So those who follow my progress probably know that I am playing a left handed seven string Schecter! I really love this guitar, but I feel that it kind of stalls my progress because of several issues. As far as practice is concerned, I don't have the freedom I need with the GMC lessons because I always focus on not hitting the 7th string, the neck is too thick making bending and faster playing more difficult and I am feeling that I am not getting the full benefit! So I've been thinking of buying a new 6 string in the following 3-6 months or so! I can buy from this site here in Greece, which has free shipping and guarantee! https://www.thomann.de/gr/lefthanded_guitar...price-last=1300

I put a filter about the price range (600-1300 euros) and only the best reviews. Unfortunately I cannot try any of the above guitars or any left handed because the nearest guitar shops do not have any left handed guitars in stock. Also some additional points:
1) I would like to avoid the tremolo
2) Want active pickups
3) Not Schecter again
4) Leaning towards the Ibanez RG model but any suggestions would help!
What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are to try to get something as different from what you already have as possible (as long as it is still suitable for your musical style). I think the general specs for your Schecter are below and I think you're primarily into hard rock/metal.

Strings: 7 -> 6
Pickups: Active -> Passive
Scale length: 25.5" -> 24.75"
Neck: Thin C 20-22mm -> Thin U 17-19
Nut width: 42mm -> 43mm
Bridge: Floyd -> Fixed

These are just some examples and I'm not recommending them all, but just to give you an idea of things you might try. Your Hellraiser is built to shred, so I wouldn't think it's actually holding you back. That said, maybe the 7 string or the Floyd isn't for you. If you're planning to keep the Schecter I would try getting a guitar that was kinda different just to expand your familiarity with different features. Otherwise you'll just have two of the same thing and one will sit unused, then you might as well sell the Schecter.

I bought and sold a bunch of cheaper guitars and tried a lot of things. Now I know what suits me best and I am waiting for just the right guitar to come along before I get a high end one.

Edit: Just looked through the whole list of left handed guitars, there's a lot less to choose from. If I went "different" I might think about something like a PRS SE, but it costs almost the same as this badass RG (a model you mentioned). The RG is different in a few ways too, fixed bridge, 6 string, neck shape, passive pickups. I'd be jealous for sure.

This post has been edited by yoncopin: Jul 5 2018, 02:20 PM

Though you may be a fan of active pickups, I'd honestly suggest that you avoid them. I was a fan for many years until I tried a good pair of passive pickups.

Schecter guitars are notorius for thick necks. The Keith Merrow line from Schecter does have a nice thin neck and also comes with fishman passive pickups. The KM6 is a very fine guitar all around and doesn't have a trem to worry about.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KM6...jBoCVCMQAvD_BwE

For about a thousand you can get a multi scale/fanned fret (less tension on higher strings) ibanez with active fishman fluence pickups in it.https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RGD...blue-burst-flat

For a more standard guitar, here is a Jackson with a fixed bridge and EMG pickups It's about half the price of the others.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/jac...L4MF-adType^PLA

ibanez make a baritone 28 inch scale iron lable with EMG pickups in it, but it's a baritone, which is honestly just not an expressive instrument imho. It's for DJENT on the low string and down tuning. Which is fine. Just not what it seems your looking for.

The one guitar that I can think of that meets all of your needs is an RG that has not been made since 2009. EMG, fixed bridge, 6 string. You can find them used though.

RGT6EXFX
http://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/RGT6EXFX
Hope this helps
Todd


This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 5 2018, 02:25 PM

avoid esp and gibson single cuts , IMO, there is something about that style that is not tuning stable. I have literally walked thru the store and pulled each one off the shelf , and after tuning and proper string stretching , with a vigorous vibrato , I was able to pull it out of tune with vigorous vibrato.

Have you considered installing Fishman Fluence pick ups, in a guitar you know plays well

Hi mate,

It's a pity that you cannot try your guitar before buying it but I understand the situation. It would be important to know if you can send your guitar back if you are not happy with it after trying it. Is it possible?

About Active Pick ups, this is just a subjetive opinion but I suggest to explore a bit more about this because I believe that you can get a much more versatile guitar if you choose one with a good pair of passive pick ups. You can get agressive metal tones but adding more distortion, and compression in your amp/pedals, but you also have much more dynamics if you go for passive ones. I can say that even if you end up using active pick ups, it's a wise desicion to use passive while you are developing your playing and technique.

There are lots of guitar options but from the ones that you are asking I would go for Ibanez. I've tried lots of Ibanez and I can say that their mid range models are very good for the price. These guitars can sound metal, but they are very versatile.

I've checked the list that you've shared and this model would be my choice: https://www.thomann.de/gr/ibanez_rg652ahmfl...prestige_lh.htm

I'm one of the people which follow your progress and judging after the lessons that you choose to play, my opinion is that active pickups would not be such a good choice.
The idea is that passive pickups has their own "personality". Are much more responsive to your touch and your emotions. Exactly as Gabriel mentioned, you will have much more dynamics and this will bring out only good things into your playing
Of course you should be aware that the impact at first touch between active and passive pickups can be significant but it's the same kind of thing that happens with each new thing that we make. We need some time to get used to it.

Because you can't test the guitar before buying, it's better to not hurry up. I know it's hard to have patience when you wish to buy a new guitar but if you can do this you will not regret. As an example I waited several months and Darek searched for me many guitars from different brands and made for me a bunch of demo videos until I found the perfect guitar which resonated with me. The main thing that I decided was to buy a guitar which is totally different than my Jackson (without Floyd Rose, 22 frets instead 24, different kind of pickups, etc) but as versatile as my Jackson.

Search options, watch demo sounds, ask friends and people around you maybe someone can have a guitar that you like and you can try this. Be careful that on YT are many crap demo videos and what you hear is not always 100% right. Sometimes lots of gears have very, veeeery bad reviews just because unfortunately are in the bad hands.

This is a tricky one, but personally I would join in with the choir:

* I do not recommend active pickups, unless it's one of many guitars you have in your studio. They are a one trick pony

* I would go for a guitar that is vastly different from what you have, maybe a strat with modern output pickups?

* I have been drooling at that Charvel pro mod, which is very flexible with its pickup splitting option (I am not 100% sure the exact model has it though) that do give you a quacky, straty, sound a swell

Hey George. I can understand what your problem is. In fact the 7th string and extended neck width is an additional diofficulty but no matter what you decided to play most, it's always good to have a descent 6-string additionally. The more guitars I had in my hands the more I avoid advicing antyhing. It depends on a particular piece. Lately I've been testing few ES335... brand new. The difference was so incredibly huge, that for one I would not even give 500$ while it probably around 5000$ new (according to straight price calculation in Poland). Only thing I can advice is to not get active pickups if you already have them in one guitar. It's not that they're bad or anything but they seem to be quite limited...I mean they sound awesome but for a very narrow music range. Additional guitar with passive pickups would be great to compare if you would have any doubts if something doesn't sound the way you want becasue of the pickups or because of your hands. Try some second hand...you will not loose on th e value while you can resell and experiment until you find what fits you best. I'm avoiding to make any hard rules but while many guitar manufacturers are non-linear quality-wise, than for example Ibanez from that price range will at last not be a risk of total disaster. 99% of these guitars are made proper. Still better and worse pieces but not crossing the quality edge below some level. It's not that it's one of best money can by but one of less risky if you have to order remotely.

I have been really tempted by these too, have you seen the new DK24 2PT? It's another in the Suhr/Ibanez AZ family, really cool looking.

This is a LOT of info to process. Any thoughts so far?
Todd

So many replies!!!! I am feeling happy just by seeing your support guys!!!! Thank you so much! Unfortunately I am short on time right now, but I'll reply to each one individually later...
But since you are all suggesting that I should use passive pickups here are my options : https://www.thomann.de/gr/humbucker_pickups.html
Which one would you suggest?

That depends, what is your budget for pickups? If the sky is the limit, I'd say get a pair of BARE KNUCKLE JUGGERNAUT pickukps. They have the best of both worlds.

https://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/pickup...cker/juggernaut

You can get the plain or covered like this.




Also, the FISHMAN Classic Passive PIckups are amazing.Get ready to be bombarded with wads of various pickups. You can try to listen to some on youtube. In the end you will have to trust your gut
Todd


This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 7 2018, 07:33 PM

just remember changing from passive to active or vice versa requires different tone and volumes as well , it might make things easier to keep your guitars the way they are now

Very well said indeed. "routing" to stuff EMG shaped pups in to a passive pup body means getting a luthier to carve more wood out. this costs money and takes some time. And yes, its' remotely possible that it may in some what damage the guitar though this is very rare. However, his point is well taken. if you want a passive pup set, just buy a guitar that comes with passive pups already in it. it's just a simple way to avoid extra expense and drama.

In some cases, KRIS DAHL comes to mind, guitar can be routed for pups and the result can be amazing. But again, this costs money, takes time, and risks the integrity of the instrument if only slightly. If you have five guitars, no problem. if this is your main guitar, maybe just skip it and buy an axe with passive pups installed. You can find very nice guitars with very nice passive pups and a hard tail ready to ship. The hard tail option is really cutting down your choices in Ibanez guitars. Call me a traditionalist, but personally I think an Ibby should have a locking trem or just call itself a strat, but that's just me They are a pain to get used to but guitar is a pain to play at first so nothing new there. Also the trem opens up a whole new world of phrasing that you simply can not do without a trem. But, to each his own, and it hard tail is what you want then that is what you should get! Here is a nice ibby with a hard tail, and it's about $900 and has passive dimarzio edge pups and a hard tail. Comes in black or white. has a Nitro Wizard Neck which is very stable, but nowhere close to as thin as the original wizard profile or even the new "Hyper/Etc." profile now, the one that is 17 mm at the nut as God intended.

It gets a bit more tricky as it needs to be a lefty. This leaves you with one really fine choice that pops to mind. I give you, the

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RG6...ula-green-burst


It's a "Prestige" so it will do a pretty good job of keeping it's value. It's got the perfect neck profile imho, it's got a decent pair of dimarzio passives ( you an always swap them later if you like) it's left handed and has a locking trem. It's a high end guitar that almost plays itself
Todd





This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 8 2018, 03:13 AM

It sounds like you're happy with your guitar, except you're having problems caused by the seventh string. Since you love the Schecter, then why not get a 6 string hardtail version of it? The Schecter Hellraiser is a great guitar for the money. If you play a heavy style of music, then active EMG 81/89 pickups can be a good choice. The compressed high output they offer can be hard to duplicate with passive pickups. I'm a big fan of that body shape, and the tonal flexibility with the coil taps on the Hellraiser is a nice feature. It would be hard to find something that equals it for the same price.

+ 1 , does yours have coil splitting , older models don't

FYI , i am left handed as well , and know your plight in having to order a guitar and hope it works. I feel your pain

I think you missed the bit when he mentiond that the neck on his schecter ( indeed, every axe in that particular series) it just a pinch more BASEBALL BAT than he would like and he feels that it's getting in his way. Thus why I suggested the Ibby


Todd

I was surprised by that too since my Schecter Blackjack with EMG pickups doesn't have coil splitting, but yes, the Hellraiser has the EMG81TW pickup, which has coil splitting.

Thanks Yoncopin!! Definately need something different from what I already have that is why I am leaning towards the RG like you suggested!!!



Sarge you helped me a lot! Thomann is very comfortable because it is a European shop and it ships free to Greece above a price range! Plus there are no extra fees! So second vote for the RG!!!! Great!



Thank you friend! I am thinking of putting the Fishman pickups like you recommend, it is just the price...I'll better wait a little bit and see how the new guitar will play out and then after a few months install them!



That Ibanez seems so cool everyone likes her! Like a Latina dancer Bad joke!!!
Thanks Gab! About the pickups, I'll go for passive!




Yes you are right! I am not in a hurry so I'll do more research but will definately go for something different. Also congratulations on your Metalcore chops take!!! It was killer! Probably going to comment it soon on youtube!




Thanks Kris! The Charvels look good! The problem is that they all have floyd rose from that store, which I don't want right now, so I don't know....My friends who have guitars with floyd rose complain about detuning all the time...
Definately passive pickups!



Thanks for the support Darius! We have discussed it via PM, so you know I agree! It is better to choose with low risk!



Very nice thoughts Rammikin! Thanks for the support! It is just that I already have a Schecter and that is why I need another type of guitar with versatility! I am very happy with my Hellraiser though!!! It is my first and only guitar!

If you do get that Ibanez I'm thinking you will like it. Also, keep an eye out for the used market. Now that the GENESIS Ibby is out, it's made the older made in japan RG line (which was later renamed "Prestige") very much less expensive.