The "VS" Thread (Having trouble choosing between two or three guitars? Post here!)

[MaxOfMetal]

Originally Posted by ZEBOV

Fretboards: maple vs rosewood vs ebony
What are the differences in feel and sound?

Feel:
There are several factors, namely the grain and condition of the wood. A shitty piece of Gaboon Ebony will feel like sandpaper, a poorly finished Rock Maple board will feel tacky, and poor quality Indian Rosewood will feel like melting chocolate. As long as the board is properly maintained they'll all feel almost exactly the same.

That being said, examine your playing. How often do you have significant contact with the face of the fretboard? Chances are 95% of the time, your fingers will be touching the strings, and occasionally frets, thus making the "feel" of the fretboard moot.

Tone:
Once again, there are just too many factors to come to solid conclusions. For instance, the cut and quality of the wood will have a huge bearing. Also, between all the other factors in the construction of the guitar, the effects, amps, speakers, etc. will influence the tone significantly greater than a small slab of wood which holds the frets in place. The more gain, drive, compression, and clipping from your rig, the less the fretboard wood will matter. In a low gain or acoustic context the fretboard wood will have a greater bearing.

[ZEBOV]

Originally Posted by MaxOfMetal

Feel:
There are several factors, namely the grain and condition of the wood. A shitty piece of Gaboon Ebony will feel like sandpaper, a poorly finished Rock Maple board will feel tacky, and poor quality Indian Rosewood will feel like melting chocolate. As long as the board is properly maintained they'll all feel almost exactly the same.

That being said, examine your playing. How often do you have significant contact with the face of the fretboard? Chances are 95% of the time, your fingers will be touching the strings, and occasionally frets, thus making the "feel" of the fretboard moot.

Tone:
Once again, there are just too many factors to come to solid conclusions. For instance, the cut and quality of the wood will have a huge bearing. Also, between all the other factors in the construction of the guitar, the effects, amps, speakers, etc. will influence the tone significantly greater than a small slab of wood which holds the frets in place. The more gain, drive, compression, and clipping from your rig, the less the fretboard wood will matter. In a low gain or acoustic context the fretboard wood will have a greater bearing.

It's for a Carvin 6 string bass. I play with a very clean sound. I play with a pick or my fingers, and I slap and pop a good bit too.

[chucknorrishred]

agile

anyone play this? im planing on geting this for my lil bro since he's been wanting to mess with trems.

yesterday i played a friends agile and way blown away by the builds quality, no bullshit. the only thing was the tone knob was hard as fuk, big deal

he plans on woking over the summer to get a hellraiser c1 w/fr and install blackouts. told him to put the blackouts in the agile for the meantime.

anyways, reviews anyone?

[sh4z]

Been having a bit of a dilemma myself lately... hoping you guys could help me nut it out...

Agile Septor Elite 727 Black Flame
vs
Agile Interceptor Pro 727 Black Flame
vs
Agile Intrepid Pro Dual 828 MN NA

1st Issue - Bridge:
Hard-tail vs Floyd - I think the Floyd 727 is more versatile I like using the trem I would sort of miss not having one If I bought a hard-tail... On the other hand I like the simplicity of a fixed bridge.. its easier to change strings/tunings on a fixed bridge too.. I suppose the trem could be blocked also It's not easy deciding is it >_<

2nd Issue - Pickups:
Blackouts vs EMG 707 vs Passive. I am sort of leaning towards the Duncan Blackouts than EMG. On the other hand it could be swapped out later.. If i decided on the Floyd..

I think if the Interceptor Pro had blackouts and a 27" scale it would tip the scale in favor of the Interceptor. They both have a black finish and ebony fretboard which is win.

3rd Issue - 7 String or 8 String with a larger scale:
8 String would be nice but slightly concerned about the 28.625" extended scale length. Then there is the neck width.. maybe I will not like it ? It's a bit hard ... nobody I know has one I could try... and As I live in Australia I won't be able to find Agile Guitars in store

Not sure about the maple fretboard either... I guess it matches the finish of the body.. this is only cosmetic.. right ?

What to do .. what to do ...

I need an extended scale guitar to feed my down tuned metal needs

[Gerbaschlonk]

Like sh4z I am considering an Agile Septor Elite 727, mine would be green however. My VS go a little more like this though:
Agile Septor Elite 727 (or 725, any info on the difference? I want a really low action, no fret buzz though)
VS
Agile Septor Standard
VS
Schecter Damien Elite 8
VS
Any other really awesome sub 1000 7 string that you care to mention for my investigation

I currently have a 6 string Michael Kelly however I've been considering making the move up into the extended range for quite some time now and have decided to bit the bullet and buy one. I kind of only want an 8 string for shits and giggle but I do think it would inspire some interesting new tunes. Tosin Abasi is my inspiration for that ridiculous idea.

The reason I'm putting the septor standard and elite against each other is the price difference. I live in Australia so to get the elite shipped here + case(necessity) is 986USD. Now comparing that to the price on Australian guitars it's still worth it and I could sell it for more here...tehehe.
But my question is will the neck through design greatly affect the tone and playability of the guitar? Because if not I can always go el cheapo and purchase after market pickups to beef up my sound.

I'm looking for a players guitar, something that is really comfortable to play with good contouring and is easy to use and makes me WANT to spend more time with it. If that makes sense. I was considering schecter seven strings like a C-7 but all I can see is a whole lot of bling that is starting to seem a bit tacky tbh. Besides I already have a ridiculously blinged out guitar with my Patriot Glory. What I need now is a good, solid playing guitar.
Neck through seems a lot cooler plus it has the duncans and veneered headstock so it still looks nice but the standard still has the hipshot style bridge (something I really want to try hence choosing the standard over the pro) and from what I can see active pickups so easily mod-able.

[Metalma5ness]

im planning on getting myself seven string and i have narrowed it down to these two guitars seeing as i can only spend up to £400 im really stuck between them i like the schecter due to the mahogany body but im not the biggest fan of the neck and i like the sc-207 because it has a comfortable neck and it is allready routed for actives that i will be planning to put in either one in the near future, but it is made out of basswood and i have allways got the impression that it is a questionable wood. i intend to play mostly lacuna coil kinda symphonic music and also quite alot of scar symmetry and unearth. thoughts and opinions are welcome. thanks in advance

sc: ESP Ltd SC-207 Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) 7-String Signature Electric Guitar

omen: Schecter Omen Extreme 7 Black Cherry with FREE DELIVERY GIG BAG

[Mattmc74]

Both are good choices for a 7. If you can play them both to see with one you like the best. I have heard and played guitars with basswood bodies that had actives installed and it sounded really good so don't let the body wood steer you away.

[Metalma5ness]

oh ok i was moving towards the ltd a bit more because i have played the schecter and it looked great but the neck was not very comfortable sadly i cant try the LTD because there are no dealers that stock them here i only tried the schecter because my friend has one

[MikeH]

I'd be going strictly off of looks and specs, and since they have very similar specs, I'd for sure choose the LTD. But this is because I'm not a fan of Schecter necks, and I think the SC series just looks savage.

[ridealot100]

So basically in a previous thread, I explained how my RGA121 got thrashed by guitar center

They have offered me a deal where they will find me another used guitar of the same quality from one of their many stores and let me have that as replacement. I basically get to be picky until I find the guitar that I am happy with.

I'm really drawn to the S2170fw

S2170FW - Ibanez Guitar Wiki

And I was wondering how the guitar would compare to the RGA121. The 22 frets dont bother me at all because I really dont even use the 23rd and 24th fret. I also really enjoy the fact that there is 3 pickups because I have a 3 pickup set of Bareknuckles to put in. The pickup rings will also make it so I dont have to route anything. The mahogany body is also kind of something I wanted to stick with.

The one thing that I heard though is that the S is made in Korea. Im wondering if this will make the guitar a downgrade from the RGA121.


Anyone have any info or experience with the S2170?

Thanks!

[Prydogga]

RGA121. Definitely, I absolutely love those guitars, and I don't know what it is, but I haven't been amazes playing an S prestige as much as I have playing an RG/RGA prestige.

[teqnick]

The MIK Prestiges are no slouch man.

As far as I know, the Gibraltar bridge that was used on the older RGA prestiges can't fit a string gauge thicker than a .54, so if you wanted to tune much lower than C-Standard, i'd def take that into consideration.

That s2170fw is a pretty ............ too.

[Thrashmanzac]

dont not take anything less than another rag121 from them mate, thats a prestige mij, i dont really think the two guitars are equal at all

[ridealot100]

Basically, I love all of the features on the S2170.

I was looking for a Trem, and 3 pickups. I also LOVE the s series.

The only concern I had was on the quality. If the quality is up to par with the "prestige" title. Then Ide take the S.

I wouldnt be getting a bad guitar, or a guitar with problems would I?

I will be taking this to a local shop to have it inspected and looked over before sinking the deal.

[ridealot100]

How about the S1625fb?

Since that is a MIJ S series.

Any word on the quality there?
S1625FB - Ibanez Guitar Wiki

[Metalma5ness]

ltd it is then i wonder how it would sound with 707s

[guitar4tw]

Personally I'd go for the RGA, one of the best lines of guitars Ibanez has ever made IMO.

[jymellis]

how about a rg550 or 770 re-issue

[MaxOfMetal]

You had a MIJ Ibby, you deserve an MIJ Ibby.

Don't get me wrong the S2170 was a solid player, but to be honest it wasn't on par with the MIJ Prestige guitars, enough so that they soon discontinued the MIK Prestige guitars (which were only ever Saber models).

There are tons of MIJ RGs and Sabers out there which have three pickups and trems and will have quality on par with your RGA121.

[ridealot100]

I cancelled the S series after hearing all of this, and Ill know within the next hour if I will be getting a RG550 20th anniv. Reissue in Yellow that is in similar shape as my rga

Overall, im pretty stoked that they are willing to work with me.

[Origin]

I own an rga121 and have played a s2170 multiple times, both ....ing awesome. I really don't think you could go wrong with either, or the 550.

[lDEATHl]

personally, i like the ebony fretboard and the blackouts over the rosewood and emg's. but the hellraiser has inlays and more versatility with the coil taps. there is no other way for me to break it down
any thoughts or suggestions is appreciated, thanks.

[JacobShredder]

Hello again SS.orgers,

I recently sold a couple unneeded musical objects, an Ibanez Gio 7 (christmas present, I was about to buy a 7321...need I say more?) and a Marshall MG cab after upgrading to a Mesa 2x12.

Now I'm looking for a new 7 string of higher quality, with a NICE trem that I can use and abuse. I was looking at RG7620, RG1527, C7 Hellraiser and the LoomisFR sig.

I put up an ad in the FS/Buying/Trading Guitars Section and have gotten 2 REALLY great replies.

One forum member offered me a 1527 w/EP trem, another a LoomisFR sig.

I've heard from a couple people that the EP trem didnt really hold up, even from Brandon Jacob-Mutiny Within.

And then there's the active pickup thing with the loomis, which honestly I'm okay with actives, it just limits choice, unless I go with active casings for passives.

I babble alot but I think I got my point across

Currently Loomis or 1527? or wait for something else? I'll say that the Loomis and 1527 are 1/4 of 100 close in terms of price.

Thanks,
Jacob


EDIT: Not sure why I NEVER see the VS thread my bad. Thanks Mod for moving it, still getting used to this forum. Love it though

[Skin Coffin]

Agile Interceptor 727 vs Jackson COW 7

So, which do you think is better?

EDIT: I'm sorry I didn't knew there was a section for "VS Threads".

[MikeH]

Since I have never played either, I have to go with a choice of collective knowledge and aesthetics. Obviously the Agile will be more versatile. LFR, Dual Actives, and a longer scale. Not to say the longer scale will add any playing benefits other than note clarity. But the COW is very limited in its abilities. Single EMG, TOM bridge. That's about all it has to offer. Neither would be a bad choice, but I would go with the 727.