[ZeroSignal]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

Actually, Vai's mainstay is alder.

Point is though, this is an entirely different genre than 80s guitar hero music. What works well for leads might not work best with low tuned focused riffage.



I wasn't either until i started using better amplifiers. Playing through higher end marshalls and mesas, my UV's tone just didnt stack up against my groove tools or S7's. No matter how much i tweaked the amps to sound good with the UV, you'd plug in a groove tools with the exact same settings and the difference was jawdropping. One of the main things that made me sell the UV was the bewilderment at why my 300$ and 700$ guitars sounded better than my most expensive one.

Vai only has one alder guitar model. All the others are made to his specs with basswood. In fact he only used EVO and FLO about half the time both times I went to see him and the rest of the time he used his rock-mirror-and-LED-fret-marker guitar and the double neck version the rest of the time.

Basswood works better for me for playing Fear Factory than mahogany does. I count that as being focused.

And yet I hate the sound of Marshall amps. I guess I just prefer more Mesa/Deizel sounding amps.

[GuitarG2]

I have a Xiphos 6, and I dig it. So Xiphos 7 would be a good option. The balance sucks tho, and the pickups are a tad on the sterile side (tho my Line 6 doesn't exactly help).

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by ZeroSignal

Vai only has one alder guitar model. All the others are made to his specs with basswood. In fact he only used EVO and FLO about half the time both times I went to see him and the rest of the time he used his rock-mirror-and-LED-fret-marker guitar and the double neck version the rest of the time.

Still, it goes back to the point i had before- what works best for lead guitar oriented music does not always translate well. Look at some of the most intense technical death metal bands - Origin, uses jacksons, maple neck/mahogany body. Cryptopsy, Levassuer used a fat strat (alder) on almost everything he recorded on. Everyone's beloved necrophagist? All the rhythm parts are on a BC Rich Stealth with an alder Jem for all the lead parts. Cannibal Corpse? Mostly BC Rich's, Most likely mahogany or alder.
My point? These are genres of music where most of the time, the focus is on sharp, focused riffs, not lead and melody over the whole song.

Originally Posted by ZeroSignal

And yet I hate the sound of Marshall amps. I guess I just prefer more Mesa/Deizel sounding amps.

I'm not a fan of marshalls either. I'd take my DC3, a Mark II, a 5150, whatever, over them. But sometimes, i've had to use them in light of circumstances. I'm just saying that as an example.


You seem to be missing my overall point:
The guy wants a guitar for brutal/technical death metal. Basswood is not an ideal wood for that.

[Coobanez]

I say Xiphos7 because I own one, if Muhammed's guitar of choice is it, that's the best idea I'd say.
Or if you like super-strat shapes more, an Apex2 would be a great option, or a ESP LTD M7 like the guitarist of Beneath the Massacre uses, they are very, very technical. One of my favourite bands and he uses an M7 if I'm not mistaken, but you'd only be able to find one used. Check out their music vid for Society's Disposable Son on youtube to see it.

[ZeroSignal]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

You seem to be missing my overall point:
The guy wants a guitar for brutal/technical death metal. Basswood is not an ideal wood for that.

Yeah ok we were getting bogged down in OT crap. Still I find that basswood is tighter than mahogany. That's just me.

[JerkyChid]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

Cannibal Corpse? Mostly BC Rich's, Most likely mahogany or alder.

Mostly mohogany bodied maple neck throughs. On the now dead Official BCR forum, Pat's tech was on there and talked about his stuff. There are a couple of alder ones but mostly mohogany

[noodles]

Originally Posted by ZeroSignal

EXACTLY! Gilbert, Vai, Satriani and Petrucci ALL still use basswood. Go figure.

Gilbert owns so many guitars that you can't pin him to any one wood. Steve Vai absolutely lives on one Jem almost always, dubbed Evo, that is alder. The early Satch stuff was cut with alder and ash bodied Kramers and ESPs, and even now, the guitars he plays most are mahogany.

Originally Posted by ZeroSignal

Yeah ok we were getting bogged down in OT crap. Still I find that basswood is tighter than mahogany. That's just me.

Basswood in a death metal band just makes me laugh. The wood is all mids, which makes it just collapse under low, fast riffs and high gain levels. Now, in all fairness, I think the mahogany neck and body with a rosewood fretboard this is also wrong for this style, since the lower midrange rumble and oily rosewood dampening the highs also makes the sound collapse. I would want a maple neck and ebony or maple fretboard, just about any wings if it is neck through, or alder or ash if it a bolt or set neck. You mentioned that Fear Factory doesn't work for you on a COW7, but you have to remember that COW had a 7-string Soloist with a maple neck, and Dino had a Marshall that would make anything sound awesome.

We may disagree on wood choices, but even you have to admit that application dictates what you should be looking for in a guitar,

[Stealthtastic]

Originally Posted by noodles

Gilbert owns so many guitars that you can't pin him to any one wood. Steve Vai absolutely lives on one Jem almost always, dubbed Evo, that is alder. The early Satch stuff was cut with alder and ash bodied Kramers and ESPs, and even now, the guitars he plays most are mahogany.



Basswood in a death metal band just makes me laugh. The wood is all mids, which makes it just collapse under low, fast riffs and high gain levels. Now, in all fairness, I think the mahogany neck and body with a rosewood fretboard this is also wrong for this style, since the lower midrange rumble and oily rosewood dampening the highs also makes the sound collapse. I would want a maple neck and ebony or maple fretboard, just about any wings if it is neck through, or alder or ash if it a bolt or set neck. You mentioned that Fear Factory doesn't work for you on a COW7, but you have to remember that COW had a 7-string Soloist with a maple neck, and Dino had a Marshall that would make anything sound awesome.

We may disagree on wood choices, but even you have to admit that application dictates what you should be looking for in a guitar,

listen to this man, he is wise

[RXTN]

You want something with mahongy body, like my 2027.

Here's how it sounds on technical death:

MySpace.com - Deviant Tactics - Tampere - Metal / Death Metal / Experimental - www.myspace.com/devianttacticsband

[Aled Smith]

schecter C7 fr? or perhaps if you want to spend a bit more cash you could pick up a Caparison theyve got brilliant profile necks that are similar to Ibanez profiles + floyds