Conference napalm::guitar

    I would think a "future" axe would incorporate an onboard processor
    et al which would allow you to dial in or program the tone your after;
    something on the idea of the Roland VG8. Perhaps with something along
    those lines, wood could be chosen for looks as opposed to strict tone.
    Also, the number and type of pickups may be rendered moot.
    
    Rich

    Who wants an "all-rounder"?  You need different guitars for different
    sounds...
    
    You're obviously talking about an electric, so I'll be contrary...  ;^)
    
    Jim's future guitar:
    
    	Materials:	Indian Rosewood sides and back (solid)
    			Sitka spruce top (solid)
    			Ebony fretboard and bridge
    
    	General design:	OM sized, but a bit more rounded, and slightly deeper,
    			with cutaway.  Neck: 1 13/16"  width at nut.
    
    	Electronics:	Under saddle transducer and internal condenser mike
    			Separate outputs for both
    	
    
    If I were playing in a GB band covering a variety of music, I'd go 
    with an electric with a slightly downsized strat-styled 
    body, set in neck (glued, not screwed), humbucker, single coil, 
    humbucker pickups (coil taps on the humbuckers). 
    
    Jim

Hmmm,, As long as I've played, and as many guitars that
I've used, I honestly don't think I could find a
single axe that would take care of all the sounds/styles
that I'd need, (well I should say, precieve I need)

I think the Strat pu. config comes about as close as I
can think of for versatile,,,  so you're probably on the 
right track by thinking humbuckers with coil/phase 
switches. I'd probably go with Seymore Duncans...

Tuning heads, I like the Spertzels, and think they're
about as close to the best as you can get, they are
pretty expensive though, but damn, I think they're
great machine heads..  Quick to replace a string,
minimal wrapping for stretching, good solid locking
thumbwhell.... about 60 bucks a set,,, chrome, gold, 
black sating and gloss available...

Neck, considering your mission, I'd guess you'd probably be 
buying  one so my guess is it would be bolt on, and I would
prefer rosewood or ebony..

Body style, double cutaway strat-knock, prs knock-off...  
Finish, I'd probably go with a natural gloss finish (don't 
like  satin, not crazy about solid colors either, all of my 
guitars are stained or sunburst of some sort..)

Bridge,, well, to go along with the spertzels, probably a
Wilkonson or some thing close to it..

Now,, if you could get really creative, wouldn't a chromatic
tuner be the bawls ?? I had one on my Midi guitar, and
it was a real time/hassle saver..  Also be great if a guitar
had a  built-in fx processors as perviously mentioned..
I think a nice 200->300 ms., slightly programmable dealy 
would be pissa, maybe something nice too...

/pelksta...

    To complete the all-aroundness, I'd include a piezo bridge, ala Fishman
    Powerbridge with a blend control and separate output jack.  It's not
    a substitute for a real acoustic, but for stage use, through an
    acoustic amp, with the right processing, it can pass.  And it can
    really fatten up the sound when used in a dual amp configuration - the
    acoustic-y tone beneath the main guitar amp in the mix.
    
    	Rick

    Awhile back I bought this fancy coffee-table magazine (and paid big $$$
    for it too) because it had an article on a future axe designed by a
    consulting firm in Great Britain.  The neatest thing about it was it's
    ergonomic neck design; instead of a flat plane, the neck gradually
    rotated away from you as you moved towards the nut.  This was supposed
    to follow a more natural contour for your hand/wrist as it grabbed the
    neck at different positions.  Looked interesting, and players who
    tried it said it worked quite well.  I'd love to try one out.
    
    Tuning systems are still in the dark ages.  I'd want an auto-load and
    tune mechanism, so that installing a string would be like putting film
    in your camera.  The tuning machine would automatically grab the free
    end, no need to wind or cut.  An onboard tuner and servo motors would
    bring the string to proper pitch.  Somewhere on the guitar would be a
    convenienently located "retune" button; just hit it whenever you thing
    something may have slipped, or after every song just to be safe.  This
    system could also easily support multiple alternate tunings and allow
    you to change them on-the-fly.  Systems like this already exist, but
    they're still expensive and clunky.
    
    I'd like to see some sort of adjustable "feel" mechanism that would
    allow you to fine-tune things like apparent string tension and touch
    response.  Some guitars feel right to me, others don't.  Someone else
    will make totally different choices.  We should be able to control
    these parameters and set them to our own liking.
    
    Along the same lines, I'd like to custom select neck width, profile,
    etc.  Choosing a neck should be like getting fit for ski boots.
    
    Tremelos would be programmable for various combinations of strings and
    shift rates.  Tune already markets a bass trem like this, and the
    Hip-Shot system is along similar lines.  I like the Parsons-White
    B-bender concept, where applying downward pressure to the neck
    activates the pitch change; this feels more natural than a whammy.
    But I'd still probably want one of those too.
    
    I like the Roland sound modeling idea, where the virtual pickup can
    be placed anywhere, even in the neck.  You should be able to do
    multi-pickup configurations as well, with phasing effects between the
    pickups.  Even better might be some sort of physical pickup that
    actually did this; something like a magnetic strip that ran the entire
    length of the scale, with controls for where along the scale to sense,
    aperture size, etc.
    
    And of course, I'd want it in Seafoam Green.
    
    /rick
    

    <And of course, I'd want it in Seafoam Green.

ahhh,, figures you would, this would cause major refits, and
manufacturing issues...

8^)

Your tuning idea sounds great Rick...

    
    I just have one requirement...
    
    It has to be able to play what I'm thinking!!
    
    ;-)
    

  <  It has to be able to play what I'm thinking!!

so you don't have to practice right steve!

This is slacker material!!  

8^)

    -1
    
    No... it's just as arthritis sets in and gradually prevents the ol'
    fingers from doing what I want them to do, I need a guitar that will
    automatically correct and play the notes I really intended!  ;-)
    
    ... but I did get a chuckle from the slacker reference... made me
    think of that bald guy in Back to the Future when he was telling
    Marty that no McFly had ever amounted to anything in the history
    of Mill Valley or whereever it was....
    
    /Steve

Well I was only kiddin...

and I thought those were color notes,,,

    Gee,  I always kind of thought a good strat would fit the bill...
    Now let's see...I also need an archtop,  a Martin 000-28,  a Gibson or
    PRS solid...and, oh yeah, a Dobro,  a couple duplicates for open tuning 
    (hey, somebody stop this guy...:-|
    
    Barry