Back in the days when giving lessons was my livelihood (I know, it’s scary that I advised so many people on how to play guitar when I was just so wrong about so many things, and still am to this day…), one of my guys brought in an HD-28 that he’d just bought. It sounded and played amazing. Again, better than my Grandad’s Martin.
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This is very true if you have access to guitar stores go over the course of a few months, frequent it every weekend to play on all the guitars. You will find even cheap ones can sound like a pro level built guitar.
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Fender 75th Anniversary Stratocaster MIM. It’s basically a pumped up Player Series with Vintera 60s pickups. Also, I own another player series and I can tell they really put attention to detail on this one…and of course, that champagne color is the most beautiful thing. 
Would I recommend it? Abso-freaking-lutely!
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Hah, I know what you mean about the PRS - I have a love/hate relationship with it (Core 35 Anniv) Neck is amazing, sounds amazing, looks amazing but damn its uncomfortable to play. Recently just gone back to my Fender Strat Ultra and put new Magneto-Design pickups in and it sounds awesome. I love the feel of the Strat - hate the volume position but work around it ok, cant beat the comfort of a strat I reckon - yep would recommend, also recommend my Strandberg for someone looking for a headless/funky/modern guitar - sounds incredible (Shur pickups) but hard to get used to the different neck and fan-frets but I do love playing it … no would not recommend my PRS lol
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After buying/selling guitars off and on for the past 3-5 years, i’ve come to know myself very well. I don’t believe that ONE guitar can do everything well. I like alot of different style guitars, but I always come back to the strat/SS platform. I have love for the RR/Gus G Half V - Star shape also.
IMO having a few guitars that make you play your best for the music you want to learn is essential to keep progressing. Like others have said, I need a break from time to time from the “high gain” stuff… I can get some good clean tones from my electric.
One day i’d like to get an Ovation again.
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Funny you should mention an Ovation. My first good guitar was an Ovation Deluxe Balladeer. I was a kid. In no way was I worthy of it.
At the time—this was back in the early '70s—I lived in Nashville with the folks. Dad sold used cars In those days lots of musicians bought station wagons to haul equipment in. (This was before SUVs; unlike vans, a station wagon could also haul several musicians. ;o) Anyhow, a local musician wanted to trade for a newer station wagon. He didn’t have enough cash so he threw in the guitar and my dad took it and gave me the guitar.
Someone stole it from me later on but it was a great sounding guitar. (Hard as hell to hold on to, though, with that slick round back.) I miss it sometimes.
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Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HH 2PT CM Electric Guitar Matte Blue Frost
I bought this on the recommendation of Rick Graham, so yes I would totally recommend it, he’s a true modern virtuoso if you haven’t heard of him already.
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Did he give it a good review, or did you do some lessons with him? Looks like a nice instrument at a good price.
Embarrassingly, I hadn’t heard of Rick pre-CTC. I sort of got away from guitar for a few years prior to finding out about Troy. I’ve been really digging Rick lately and bought his Legato workout, which I would “recommend to a friend” 
I know the more we learn about our favorite players, the more we become aware of stuff they can’t do…I’m coming up dry thinking of stuff Rick can’t do though lol! Usually with great rock players I can make myself feel a little better and say "Oh well at least he can’t play authentic classical guitar 
". But nope, he does that too. He’s certainly an inspiration.
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But can he play the tamborine??? 
all i know is most of the guys i listen to i literally at least have to put it at 75% speed everytime 
and honestly i doubt if i could even scat the riffs at speed i still wouldnt be able to do it at tempo, some guys are just blazers! my speed is ascending through swept downs, and 3 string arpeggio sweep lines/phrases. the only thing i have ever got really fast was 3nps scale shapes descended musically using two way directional economy picking, swept up string changes. i think if i can get proficient at the half swybrid down, up, pluck higher string i might can get faster at descended musical phrasing maybe. and also work on the up,up, pluck high string full on swybrid. thats the only way i am going to be able to blaze descended musical phrasing material and make it sound legitimate, if i can get good at it. 
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I was Ibanez RG model all the way (normal line, prestige, j custom, PG/JEM which are basically an RG in my book - really any of them are great) and still think it’s a stellar guitar and the Ibanez trem design is incredible.
I just got a used Strandberg Fusion 7 and I have barely touched anything else. At some point I want to try Aristides and possibly a headless chambered body Kiesel. I prefer extended range guitars and have found that multiscale and neck profile really make a difference in hand comfort, so honestly I might become an endurneck purist. Although, I haven’t tried the more involved compound radius necks.
Some day I hope to also get a JP7 or EBMM as well, or both lol. I have a problem for sure.
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J Customs are amazing. They play effortlessly and sound great. I like the tone zone and air Norton that come on them, or most of them.
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I stopped by a guitar shop not long ago and a guy I know there told me to check out the PRS SE semi hollow. It actually played really nicely and sounded ok. If you replaced the pickups it would be a great guitar.
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Kind of a funny story, I really lost interest in fancy guitars long ago . . . traded my hot-rodded Strat for an acoustic, J-Craft Gilb model is still in pieces from a half-finished overhaul, been playing my ancient Ibanez Roadstar. Then I grabbed a Player Plus Strat, liked it, wanted two guitars that play and sound the same and grabbed a used black Player model. Cleaned up the fret-ends, dropped in a DiMarzio Area 67 and for whatever reason it’s the one I always play; just the most plain-Jane guitar ever but it’s my favourite.
TBH I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you like working on guitars, I’d say grab a Plus model and everything’s done for you.
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My main fiddle is a Suhr classic S. It’s like a modern-ish take on a SSS strat, with SS frets and a two-point (Gotoh) 510 whammy, with otherwise barebones specs as far as Suhr goes. It’s my first strat I’ve personally owned but I’ve played Fender CS, EBMM Cutlass, G&L USA, Kiesel, Ibanez Prestige, and it played more nicely than all of them. I’ve never played Aristides, Knaggs, or Tom Anderson, but it ties with all the other Suhr’s I’ve played for nicest guitar I’ve ever played. Can’t really comment on tone beyond it sounding good to my ears-- not the biggest tone guy. I mostly played metalcore previously but after buying it I switched playstyles entirely, just because of how much nicer the Suhr was to play than my other fiddle, a MIK Parker Hornet.
I’m looking into learning how to level, crown, and dress frets so that I can make other guitars play as nicely as my main one does, as I’d like to get another HH guitar for thrash, keep one in drop C for the 2000’s era melodic metalcore, and get a 7 string for djenty ERRA-type stuff, and the Suhr wasn’t the most financially responsible thing I’ve ever bought.
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Tokai uls136f
Found it this spring in London, I went to find a good les paul, tried the custom shops and murphy lab gibbsons available in a few stores ( that i also licked the finish of ) but this felt better, sounded better, and for around 1.7k instead of 5k+
Is not nitro, its above 4kg weight, but man it does the job soo well and love the finish too.
Someday I wish to find a gibson or boutique LP that have relic, nitro, weight less etc. But this will be my Main until then and a great studio guitar in general for forever for me. def reccomend tokais if u in the market for a les paul. The chinese ones (500-700$ range) are great too, but the 1k + are at least standard Gibson range, or custom.
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My desert island guitar would be a vintage-style Telecaster. You can cover so much ground with one, it’s absurd.
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I play a B.C. Rich Warlock Dark Arts edition. Swapped out the stock pickups with EMG 81/85 active pickups. It does what I need. I would recommend it to anyone who plays metal and likes an easy guitar to work on and customize.
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My main guitar for years has been a Jackson RR5, which I would recommend, but I recently upgraded to:
…an ESP E-II Eclipse. I haven’t been able to to really put it through it’s paces since I’m in the process of rehabbing tenosynovitis that affects half of my fretting hand, but what is apparent from the jump:
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Machining is across the board excellent, especially in the tuners.
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Heavy-ish, but not overwhelmingly so, excellent balance.
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Sounds great, sustain for days.
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This is the best neck I’ve ever felt, I would estimate the smoothness of it makes single-note playing around 20% easier.
While I could get a more expensive/“better” ESP, this really doesn’t leave anything to be desired.
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Which model is this?
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