Rank Your Guitars

[GloopyJon]

As discussed today on the Equipment thread, it might be interesting to read what other people think of their own guitars. To do this, I propose that we rank our guitars from favourite to least favourite, giving reasons. I'm sure this will lead to a lot of discussion!

My list is below. I've separated my electric guitars and basses; I have left out my acoustic because I only have one, and I play it very rarely.

If you want to add pictures, feel free to do so. I won't because it will make my post too long and image-heavy, and I've already posted pictures in the Gear Owned thread.

Electric Guitars

1) PRS Custom 22 (US-made)
Impeccable quality, great sound and my favourite neck which seems to disappear when I play it. Locking tuners and an excellent trem system round out a great package.

2) Duesenberg Starplayer TV Classic
Lovely guitar with a really individual style, with the art deco theme. Very nice to play, great sounds from the pickups which are quite different (vintage humbucker and P90 copy). Nice chunky controls, lovely sound, generally great and something quite different from the norm without being bizarre. Classy!

3) Epiphone Slash Rosso Corsa
Great looking guitar with a very striking red flame top. Classic Les Paul-style guitar but with a neck that I find more acceptable than the Gibson LPs. It also cost a lot less than a Gibson! Authentic Slash Seymour Duncan pickups sound great, and I really enjoy playing this guitar now. As a medium-budget Les Paul (I paid around £600), this gets full thumbs up.

4) Charvel Desolation DC-1 FR
I got this half price as it was end-of-line, and it was a real bargain at £389. A great shredder's guitar with a lovely oiled neck and a fancy finish with ornate fretboard inlays. Active pickups which are pretty hot. Excellent!

5) Chapman Ghost Fret
My latest guitar, and a very cool-looking one with its Explorer shape and blue flame top. Good quality hardware, and it's pretty comfortable to play although better standing than sitting because of the large wing which tends to sit under my elbow when seated.

6) Fender Pawn Shop '72
This is a nice guitar, and actually it's my son's favourite of my guitars. It's quite simple - no tone knob, for example - but nice to play and looks quite traditional with its sunburst colour. Overall, nice and very well made, good for the price but nothing outstanding.

7) Brian May Special
Maybe surprisingly low, but although I like the guitar, I don't think the quality of construction is high enough - it's a bit plasticky and I have a couple of niggles. Great flexibility with the switches. Neck is a bit chunky for me (although not as chunky as the original, apparently) but OK.

8) Chapman ML-2
This is a decent LP-style guitar with a nice ebony fretboard. It's pretty heavy, has a nice finish although the pickups are uncovered which looks a bit messy as they protrude from the body a lot. Decent for the price.

9) Lag Arkane A100
There's nothing really wrong with this guitar, except that it has a Floyd Rose trem system which I don't like for several reasons. It's my permanent Drop D guitar. The fretboard is a tiny bit too narrow and sometimes the high e string slips off because of that.

10) Harley Benton double cut (SG) kit guitar
Although I enjoyed the process of making this and it looks quite good, with a very individual paint scheme, it's not a great guitar to play, mainly because the neck is not straight. I need to work on it but don't really know how I can guarantee getting it perfectly straight. It stays on the wall.

11) Unknown strat copy
This was my first electric, bought for £75 secondhand when I was a student. I knew nothing about guitars, and it's rubbish! Must be a cheap Chinese copy as it has no identification or serial number.
Bass Guitars

1) Chapman MLB-1
Lovely thin neck, very nice choice of woods for both neck and body (wenge/bubinga) which make this a great-looking guitar. Confusing controls, with an unnecessary blend knob and no labelling on the knobs, and could be finished slightly better. Overall, though, a very enjoyable instrument to play.

2) Yamaha RBX170
Perfectly respectable, and very good value for money, but nothing very exciting about it.

Over to you guys now!

 

[KungFuPro]

Nice variety of guitars you've got there, I can't pick a favourite guitar or the others will take the huff and start playing up.

10) Harley Benton double cut (SG) kit guitar
Although I enjoyed the process of making this and it looks quite good, with a very individual paint scheme, it's not a great guitar to play, mainly because the neck is not straight. I need to work on it but don't really know how I can guarantee getting it perfectly straight. It stays on the wall.

Don't want to sidetrack this thread but I re-aligned a neck last year and can give a few pointers how I done it, if it's of any use.

First attempt at building a guitar, kept it for sentimental reasons but wasn't nice to play, strings were too close to the bass side and would slip off higher up the fretboard. Only 'before' photo I have, not the best angle but should be able to see the difference.


Doweled the old neck holes (made a real mess drilling the original holes!)


You could drill out the holes to match dowel size, fill holes with glue and hammer in. Or what I done, splinter the dowels into thinner pieces, cover with glue, fill the hole with glue and tightly pack hammering in the pieces. Then use a coping saw to cut off excess and file/sand flush.

Aligned the neck best I could using outer strings as a guide


Used 0.6mm wood veneer (can buy offcuts from ebay, cabinet makers, etc...) to shim side of neck pocket until no wiggle room, clamped tight but leaving enough room on the back so I could drill the first hole.


Photo from a different build but the same idea. Drill first hole, move clamp and check everything is still aligned, tighten and drill second hole.


I'd recommend doing the second hole diagonally from the first (I didn't in that photo!). Measure how long the drill bit is so you dont go through the fretboard, insulation tape wrapped around drill bit as a marker can help. Also check drill bit size on test piece so it's the right width for the neck screws.

After 2 diagonal holes are screwed in you might not need a clamp. When all 4 are done you can tidy up the neck pocket by gluing the shims.

Don't need to use a full size shim, surprising how many factory bolt-ons have small bits in the neck pocket to help alignment, just a little tab can be enough to keep it firmly in place


Shouldn't have to redrill the body neck holes, I did with this one as I made a complete mess of the original holes. Decided to lose the neck plate and use ferrules instead, contoured heel while I was at it.


Not my favourite guitar to play but it plays great now, glad I held onto it, contoured heel helps with upper fret access but I don't think SG's have that problem anyway.