# Pro guitarists who play cheap guitars



## farren

I'm convinced that just about any full-scale guitar with a true neck can be made to play and sound like a $3k+ guitar with some hardware and electronics swaps, a fret dress and perhaps a refinish of the back of the neck. Some of my guitars support this idea, the best of which is an old MIJ Jackson, the best guitar I've ever played which was just $600 new in '96.

Who are some pro guitarists you know of that play relatively inexpensive guitars, be it an affordable signature model (LTD or SE or similar) or an old beater that has been fixed up?

I'll start: Fredrik Åkesson of Opeth plays a PRS SE model. I'd be surprised if the pickups in the one(s) he plays are stock, but I haven't played one so I wouldn't know if the stock pickups are of decent quality or not.

Feel free to cite 7-string models as well.


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## VBCheeseGrater

Akerfelt also plays the SE - Matt Heafy playing Epiphones.

Also - i make a few $$ playing and use a a squire occasionally on stage


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## kgerbick7321

I dont know if he still does but the guitarist from dillinger played LTD's forever


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## lordrcceaser

I think it depends on the situation, the vast majority of pro players probably use their brand of choices lower end alternative live/on tour, even if they have the most balling custom shop models imaginable at home.

For example, I highly doubt Mikael threw all his Custom 24s on the fire as soon as he got a sig.


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## McBrain

In some cases I think they use "ghost built" guitars. As in Epiphones or Ltd's that are actually built in the custom shop.


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## Mendez

lordrcceaser said:


> I think it depends on the situation, the vast majority of pro players probably use their brand of choices lower end alternative live/on tour, even if they have the most balling custom shop models imaginable at home.
> 
> For example, I highly doubt Mikael threw all his Custom 24s on the fire as soon as he got a sig.




Well, he did constantly replace them when he had issues with them live. Occasionally he would switch to a custom 24. At least that's what I saw on the concert video.


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## BucketheadRules

Francis Dunnery from It Bites has been using a Squier for years.


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## IbanezDaemon

Andy James springs to mind. He's playing LTD's only these days.


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## s4tch

I read that Jeff Waters is using his Epiphone sig off the shelf; that's a $700 guitar.


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## Thep

Bill Taylor from Immolation has been using the same Ibanez X-series for years. I've them live twice, and all their music videos, he's using the same one. Love that!


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## MaxOfMetal

Live =/= Studio

Most of the guys who play the low end stuff do so live only, especially if it's for an endorsement deal. Of course there's some cross over, but that's typically the case. 

Another good example would be J.D. Cronise from The Sword, who plays off the shelf B.C. Rich imports live for most of the set, and exclusively outside the US, in order to keep his rare/valuable vintage Gibson Explorers safe. He's stated in interviews that he uses the Explorers, and a few Les Paul Customs, exclusively when in the studio. 

As for stuff being "ghost built" that's not nearly as rampant as it was ten or twenty years ago, it still happens, with a good example being some Epiphone endorsee guitars being made in Japan, but it's not usually the case when the brand has it's own high end shop. It's more likely that they take an off the shelf model which is handpicked and then perform a fully-tech setup, including a fret dress and other tweaks.


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## Rosal76

Thep said:


> Bill Taylor from Immolation has been using the same Ibanez X-series for years. I've them live twice, and all their music videos, he's using the same one. Love that!



This is interesting info. I had always thought that Bill was using guitars from a company called "Vampire", or at least that's the name I see on the headstocks of some his guitars.


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## Konfyouzd

When I'm famous I'm gonna get a Devries endorsement... Check me out, son...


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## Fantomas

Konfyouzd said:


> When I'm famous I'm gonna get a Devries endorsement... Check me out, son...



Ah yes, did you know he supplies guitars to Rose Tattoo? He is a very renowned builder.


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## Fat-Elf

Alexi Laiho recorded most of the first album with some 200-300&#8364; Ibanez. 



0:25, looks pretty cheap to me.


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## Konfyouzd

Fantomas said:


> Ah yes, did you know he supplies guitars to Rose Tattoo? He is a very renowned builder.





Actually I unfortunately DID know that...


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## heregoesnothing

Tom Morello's strat was found at a pawn shop for $80.00


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## MaxOfMetal

heregoesnothing said:


> Tom Morello's strat was found at a pawn shop for $80.00



Are you talking about Soul Power? That was a FSR Strat, which weren't really cheap. 

Not to mention the Fender Standard Tele he's used for a long time. 

Granted, the majority of his guitars are modified/high end Ibanez, Performance, and Gibsons. He's also got a custom Trussart.


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## celticelk

heregoesnothing said:


> Tom Morello's strat was found at a pawn shop for $80.00



Yeah, but Morello's a socialist - he's conceivably got a political-philosophy justification for avoiding pro-guitarist levels of conspicuous consumerism that you wouldn't expect in some of the other guys named above.


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## Konfyouzd

Didn't they quit making music to go fight a revolution or something? 

... like literally?


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## MaxOfMetal

celticelk said:


> Yeah, but Morello's a socialist - he's conceivably got a political-philosophy justification for avoiding pro-guitarist levels of conspicuous consumerism that you wouldn't expect in some of the other guys named above.



He plays Gibson Les Pauls, one of which had a giant Budweiser logo on it.


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## celticelk

MaxOfMetal said:


> He plays Gibson Les Pauls, one of which had a giant Budweiser logo on it.



Irony. We can haz.


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## sage

RATM - the only socialist band to have fresh Calvin Klein undies on their tour rider, so they could just throw away the old ones and not have to do laundry.

Uh, no one mentioned Loomis yet? Duder is running around playing a $1000 import guitar non-stop. I know he has other guitars, but his main guitar is his signature model and it's pretty reasonably priced.


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## Hyacinth

Brian May built his main guitar out of a table and various other unconventional parts with his dad when he was 16.


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## Ben.Last

Wayne Static


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## DeathCubeK

Andy James plays LTDs.


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## erotophonophilia

Seth from Behemoth uses a couple of LTD 400 series guitars.


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## farren

sage said:


> Uh, no one mentioned Loomis yet? Duder is running around playing a $1000 import guitar non-stop. I know he has other guitars, but his main guitar is his signature model and it's pretty reasonably priced.



Most of the hardware on it is high-end (S. Korean 'OFR' is nearly as good as Schaller) save for pots so it's not quite as cheap as the sort of guitars I'm thinking of with "designed by" pickups and licensed hardware. That's a fairly high-end guitar that happens to be made in S. Korea. Fair enough, though.

I agree with the bit about studio != live. I doubt anyone opts to use Duncan Designed pickups in the studio  A lot of guitarists will sacrifice live in order to make things easier or cheaper.


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## kamello

-Tim Millar from Protest The Hero played LTD's live and sometimes in the studio I think

-Daron Malakian from System of a Down played with cheaps Ibanez Iceman's IC200, 300, another one wich I don't remember, and self tittle album was recorded with those and a modified cheap Strat
after Toxicity he started using Les Paul's, Jackson Rhandy Rhodes and SG's though  

-I _think_ that one of the guys from Rammstein played LTD's

-and finally I think that Keshav Dhar from Skyharbor just have his Ibanez SZ (and I think a Les Paul Goldtop of some kind), wich even though being a Prestige, they are Korean made and I think they can be found for pretty cheap


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## yingmin

farren said:


> I'm convinced that just about any full-scale guitar with a true neck can be made to play and sound like a $3k+ guitar with some hardware and electronics swaps, a fret dress and perhaps a refinish of the back of the neck.



So in other words, cheap guitars will play like more expensive guitars if you eliminate most of the factors that made them cheap in the first place?


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## farren

yingmin said:


> So in other words, cheap guitars will play like more expensive guitars if you eliminate most of the factors that made them cheap in the first place?



I'm not sure what you're getting at, but yeah, I realize it's a rather self-evident truth if you minimize the importance of certain variables that have not been sufficiently proven to be significant factors in determining tone. I won't name the unchangeable but insignificant component I'm referring to because the thread will explode into a flame war, but you can probably infer.

However, those matters are irrelevant if you're asking specifically about playability and not tone, in which case, a fret dress, replaced tremolo, tuners and nut, and a pro setup are pretty much sufficient. Assuming the neck is true and the setup is good, any guitar should be capable of being played with .8mm action at the 12th with minimal buzz and good sustain--high playability for a guitarist of any standards. The only real hitch is if the neck or rod happens to be overly resonant at important frequencies, resulting in a lot of wolf tones ("dead notes").


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## Fat-Elf

kamello said:


> and finally I think that Keshav Dhar from Skyharbor just have his Ibanez SZ (and I think a Les Paul Goldtop of some kind), wich even though being a Prestige, they are Korean made and I think they can be found for pretty cheap



I'm pretty sure he has a MusicMan nowadays or then he is just lending one.


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## Zado

think of all cort and schecter players


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## breadtruck

kamello said:


> -Tim Millar from Protest The Hero played LTD's live and sometimes in the studio I think



I remember he used an old cherry-red LTD a lot, but that was back in the Kezia days so we're talking like 2005 - 2007 ish. I imagine that was simply because it was the best guitar he owned at the time. Now that they have a much bigger following they have some more expensive gear they use both live and for the studio. I've seen Tim use all sorts of nice looking geetars live.

This thread interests me though. I'd love to hear about more well-known artists or bands that choose to use a lower spec'd guitar, even though they could afford to upgrade. I firmly agree with the OP that mid-range guitars can sound just as good as high-end guitars. I'll spare everyone the lecture on how it's "the player, not the gear".


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## noUser01

Depends what you mean by "professional". Frank Iero plays Epiphone's but that doesn't necessarily mean guys that play tech-death will get along with one, heh.

Honestly, you can't make specs and cost define a guitar. My $50 Strat knock-off I got in some small shop in London plays and sounds better than any Strat I've ever played in my life. A guitar can be more than just the sum of its parts, sometimes it just has "mojo".


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## erotophonophilia

yingmin said:


> So in other words, cheap guitars will play like more expensive guitars if you eliminate most of the factors that made them cheap in the first place?



You can't eliminate all the factors. But that's why it's a cheap guitar, in the first place. There's things you obviously can't change. Cheap guitars are made of poor quality wood and shotty construction. Buying a cheap guitar, then dumping several $100 worth of high quality components, seems like a money pit. It's like buy in a Pento and putting supercharger into it. It's still a Pento, but now its a little bit better


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## MaxOfMetal

celticelk said:


> Irony. We can haz.


 
More like hypocrisy. You should here thier justification for being on a major label. 

I mean, I totally get it, but it is kinda funny. 



Zado said:


> think of all cort and schecter players


 
Well, getting back to the ghost built thing, Cort has farmed out custom work to other makers for artists and R&D in the past.


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## Elliott Jeffries

I know this goes back a ways. Mark Farner's Messenger guitar, custom modified with foam and tape.


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## Jakke

As mentioned, Andy James, I also think I've seen Scott Ian play his Washburn signatures when he had those.
I know that Clapton pulls one of his signature Fenders from a store shelf should he need a guitar. They are not cheap by any means of course, but he's not normally playing super-expensive custom shops anyway.


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## MaxOfMetal

Jakke said:


> As mentioned, Andy James, I also think I've seen Scott Ian play his Washburn signatures when he had those.
> I know that Clapton pulls one of his signature Fenders from a store shelf should he need a guitar. They are not cheap by any means of course, but he's not normally playing super-expensive custom shops anyway.


 
Scott was playing his high end CS Signature models, which were just about identical, minus some cool finished models, to the imports, only built in Washburn's CS. The same goes for his current Jackson stuff, it's all CS. 

Clapton has tons of Fender CS stuff, he tends to pull out a new one for every major tour, and at least every other Crossroads. He also still plays a lot of his vintage stuff, which might not be considered "high end", but it's probably just as pricey as the CS stuff he brings around. Last I heard he was having the Fender CS hand pick his stage guitars, hence they sometimes have different finishes than the production stuff, similar to Steve Vai.


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## farren

erotophonophilia said:


> You can't eliminate all the factors. But that's why it's a cheap guitar, in the first place. There's things you obviously can't change. Cheap guitars are made of poor quality wood and shotty construction. Buying a cheap guitar, then dumping several $100 worth of high quality components, seems like a money pit. It's like buy in a Pento and putting supercharger into it. It's still a Pento, but now its a little bit better



The unchangeables (which I vaguely referenced earlier) only matter to those who believe in the Great Tonewood Hoax. Forty-year aged mahogany and vintage hide glue made from the thawed tissue of long-extinct aurochs will make no meaningful difference to the color of the output of a solid-body electric to even the most discerning of ears.


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## Jakke

farren said:


> The unchangeables (which I vaguely referenced earlier) only matter to those who believe in the Great Tonewood Hoax. Forty-year aged mahogany and vintage hide glue made from the thawed tissue of long-extinct aurochs will make no meaningful difference to the color of the output of a solid-body electric to even the most discerning of ears.



Please, not this again... I like this thread


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## farren

Jakke said:


> Please, not this again... I like this thread



Hahah, yes, I don't want to get into it again either.

If anyone wants to respond to what I said above, they're welcome to, but in the interest of not derailing the thread, I'll defer from any further comment on it.


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## PyramidSmasher

Ryan Morgan of Misery Signals. Mostly LTDs both in studio and on tour


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## MaxOfMetal

farren said:


> The unchangeables (which I vaguely referenced earlier) only matter to those who believe in the Great Tonewood Hoax. Forty-year aged mahogany and vintage hide glue made from the thawed tissue of long-extinct aurochs will make no meaningful difference to the color of the output of a solid-body electric to even the most discerning of ears.


 
I'm not a tonewood person, and have been quite outspoken on that. 

When I refer to woods as being of poor quality I'm talking about defects in the wood that cause structural issues, ugly mineral deposits in the grain (only an issue on guitars with trans finishes), and wood that hasn't been dried properly which will also lead to stability issues, especially at the seams. 

As for shotty construction, to mean that means poor glue seems to to piss poor, or simply a lack of, planning. As well as loose fitting/glue filled neck joints. I'd also include poorly installed binding and filler heavy inlay jobs in that category. 

Shitty doesn't just mean "not special" in my book.


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## Symb0lic

John Gallagher and Sean Beasley of Dying Fetus both use LTDs.


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## Andromalia

Adding 500&#8364;/$ worth of hardware and tech mods/repairs to any guitar will make it decent provided it's not a POS to start with. People buy high end guitars for their artistic/artisanal value, if all we needed was "a quality guitar", we'd all buy LTDs/gibson studios/Japanese imports, mod them and that would be it.
Because, how wood looks has no bearing on how a guitar plays. 

For an exemple, Abbath plays a modded LTD Mustaine sig, of all things...


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## Chuck

PyramidSmasher said:


> Ryan Morgan of Misery Signals. Mostly LTDs both in studio and on tour



He does have some ESP's though, any thank you for mentioning my favorite bands guitarist  made my day


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## Lorcan Ward

In my opinion the most important things on a guitar are tuning stability, fretwork, clean strings/fretboard/neck, setup and working electronics. 

Its already been said in this thread but nearly all of these things can be touched up on cheap guitars. Just look at the work Rich at IbanezRules does on his guitars before selling them. He could probably get a Gio playing better than a prestige that came out of the factory.

So when a guitarist like Loomis gets one of his models off the shelf I'm sure his tech does some extensive work to it.


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## nothingleft09

MaxOfMetal said:


> Scott was playing his high end CS Signature models, which were just about identical, minus some cool finished models, to the imports, only built in Washburn's CS. The same goes for his current Jackson stuff, it's all CS.


 
Actually Scott was playing his sig Jacksons and one of the off the shelf cheap jacksons with Duncan designed pups that were limited run Anthrax graphic guitars for Guitar Center. Been a bit since I watched the video but it's here in his rig rundown.


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## erotophonophilia

farren said:


> The unchangeables (which I vaguely referenced earlier) only matter to those who believe in the Great Tonewood Hoax. Forty-year aged mahogany and vintage hide glue made from the thawed tissue of long-extinct aurochs will make no meaningful difference to the color of the output of a solid-body electric to even the most discerning of ears.



I wasn't referring to the type of wood. I was referring to defects or the quality of the lumber.


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## Suitable

^  ^ off chops!!! Ha ha ha!!! He doesn't know much about his rig... question (cut, ask sound engineer) yeah it this and um... (sound tech pipes in) yeah its for that... Trippin balls  sorry back to the thread...


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## Suitable

If you have defects in a new axe take it back whatever the price, there is standards they have to meet at any price, visual and playability.


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## PyramidSmasher

Misery Theory said:


> He does have some ESP's though, any thank you for mentioning my favorite bands guitarist  made my day



Whenever I have seen them live or in Video he has one brownish ESP Horizon and then like 2-3 LTD Eclipses and 3-5 LTD MHs. Though he doesnt seem to use the Horizon for any in specific, I've seen him use it in a live show before.


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## farren

erotophonophilia said:


> I wasn't referring to the type of wood. I was referring to defects or the quality of the lumber.



Glad to hear that... Conflict averted  I addressed that in part by referring to trueness of the neck. I have a Carvin DC-127, all mahogany, which I consider to be one of the worst guitars in the world. The wood used for the neck was not properly cured (moisture content totally off) and the result was a neck so warped it resembles a freeze frame from an old film of a suspension bridge during an earthquake.


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## Valnob

The solo guitarist from Kings of Leon (not the singer but the other guitarist) plays live and in studio with a Epiphone Sheraton ii .


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## nostealbucket

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez uses ibanez jet kings and his $500 sig.


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## TIBrent

Touring bands often times play what they can get from their endorsers. It's all good to bring your $2500 PRS on your first few tours, but after the first few outdoor shows, shows in the heat, shows in the cold, shows where liquid gets on your guitar, shows where other people are around your gear & don't mind smoking, drinking, spitting right next to your stuff, you realize what a liability it is.


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## Matt_D_

also, live you're not going to have anywhere near as "good" a sound as a recording. so a decent production guitar with a pro fret job and good pickups will no doubt suffice


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## Sevenstringer

I want to say that Jason Becker used to use Harmony guitars, cheap ones from Sears? Wasn't there one on the cover of "Perpetual Burn"


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## KingOfTheRotten

Jus Oborn from the mighty Electric Wizard plays and has pretty much always played an Epiphone sg 400 and he has a freaking massive Sound!


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## watson503

I read somewhere recently Eric Peterson is using the import version of his sig, said he likes it better than the US made version. Gary Holt used his old Hondo way back on the first few Exodus albums -


> I imagine your gear wasn't all that great in the early days.
> 
> Are you kidding me? I used a Hondo strat for many years. You can see it on the back of Bonded by Blood. I knew all of the tricks to keep that thing in tune. I used to take out the tremolo bar and replace it with this longer one. I had seen Uli Jon Roth playing a whammy bar that looked like that, so I had to have one. Besides, I needed it for all of those dive bombs (laughter).


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## amberawakening

This might not be what you want to hear, but my ESP LTD H-1007 is the best guitar I've ever played. This has the best tone and plays more comfortably than anything I've ever picked up. No complaints at all, I wouldn't change anything about it. I have used it for almost every genre of music without flaw.

Everything about it is perfect, you will be satisfied if you purchase anything from the ESP/LTD product line.


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## Dan_Vacant

Nile. They use moslty dean 79 series guitars and they are usually under $500. I seen older picktures of them using imported jackson's or bc ich's.


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## KingOfTheRotten

Dimebag also played some pretty cheap Deans back in the days didn't he? At least his main axe was a 71 or 72 ML he won in a guitar competition


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## Sudzmorphus

Dan_Vacant said:


> Nile. They use moslty dean 79 series guitars and they are usually under $500. I seen older picktures of them using imported jackson's or bc ich's.



Their tone reflects that too.


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## xxx128

> I'm convinced that just about any full-scale guitar with a true neck can be made to play and sound like a $3k+ guitar



A guitar stands and falls with its wood. That doesn't mean all the 3000+ sound nice by default. But it should be rather rare to impossible to find great sounding tonewoods on a less than 800$ guitars. I have tried, its not happening really. You get what you pay for.


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## farren

xxx128 said:


> A guitar stands and falls with its wood. That doesn't mean all the 3000+ sound nice by default. But it should be rather rare to impossible to find great sounding tonewoods on a less than 800$ guitars. I have tried, its not happening really. You get what you pay for.



I've already stated that's totally fallacious voodoo, but I also said I wouldn't argue about it, so good day


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## Chuck

^ what he said


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## McKay

Do a tone test comparison of a bunch of identical guitars with different body wood and you'll hear a difference. The only comparisons (with the aim of disproving tonewood) I've seen have been laughable at best on terrible quality cameras with potato-level audio.

Not to mention that guitars are tactile instruments and the feel of a guitar is hugely important. The resonant characteristics of the body wood, even if it has no effect whatsoever on the amplified tone are a big deal to the player.


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## noUser01

McKay said:


> Do a tone test comparison of a bunch of identical guitars with different body wood and you'll hear a difference. The only comparisons (with the aim of disproving tonewood) I've seen have been laughable at best on terrible quality cameras with potato-level audio.
> 
> Not to mention that guitars are tactile instruments and the feel of a guitar is hugely important. The resonant characteristics of the body wood, even if it has no effect whatsoever on the amplified tone are a big deal to the player.



I have a $50 Strat that proves your theory wrong. It's made of particle board, and it sounds amazing. 

You will never get "identical guitars" with different body woods... 5 guitars can come off the line consecutively and they will all be a bit different. It's not just the wood type or the cut of the wood, there's hundreds of factors involved in tone.


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## Chuck

Construction method of a guitar will influence tone more than wood AFAIK


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## McKay

ConnorGilks said:


> I have a $50 Strat that proves your theory wrong. It's made of particle board, and it sounds amazing.
> 
> You will never get "identical guitars" with different body woods... 5 guitars can come off the line consecutively and they will all be a bit different. It's not just the wood type or the cut of the wood, there's hundreds of factors involved in tone.



When did I say different woods sounded better or worse? I said they have different characteristics. That doesn't stop particle board from sounding good, it just probably doesn't sound the same as a mahogany body when you're chugging away.



Misery Theory said:


> Construction method of a guitar will influence tone more than wood AFAIK



I wasn't aware that this argument and mine were mutually exclusive.


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## Chuck

It was more of statement to throw out.

Anyway, if you could take two guitars with the same exact construction, hardware, electronics and player and only have the body wood be different I don't think anyone could hear an audible difference between the two.


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## farren

Just an aside... You guys know what I love about tonewood? How maple bodies and fingerboards are reputed to sound "bright," how mahogany is said to be very "dark"-sounding, how ebony is considered darker than rosewood and how rosewood is somewhere in between maple and ebony with regard to brightness.

It's all just a coincidence that these descriptors happen to be accurate when applied to cosmetics as well, right?


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## McKay

farren said:


> Just an aside... You guys know what I love about tonewood? How maple bodies and fingerboards are reputed to sound "bright," how mahogany is said to be very "dark"-sounding, how ebony is considered darker than rosewood and how rosewood is somewhere in between maple and ebony with regard to brightness.
> 
> It's all just a coincidence that these descriptors happen to be accurate when applied to cosmetics as well, right?



Ebony is considered a bright sounding wood, so much for that. Oh and baked maple.


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## Señor Voorhees

Anecdotal statement ahoy! I've played guitars that sound like absolute muddy shit unplugged, played awfully, sharp frets and all the fun stuff, that sounded great plugged in. Pickup choice, amp, and mostly player skill seem to make the difference in how an instrument sounds for the most part. I mean, I've played dozens of identical models made out of, say, mahogany that sounded just as different from one another as a dozen or so ash guitars. Every guitar just sounds different, whether it's made of the same wood or a completely different wood. (plugged in, anyway. Acoustically they vary more greatly.)

I basically just don't put too much stock in what wood the guitar's made of. If it plays nice, feels nice, and looks nice it could be made from stone for all I care.


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## timbucktu123

the guitarist from as i lay dying plays a prs torero 

bands like the color morale and memphis may fire use off the wall schecters


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## farren

McKay said:


> Ebony is considered a bright sounding wood, so much for that. Oh and baked maple.



A search will yield plenty of tonewoodologists' opinions that reflect ebony being a "dark-sounding" wood. Lack of consensus is also quite suspect.


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## Ben.Last

farren said:


> Just an aside... You guys know what I love about tonewood? How maple bodies and fingerboards are reputed to sound "bright," how mahogany is said to be very "dark"-sounding, how ebony is considered darker than rosewood and how rosewood is somewhere in between maple and ebony with regard to brightness.
> 
> It's all just a coincidence that these descriptors happen to be accurate when applied to cosmetics as well, right?



Ebony isn't considered darker. ebony is actually, generally, around maple, brightness-wise. Rosewood is usually darker than both.


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## bifftannen

Not sure if its been mentioned but the lads from Chimaira were using LTD's around the Power trip/Pure Hatred era.


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## noUser01

McKay said:


> When did I say different woods sounded better or worse? I said they have different characteristics. That doesn't stop particle board from sounding good, it just probably doesn't sound the same as a mahogany body when you're chugging away.



My response was based on this statement:



McKay said:


> Do a tone test comparison of a bunch of identical guitars with different body wood and you'll hear a difference. _*The only comparisons (with the aim of disproving tonewood) I've seen have been laughable at best on terrible quality cameras with potato-level audio.*_



And it was to address that tonewood does not equal the sound of the guitar. The tonewood plus countless other factors do. And two guitars with completely different woods, shapes and specs could also sound identical in some cases.


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## bradthelegend

Surprisingly, the guys from My Chemical Romance played pretty cheap guitars. Frank played Epiphone LP Customs for a while before getting a signature Wilshire series, and Ray did an interview saying that his go-to guitar was a ~$300 LP knock off his brother gave him.

And of course, everyone and their brother used to use LTD EC-1000s for deathcore/metalcore.


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## TomAwesome

Let's not do the tonewood thing here.

Doesn't the guy from Cake use some shitty guitar he got for $20 at a pawn shop into a similarly shitty amp? Then again, that tone would sound like shit in pretty much any other context.

Also, wasn't some Led Zeppelin album recorded with some shitty cheap combo amp from Sears?

I'm presenting these as questions, because I'm really unsure of the details.


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## TheWarAgainstTime

I saw Parkway Drive a couple of years ago and they were playing a couple of LTD H-1001's for each of their tunings. However, when I saw them in April, Jeff was using two ESP M1's and Luke had an ESP horizon and an H-1001. Regardless, both the ESP and LTD models that they've played over the years are reasonably priced.

EDIT: Whitechapel have been using their LTD signature series live as well as in the studio, but they've also got their Horizons, etc. for various tunings


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## Amanita

Lern2swim said:


> Ebony isn't considered darker. ebony is actually, generally, around maple, brightness-wise. Rosewood is usually darker than both.


i tried to restrain myself, but since the tonewood topic returns...

there ain't no magic in choosing a wood. they do differ in mechanical properties and that _is _reflected in the sound of instrument.
of course someone claiming that it must be brazilian rosewood and it must be glued with hide glue is full of it. there is a number of rosewood type timbers with excellent mechanical properties and with stunning look resembling jacaranda. one can even glue wood with copious amounts of epoxy glue and aside from it looking like shite and being a weak choice in longer term due to low elasticity of bond the resulting guitar will sound just fine. i've seen and heard it done 

but anyone should just try a guitar with one piece mahogany neck and then one with a laminated neck constructed from bubinga/pau ferro/rosewood/ebony/bloodwood - very dense and very very stiff woods, as opposed to mahogany.
there _is _a difference


----------



## Ben.Last

Amanita said:


> i tried to restrain myself, but since the tonewood topic returns...
> 
> there ain't no magic in choosing a wood. they do differ in mechanical properties and that _is _reflected in the sound of instrument.
> of course someone claiming that it must be brazilian rosewood and it must be glued with hide glue is full of it. there is a number of rosewood type timbers with excellent mechanical properties and with stunning look resembling jacaranda. one can even glue wood with copious amounts of epoxy glue and aside from it looking like shite and being a weak choice in longer term due to low elasticity of bond the resulting guitar will sound just fine. i've seen and heard it done
> 
> but anyone should just try a guitar with one piece mahogany neck and then one with a laminated neck constructed from bubinga/pau ferro/rosewood/ebony/bloodwood - very dense and very very stiff woods, as opposed to mahogany.
> there _is _a difference



Yes. I think the fact that I made sure to use words such as "considered," "generally," and "usually" sums up the reality of that topic enough that it doesn't need to be discussed further.


----------



## Curt

I would like to be able to buy 5 warmoth guitars, same shape, hardware, and electronics(EMG 57, for consistency in wiring)...
Mahogany, Ash, Alder, Basswood, and Maple
Use the same neck construction on each(Maple neck, ebony fretboard)
Run them through the same settings on my rig(Clean and High Gain), offering the tracks up as a blind test. 
If even one person could tell me correctly which is which, with a summary of how they came to the conclusion from merely hearing the tracks... They would earn tremendous respect and be awarded all 5 guitars.

Now, I will say that I like mahogany for the acoustic resonance, but ash for the light weight. Though I will never claim that I can listen to someone play and tell you the woods the guitar is made of sight unseen, I can tell you what woods I prefer and why.



TL;DR, I don't think woods greatly affect amplified tones, but wood selection still matters greatly to me for a number of other reasons.


----------



## signalgrey

MaxOfMetal said:


> He plays Gibson Les Pauls, one of which had a giant Budweiser logo on it.



in all fairness he did burn it off...


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands

Michael Wilton used a weird-shaped G&L and a Cortez Les Paul clone on the first Queensryche EP.

Tommy Victor's main guitars, in recent years, are import Schecters.

Daron Malakian used Korean-made Ibanez Icemen, and I believe a Japanese-built Jackson Randy Rhoads. I think he also used a Fender MiM strat on the first record and some really early live performances.

Andreas Kisser usually plays an old, early 90's Jackson Pro Rhoads, and uses Fender MiM Strats. 

Also, no mention of Eddie Van Halen? The Frankenstrat, for Christ's sake! 

Javier Reyes uses an Indo-made RGA8, right?

Phil X likes to use Korean-made LTD Vipers.

Billie Joe Armstrong, while he may not be liked here, uses an old Fernandes Strat.

Glen drover, when he first joined Megadeth, used a refinished LTD M-1000.

Someone brought it up already, but Alexi Laiho used an Ibanez RG220 on the first CoB record.


----------



## Gram negative

^^
I was just about to say Van halen. Damn. That was an awfully cheap guitar!


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands

Gram negative said:


> ^^
> I was just about to say Van halen. Damn. That was an awfully cheap guitar!



$130, to be exact.


----------



## hairychris

TBH the quality of cheap guitars now is far better then when I started playing 25 years ago.... Most of the big Korean shops are pretty consistent, whereas in the 90s they were very hit & miss.

And it depends on what you call "cheap". My Jackson Professional, bought 20 years ago, was £425 at the time which was not exactly inexpensive (cost me 2/3 of a month's pay), but was 1/2 the price of the USA models.


----------



## MaxOfMetal

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Also, no mention of Eddie Van Halen? The Frankenstrat, for Christ's sake! ]





Gram negative said:


> ^^
> I was just about to say Van halen. Damn. That was an awfully cheap guitar!





HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> $130, to be exact.



While it looked a little rough down the road, the original Frankenstrat wasn't exactly a low end guitar, especially by today's standards. It used USA made Charvel body and neck, a Gibson USA pickup, and the bridge was first from a sought after 58' Strat and later a top of the line Floyd Rose. 

Also, for the record, the $130 was just what Eddie payed Wayne Charvel for an "ugly" body ($50) and a neck ($80). 

It would cost close to $1k to make that guitar today from off the shelf Warmoth parts.


----------



## slowro

I believe that 59 les Paul's were 'cheap' before Clapton/Page etc used them.

A lot of pro guitarist interviews I have read seem to use mid level gear bought used at the same price as lower level new prices (if that makes sense) and snagged good deals rather than buying new cheaper guitars. So a lot probably don't spend that much on gear regardless of what brand they use


----------



## MaxOfMetal

slowro said:


> I believe that 59 les Paul's were 'cheap' before Clapton/Page etc used them.



The Les Paul Standard was never cheap. Even though they were only $300 brand new, adjusted for inflation they were the equivalent of around $2300. 

Yes, a Les Paul Standard costs nearly exactly the same amount after over 50 years.


----------



## gunch

Fallujah uses RG7321's


----------



## slowro

MaxOfMetal said:


> The Les Paul Standard was never cheap. Even though they were only $300 brand new, adjusted for inflation they were the equivalent of around $2300.
> 
> Yes, a Les Paul Standard costs nearly exactly the same amount after over 50 years.



I was under the impression that they were cheap on the used market during the 70's that's how they could afford them in the first place. I don't have anything to base that on other than guitar magazines I have read it could be total BS to add to the hype, I don't want to claim to be an authority


----------



## MaxOfMetal

slowro said:


> I was under the impression that they were cheap on the used market during the 70's that's how they could afford them in the first place. I don't have anything to base that on other than guitar magazines I have read it could be total BS to add to the hype, I don't want to claim to be an authority



All things are relative, while a lot of Gibsons were cheap in the 70's, especially SGs and 70's Les Pauls, overall the 50's stuff was always on the pricier side. 

Guys like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton were already well established musicians by then, so picking up 50's Les Pauls wasn't too much of a problem for them. 

Keep in mind, real 59's in great condition can go for six figures on the collector circuit, so paying the equivalent of few thousand for them back in the day is a bargain.


----------



## farren

Curt said:


> I would like to be able to buy 5 warmoth guitars, same shape, hardware, and electronics(EMG 57, for consistency in wiring)...
> Mahogany, Ash, Alder, Basswood, and Maple
> Use the same neck construction on each(Maple neck, ebony fretboard)
> Run them through the same settings on my rig(Clean and High Gain), offering the tracks up as a blind test.
> If even one person could tell me correctly which is which, with a summary of how they came to the conclusion from merely hearing the tracks... They would earn tremendous respect and be awarded all 5 guitars.
> 
> Now, I will say that I like mahogany for the acoustic resonance, but ash for the light weight. Though I will never claim that I can listen to someone play and tell you the woods the guitar is made of sight unseen, I can tell you what woods I prefer and why.



Just a note on testing: it would have to be done using the same actual pots and the same actual pickups as two pickups of any single model will differ slightly and pots have a +/-10-20% tolerance as to their maximum resistance which will affect high-end. There's more to doing scientific testing on guitars (or citing silly anecdotes) than most people realize. The difference between two EMGs of the same type should be less signfiicant than between two passives, though it would still matter for objectivity.



> TL;DR, I don't think woods greatly affect amplified tones, but wood selection still matters greatly to me for a number of other reasons.


Wood selection matters to me, as well. I personally wish all my guitars were nothing but maple (if they must be wood at all) for its durability, stability and heft. I have one guitar that is 100% maple. It was mistreated and left to weather for more than ten years and the neck and the guitar's overall structural integrity is still flawless. It's also my "darkest" guitar, just as its electronics dictate, when according to many it should be ice-pick bright  My brightest guitar is, of course, all mahogany.


----------



## frogman81

Did anyone mention Trent Reznor playing Epi Les Pauls live? He played the "goth" version a lot from what I understand, which isn't even a top end Epiphone. The smashed-Gibson budget must've been getting out of control. Granted he's no virtuoso, but I'd take a NIN concert over Animals As Leaders any day


----------



## Matt_D_

from memory trent usually played LP Studio's live. both gibson and epiphone. His tech would have to be a bit of a glue wielding genius. there were a few custom painted guitars in there too. when he sold off a bunch of gear at the end of nin there were a bunch of epi's and gibsons for sale that had been FUBAR'd


----------



## hand amputation

I love this site and guitar forums in general. I am also a gear enthusiast that is always wanting the next guitar.

But doesn't it really burn down to love for music and creating? I've owned high ish end stuff as well as pawn shop gems. Sometimes I miss my cheap ass Danelectro.


----------



## frogman81

Matt_D_ said:


> from memory trent usually played LP Studio's live. both gibson and epiphone. His tech would have to be a bit of a glue wielding genius. there were a few custom painted guitars in there too. when he sold off a bunch of gear at the end of nin there were a bunch of epi's and gibsons for sale that had been FUBAR'd



Well, I'm glad you mentioned it... Here's a beauty site that I check out now and then. Some fan compiled the gear that NIN sold off a few years back. Lots of destroyed Gibson Les Paul classic 1960s. I love the token soloist and the weird 10 string Jackson RR.

Edit: Here's the link - http://theslip.apocalyptech.com/ninebay/archive/category-guitars.html


----------



## frogman81

Plus, whenever I see Andy James rape an LTD it makes me feel like I should be playing a kids guitar out of the Sears catalogue.


----------



## Matt_D_

frogman81 said:


> Well, I'm glad you mentioned it... Here's a beauty site that I check out now and then. Some fan compiled the gear that NIN sold off a few years back. Lots of destroyed Gibson Les Paul classic 1960s. I love the token soloist and the weird 10 string Jackson RR.
> 
> Edit: Here's the link - NIN 2009/2010 Ebay Auctions | Category Guitars



so many gibsons with the headstock missing. hilarious, yet somewhat sad. you'd think they'd have fixed that "design flaw" by now


----------



## frogman81

Matt_D_ said:


> so many gibsons with the headstock missing. hilarious, yet somewhat sad. you'd think they'd have fixed that "design flaw" by now



I can see what you mean (somewhat sad), and can understand people that think smashing beautiful instruments is stupid, but somehow it seems a fitting end to go out onstage. I don't think it's a design flaw, just how the neck is made (scarf joint).


----------



## Walterson

Matt_D_ said:


> so many gibsons with the headstock missing. hilarious, yet somewhat sad. you'd think they'd have fixed that "design flaw" by now



Gibson could easily. But thats not what people want. They want "periode correct" necks like they used in the 50th/60th and those are made from one piece...


Thats what a German luthier said about it, quite funny:

_*"*Headstock cracks, again and again! Those are my favorites. I remember having fixed one, within a day. Had the instrument on the table in the morning and it was ready and back on stage the same night.

Fixing Gibson headstocks is frankly my favorite repair. Wonderful! I&#8217;m quite thankful that they keep making them the way they do &#8211; steady business for me."_


http://guitarinternational.com/2013...e-cyan-guitars-rocking-the-alternative-world/





frogman81 said:


> I don't think it's a design flaw, just how the neck is made (scarf joint).



Gibson necks are not made with a scarf joint, thats the reason why they break so often....


----------



## frogman81

Gibson necks are not made with a scarf joint, thats the reason why they break so often....[/QUOTE]

Didn't know that, thanks!


----------



## xxx128

Dude my ltd M-10 is totally awesome. It absolutely slays any japanese made ESP that is out there. It also sounds better than any PRS or Custom Shop guitar. Believe me i tried them all at the store. So why pay more?


----------



## Breakdown

bradthelegend said:


> Surprisingly, the guys from My Chemical Romance played pretty cheap guitars. Frank played Epiphone LP Customs for a while before getting a signature Wilshire series, and Ray did an interview saying that his go-to guitar was a ~$300 LP knock off his brother gave him.
> 
> And of course, everyone and their brother used to use LTD EC-1000s for deathcore/metalcore.



Frank usually played the Epiphone elitist guitars which are more expensive and are made in japan , not the Chinese/Korean Epis. and you're right about ray playing an LP copy for a long time but he usually played gibson LP standards later on.


----------



## Yo_Wattup

The ESP Guitar Company | 2013 USA Website this guys got a LTD sig


----------



## yingmin

A lot of the examples being given in this thread are undermining the question originally posed, whether they mean to or not. Of course guitarists with endorsements and/or signature guitars from Epiphone, LTD etc. are going to play those, and it's equally unsurprising that many guitarists played lower-end guitars when their band first started getting big. As has been pointed out, "professional" guitarists don't necessarily make a ton of money, so a lot of them play cheaper guitars because they're what they have access to; some have nicer guitars that they record with, but play cheaper guitars on the road because they don't want the nice ones to get destroyed or lost/stolen. Not that many honestly prefer, for example, Epiphone over Gibson, with all other factors being equal.


----------



## chassless

farren said:


> I have one guitar that is 100% maple. It's also my "darkest" guitar, just as its electronics dictate, when according to many it should be ice-pick bright  My brightest guitar is, of course, all mahogany.


 
that's interesting ! then upload soundclips of each guitar recorded on the same settings, including a list of the pickups on each guitar and of whatever electronics/accessories used that you think are worth mentioning.


----------



## Seanthesheep

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Glen drover, when he first joined Megadeth, used a refinished LTD



The only red guitar glen has now is an old charvel. Id be surprised if he even knew about ESP/LTD as a brand  for the most part Ive always seen him using deans with megadeth and other than that the occasional charvel

Btw javier from AAL has an indo made RG neck on a LACS body so not entirely true


----------



## the_heretic_divine

George Lynch. Through most of the 80's,until ESP picked him up,the majority of his guitars (excluding the J Frog Mr. Scary)were thrown together from parts. ESP just made him slap their logo on those guitars,lol.


----------



## sniperfreak223

kamello said:


> -I _think_ that one of the guys from Rammstein played LTD's



Yes, RZK played LTD's all the way up through Mutter.


----------



## Amanita

chassless said:


> that's interesting ! then upload soundclips of each guitar recorded on the same settings, including a list of the pickups on each guitar and of whatever electronics/accessories used that you think are worth mentioning.


derailing the thread even further... i find it interesting that some people by "dark" mean lacking treble, and other mean having huge lows.
my workmate built himself an all maple guitar and while having plenty of treble and screaming pinch harmonics, it has huge, sub-bass reaching lows.
he just fitted it with a Blackhawk and wails happily on it


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands

sniperfreak223 said:


> Yes, RZK played LTD's all the way up through Mutter.



Incorrect. He played ESP 901's and KH-2's up until Mutter. He threw in an EC-1000 for touring during the Mutter tour and stopped using it at the end of the Reise, Reise and Rosenrot tour.



Seanthesheep said:


> The only red guitar glen has now is an old charvel. Id be surprised if he even knew about ESP/LTD as a brand  for the most part Ive always seen him using deans with megadeth and other than that the occasional charvel



The entire "That One Night..." concert was done with an LTD M-1000. 

And I was wrong about the refinished LTD. Turns out it was a custom ESP, just with abalone inlays and binding like an M-1000.


----------



## sniperfreak223

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Incorrect. He played ESP 901's and KH-2's up until Mutter. He threw in an EC-1000 for touring during the Mutter tour and stopped using it at the end of the Reise, Reise and Rosenrot tour.
> 
> 
> 
> The entire "That One Night..." concert was done with an LTD M-1000.
> 
> And I was wrong about the refinished LTD. Turns out it was a custom ESP, just with abalone inlays and binding like an M-1000.



could have sworn he used an LTD on the "Live Aus Berlin" DVD, but on closer inspection, it was an ESP. I accept defeat.


----------



## Seanthesheep

Ill ask him about it next time I see him then, but honestly it didnt seem like he knew about PRS before I showed him mine which is why I thought he was loyal to dean and didnt know of ESP


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands

sniperfreak223 said:


> could have sworn he used an LTD on the "Live Aus Berlin" DVD, but on closer inspection, it was an ESP. I accept defeat.



Never question my Rammstein guitar fanboyism. 



But yeah, like I said, he DID use LTD's, but only for like... 6 years. And it was only one or two guitars. His entire setup nowadays are his ESP Sigs. 

Also, I'm betting Glen used ESP because Mustaine was endorsed for them at the time. When he switched to Dean, Glen followed suit. To this day, I'm pretty sure he still uses Dean. He was using what looked like a Vendetta when he did that show with Queensryche a few months ago.


----------



## Seanthesheep

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Never question my Rammstein guitar fanboyism.
> 
> 
> 
> But yeah, like I said, he DID use LTD's, but only for like... 6 years. And it was only one or two guitars. His entire setup nowadays are his ESP Sigs.
> 
> Also, I'm betting Glen used ESP because Mustaine was endorsed for them at the time. When he switched to Dean, Glen followed suit. To this day, I'm pretty sure he still uses Dean. He was using what looked like a Vendetta when he did that show with Queensryche a few months ago.




Right now Glen has a dean vendetta (which is very nice) a bright red old charvel with the jackson preamp and a Gibson LP traditional. 

But thinking back on it now it makes sense that he was using ESP/LTD when mustaine was with them and when mustaine switched glen switched too. But he for sure doesnt have any of the old ESPs or LTDs from when he was endorsed now. 

Btw is he even listed as an endorsee on deans website? I checked a while back and couldnt find his name


----------



## Jakke

Seanthesheep said:


> Btw is he even listed as an endorsee on deans website? I checked a while back and couldnt find his name



Dean Guitars: Glen drover


----------



## JosephCallander

You all missed the biggest cheap guitar playong musician of all time. Jack White. He plays some of the scungiest 6 strings I've seen.


----------



## Forkface

Apparently no one has mentioned Paul Gilbert and his new signature, the Fireman something or other. It's reasonably priced and he seems to be using it almost exclusively nowadays.


----------



## sonnygunn

Robb Flynn plays an Epiphone baritone Flying V, and had a B.C.Rich Warlock Acrylic ($.300,00).

Clint Lowery of Sevendust has a new SE artist model from PRS.

Mike Mushock of Staind has a PRS baritone signature.

Ben Weinman of Dillinger Escape Plan has as main axe an LTD MH-1000 NT.


----------



## pathogenicmetal666

John Mclaughlin plays a Godin Freeway nowadays.


----------



## onionofdoom

Steve Holt from 36 Crazyfists has recorded using a Korean ibanez prestige SZ4020 for years, and he uses non-prestige models like the SZ320 live. Re the wood debate, I have an SZ4020 and they're almost all maple, but it's very dark sounding. Guitars just sound different on an individual basis rather than according to wood species, IMO.


----------



## SHADOWOFD3ATH24

Rob Arnold of Chimiara plays a $800 sig model, Mark Heylmun from Suicide Silence was playing a $450 LTD sc337 or the Ep and The Cleansing


----------



## danger5oh

Last time I saw Deftones, Chino was playing an Epiphone SG.


----------



## sonnygunn

danger5oh said:


> Last time I saw Deftones, Chino was playing an Epiphone SG.



Yes sir, and he usually plays a $.500,00 Ltd Viper.


----------



## donray1527

Has nobody said EVH's Frankenstein guitar? that thing is ghetto rigged.


----------



## Itchyman

lordrcceaser said:


> I think it depends on the situation, the vast majority of pro players probably use their brand of choices lower end alternative live/on tour, even if they have the most balling custom shop models imaginable at home.
> 
> For example, I highly doubt Mikael threw all his Custom 24s on the fire as soon as he got a sig.



Unless you're James Hetfield & tours with how many Ken Lawrences?


----------



## vinniemallet

Sometimes touring with cheap guitars can be a good option to don't lose money when some dickhead steal your gear, even in Portugal there's a bunch of people stealing gear. Marc from Veil Of Maya uses a bunch of premium ibanez for example.


----------



## bob123

donray1527 said:


> Has nobody said EVH's Frankenstein guitar? that thing is ghetto rigged.



I had almost lost faith...


----------



## Wings of Obsidian

Upon a Burning Body plays Peavey Tomb IIs. They are like $300 guitars.


----------



## SoItGoesRVA

Case in point, my uncle and I had a bet a few years ago. I bet I could make my BC Rich Masterpiece Mockingbird as playable as his LP Custom Silverburst. We both agreed that afterwards, the Mockingbird was actually slightly easier to play, but the LP still sounded head and shoulders above it. 

The only time I've noticed the wood alone making a noticable tonal difference was on a few McPherson acoustic guitars. Same construction, same body shape, different woods. On electrics, I've never noticed there being any difference.


----------



## BigPhi84

Regi Wooten and Jerry Cantrell.


----------



## goldsteinat0r

Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World uses his Fender Signature, which is Korean made, I think.


----------



## teamSKDM

I'm friends with a day to remembers guitarists brother, and their guitarist Neil plays a ton of made in China schecters along side Gibson les Paul's.


----------



## Analog Kid

The brilliant Peter Hammill - who plays a bottom of range Squier Affinity and saw him last month - just brilliant 



d


----------



## LLink2411

Anyone mention Jack White yet?


----------



## Malkav

Buke & Gass - They literally make their own guitars and amps  Let's just say that they're not Walterson when it comes to their homebuilds 

Yngwie Malmsteen plays a Squier live, generally for the last song in his set, he then proceeds to smash it so lol.

Wasn't Kurt Cobain's Jaguar or something like shit cheap? Or he brought it really cheap?

Likewise with the Jazzmaster J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr used to use, I believe at least there was a lot of that kind of thing with "grunge"

I can't really think of anyone who does out of choice and not for endorsement reasons really...

Also regarding the wood debate that seems to have reared it's ugly head, to which my opinion of I shall keep to myself, I just wanna say that what really irritates me is when people say Mahogany has a dark tone and I'm just like "What species of Mahogany you douchehole?" likewise with Rosewood, it's one of the most bullshit things the guitar industry has roped everyone into - Here's the entire family of wood, we're now going to claim that despite the fact that there are a whole bunch of sub species to that family with lots of differences between them (E.g Sapele is a part of the Mahogany family but it's quite a dense hard wood, so it's "tonal imprint" should be a lot closer to that of Maple) they now all share the exact same sonic characteristics... .... off...


----------



## MaxOfMetal

Malkav said:


> Yngwie Malmsteen plays a Squier live, generally for the last song in his set, he then proceeds to smash it so lol.



Vai would do the same thing with RG350 and RG450 models when playing stuff like The Attitude Song. 

I wouldn't exactly call it "pro playing cheap" when the whole idea is that they're just going to use it for one song, then destroy it. 



> Wasn't Kurt Cobain's Jaguar or something like shit cheap? Or he brought it really cheap?
> 
> Likewise with the Jazzmaster J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr used to use, I believe at least there was a lot of that kind of thing with "grunge"



A lot of those guys were really lucky they bought those guitars before the vintage market exploded some years later. While they might have purchased the guitars for cheap at the time, they were by no means "cheap" in the sense of build or materials. 

In fact, the Jaguar and Jazzmaster were higher end Fender models when sold new, they just didn't have the allure back then so were sold cheap. 

That said, Kurt Cobain did like buying and using cheaper guitars like the import Strats and funky 60's/70's Japanese creations from pawn shops.


----------



## will_shred

Dan_Vacant said:


> Nile. They use moslty dean 79 series guitars and they are usually under $500. I seen older picktures of them using imported jackson's or bc ich's.


 
Don't they use USA customs now? I know Karl was rocking a USA custom 7 string in the studio for the new album, and in the music video for Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame. 


Also, I haven't read the whole thread but has anyone mentioned Rob Chapman? I'm not sure if it's just for shameless self promotion but he seems to sware by his brand of guitars, above his ESP's, PRS's and his Huf custom. Given, I've never heard anything but great things about Chapman guitars, but better than a Huf or custom 24?


----------



## will_shred

Forkface said:


> Apparently no one has mentioned Paul Gilbert and his new signature, the Fireman something or other. It's reasonably priced and he seems to be using it almost exclusively nowadays.




Yeah, he has several LACS models but for touring he uses the off the shelf FRM100.


----------



## breadtruck

will_shred said:


> Also, I haven't read the whole thread but has anyone mentioned Rob Chapman? I'm not sure if it's just for shameless self promotion but he seems to sware by his brand of guitars, above his ESP's, PRS's and his Huf custom. Given, I've never heard anything but great things about Chapman guitars, but better than a Huf or custom 24?



It's probably a bit of both self-promotion and that he loves how it sounds/plays. I mean come on, if you had your own guitar company then of course you would spend a lot of time playing your own models. They're made to your specifications after all. If they are at least half decent then you'd proudly want to play it a lot and take it to the stage etc.


----------



## jonajon91

Come on, Devin Townsend using Peavy guitars! I know he plays framus as well, but he has a peavy signature model!


----------



## MaxOfMetal

jonajon91 said:


> Come on, Devin Townsend using Peavy guitars!



He hasn't really used his sig a lot though, it was in development hell long enough for the project he wanted it for to finish up. 

All the actual Peaveys he used were USA custom shop models, and while CS Peaveys aren't incredibly expensive, they are by no means cheap.


----------



## TheWarAgainstTime

Wings of Obsidian said:


> Upon a Burning Body plays Peavey Tomb IIs. They are like $300 guitars.



This, though they were using Halo Tele 7's when I saw them at Warped Tour back in July. Still not expensive/high-end by any means, but maybe a little better than the Peavey's. 

Then again, they _are_ Halos


----------



## acrcmb

Chino Moreno from Deftones used an epiphone g400 a bit around the release of white pony


----------



## abandonist

Thou play off the rack Epiphones.


----------



## Wrecklyss

Dave Rude of Tesla plays Epiphones


----------



## taliababa

Hetfield does use a LTD whenever they play stuff from St Anger. It's his Grynch model. Fortunately, it's rare for them to play any St Anger song these past few years.


----------



## jimwratt

The question is why would they? Sure, you can get a $3-500 to play like a 3k guitar, if you dump another $3-500 into it, but it's less work to get a more expensive model that's ready to roll out of the gate. If you have even a partial endorsement deal that covers maybe 50% of any instrument from a given company, a $500 instrument for you is actually a $1000 axe for us. 

That said, I don't think guitars are like basketball shoes for example. A Lebron James or Michael Jordan basketball shoe represents like $10 worth of materials and labor but gets marked up to an obscene price. When I look at a Strandberg, I'm, at the very least, not perceiving that level of mark up. Obviously Ola is netting a profit, but we're also not getting ripped off.


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## will_shred

> The question is why would they?


 
why take your expensive axes on the road, when you can just not do that? 

I mean seriously, I'm sure a lot of people don't tour with their most expensive guitars. 

Plus in some cases, take maybe Jeff Loomis for example. I wonder how many guitars he gets from schecter for free? and all in all, Schecters are pretty nice guitars. I don't know what kind of high end guitars he might own, but I've never seen him play one. I only ever see him with off the shelf Schecters. My guess is because they're pretty good, and he can get them for free. Why spend more money on guitars when you can spend it on amps? hahah.


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## IbanezDaemon

It's the player that makes the guitar not the other way around. Put Paul Gilbert for instance on a cheapie guitar and he's still gonna make it sound good. 

Sorry if that views been posted but I didn't have time to go thru the all the posts in the thread.


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## FireInside

taliababa said:


> Hetfield does use a LTD whenever they play stuff from St Anger. It's his Grynch model. Fortunately, it's rare for them to play any St Anger song these past few years.



Not exactly cheap and rare as hell. I think they only made a couple hundred of them.


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## farren

IbanezDaemon said:


> It's the player that makes the guitar not the other way around. Put Paul Gilbert for instance on a cheapie guitar and he's still gonna make it sound good.
> 
> Sorry if that views been posted but I didn't have time to go thru the all the posts in the thread.



I don't entirely agree with that as tone has made it hard for me to enjoy quite a few guitarists as much as I otherwise might (usually thanks to EMGs), but I'm just glad you didn't go so far as to say "tone is all in the fingers" and suggest pickups don't matter as many an elderly gentleman or young golden-ageist has said on more traditional guitar forums. Cheap guitars can most certainly be equipped to sound great, though.


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## ducer

I think that Zappa used to play some cheap Epiphone for some time, but I'm not sure (dont remember the link to the interview with him from some magazine). Can be wrong.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands

FireInside said:


> Not exactly cheap and rare as hell. I think they only made a couple hundred of them.



The guitar the Grynch was based on was actually pretty cheap. It's an ESP/LTD VB-300 (or 200, I don't remember) with an EMG Afterburner preamp installed and flames painted on the body.

On top of that, James also played some other LTD's; an H-307 (or 207, not sure) and an F-300.


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## Given To Fly

farren said:


> I don't entirely agree with that as tone has made it hard for me to enjoy quite a few guitarists as much as I otherwise might (usually thanks to EMGs), but I'm just glad you didn't go so far as to say "tone is all in the fingers" and suggest pickups don't matter as many an elderly gentleman or young golden-ageist has said on more traditional guitar forums. Cheap guitars can most certainly be equipped to sound great, though.



It sounds like we would disagree on a lot of things but one thing we certainly agree on is our dislike for the "tone is in your fingers" argument. No one has any tone in their fingers, only bones, tendons, and talent.


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## redstone

A few% of the cheapest guitars are outstanding. Among 50 squier affinity strats, there must be one which's well built and sounds probably better than most boutique strats. Getting your own cheap signature guitar from a huge company is also an opportunity to find the 1/50.


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## Jakke

I also recall that most of Charvel's new artists play either pro-mods or Desolation series guitars. They are fairly cheap, and an artist playing a pro-mod is the equivalence of an artist playing a mexican Fender.


The Desolations are made in China if I recall correctly


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## flexkill

More importantly.....who are the cheap guitarist playing pro guitars???






.......


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## HeHasTheJazzHands

flexkill said:


> More importantly.....who are the cheap guitarist playing pro guitars???



The Tone King?


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## Ben.Last

flexkill said:


> More importantly.....who are the cheap guitarist playing pro guitars???
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .......



This guy.


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## mgh

John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*) uses stock Cort guitars (not to mention JMP 1 preamp/ Valvestate power amp rather than guitar amp...!)

and he is good


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## indrangelion

This thread made me miss my $500 '86 MIJ Fender Tele. It was on the same level as my ESP CS...

Anyway, I think Josh Homme prefers odd, cheapo Japanese strats over the everyday Fender Strat or Gibson LP. Let's not forget his Christocaster. That thing is literally made out of firewood.


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## trickae

Michael romeo played LTD's early on
Shawn lane played ibanez sabers
dan swano played ibanez rg7421's 
Muhammad suicimez played rg550's innitially
Per from scar symmetry plays an RG7421
matts haugh from circus maximus plays an RG1527


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## WarMachine

Im going against the grain (at least most of it) and backing the skill and tone coming from the player. I have a BC Rich NJ Beast i bough new in 02, and i jam primarily on a Dean Waribird with D Activators (between prices, 02 Beast was 600 and the Warbird in 08 was 550) and i can make the Beast sounds just as good as i can the warbird. The warbird has a set neck with the back scalloped when it joints to the body giving it that scooped neckthru feel and the beast is a bolt on. Do they feel different? Absolutely. Do they play differently? Absolutely. Do they sound different? Shits naw 

EDIT: Actually, that's making me want to snag a beast cheap off ebay and set it up lol


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## TREYAZAGHTOTH

Paul Ryan of Origin plays a Jackson X series guitar.
(In fact he is selling it over here

Custom Finish Jackson 2012 x Series Electric Guitar | eBay


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## Megaton_900

I'm pretty sure i could make even the best guitar sound rubbish if i was uncomfortable playing it.  (or just rubbish anyway )

IMO its all about how you connect with that guitar.


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## wat

I think Zakk Wylde plays Epiphone Masterbilt Acoustics



Amazing sounding guitars, too bad they are discontinued


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## HeHasTheJazzHands

Alex Lifeson did, too, and I THINK Matthias Jabs did.


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