Hey guys !!! I posted a thread about acoustic guitars. Hope you check that out as well This one too will be a pretty long one, me rambling Sorry

So, finally, I am going to buy the guitar of my dreams - a Jackson King V. This will be my second guitar ever. At least electric if you don't count the crappy acoustic I have. Even though it's not the exact same thing I want it to be, it's pretty darn close. It has an Alder body, Maple neck, ebony fingerboard (the wood combination I actually wanted), and neck through construction. I felt the neck on a few Jacksons and they feel really amazing ! Slim, easy to shred on and do chords that want you to stretch. It has a Floyd Rose Bridge (Floyd Rose 1000 series tremolo) They say it's the same as the Original Floyd Rose, but, it's made in Korea, not Germany. Compromisable ? Because I've heard a lot of bad stuff about Licensed Floyd's. Next, it has EMG picksups, 81 in the bridge. Either the 85 or 89. Not sure because I've seen mixed stuff. Some sites mention it's an 85, other's and more practical reviews say it's an 89. I would personally prefer the 89 because it can go single coil mode. But, I would have much more prefered if it had Duncan JB-4 and Jazz in it. The JB-4 has more vocal quality mid range in my opinion. It has the ''aww'' and that nasaly thing It's hard to describe in words. So, I was thinking, if possible, would I be able to switch the pickups out in the future for duncans, or possibly, the active Dave Mustaine Livewires, which are basically active JB-4 and Jazz. Is it possible ? I've seen most people shift from Passive to Active EMGs. I wanna do the opposite Oh, and, there's nothing fancy about those tuners I guess High end ones would have been nice, locking with a high gear ratio I know, I'm greedy

The only things I don't like about the guitar are - Pickups (I would prefer Duncan JB-4/Jazz combo, or the Dave Mustaine Livewires), Inlays (They're black. White is the way!), tuners (why not give us schaller or grover or something ? Maybe the Planet Waves Auto trim ones which Chris Broderick uses on his guitars ?) Oh, and also, just two knobs I wanted three So, I could mod things later down the line if needed. But, all these are minor things, right ? Which may even be replaceable in the future, if I wish so. I guess

Now, since I out of inexperience and just listening to things, prefer passive pickups a bit more, especially the JB because of that nasally ''aww'', I thought, why not get a second guitar to contrast this one, something very different. So, I thought of getting a Les Paul, or rather, a single cut. Completely different Mahogony body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, tone-pros bridge (let's me change tunings very easily, something I do a lot, not possible with a Floyd).

After a bit of searching, I found my ''almost'' perfect Les Paul - The Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul Custom PLUS It's got the true Les Paul-ness, if you will. Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, set neck, 24,75'' inches scale length, and had 24 frets. Exactly what I wanted. And, it even had nice 14:1 or 16:1 (don't remember which ones) Grover tuners Sweet, right ? Once again, we have a deal killer against perfection - THE PICKUPS !! Gibson USA humbuckers. Though EMG's are available on another model, I am not looking at that one because if I buy the Jackson (which I 100% will), I won't know how passives feel.
But, I also liked the PRS Mikael Akerfaldt model. Basically, for my second guitar, any single cut that's shorter scale lengthed and has 24 frets without EMGs will do the job. Is it a good idea to have such variety, or just stick to something that I find nice in the first go ? considering I just own a crappy 80 dollar guitar with a fat neck and don't have any experience with tone. What do you think ? Any comments

Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want and what is available It really does come down to you as a player at some point. Per usual, I'd say try as hard as you can to get your hands on any guitar you are thinking about buying, especially in this case as the guitars you are talking about are NOT cheap.

Are you going to be able to get to a music store and play these or are you just going to have to take some advice and hope for the best?

I sadly won't get to play them Order them and hope for the best.

No probs for the prophecy les paul..they are in much better shape then the low er priced epi standards...you'll love it!

Todd is 100% right. When buying a new guitar you really do need to be able to try them. You may not like a V and how it sits when you play it. From how it sits in to your lap and against your leg to how your arm rests on the body for picking. If you like that aspect and can move on a lot will go into well what does your ears say? To me that part doesn't matter, all hardware can be changed to get the sound you want.

The stock pickups in my RG920, are so bad to my ears that I would rather set the guitar and look at it instead of playing it. I rarely play it because the pickups are kind dull and muddy. I would toss new pickups in it, but the neck specs are said to be thinner than my RG470s but my hands say that is a lie. So I may end up trading it in towards new gear when the day is right. This is why you need to be sure you like the feel of the guitar, because no matter how much you play it. It doesn't mean you will ever want to just lean over, grab the guitar, and just jam away.

Well, I haven't tried exactly that guitar, but I've tried other V's. And I love that feel, how my hands sit on it, I don't need to bend with my back, as they are higher Much more comfy. And, I even prefer it more standing. I like to play standing rather than sitting But, many practice sessions are sitting. I tried a lower end V and a Fernandes V and they both sat really nice on me. Loved that feel :

As regards neck, I tried lower model Jackson necks, and they felt amazing. Really sweet to do barre chords, and thin and easy to play. I was able to play things I normally can't play on my current guitar (For example, Megadeth's In My Darkest Hour clean riff).

Hey Yash, we have already discussed this one a lot, so summing things up - you seem to know what you want, but you also seem to need a confirmation from us.

Well, I for one have owned a copy of a Randy Rhoads A LONG time ago - it was my first axe, but back then, I had no clue, what was what. Literally - I tried to tune it up normally and I tensed up a string so much that I broke it, on the other side of the nut of course, as it was locked with the floyd saddle

The main idea here is - definitely test it if you can You will know what and why you are buying.

How to avoid that ? I hate when strings break everyone does

EGAD!!! If at all possible, save some money and plan a trip. Take a trip to wherever you can find a good music store with some good guitars. Rent a hotel. Spend the weekend. It will be well worth it instead of spending thousands on a guitar that you end up not liking.







Just a bit if IBBY TRIVIA your RG270 neck is 1MM THINNER than your RG920 The RG270 has an original wizard and the 920 is a Wizard Premium. 270 is 17mm at the nut (AMAZING NECK!!!!) Premium is 18 mm

Todd is right If this guitar is so important to you, you should organize the buying in such a way that you won't spend a fortune on something you will end up disliking.

Experience speaking here, of course not in a boasting way - I for one never ever bought an axe before trying it, even though I was tempted at some points, because hey - guy X and y and z said it is SUPER! No way man, what if i won't like it? I'll end up trying to get rid of it at a lower price than I got it for. Possible outcome? A bit of frustration and wasted time and money I am sure you don't want that, right?

What's the closest big music store to Tver?

I'm surprized yash found playing a V comfortable...most players don't at first..even the better.

Try before you buy is indeed the golden rule...but also if you're not used to the Epiphone LP style guitar you could feel very uncomfortable
at first..at least i did.

But you can still become one with the instrument...just not in the store ofcours.

But you can check out the sound,the neck and inspect the parts and look for flaws on the instrument ...and ask for a nice setup

I ordered that V Have to wait till late October though Oh, and, I got it a good deal on it. With the rate and stuff I payed, it was like, just $1100. Got a good deal Considering the guitar itself is a thousand bucks in the US and the shipping and all to Russia I guess I got a good deal, And there's a money back guarantee too And, I really love the V shape. I find it pretty comfortable. While sitting. My left hand is in a great position. And the right hand feels relaxed too The only thing I don't like about the guitar is - black inlays I would dig white ones. Oh well, if I ever get bored or feel so, I'll buy some stickers



Sadly, they won't give me a setup because that shop apparently has no ''masters'' as they call them in Russia Guitar masters. I live in what I think a small town and there are few of these guitar masters. They said they'll give me the number and I'll have to get in touch with him to get it set up. Plus, the worst thing was - I couldn't translate setup into Russian. Setup, Intonation, Action... Nothing worked

I'd go for the following thing: find some Russian guitar playing forums and ask them nicely if they can help you with the translation I am sure there are people there talking Russian - there's also the option of contacting one of the Russian GMC students - there's Smolentsev - I know he lives in Russia and there's pavelducati as well - he speaks Russian for certain and he is active! I think writing him a PM would help out

I'll do it tomorrow Right now, sleep

Alrightie Yash - keep us updated and do write pavelducati - he is a very nice gentleman who will surely help out

Sure. I am on it right now

Perfect The setup is very important. I mean, even if you get a very good guitar, it still needs to be adjusted to YOU Don't forget, you pick it up from the shop where the adjustments are standard. That doesn't make the guitar 100% perfectly suited for your precise needs. That's why I strongly urge you guys to take it to a luthier with whom you can have a talk about who you are, what you want and how you want your axe to feel. It's like a sword - a swordsmith knows how a blade should sit in the hands of a master, how the balance should feel, how the hilt should balance the blade - it's the same with guitars Let's hope you will find such a talented man to help you.

Congrats on your new guitar!! I hope it's to your liking. Sorry that you couldn't play it in advance but such is life eh?

Shoot some pix when it shows up I guess it's pretty tough to find a local music store in Russia?

Umm.. I don't know how I want my axe to feel ? Well, just easy to play, that I don't have to fight with it. That's all. And, great analogy with the sword. The guitar are our tools of trade, just like a surgeon has his scalpels and clamps and stuff I spent a thousand dollars getting this baby. I hope it will make me earn a millions and more importantly, send a smile to some other guy's face who's on the other side of the world, but, the power of music and feelings unite us all



Thank you Todd I hope too. I really wanna experiment with the Floyd, and that thin neck, just feels so much better than my current axe, and, any other axe I tried And, of course I'll shoot pix. Many in fact And post 'em here and on Facebook For all of you to see. And, finding a local music store. I don't know. It's easier to find one here than in Delhi I think it'll be easier in Moscow, but I live in a small town, and there are like, 4 music stores in here.

Well, Yash, first get your hands on it and then you will see Most likely it'll feel great, as it's a mid-upper level guitar as far as the price shows, so if you wish to change some things here and there, a luthier can hep out, as I told you in the post before.