ok time to preach
the only problem is the trem holding tuning after a pull up. no other problem ever. if you get the frets done like on any guitar you should there is no problems. i feel that my playing has expanded by having to use different styles and do different things. i see it as not a henderance but a doorway. as you walk through the door a whole new room is open to you that was not before. look at all the old legends of guitar their playing styles came from a need to work around something or they wanted a sound and had to find a way to get it. no guitar is perfect. but the ability to master the imperfections is what truly makes your music your own and allows your guitar to become a part of you rather than a piece of equipment. the spirit and drive to overcome the obsticles is what music soulful and developes a love for certain guitars.
case in point....why does vai love evo so much? with the effects can you truly hear the difference he heard when he first played it. on a album could you really tell the difference in the 7vwh's that he uses if the sustiner wasn't being used and the
evolution pickups were being used just by ear... doubtful and vai even admits that. it is just a bond he has with it. and that bond alone can make you play better just by using it. kinda like a old shoe it just fits. heck even if he doesn't play evo that night it is still on stage patiently waiting and being a security blanket for him.
i have seen a horrible fp. it buzzed and the trem would just go out of tune. it had a hum that drove ya nuts. everytime you touched a knob or switch it would pop and it was brand new. so alot can be said about any guitar. just cause it don't cost a bazillion dollars doesn't mean it is junk. heck they can't be that bad mr vai played one for 2 days at a clinic and it sounded just fine. must have been pretty good as he put it in a case and it left with him. a pink case at that. the player is the key. eric clapton played a honer very cheap
acoustic guitar at a blues festival. sounded great. so i believe the player is the key and the hands generate the tone and style that becomes the artist trademark.
so i will stick to my 555 as i love both of them and they play great. always get compliments on it and it has never let me down. in the last 8 years it has never once failed to make a show or had issues during the show. when a string breaks i pull a popsickle stick out of my back pocket and prop the trem up after i dive the strings and you know what..... it is so close to perfect tune with the stick holding the trem i can complete the song and nobody notices.
so i will keep on playing these and eventually i will get a 7vwh but the 555 will still be the front man. i play on sound and reliability. if it sounds great and hold up well i don't care if it was 2.00 it is priceless in my book. hell the 555 has earned its name as the "iron horse". tough as steel and can take a beating.
so for all those who say the 555 is not a real jem..... your right it is a diamond in the ruff and we all know uncut jems priceless.
