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marnold
February 25th, 2011, 08:01 AM
I thought of this as a parallel to Jimi's thread (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/17830-The-quot-This-guitar-makes-me-a-better-player-quot-thread-)). I wondered what specs everyone looks for in a guitar. If there is one that you absolutely MUST have, make it bold.

Body
Shape: Superstrat
Wood: I've mainly had basswood or alder. I probably slightly prefer alder just because really light basswood bodies can make the guitar neck-heavy. Basswood is also much softer.
Finish: Don't care
Favorite color: red

Hardware
Bridge: Floyd Rose or Strat-style hardtail
Nut: Locking or graphite
Tuners: good ones :) Not as relevant with the locking nut. obviously
Strap buttons: Schaller strap locks

Neck
Wood: Maple
Fretboard wood: Maple or Bird's Eye Maple
Finish: Satin
Frets: Jumbo
Radius: Flat, > 12" I especially like my Jackson's 12"-16" compound radius
Neck shape: Thin C-shape, shredder style
Number of frets: At least 22, prefer 24
Inlays: Doesn't matter
Headstock: Pointy!

Electronics
Pickups: Humbuckers
Pickup combo: HH
Active/Passive: Passive, mainly because I don't want to deal with batteries
Controls: Standard Volume/Tone
Favorite Electronics Mod: Treble bleed cap, Neck-on mod for three pickup guitars, Series/parallel switch for humbuckers

Anything else that I missed?

Going through this exercise showed me that most of my must-haves have to do with the neck. That's probably not that surprising. I have a "thing" with 21 fret guitars. Makes me feel like I'm missing a finger. I'm not sure what that is.

Jimi75
February 25th, 2011, 08:34 AM
That would be my current custom order:

Body
Shape: 70s Style Strat shape, if possible 1 piece
Wood: Swamp Ash or Ash
Finish: Nitro or natural oiled
Favorite color: Silver Mist Blue or maybe Aztec Gold

Hardware
Bridge: Vintage Fender
Nut: Bone....what else?!
Tuners: Locking Tuners, but with vintage optics
Strap buttons: Secure ones

Neck
Wood: 1 piece Maple
Fretboard wood: Brazilian Rosewood or Maple
Finish: Stripped
Frets: Dunlop 6105
Radius: 12", but I could also live with 7.2"
Neck shape: V-shape, like Clapton or J. Vaughan Strat
Number of frets: 21
Inlays: Mother Of Pearl Dots
Headstock: 6 in a row, Fender 62 Headstockstyle or 70s headstockstyle
Electronics
Pickups: Sheptones
Pickup combo: S/S/S maybe H/S/S
Active/Passive: Passive
Controls: Standard Volume/Tone/Tone
Favorite Electronics Mod: Vintage Strat Kit

deeaa
February 25th, 2011, 08:37 AM
Hard to say. I can't put things down with such accuracy.

Here:

- Kinda strat-ish shape, super light wood, a bit dinky size
- Maple gloss neck/fretboard with good not superjumbo but anyway strong frets; like a strat but don't mind them slightly longet like 24 frets and slightly flatter and wider than trad. strat.
- EMG 85 bridge pickup, PA-2 or afterburner, only volume...and a 60 or 85 or 89 on neck; gibson style switch somewhere upper arm
- Headstock: smallish, don't care what shape
- usually like white finishes

But, I don't know if I really care that much, as long as it plays well, is light and not too big and has super strong or rather active output, I'll hit it.

Eric
February 25th, 2011, 09:22 AM
Nice idea. I'm really only to list the things with which I have first-hand experience. For example, I might like SS frets if I had played them, but I haven't, so I won't list them.

Body
Shape: Whatever doesn't look like a Strat
Wood: Something light, which is weird, since I like mahogany
Finish: Not matte -- shiny all the way!
Color: I'm pretty open here, but I've always thought green or blue would be cool
Bling: I must admit, I kind of like binding on certain guitars

Hardware
Bridge: TOM, either string-thru or stop tail
Nut: Don't care -- something that doesn't bind
Tuners: Don't care -- locking tuners, Grovers, whatever, as long as they work
Strap buttons: strap locks, either Schaller or Marvel

Neck
Wood: Mahogany? I don't mind maple, but I tend to like Mahogany better.
Fretboard wood: Rosewood or ebony
Finish: Don't care
Frets: Don't care too much, but I think I like medium-jumbo best
Radius: >12", probably closer to 14"
Neck shape: Uh...I wish I knew. I think I like it a little thicker
Number of frets: At least 22, prefer 24
Inlays: As understated as possible, but I do like some markers somewhere
Headstock: Something that doesn't look stupid or draw attention to itself. For example, I fricking hate the headstock on something like a Dean Razorback. Way too over-the-top.
Attachment: Bolt-on can be quite alright, but I'm pretty sure I prefer set neck, and my guess is that I wouldn't mind neck-through either.

Electronics
Pickups: Humbuckers
Pickup combo: HH
Active/Passive: Passive
Controls: 2 vol, 2 tone

Tibernius
February 25th, 2011, 09:51 AM
I think I've already posted most of this in the other thread. :thwap

Body
Shape: Double Cutaway Les Paul or Symmetrical Flying V
Wood: Mahogany with a Flame Maple cap
Finish: Gloss, either Purpleburst (http://www.dcolegrovephotography.com/photonews/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/purple-burst-gibson-les-paul.jpg) or Silverburst (http://www.espguitars.com/images/gallery/08/travis-silverburst.jpg)

Hardware
Bridge: Tonepros locking Tune-o-matic, through body stringing
Nut: Graphtech or Earvana Graphite
Tuners: Grover or Gotoh
Strap buttons: Dunlop Traditional or Flush-mount Straploks

Neck
Wood: Mahogany or Maple
Fretboard wood: Ebony
Finish: Gloss
Frets: Extra Jumbo or Jumbo
Radius: 12"-16" compound
Neck shape: Same as my Tempest (Slightly thinner than a Gibson LP, similar shape)
Number of frets: at least 22
Inlays: Block inlays
Headstock: 3+3, LP or Dean V style
Attachment: Set neck or Neck-Through-Body

Electronics
Pickups: 2 Humbuckers
Pickup combo: EMG 81x Bridge, EMG 60x Neck
Active/Passive: Active
Controls: 2 volume, 1 tone, LP style toggle
Favorite Electronics Mod: wired so that the toggle switch works as a killswitch with one of the volume controls all the way down.

stingx
February 25th, 2011, 03:34 PM
Cool thread. Here's mine:

Body
Shape: Superstrat
Wood: N/A
Finish: Gloss
Favorite color: black

Hardware
Bridge: Original Floyd Rose
Nut: Locking Floyd Rose
Tuners: Sperzel
Strap buttons: Dunlop strap locks

Neck
Wood: Maple
Fretboard: Maple; quarter-sawn
Finish: Oil
Frets: Jumbo
Radius: 10"-16" compound radius
Neck shape: Soft "V"
Number of frets: 22
Inlays: Plain dots
Headstock: Fender Strat shaped

Electronics
Pickups: HH or SSH
Pickup combo: HH or SSH
Active/Passive: Passive
Controls: Standard Volume/Tone
Favorite Electronics Mod: Series/parallel switch for humbuckers

MAXIFUNK
February 25th, 2011, 04:32 PM
For a Strat style axe

Body
Shape: 70s Style Strat shape, if possible 1 piece
Wood: Swamp Ash or Ash (No Pick Guard direct mounted pickups)
Finish: Nitro
Favorite color: black

Hardware
Bridge:Black Vintage Fender
Nut: LSR
Tuners: Black Locking Tuners
Strap buttons: Dunlap strap locks

Neck
Wood: 1 piece Maple
Fretboard wood: Ebony
Finish: Stain
Frets: Dunlop 6105 med jumbo or extra jumbo
Radius: 12", or composite 9.5 to 14
Neck shape: modern C shape
Number of frets: 22
Inlays: Mother Of Pearl Dots
Headstock: 6 in a row,70s headstockstyle
Electronics
Pickups: Lace Holy Grails
Pickup combo: S/S/S
Active/Passive: Passive
Controls: Grease bucket or delta tone black metal knobs 1 Volume 1 Tone
Favorite Electronics Mod: 3 pickup selector button like on the deluxe players strat


For an LP style axe

Body
Shape: 60's style LP
Wood:Mahogany
Finish: Nitro
Favorite color: Heritage Cherry Sunburst or Vintage Sunburst

Hardware
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic with stopbar tailpiece
Nut: Bone
Tuners: Grover Locking Tuners,
Strap buttons: Dunlap Strap Locks

Neck
Wood: Mahogany
Fretboard wood: Ebony
Finish: Standard Gibby
Frets: Dunlop 6105 Medium Jumbo
Radius: 12"
Neck shape: 60's Tapper
Number of frets: 22
Inlays: Trapezoid
Headstock: Standard 3 + 3 Gibby
Electronics
Pickups: Bridge pickup: potted BurstBucker 3 humbucker with push/pull coil splitting
Neck Pickup: '57 Classic with push/pull coil splitting
Pickup combo: H H
Active/Passive: Passive
Controls: Standard 2 Volume 2 Tone
Favorite Electronics Mod: plexed neck and coil splitting pups

groverj3
April 5th, 2011, 01:01 AM
Body:
Shape - Soloist, but thinner.
Wood - Mahogany
Top - Quilted Maple
Finish - Transparent Blue

Neck:
Attachment - Through body
Shape: Not too thin, not too thick (very scientific there)
Wood - Maple, satin finished back
Fretboard - Ebony, with cream binding (also around headstock)
Inlays - 1 abalone sharkfin at 12th fret
Headstock - The one Caparison uses
Fretboard Radius - 12-16 compound
Fretwire - Jumbo
Nut: Locking

Pickups:
Bridge - Dimarzio Crunchlab
Neck - Dimarzio Liquifire

Hardware Switches etc (Chrome):
Bridge - Original Floyd
3 way pickup selector
1 volume control - MAKE SURE IT IS AWAY FROM THE BRDIGE PICKUP (pet peeve)

marnold
April 5th, 2011, 06:58 AM
1 volume control - MAKE SURE IT IS AWAY FROM THE BRDIGE PICKUP (pet peeve)
Agreed. I thought for sure that my Dinky's would drive me up the wall because the one on my Charvel Model 7 certainly did. Part of it is a better, less spastic, picking technique. Another part is the fact that the pot on my Charvel was very loose, so if I looked at it funny the volume would drop.