Shredders advice needed! Please help!

stenio83

Ok so I've been learning some Eddie Van Halen Stuff, and I feel my 54 strat isn't really the guitar for the job lol!

I'm kinda just dabbling and don't want to spend a lot of cash budget around £300 pre owned.

Looking for a good solid floyd rose type trem,
decent pickups and and a a nice flat 12-16" neck

Looks wise i'm not a fan of super pointy aggressive looking guitars but that said i do like ibanez rg's and jems, also i like the ibanez js series. is the way to go then i would go with substance over style 

In an ideal world it would be great if it looked like a strat, prs or esp eclipse/les paul shape.

i've seen a few models and listed them below but would really appreciate your advice and opinions 

Chavel So cal (its a bit more that the budget mind you)

Ibanez rg450dx  (its a bit more that the budget mind you)

Ibanez Jem JR

Jackson Adrian Smith SDX (like these becuase of the aesthetics tbh but not sure if there are better guitars for the money)

looking forward to your responses. Much appreciated as always. :-)

octatonic

Get a Rasmus, if you can find one.
Otherwise an Ibanez RG/ESP/Schecter- make sure you like the neck carve of the guitar you are getting- Ibanez = skinny, Schecter = club, ESP in the middle, usually.

ElectroDan

Having owned guitars fairly close to those you've listed, I'd have to say any of them would be suitable.
My 50's Strat sounded lovely but the radius made it feel awkward to me.
If you are looking to get as far away from that as you can, I'd lean more towards a Jem or RG as I remember mine feeling quite wide and flat. The JS slightly less wide and flat feeling, but well capable as a technique guitar. and good tones.
I still have my 80's Charvel somewhere in storage. It had a great neck on it. The new ones feel different but would still be a great platform for you, as would a Jackson.
This may not have helped you at all. Perhaps the best thing you can do is have a guitar shop day and try as many as you can. Everyone who answers might have their own idea, but you have to play it and love it.

Alnico

MIJ Jackson Dinky with an FR. - roughly £350 used
Or
MIJ Charvel - there's one in our forum classifieds from someone who we all know and trust and we all know the guitar as he's played it in stage god knows how many times, unless it's been sold already, @jd0272 is your man. I think he wants £430 last time i looked but it's worth every penny over your budget if you can do it. Proper rock guitar.

Does that help ?

Alnico

Hey you live about an hour drive from me.

If you want to try the Jackson Soloist SLX i have, you're more than welcome to come and have a coffee and try it?

Noise friendly flat and a Vox VT20X modelling amp.

Up to you - they retail at £480 ish, i got mine on a clearance deal for £360 and a full set up cost me £40 inc frets level etc.
Plays brilliantly and it's perfect for rock/metal.
Used i've seen them for as little as £250 and there is a HSS version if you need that. Exactly the same guitar, just HSS instead of HH like mine.

Up to you man.
I'm home all the time these days.

ennspek

Jackson, Schecter, Charvel, EVH there's lots out there.

ennspek

If you can find one the Washburn's from the brief period Grover Jackson was there, they are fantastic.

carlos

There's a Caparison for £450 (!!) in the Classifieds. Talk to @fretmeister ;

newi123

Don`t forget that Mr Malmsteen (the ultimate shredder?) played vintage strats!

ADP

You really need a red, white & black striped series EVH, and I just happen to have one for sale for £300 plus postage. It has a couple of dings on the back and one under the tremolo but it's in great shape otherwise. I couldn't resist it, but it's not really my kind of guitar. I was just fulfilling a teenage dream.

sweepy

It's very possible to shred to an insane amount on any guitar, even a Telecaster If you are set on  FR equipped guitar, I'd go for an Ibanez RG and get it setup properly 

cruxiform

I'd recommend an Ibanez RG too. When I play mine it brings out the 'shred' in me. 

Bidley

There's an MIJ DK2 for £180 in the classifieds. You won't find anything better than that for the money. Buy it before I do.

Stevepage

If you just want something cheap to bang on then go for an old Japanese Charvel like a Model 2 or even a Model 5

stenio83

Some awesome advice here I'm gonna reply to you guys cus I got some questions in the meantime I did notice this guitar 

any good?

ESP LTD M-100FM (See-Thru Black Cherry)

https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/esp-ltd-electric-guitar/1196673280?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=sms

Alnico

stenio83 said:

Some awesome advice here I'm gonna reply to you guys cus I got some questions in the meantime I did notice this guitar 

any good?

ESP LTD M-100FM (See-Thru Black Cherry)

https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/esp-ltd-electric-guitar/1196673280?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=sms

Rip his arm off !

Yes, that's very good, then as a secondary considersation it's good for the money !

Alnico

^
Does this put the £170 for the LTD in perspective for you ?

Squier Strat - £187.50 !

Maynehead

The quality of LTD guitars are usually top notch in my experience, however, the pickups on that one are bog standard ESP LH-150s, which are not all that inspirational.

The Jackson DK2M mentioned is a better buy on paper, with full fat Seymour Duncans and Japanese build quality. Having had both the LTD and the Jackson though I will say that the neck profile is the biggest difference. The LTD has a thinner neck, which is more comfortable if you have small hands. The Jackson's neck fills the hand out more, by virtue of having bigger shoulders, i.e. it's more of a D shape compared to the LTD which is more like a flat C shape.

Weight wise the Jackson will be the lighter guitar, and is very comfortable to play standing up.

I'd say go for the Jackson if you like a fuller neck. Otherwise go for this Ibanez

Bucket

Get a MIJ Jackson DK2.

As said, you cannot get a better guitar of that type for the money they go for. I'd say they're criminally undervalued, in fact.

Sambostar

A modern strat with a 10" radius and FR or a Charvel pro mod would be most similar to a strat.  Jackson's and Ibanez's especially tend to have flat neck profiles which are too flat for me.  The old model series Charvels had quite wide but flat necks and were lacquered heavily which always made them feel uncomfortable for me as well.  Pro mod necks are just right, they are lush and just like a good Strat but much more playable for fast stuff.

I've got an SL3 and various guitars with Japanese Jackson necks on them and Japanese and American Pro mods.

Favourite go to guitar is probably a 60's or 50's profile strat neck and a 7.25" fretboard radius.  The only all round shred guitars I can get on with for any length of time is a pro mod and I believe the mex ones are just as good, they are basically standard modern C profiles like a Strat but with a compound radius flatter board.

The DK's and Ibanez's just become too painful for the riffage and are just too sterile to inspire me personally, if you like to shred but also like to dig in and haven't got octopus fingers they are not a great guitar.

The cheaper mex version of the Adrian Smith seems like good value but I'd hang out for a maple board Japanese Pro mod.

I've never tried Schecters or ESP's, really because the only ESP I ever wanted was the USA Lynch model.

digitalscream

If you can find one, a Washburn NX3 would probably be ideal - it's the Japanese version of the N4 Nuno Bettencourt sig, but much cheaper (rosewood board rather than ebony, cheaper body wood, own-brand hardware). You might need to change the pickups, but aside from that...they're brilliant guitars, and much better than the N24.

You can usually find them at less than £300 second hand.

Alternatively, for something easier to find, any of the Ibanez S series.