New Lead guitar..?

[Swirly]

Hi there

Im after a new guitar (Currently have a mex strat) .

I want to get something i can play more heavy metal/metal type music on compared with the bluesy sound of my strat.

After playing a friends Ibanez S370 i fell in love with the wizard neck, and thin body.
At the moment the most obvious choice to me is the RG550. I have not had time to try one out, but they seem to meet my needs very well and ive heard so many good things about them.
Anyway, im after a little help. Not knowing an amazing amount about guitar makes/models themselves can anyone suggest something else?
It needs to have a fast, low profile neck. Not amazingly thin body, but quite slim. Decent pups that I can play metal on, and let rip when soloing.

I have around £500 ish/About $800.

All advice much appreciated

[Dead Roman]

If you liked the s so much why dont you just go buy a high end s????

[Jeff]

If I'm thinking clearly today, the S370 has a wizard II neck on it, and the 550 has a wizard. The II is a bit chunkier than the wizard.

RG550 is a great guitar, just replace the pups!

[Swirly]

Originally Posted by Dead Roman

If you liked the s so much why dont you just go buy a high end s????

True.Even though i felt it was a nice guitar, the body dosnt feel 100% right for me. The neck plays great, but for me im after somthing a tiny bit bigger in the way of bodies.

Originally Posted by JEMavenger

RG550 is a great guitar, just replace the pups!

Whats wrong with the standard pups? And what would you advise getting. Looking for a Metallica/Metal sound

[Two hands31]

Nothing "wrong" really, just don't suit most peoples tastes. For Metallica/Metal sound you may want EMGs, the 81 or 85 are both great, but if you don't like active, try some DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan, some others can give suggestions there. I like my DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge tho.

[Jeff]

I play Evo's, I've always played Evo's, I probably will always play Evos's. I recommend Evo's!

Dimarzio Evolution pickups are some of the best sounding I've heard for what you're looking for. And for clean stuff, the single/hum split has to be the best ever!

[jono]

I'm guessing from the mention of a pound sign "£" in swirly's first post that we've got another Brit here

That means that we're talking dollars to donuts guys... I mean dollars to pounds So a high level S-Series is going to cost about $1200 or so !!!

My first instinct is to move this thread to the Ibanez 6-string area, but I'll leave it here for now and just say that most of the answers here are going to be "get an Ibanez" type ones There are loads of great guitars out there for a £500 budget, but imho it's true that very few of them are as good as the RG550. Other ones to try include guitars by LTD, by Maverick as well as some of the cheaper Jacksons and BC Rich guitars if you want to go for a wacky "metal" shape.

The other thing you might like to consider is something like another fender strat, perhaps this time with a humbucker in the bridge position. Of you like the feel of your current guitar, that might be the way to go.

With regards to the pickups, the stock ones are ok units, but they tend to lack any real "oomph" and for metal I always think they could do with a little more well, everything

What amp you're using should also play some part in your choice of pickups. If you've got a super aggressive Boogie Dual/Triple Rectifier then you won't need pickups that are as hot as those you'll need when playing through a second hand transistor 10W combo. Fill us in on what equipment you're using, and maybe add a location to your profile, we might be albe to point you in the direction of a store that'll have a lot of funs stuff for you to try out, which is by far the best way to choose new gear

[Swirly]

Originally Posted by jono

I'm guessing from the mention of a pound sign "£" in swirly's first post that we've got another Brit here

Yep. Southland England mate (West Sussex)

Originally Posted by jono

My first instinct is to move this thread to the Ibanez 6-string area, but I'll leave it here for now and just say that most of the answers here are going to be "get an Ibanez" type ones

Yeah. It seems that is the case. Although the RG550 seems to be the best for me I haven’t a clue about other guitars. Im quite in-experienced when it comes to actually knowing about equipment, so I just wanted to see what else apart from Ibanez people would recommend. Doesn’t seem the case though

Originally Posted by jono

The other thing you might like to consider is something like another fender strat, perhaps this time with a hum bucker in the bridge position. Of you like the feel of your current guitar, that might be the way to go.

Good point but im not really after another strat. Want something different in both sound and looks. Like the feel of the strat but im after something purely for metal/rock that looks the part and can sound the part (More than likly with different pups)

Originally Posted by jono

What amp you're using should also play some part in your choice of pickups.

At the moment I currently have a MG30 amp .It’s a nice little amp and im not planning on really changing it for a while yet.

[darren wilson]

How about a nice SA360EX?

It's thicker than an S, but not as pointy as an RG. Still has a mahogany body, and this particular model has a set neck. Drop in a set of EMGs and you'll probably have a guitar very well suited for metal, if you're not a heavy trem abuser.

Oh, and it's a Europe-only model, as well. Very nice.

[Swirly]

Looks nice.But im after somthing a bit more on the pointy side of things Like an RG/Jackson etc

[Rich2004]

I know ill prob catch h*ll for this but i recommend you try some Dean Guitars



Rich

[Swirly]

Cheers Ill keep it in mind.

Would people recomend any ESP's? I heard the EXxxx series is nice to play (Similar shape to Explorers)

[mecca777]

As far as pickups go, the best stock pickups I've heard in a mid-price rock guitar were on a Maverick F1. Thin neck, pointy superstrat styling, very good rock sounds. If you want a "shape" guitar, I'll echo what others have said; Dean, Maverick, Jackson and BC Rich are all worth checking out. Dean in particular seem to get consistently good reviews for tone and playability. ESP LTD I'm not so sure about, because they seem quite highly-priced in comparison to other Korean-made rock guitars, but you might find a good deal on one.

On the other hand, I have to say it: I got a second-hand Ibanez RG670DX in very good condition for £320 a few years ago. If you could find a nice clean RG550 or RG570 in the guitar magazines' classified ads, you'd probably have enough money left over for a set of Duncans or DiMarzios. That being said, don't assume that the stock pickups won't be good enough. When I put Duncans in my RG570, I put the V1 and V2 in an Epiphone, and they sounded perfectly fine: just that the Duncans sounded even better!

[Globbits]

Mavericks. Get yourself up to denmark street and look around. the maverick X-treme is a crazyass guitar, but probably a bit over your budeget (£750). A maverick F1/2/3 is RG shaped and equally good, with hot Evolution pickups (not the same as Dimarzio Evo's!)

[jono]

Originally Posted by mecca777

On the other hand, I have to say it: I got a second-hand Ibanez RG670DX in very good condition for £320 a few years ago.

That's a good find There's one in a store in Leeds for, wait for it


£799!!!