second-guitar recommendations

My Artcore semi-hollow took a dive off its stand and broke its neck, and repairs don't really seem worth it, so I'm kinda casually thinking about a replacement -- something in the $300-$500 range, and maybe not another semi-hollow.

I mostly use a Telecaster, so I'm looking for models that specifically do things the Tele can't -- humbuckers are a must, thick/warm sound is good, a little crunch and bite would be useful, etc. I've tried out some Epiphones and Gibsons (which I always used to have a thing against), but the SG styles felt too muddy, I feel like a Firebird's shape would annoy me, and I just can't see myself loving a Les Paul type of thing.

(Then I got distracted by this PRS I was loving and a somewhat similar Daisy Rock.)

Anything in that price range any of you would recommend, for someone who needs a thick-and-crunchy backup sound but tends to get distracted by guitars that sound brighter? I'm worried I'll eventually just give up and get the cheap Artcore that looks like a fake Rickenbacker. (I did really like the Artcore pretty well.)

(Ha: while all three items linked look basically the same -- the exact kind of thing I like -- I suspect I'd actually feel cooler these days standing around with a Firebird. Just not sitting with one, because geez.)

How about a Jazzmaster or an HB Jaguar?

if you get a PRS you'll have to start playing fusion :(

it's a slippery slope

http://www.guitarsandeffects.com/guitarimages2006/parker_fly_dlxPLUMB/parker_fly_deluxe_italian_plumb_003.jpg

I've thought about a Jazzmaster, although I'm worried it won't be far enough away from all the Fendery stuff you can get out of a Tele! I might have to try one again and think about it. But those start at like $800, in which case my "second" guitar would be nicer than my first, and I'd get confused.

P.S., I think we've had a thread about these before, but if anyone's had experience with Eastwood guitars that fit this bill, I'd be interested...

i got yer eastwood info (10 in stock right now!) but most of the sub $500 ones i dig are going to have p-90s which isn 't quite what you're looking for (although the twin tone is pretty awesome and worth a look).

re: jazzmasters i hate the new mexican ones which are cursed with overwound pickup disease, but the j. mascis is kind of sweet if you can get behind the purple sparkle, which i love. discontinued now because fender doesn't want us to have nice things, but if that interests you i have a used one in stock that i could maybe reexamine the price on. another possibility if you can deal with two teleish things is the g&l tribute asat special, which has sort of a half jazzmaster half p-90 thing going on (approx $600), or the bluesboy which has a humbicker in the neck.

i hate doing this, but without sounding like a shill, if theres something that i can help you with im glad to extend the "i kind of know peeps on this message board" cuddly price on anything we deal with. if you want to keep it on the cheap, ibanez does a very decent les paul copy that sells for about $300. the ricky vibe artcores arent shipping yet to the best of my knowledge, but i have 2 on order and will report back when i see them.

guitars are cool.

i am sorry for ur loss

Hmm, anyone have any hands on with Gretsch's cheaper stuff? Like maybe a Pro Jet could fit the bill? Or if there's anything in that price range of theirs with filtertrons?

oh huh, we have one of those in stock used too but i have never really gotten around to actually playing it. will try to check out tomorrow.

how do I play guitar it's so fukkin hard

just grab an axe and let your soul FLY

I dunno how much truth is in this but I just read a review that said the mini-buckers in the Pro Jet are TV-Jones designed*, which probably means um...that over half the cost of the guitar is in those pickups alone??!** o_O

*(Probably not so if the one in yr shop (xxxpost) is pre-2003, in which case they're probably built on the cheap with ceramic magnets)
**(Unless duh they're just built by Gretsch to TV Jones specs in a factory somewhere and not all handwound blah blah u know something like that, anyway, could be a great guitar!)

http://www.krappyguitars.com/manifesto.html

the one in my shop is recent, but if tv jones designed is anything like what duncan designed used to be, it pretty much just means they've bought the rights to use the name and the pickups might have not have the slightest thing in common with the real deal.

not what nabby wants to hear but tele/les paul combo is my favorite combo (yank crime, spiderland, ledzep#1, and about 5zillion other radical lps).

What sort of music are you looking to make with this new axe Nabisco? You say a thick and crunchy sound, sounds like a bit of hot rockin' - what about an SG or a Les Paul Junior? I don't rate the clean sound on an SG if that;s a concern, but that's not really what SGs are FOR. Gretsch lower-end stuff is a good call. There are supposedly really good LP copies out of Japan that won't break the bank - can't remember all the names or prices - Edwards is one I've heard mentioned a lot.

I hate PRS.

Oh wait....you tried an SG

I hate PRS.

It's not so much PRS guitars themselves, but the people who always seem to be playing them.

don't let ppl who get hung up on who-plays-what talk you out of a prs; they handle incredibly

buffalo bros have this for 750 btw if you're looking to replace the semi-hollow w/another that's pretty swell

not what nabby wants to hear but tele/les paul combo is my favorite combo

Yeah, I'm coming around on this. I always made myself dislike Les Pauls just based on classic-rock associations, but they're precisely what I need right now, so it's easy to grow up about it. I almost put down money for a used Dillion LP copy this morning. (But then I got distracted by a $550 Jagstang and then I was late for work.)

My favorite guitar sound of the past several years has been the Les Paul stuff on that XX record -- that helps.

^^ that's a good example of my issue, actually -- the stuff I'm recording is mostly synths/programming + clean guitars, and that record's a good demonstration of how the LP sound can blend a little more smoothly with electronic stuff.

(If anyone here knows anything about Dillion US, am I right in deciding that a used LP of theirs probably isn't worth $600, when I could get a new/warrantied Epi LP Custom for that much?)

uh i may be confused here but i think the dillions are maybe cheaper than that new?

yeah, that's what googling seemed to suggest -- but then there's some whole issue about US and Canadian ones being totally different? whatever, not worth it either way.

yeah that whole dillion thing is weird (all the guitars are made in korea) - iirc it is another in the long list of acrimonious dissolved partnership disputes in the music industry.

I haven't heard the xx recd, but I guess if you like LP type-cleans, you're looking for sort of 'warm' cleans as opposed to biting, chimy cleans? Maybe try and find something with P90s to sort of bridge the gap? Tele Customs have really nice humbucker cleans, but you have a Tele already.

I wouldn't get a Jagstang.

What about an Epiphone Dot?

Or Epiphone Wilshere (cheap, I think - don't know what pickups). Could you afford an Epiphone Casino?

anyone here ever ordered anything from this guy?

http://www.fatdawg.com/

Warm cleans is exactly the goal. (There's also a kind of thick pluck/pop you get out of the LP styles that I really like.) I found a good deal on a higher-end Epiphone LP, so I'm probably just going with that.

The thing that always gets me with guitar shopping is that nobody ever sees me playing guitar -- it's just for recording, no particular plans to play in front of anyone -- but of course I still can't stand the idea of having something I don't like the look of. I feel weird enough about getting a Les Paul; I'm not taking a flamed-top one even at a discount. And the wine-red, which at least looks kinda jazzy, seems hard to come by. I feel like I'm on the bus to Slashville.

GET OVER IT IMO IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SUSTAIN INNIT

slash wails what's the problem

That all makes sense, Nabisco. There seem to be more and more non classic-rawk bands using LPs these days. I'm pretty tempted to have a serious look for one, one of these days, for a bit of classic rock fun.

Can anyone recommend a small guitar for a small child? My brother-in-law has a Yamaha guitalele and the size is about right but the thing was kind of garbage and didn't hold its tuning at all.

never played this but there are some small parlors, ibanez makes some solid cheaper stuff

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PN1MHNTd1--ibanez-pn1-mahogany-natural-high-gloss?mrkgcl=28&mrkgadid=3142657082&rkg_id=0&product_id=PN1MHNTd1&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%20-%20High&adgroup=Guitars&placement=google&adpos=1o10&creative=146356081826&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjwt7PcBRBbEiwAfwfVGNdorqBAZ4-aH4sEwLDqRtR-QjaHNe_38H0r_VuQ1bGpy96pFX5gtxoCB5gQAvD_BwE