In this topic, anyone can decide to make a explanatory topic on a particular kind of electric guitar model. I'll try to summary them in this thread. The point here is to provide a quick overview of the different kinds of guitars available in the market, knowing that there are probably less than 10 "families" of electric guitars (Strat, Tele, LP, SG, RG, ...)

Ibanez
RGT / RGA / RG (introduction by Headhunter7)
RG (details by Evo.Com)
GAX30 (by Metalhead)
RG (details by Ssslayerrr)
*new* JS1000 (by Pix)

Fender
Telecaster (by Led_Zep_Freak)
Stratocaster (by Led_Zep_Freak)

Gibson
Les Paul - Std vs. Custom vs. Junior (by Blacktrix)

Various acoustic guitars (in-depth ! by TheWacker)

"Metal oriented" guitars
BC Rich Warlock (overview by MetalHead)
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Model : Les Paul
Brand : Gibson
Nickname : LP
Author : Blacktrix

Typically, a Les Paul is a solidbody electric guitar, which means that the wood inside is not hollow and is normally very heavy, thus giving it a "fatter" sound, which is very much sought after by blues and recently, Heavy Metal artists.



Pictured here is a Gibson Les Paul standard. A Les Paul's characteristics is that it has a single cutaway (The part where it got cut-off) body. THere are on occasion a double cut-away Les Paul, but the most familiar Les Paul is the Single Cut away.

The Les Paul usually comes with 2 Humbucker pick-ups, although they can be changed. Note that it also doesn't have a Whammy Bar at the bottom, but rather a tune-o-matic bridge, which is the silver bar, second to the botto. The last bar is appropriately called a Stopbar tailpiece.

Other characteristics that defines the Gibson Les Paul is the pick-up selector switch located on the upper-left side of the body, and the 4 knobs at the bottom right, which are 2 for tone, and 2 for volume.
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This post has been edited by Pix: Jan 4 2006, 04:40 AM

Model : RGT / RGA / RG
Brand : Ibanez
Nickname : TEH FJOOKING SHREDDING MACHINE
Style : Any that you can think of.
^ well Ibanez RGs have 3 models

this one is the RGT

This RG has the neck through, for people who doesn't want to have their hand blocked while solo-ing..

this one is the RG

This has the normal bolt on, only with AANJ (stands for All Access Neck Joint) , which hardly gets in the way while solo-ing.

This one is the RGA

This is the RGA , without the Edge tremolo.

From all of the above, i'd personally choose the RGT , but an RGA would be nice too..for my downtuned songs

This post has been edited by headhunter7: Jun 23 2005, 06:24 PM

It's just a metaphorlar, I don't find anything wrong with it.

If that's the case, are you saying we shouldn't mix guitar with God too???

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Model : Telecaster
Brand : Fender
Nickname : Tele
Genre : Country, Blues, Rock. (Very popular for experimenting lately, tho!)


Telecaster, then-named Broadcaster was Fender's first solid body electric guitar. Teles are famous for its bright sound due to the nature of their singlecoil pickups, especially the bridge which cuts your ears with its high treble frequency. The neck pickup, though, on the other spectrum of the world - sounds warm while the middle position provides a great out-of-phase sound.

On the downside, the contour of Tele (still is) wasn't designed properly & the body is basically a chunk of wood, thus sinking into your ribs when playing, making it barely a choice for beginners. Though, if much is spend on it, one would be rewarded as much as Teles are the sweetest guitars in the world.

Famous Users : Keith Richards (Rolling Stones), Jeff Buckley, Radiohead (Both guitarists), Bruce Springsteen, John 5, Andy Summers (The Police).

Soundclips :
Neck Position : Led Zeppelin's Communication Breakdown
Middle Position : Solo of Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven'
Bridge Position : Any Rolling Stones riff!

Others : Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah, Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, John 5's Sugarfoot Rag, the Police's Message In A Bottle & Radiohead's Creep (Tho Johnny Greenwood made some modifications to his Tele).
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Had nbtd lol.



This post has been edited by led_zep_freak: Jun 23 2005, 06:27 PM

u mean me???? T3H Guitar GOD .....wannabe..... ...come on la fella, dun be so upset over some metaphor....chill out dude....

EDIT too late...zeppy took my review

i reserve this post for: -

Fender Tele My Own Axe [Ibanex GAX30] ...who knows it better than i do? .....



Model : GAX 30
Brand : Ibanez
Nickname: Horned Evil [ just came to my mind]
Genre: Hard Rock, Metal and some say Blues ....

Specification:
Neck: Maple
Body: Basswood
Bridge: Fixed Bridge
PU Config: Humbucker - Humbucker
Control: 1 Volume , 1 Tone
Selector: 3 way [Neck, Both and Bridge]

GAX30 is suitable for classic, chunky hard rock tunes, you can't go wrong with the dual humbucker. With it's double cutaway, crystal cut basswood body, and lightweight body, the GAX is the perfect guitar on stage. [As taken from Ibanez catalog]

I would say it's a good choice for beginner who want something affordable and yet able to perform as expected. It's light and the neck is comfortable to grip, it's more rounded than RG neck. The configuration is simple and straight to the point, no need for adjusting the Floyd Rose (coz the lack of one) and changing string is just a matter of minutes as opposed to other Ibanez (RG and those with Floyd Rose). It's so simple that even if u srewed it up, u'll still be able to make it good again (just like i did ).

The disadvantage is the PU is not powerful enuf.

Famous user:
metalhead (as in me, he who posted here )
John5 (i swear that Johny boy have one just like this when he was in Manson, he endorsed this model and have (still posses one in his collection) a signature GAX under his name...this is truly a fact, no joke)

This post has been edited by metalhead: Jun 23 2005, 06:43 PM

nbtd again... Rough description of the strat (I wouldn't know how 60s & 50s strats differ!).
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Model : Stratocaster
Brand : Fender
Nickname : Strat
Genre : Blues, Rock & basically everything else too (Strats are very versatile!).



Possibly the world's most famous electric guitar, Strat were introduced by Fender after the introduction of Gibson's Les Pauls. Strats were spotted with a modern look - double cutaway, perfectly contoured body, a lovely 3 singlecoil-pickup configuration, a volume knob & 2 tone knobs. Not to forget the then-revolutionary bridge & whammy bar!

Strats are famous for its versatility & twangy singlecoil sounds. Because of the latter, strats were a popular instrment for modern blues guitarists. The former, tho give you an idea that strats could also be seen in metal gigs. The position of the volume knob means that violining effects could be achived easily compared to LPs and Telecasters. Plus, its design prooved to be popular among guitarists as it was widely copied by other manufactures.

The neck position gives a very warm bluesy sound (Suitable for blues soloing) while the bridge is bright sounding (Great for riffing!). The middle position is everything in between. Position 2 & 4 give the famous Strat out-of-phase sound, which is the highlight of the strat IMHO! If those weren't enough, the 2 tone pots should be on one's disposal for tone shaping.

Verdict, a very, very versatile guitar & great for beginners. Hey, millions of guitarists can't be wrong!

Famous Users : Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Yngwie Malmsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hank Marvin (The Shadows), John Mayer, Tom Delonge (Blink 182), John Fruciante (RHCP), those 2 blokes from Iron Maiden.

Soundclips :
Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing, Stevie Ray Vaughan's Pride And Joy, Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight, Jeff Beck's Nadia & Yngwie Malmsteen's Far Beyond The Sun.
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i know RGs wouldve suck without their necks but hey... they're not that bad

Generally older RG guitars are either fitted with the Edge, TRS or the Edge pro 2. Newer ones would be the Edge pro and the Edge pro 3(2005). The Edge and the Edge pro are considered tobe the better ones among those listed, mainly because its well constructed and it doesnt break that easily (vai anyone?)
These are highly reliable and most ppl even think that they're on par or even better than the original floyds ( well its pretty biased considering the fact that that group of "ppl" are all RG users)

Most of them are made of Basswood, which is quite light if compared to Mahogony.

Sound: Most ppl think that RGs are "metal" guitars, well personally i think thats just full of crap, the tone does not come from the wood of the guitar yo. Its like saying that strats can only be used for country and blues.

Pros:
Reliable. Very solid and playable.
Cheap? Well the higher end RGs such as the Jcustoms, prestige, Jems, JSs are all available to guitarist at reasonable prices(imo). You money really goes to the construction of the guitar itself and not the brand(not that much )
Light. As ive said b4, its light. Wont break your neck
Neck. Wizard I and II(most of them), thin, fast and smooth.

Cons:
Pickups. the Vs, Powersounds, IBZ Dimarzio. Well... some would disagree with me on this but they suck. Sorry if i offended anyone but dont just take my word for it, go and try it on your own or look up the net. With a neutral body such as basswood, its essential to have decent pickups (Kent Armstrong, Dimarzio, SD, EMGs, Tom andersons etc)
Finish. Man... im not sure if its only me or not, but the RG that i have chips very easily. For someone like me *ehem its not easy to "not" bang into something. I learnt this the hard way... only realise the few chips after a few days, yea pretty sad.

Hopefully this sums things up. Eventhou they're pointy but they're not metal guitars

Ok, I've updated the first topic... very nice job you guys ! Don't hesitate to "consolidate" current info about models if you feel like it. Will try to make it look nicer later also, dun worry.

Regarding the bible name... ok, if you feel like it's an insult to this religion, i'll change it. I guess if I had put "The Ku'ran of Guitars", that'd have been weird as well... (then we can start the debate about how western civilisation is now using the word "bible" not as a religious reference anymore, but as a common word )
chiiill out....

Why all electric guitar wan ? .... Acoustic guitars can right ? ... i mean it's the "guitar Paradise" ....


How Body Shapes Affect Tone Production
Well .... the bigger the guitar, the louder it will sound (huh!) and, consequently, the body width and depth will produce more bass response. The difference between all these guitars is the depth of the body. Their scale lengths are standard 25.3" (643mm)

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Model: GJ46SCE (Jumbo Guitar)
Brand: Fender
Body Depth: 3.87" (Front) to 4.87" (Rear)
Nickname: Big Mama guitar, Jumbo



With bodies approximately 17 inches wide and 5 inches deep, jumbos are the cannons of the acoustic guitar world. Typically made with backs and sides of maple to recover clarity in the tonal spectrum ... wah .... These huge guitars can certainly fill a room, at alone a hall with sound.
But ... haha, guitars of this size and power are usually harder to record with, so, most players will choose smaller bodied instruments to make recordings and will leave the jumbos for their live performance.
Most jumbos are made of rosewood which produces a more mellow tone than maple and rosewood are very popular for their power and rich resonance.


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Steel-string guitars with body widths from approximately 14 inches to 16 inches fall into categories known as
i) Concert
ii) Grand concert
iii) Auditorium
iv) Grand Auditorium

Model: GDC 100 SCE (Florentine Cutaway) Concert Guitar GC12
Brand: Fender
Body Depth: 3.62" (Front) to 4.40" (Rear)
Nickname: Folk guitar, concert



Model: GC12
Brand: Fender
Body Depth: 3.5" Front, 4" Rear
Nickname: Folk guitar, Grand Concert



The smaller concert and grand concert sizes accentuate the middle and upper end of the frequency range and because they lack deep bass response, these guitars are usually built with mahogany or rosewood back and sides to give them an extra warmer, better balanced tone. Keep in mind about maple bodies as these tend to be too bright and harsh.


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Model: GA43SCE
Brand: Fender
Body Depth: 4" (Front) to 5" (Rear)
Nickname: Grand Auditorium



Mid-sized Auditorium and grand Auditorium models bring the widest palette of frequencies and tone colours to the mix because all types of tonewood, various scale lengths and decorative appointment are used in these categories, along with many variations in body shape. These body sizes are generally believed to be the best guitar for tonal balance, clarity of individual notes and blend of chord structures. These guitars are the favorites of modern finger-style players.


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Model: DG10
Brand: Fender
Body Depth: 3.94" (100mm) to 4.92" (125mm)
Nickname: Dreadnought Guitar, "acoustic guitar"



Little history lesson for you guys. This body shape took its name from a battleship that was used during the early 1900s which is also known to be wide across it's mid section. The overall shape has been described as rectangular with a soft waist curve yielding a large soundboard and strong tone character across the full sound spectrum but emphasizing the low-mid range.
These near-jumbo sized instruments have dominated the acoustic guitar world since the 1930s and no matter whom the manufacturer, the width, length and depth of the body are fairly standardized with only a few exceptions. Hundreds of thousands of dreadnoughts are sold in the world each year and have in fact become what most people think of when you go to a guitar store and say "acoustic guitar"


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Please correct me if any of these info is wrong .... , Coz i did my own research before i bought my Dreadnought and this all the research i did

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Jun 24 2005, 10:30 AM

what the heck is a Falcon???

The only memorable guitar that Dave Grohl has was the see-through plexi glass strat style guitar.

U mean this ? --->

in that case, thanx modd and blacktrix... you guys rule... as a matter of fact ALL of you rules....
p/s-Modd nice solo you did in improvisation. wish i could play half as good...

I remember the plexi glass strat alrite.... but i like the one he had on monkey wrench video.



yup that's the one. i think that guitar is worth a mention.

any of you own or tried guitar with an active pu?
physical characteristic is fine but i'm more interested on the sound characteristic of the guitar.
superb explanation on LP but what about SG, Explorer, V?

Just want to add a few notes on the RG guitar.

1. Got the reputation as a shredders guitar mainly coz of its general specs and who was using it. Take a late 80ties, early 90ties shredder, big chance he was probably using an RG. Its specs, very big fingerboard radius (almost flat), wizard necks (on most rg, but not a rule though), jumbo frets, and the AANJ (all access neck joint), really makes it an ideal instrument for shredding. to quote Paul Gilbert, things are a lot easier to do on an Ibanez guitar ( his PG series is based on the RG)

2. To me, the thin necks make playing as easy as possible, giving you the most leeway, sort of allowing your fingers to "be all they can be". Talk about ibanez thin necks, youre talking about the wizard neck. At 17 mm at the first fret and 19 to 20 mm at the 12th fret, they are one of the thinnest necks around (new specs show the Rg wizard necks as being 18 mm at the first fret.)I love these necks, but none of my RGs have them, they all have ultra necks, which are beefier (19.5 mm at the first fret), so when you buy an RG, make sure it has a wizard neck, if thats what youre looking for.

3. I have guitars with both the AANJ and neckthru (ESP), and interms of accesibility to high frets, there isnt any difference between the AAJN and neckthru's. the AANJ is great. however, not all neckthru's are like that, some really give you a lot more access (like the neckthru developed by Stephen Davies, bolt on version is on Wasburn's Nuno signature series). Neckthru's have a thicker tone to me, and my guitar really resonate on the E note. Given a choice, i would take a neckthru anyday, but not because of access to higher notes.

Continue later

Brand : BC Rich
Model : Bronze Warlock
Nickname: Warlock
Genre: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, and anything to kick a$$
Useful tips: Can be use as a weapon on stage, the angle on it's body can kill

Specification
Body: Agathis
Neck: Maple
Fretboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Adjustable
Pickup: Neck (Humbucker) & Bridge (Humbucker)
Control: 1 voulume and 1 tone
Selector: 3 way selector
24 frets

Local Distributor
IronWood
Kelana Jaya (near the old LimKokWing Institute)
Plaza Damansara, Damansara Heights
tel: 03 2096 2200
e-mail: enquiry.ironwood@time.net.my

The Warlock is basically a very mean looking guitar with very unique design, u'll look heavy heavy metal even if you're playing blues with it. The setup is simple and strightforward, with very RICH tone.

There are a few series from Rich that uses this design, some have Floyd Rose and some not, and other distiguishable feature is the Head Stock.

I personally haven't tried any of the Rich model, but based on Slipknot's Mick Thompson and Kerry King kick ass riffs, u'll figure out how this beast sound. It's more suitable for playing riffs rather than solo.

One of the downside of this guitar is that it's not as flexible as a Strat or a Les Paul, it was built for heavy metal and hard rock, so it'll not sound as good for pop or alternatives. Second, look at the design, does it look like u can use it for a church band??? and the body doesn't really look ergonomic, and might poke a hole on your rib cage....

Anyway, this is definately on my wishlist, i'll have this before the Les Paul coz this is more affordable.

me want that!!!
the problem is that the head is much heavier than the body thus giving the extra pressure to you arms. heard that BC introduced a new design (the beast or something... ) quite recently.

went to woh fatt the other day. just noticed that LP has three models/version. standard, custom and junior. mind telling me the difference, anyone?

yeah, expensive, very expensive and very very expensive

im sure blacktrix will fill in the blanks for you

you can fin all eplanations on www.gibson.com :-) the custom is super-expensive(custom built by Gibson best guitarmakers and from the best wood, etc etc.. they all have different special features), the standard is the "regular" LP, and the junior is... errr... cheaper. Forgot why, but i think it's flatter and the pickups are different. You have the Studio version also. Cheaper.