Advice for a new guitar for extreme metal (fixed bridge, pref. <$1,000)

Gear
#1

Hey guys,

Based on the posts there are lots of knowledgeable gearheads around and I’m looking to buy a new hardtail guitar for extreme metal. I already own an Ibanez Prestige S Series S5470 from 2008/2009 an an Ibanez JPM Petrucci P2 from the mid 90s.

My criteria is pretty simple:

  • Hardtail bridge so I can mess around with tunings on the fly with no major issues
  • Preferably just H/H pickups, but HSH is cool, too
  • Volume and tone knobs are relatively out of the way of the picking hand
  • Preferably less than $1k

I’ve been looking into Jackson, Ibanez, ESP, but that’s about it. Feel like Charvel could be cool too but I am so out of the loop here that it’s dizzying with all the options out nowadays.

THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE!

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#2

“Extreme metal” can mean different things to different people. Do you want 7 strings? If so, do you want 27" scale length? What pickups do you want: EMGs, SD Blackouts, something passive? Those questions will go a long way to narrowing down your choices. Also consider ergonomics and visual appeal: do you like LP style guitars, strats, something pointy like a Dean ML?

Note also that you can just drop pickups of your choice into whatever guitar you want. Only drawback is that if you are putting active pickups in a guitar that came with passive pickups, you need to route for a battery box or figure out some other solution (on strats you can just stuff the battery under the pickguard, though it’s a bit of a hassle to change it out.

2 Likes
#3

Hey Frylock thanks for the help. Now I know why I’ve been putting this off for a while. I don’t play any extended-range stuff at all, so standard 6 strings works just fine. I think passive or actives are fine, but I highly doubt I’d go with routing actives if the guitar came with passives.

I’ve always liked the shapes of RG/S series Ibanez guitars, and Jackson Dinky/Soloist shapes. Used to have a Les Paul classic but it was too clunky even though it had this certain snarl that I can’t get out of any guitar since.

As far as genre goes, I play mostly 90s death, thrash, and black metal, as well as shred guitar from the 80s like Yngwie and pretty much any CtC player Troy has in the lineup. The more I look online the more I am convinced Jackson or Ibanez is the way to go. I’ve heard good things about the Dinky models and Ibanez Genesis series, specifically the 521 if anyone can vouch for those.

#4

If I’m not mistaken, Jackson has moved the Pro series to Indonesia from Mexico. The quality is OK but not amazing; I will not say that there’s anything wrong with the guitars, they’re still good instruments. As for Ibanez, the Indonesian stuff is very, VERY inconsistent in quality. However I cannot say anything about the current Japanese production, Prestige or not. If you can slightly raise your budget, I’d consider a Schecter C-1 SLS Elite. Exists in grey as well. The con is that there’s no case or even a gigbag to go with it.

Otherwise I’d look at Solar Guitars, they’re getting great reviews. Not sure how the Duncan Solar pickups would fare for extreme metal (based on a Custom 5 and '59 IIRC), but they hold the brootz.

2 Likes
#5

Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HH HT
$899 USD

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pros

  • seymour duncan pickups
  • really cool jack placement
  • 5 way switch
  • locking tuners
  • made in Fender’s Mexico factory
  • Jackson dinky body
  • easy adjust truss rod

cons

  • no case included
  • Fender style neck joint

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH HT
$799 USD

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pros

  • seymour duncan pickups
  • Fender Strat body
  • locking tuners
  • easy adjust truss rod

cons

  • 22 fret
  • no case
  • Fender style neck joint

Ibanez Genesis Collection RG521
$899 USD

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pros

  • Made in Japan
  • locking tuners
  • Gibraltar bridge

cons

  • doesn’t come with fancy tops
  • stock Ibanez pickups
  • black version is fingerprint city
  • case sold separately
  • blockier neck joint than most Ibanez guitars

Ibanez Iron Label RGIX6FDLB
$899 USD

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pro

  • ebony fingerboard
  • Gibraltar bridge
  • coil taps
  • dimarzio pickups
  • reversed headstock for lower tunings
  • locking tuners
  • access neck joint

cons

  • no tone control
  • no case included
  • the tops on the floating bridge version of this guitar seem to be a lot more figured
  • Made in Indonesia so QC may be an issue. I’ve seen some really good guitars come out of Ibanez’s Indonesian factory but I’ve seen some clunkers.

Ibanez Iron Label RGAIX6MQM
$899 USD

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pros

  • ebony fingerboard
  • aesthetic top
  • Gibraltar bridge
  • coil tap

cons

  • The finish and wood will chip away from the picking area, RGAs are notorious for this.
  • no tone control
  • no face fretboard markers
  • case not included

Ibanez RGEW521 ZC or FM
$699 USD

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pros

  • wood top
  • Dimarzio pickups
  • classy binding
  • 5 way switching

cons

  • cheap standard hardtail bridge
  • case not included

Ibanez

Ibanez RGR652AHBF
$1299 USD

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pros

  • binding looks really nice
  • very aestheticaly pleasing
  • acess neck joint
  • dimarzio stock pickups
  • reverse headstock great for lower tunings imo.
  • Gibraltar bridge
  • case included

cons

  • over $1000
  • textured wood finish

Ibanez RG Prestige RG652AHMFX
$1299 USD

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pros

  • Dimarzio pickups
  • birdseye maple board
  • Gibraltar bridge
  • 5 way switching
  • Made in Japan
  • case included

cons

  • over $1000
1 Like
#6

That new Lime Neon SA2.6 looks really great as well as the Blood Tangerine and Metallic Blue. Like you mentioned for Schecter there doesn’t seem to be a case made specifically for this guitar though. I certainly wouldn’t drop $750 on something I couldn’t try first though.

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Edit: there is a gig bag

Solar Guitars Gigbag AS
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2 Likes
#7

Guys thanks so much for the suggestions! Huge help. I’m seriously considering that Solar now, the A2.6 looks awesome and I like the pickup configuration, reminds me of my P2. I wish I could try it out but it looks and sounds so good I’m considering a blind buy. Going to go into a store in NYC this week and try out the recommendations.

#8

Consider also that if your key criteria is a fixed bridge, there are tons of cheap strats and clones that would tick that box for you, and leave you with a ton of spare cash to replace the pickups and pots to your taste. A limiting factor in that world is the number of frets, as guitars in that category are less likely to have 24 frets (most will have 21 or 19). Of course, finding a guitar whose neck you like the feel of is probably the most important thing. But don’t get blinded into thinking that you need to spend a huge wad of cash to get a decent guitar, especially with a fixed bridge. A screw-down strat-style fixed bridge is a very cheap part and drastically reduces the number of possible mistakes the guitar builder could make (and if the mounting holes accidentally get drilled in the wrong place, there’s a lot of leeway for drilling fresh holes and hiding the “mistake” holes under the bridge without even filling them). A tune-o-matic style bridge involves at least one set of large post-holes, and drilling those holes in the wrong place is a harder mistake to fix and hide. In both cases, the lack of need for tremolo routing and additional parts saves the builder money in both labor/mistakes and parts.

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#9

Considering your “extreme metal” requirement, I suggest you go for a feature that has recently become available on series-model : fanned frets.

EDIT : I own that guitar, tuners are a little bit cheap but the neck and finish are awesome for under 1000$.

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#10

If you want a guitar with a fixed bridge and knobs out of the way of the picking hand for playing metal and you don’t want to spend too much money, I suggest you but a used Gibson SG. The SG has the specifications you need and was the guitar played by the godfather of heavy metal himself- Tony Iommi. You might be able to afford a new one but a used one in good condition will sound just as good and save you a lot of money.

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#11

I have no idea of US pricing and availability, but the Caparison Dellinger II FX-AM should tick all your boxes. The only con might actually be the name…

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#12

These are some of the best guitars I’ve ever played but you’ll be spending like $2400 for a brand new one. Used aren’t much cheaper I’m afraid. I’ll never forget the first time I played one though–I completely freaked out at how good and smooth it felt.

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#13

Thanks once again everyone, lots of great suggestions. I’ve been out of the game for nearly a decade in the guitar purchase world. It’s amazing how so many Guitar Centers and Sam Ash stores have had their stocks decimated by the emergence of e-commerce. Went into a Sam Ash and they had practically nothing. I did try out the Mark Holcomb PRS SE with which I was really impressed, but I don’t play djent so I can’t really justify it.

I’m still being patient as hell and trying to research as much as possible. Just did a quick search on Caparison and I am blown away by what I’m seeing and hearing.

I’ve narrowed it down to:
Solar A2.6 C
Caparison Dellinger II
Chris Broderick Jackson Soloist HT6
Paul Gilbert FRM200 - not sure if the mini humbuckers will hold up for 90s metal tones.

#14

Good luck finding a Caparison in the US for under $1000.

#15

Yeah there’s no way, I just checked every spot and that’s not happening. Probably best to go with Jackson or Solar at this point. I’m just hoping the Solar isn’t voiced too heavily in favor of modern “metal”.

#16

Solars are general purpose metal guitars, definitely not oriented towards any particular genre. They’re a pretty solid instrument, made in Korea by WMI so you can’t go wrong.

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#17

I recently picked up a RG 1570 Prestige with the V7, S1, V8 pickups and want to make that into a more versatile type of guitar too. The stock neck pickup isn’t good at all. The stock bridge pickup isn’t anything special either but better than the neck. I’m eyeballing the Seymour Duncan Pegasus Sentient set right now with maybe a SSL2 for it. At least check these out as they are marketed as Medium output pickups for Progressive Metal that retain the clarity, clean up when you roll back the volume, and are splittable for these 5 way switches.

I know lots of folks put DiMarzios into Ibanezes but I don’t really know much about them either - always been happy with SD and EMG so never looked further.
Also, you may read the article and getting closer with actual metal guitar models on the market!

I hope it’s helps!
Ult1mat3X

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