Q

samzadgan said:

ICBM;545763" said:

I don't get it... it's a Fender Telecaster with the wrong headstock. What does it give you that a Fender doesn't? (Other than an ugly headstock.)

I can see the point in high-end near-copies when they have improved features, but I can't see the point in this at all.

Unless you're getting a big price reduction for the chip on the body, anyway...

I see the problem @ICBM, i posted this late last night and forgot to include one of those winking smiley faces at the end of my post.

Completely agree...they are priced at £1700...for that price i can get a MIM fender, and upgrade hardware and pickups (if needed) and still have about £500 left over!

Expensive custom shop or super guitars arent reallly worth it for me, if they are just copies of something else, even if it is improved.

Commenting without a winking smiley face, I've never found Suhrs particularly appealing - a bit bland and clinical, as many have said - but the other day I saw a Classic Pro, basically the Strat version of that Tele and it did make me pause for a second.

Excellent specs, more expensive than a Fender USA but significantly cheaper than Fender Custom Shop.  And it looks good in plain ol' black with a maple neck.

NPP

could somebody who has extensively played high-end guitars offer an honest opinion on what makes them special? This is not at all a wind-up - it's just that, as a lefty, I've never in my whole life been able to lay my hands on a more exclusive guitar than a run-of-the-mill LP Studio. 

grungebob

For me it's intonation across the entire fretboard and correct note attack and decay

FelineGuitars

NPP said:

could somebody who has extensively played high-end guitars offer an honest opinion on what makes them special? This is not at all a wind-up - it's just that, as a lefty, I've never in my whole life been able to lay my hands on a more exclusive guitar than a run-of-the-mill LP Studio. 

It depends what you look for 

A lot of custom builders put a lot of care into making the best guitar they can and pour a bit of heart and soul into each guitar that they make, as well as using old school methods with the preparation of timbers etc. and care with timber selection.
When making a singlecut like our lion model there are a number of features we like to incorporate - none of them ground breaking or unseen before but often not found in mainstream production instruments.

The ones that get noticed the most:

We use a 3 piece quartersawn neck construction , for stability, strength , resistance to twisting  and also for quickness of response when playing.

A full width deep set tenon into the body allows for greater strength and transfer of vibrations and allows us to add:

Our all access neck joint - again not anything new, but surprisingly welcome when playing high up the neck.

Hardware choices are also important and we offer almost everything available , but often choose our favourite bits on our stock builds

Here is a list of what we used on our 20th anniversary series:
http://www.felineguitars.com/20thAnniversary/20specs.html

Here is the left handed 20th anniversary Lion  we have in stock

NPP

FelineGuitars said:

Here is the left handed 20th anniversary Lion  we have in stock

I guess I should pay you a visit next time I venture down South (doesn't happen very often though, so you are probably safe). 

pickerg

Cheers for all the comments, very interesting reading. The fun bit is going to be trying out a few guitars out of my comfort zone and take it from there. Would love to try out a Probett or a Feline too if I'm ever in the area, both look stunning and I love the idea of smaller UK builders. The great thing is there is so much choice: vintage, modern, vintage style with modern appointments etc. I think the definite way forward would be to keep the number 1, and do some long-term tests of other guitars, second hand so I don't lose money. Just need to convince Mrs G that it's a good idea. Ok next up vintage/boutique amp or Axe FX/Kemper... Joking