Conference napalm::guitar

    Paul Reed Smith,   Best guitars in the world.
    
    IMHO
    
    Nigel

    
    
    	Ok but what sort of profile necks do they have? I'm into really
    thin fairly wide necks. Preferably with 24 frets...
    
    	

    
    Jason, not to be biased, but I have an Ibanez RG570, and I can play as
    fast at the 24th fret as I can anywhere else and it doesn't have a neck
    through body. I also have a Charvel and have problems bending the 24th
    fret, let alone burning on it.
    
    My advice, either go for a �1000 Jackson Soloist which will be
    identical to your charvel except it has a neck through body and hardly
    any other advantage (same trem, same tone etc..) or go for an Ibanez 
    (�500+) which has a better trem, better neck and just as good neck
    access.
    
    -Tony

    
    BTW, PRS Guitars are for very average players  8^)

    I'll tell Al Di that next time I see him Tone! 8-)
    
    re.-2
    
    The neck profile is very slim,  but quite wide,  and very very
    comfortable.  Not too dissimilar to a Gibson,  but with smaller frets, 
    and flatter fingerboard.  (they also clock in at between �1400-�2500)
    
    I always forget to mention that. 
    
    Tony is right about the Ibanez guitars.  I'm  only a bloody bass
    player,  and I love 'em to bits as well.  (Jacksons are totally
    overpriced,  and I really think that the fret finishing on them is
    pretty crap.)
    
    Nigel
    

    Buy a Carvin DC135, or any Carvin (assuming they're all neck-through).
    Price, quality, playability, selection, custom design at a stock price,
    thin neck, you got it.
    
    The balance of this note I plagiarized from an old note of mine:
    
    Carvin only sells mail-order, with a few showrooms in California.  They
    make electric guitars, basses, amps, and PA systems in USA.  They
    advertise heavily and publish a catalog that you can get by calling
    800-854-2235.  Basically, every guitar is built-to-order for you from
    the base models and options and finishes listed.  There is a 10-day
    "keep/no-keep" trial period.

    The DC135 is the three pickup configuration 6-string solid-body
    electric, a neck-through design with in-line peghead, kind of
    Strat-like.  It has 3 mini-switches, one for each pickup (5-position sw
    is optional).  Although they are all humbuckers, the mid and neck look
    like single coils, and the lead pickup is a double (the others are
    "stacked humbuckers"). 
    
    (*** If I had it to do over, I might have added the coil-splitter
    switch, but I can't remember why I didn't get it in the first place.)
    
    I ordered the fixed-bridge model; the trem adds $100 to the price.  I
    also ordered black chrome hardware, strap locks, and no dot inlays
    (side dots only), and the tung-oil finished Koa wood (no gloss).  Aside
    from the frets and the standard .009 strings, everything else is wood
    or black.  While they were building the axe, they upgraded their 1992
    line to include Sperzl locking tuners, which I had them add to mine. 

    With a hard case and freight, the bottom line was $704. 

    The guitar is definitely a quality product, with all fit and finish
    looking, playing, and sounding good. 

    One of the features is the playability of the neck.  I had not paid
    that much attention to neck radius before, but this neck is so thin
    that the standard Shubb capo barely gives enough pressure fully
    adjusted.  Between that and their trademark low action, it feels like
    there is nothing you can't do on this neck. 

    I took it over to my guitar teacher for a thorough checkout and
    adjustment, and he was impressed, especially with its clean tone and
    its ability to hold correct tuning and/or intonation over various parts
    of the neck that challenge other guitars (I don't totally follow what
    he was saying but it was good).  He was also blown away by how hot the
    M22 lead pickup was, and he had to adjust it further from the strings
    than he expected. 
    \Gary

    
    
    Re .7
    
    
    	Sounds nice but I'm just a tad wary of buying a guitar sight unseen
    	from an outfit 4000 miles (give or take a few?) away...
    
    
    	J (UK guitarist....)
    

    While PRS makes great guitars, I don't personally think they're well
    suited to speed metal.  Seems a lot of the the metalhead types go for
    Jacksons.  I've played a couple and they were pretty nice.  I think the
    pickups that come stock in 'em suck though.  Not what I'd expect for a
    $1500 guitar.
    
    I'll second the vote for Ibanez.  They make excellent guitars at great
    prices.  A lot of metal players are using them too.  One example would
    be Alex Skolnick from Testament.  He uses a 540R model, which I like a
    little better then the 550/570, since the necks are slightly rounder. 
    The necks on these guitars are really fast and the access to the upper
    frets is great despite the bolt on necks.  
    
    You might also check out one of the newer Washburn's which use a
    special neck joint supposed to allow better access to the high frets. 
    I haven't played one myself, but I've seen people playing them.
    
    Some of the ESPs are good for that too, but a lot of the ones I've seen
    lately have medium fretwire.  That's cool if you're into that, I prefer
    large frets myself.
    
    Greg
                       

    re:  .8
    
    What do you think, I'm made of money?  :7)
    I was leery of buying a L400 (pound) axe sight unseen myself.
    
    Read the fine print (my note).  There's a 10-day no questions asked
    return privilege that ought to help out, although I don't know if it
    applies to overseas customers.
    
    Don't forget, music stores buy virtually everything before trying it,
    unless they go to trade shows.  And they go out of business if they
    make too many wrong purchases.  The same is true of camera stores,
    electronics, furniture, appliances, etc.
    
    If you buy a guitar, you ought to be able to test it out in 10 days.
    Do you take ten days in a store!?
    
    \Gary

I gotta plug Ibanez too, and add some...

I used to play Charvels.  Your right - access to the higher frets is limited,
because the body/neck joint.  I don't the neck-thru Jacksons and Charvels
are much better, there is still a large chuck of wood there, it's just doesn't
have bolts.

The Ibanez RG5%0 series guitars have super fast necks...And while I love my 
550, I also have a USA Custom Ibanez that has a completely different neck 
joint, and for high-position fingering, beats out the Jackson neck thrus and
the 5%0' series.

Jacksons have killer paint jobs...

    I played an Oddessy and liked it a lot.  Great tone.  Other P-word
    guitar convertee's in here seem to agree.

Check out ESP's both the M1 and M2 customs, and the horizon custom are
neck throughs...I really like my M1 custom.


dbii and they have as killer a paint job as any jackson!

I saw a Jackson one time that had a Scrimshaw type design on it - it
was WICKED !

But it had J word pickemups in ..
jc

Fender Custom shop has just put out a new Neck-thru-body Strat.

    J,
    
    If you want to try Carvin guitars in the UK, try giving ABC Music in
    Kingston a call. Last time I talked to Graham (the manager) he said
    they were going to stock Carvins...
    
    Nick

    
    Well chaps, just to update you, I went and checked out a lot of
    different guitars (mainly Ibanez and Jackson's) and....
    
    
    	I'm gonna stick with the Charvel, all the guitars I tried were nice 
    but they were all cost about 500 quid more than my Charvel....and I
    couldn't feel (or hear) 500 pounds worth of difference.....yeh they
    were nice but not *that* different....
    
    
    So I think I'm gonna upgrade the pickups in my Charvel (1 single coil
    size humbucker with two blades and one regular humbucker) any ideas
    on which make? (Seymour Duncans), I think I'm after a balls to wall
    type Megadeth sound....
    
    J

    
    Jason, get an EMG in the bridge position - thats what I have in my
    Charvel and it sounds great!
    
    -Tony (interestingly enough playing his Charvel today to get used to 
           it again for Wednesday's gig - its my backup axe).

    I use a Charvel with  an EMG 85 in the bridge and 2 EMG SA single coils
    in the neck and middle position. This is an awesome sounding setup !!!

In my Ibanez, I have Dimarzio PAF-Pros' and they RIP!

(Not saying that S-D's suck - just another possible route)

jc

    EMG's roool!

Buck did you get some EMG's???

dbii

    Lace Sensors rool ... get a life ...  8^)
    
    Scary

Yo, Scary!  Get me one, pleeeez?  8*)

RE: Pickups

I like my guitars to have different tones for different purposes, and of course, 
have different colors for the different outfits.

8*)

Jmystr

    Hey J-Dot, zat you?  Long time, no hear

What's with this J-Dot stuff????  
8*)

Jmystr, J-Dot, J. take yer pick.  8*)