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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Looking For A Guitar With A Trem...any Suggestions?
Posted by: kebsis Feb 21 2009, 02:07 AM
So as the thread title says, I'm looking to buy a new guitar, for one reason in particular; none of my current guitars have a tremolo on them. So I'm basically looking for something cheap that I can just practice using the trem on...however I don't want to skip out on quality too much either. So if anyone has any suggestions as to a cheap guitar that sounds decent, I'm all ears! Anything under $500 is what I'm looking for.
I like to play mostly metal and blues btw.
Thanks.
Posted by: Praetorian Feb 21 2009, 02:23 AM
I would suggest then an Ibanez RG series...or a used Fender Mexi-strat with a Humbucker, Single, Single setup since you like blues and metal. I have an Ibanez RG4EXQM1 that I paid $450 for new and has a floating trem. Personally...I hate it, but to each his own. I just never use it and it makes it a PAIN IN THE BUTT to change strings and change tunings. I have been trying ways to make it a locked bridge I hate it so much. I also have an American Standard strat that I did lock the bridge on.
Posted by: ZakkWylde Feb 21 2009, 02:44 AM
What kind of trem do you want?
A classic fender style trem that goes only downwards? Or a Floyd Rose Style that goes up and down?
I don't like the words *cheap* and *tremolo* in one sentence, my first guitar had a cheap floyd and it was terrible, couldn't play it without detuning it...
If you just want it to do some slight vibrato, i guess you can be cheaper off but if you wanna do the fun stuff (divebombs; pitch squeals, etc) then you gonna need a high class trem like an ORIGINAL Floyd Rose, a Ibanez Trem from their Prestige guitar series or liscense Floyd Rose by Kahler, Wilkinson, etc (high quality copies). Cheap trems won't hold their tuning with extreme whammying, get the real deal!!!
If you still want the guitar to be fairly cheap, look into Schecters, they are the guitars with the lowest prices that have actual Original Floyds on them!
Posted by: bladzerok Feb 21 2009, 02:54 AM
hi man!
i recently bought a ibanez s 320
i paid 500 for it(a bit more, but its worth it)
the trem on it it great and its an awesome guitar in my opinion, you should check it out
oh, and it may be off topic, but what do ou guys think of the jackson low profile double locking tremolo on jackson pro series? im not sure if its good...
Posted by: lcsdds Feb 21 2009, 02:57 AM
Ibanez S470 with the ZR trem. Best trem on the market IMO. Easy to set up and VERY stable as far as tuning. It uses ball bearings as opposed to knife edges so they don't wear like knife edges do. Only drawback to the guitar IMO is it only has 22 frets although the new S-prestige models have 24 but they are over $1000.
Posted by: g-forcelover Feb 21 2009, 03:32 AM
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-S320-S-Series-Electric-Guitar?sku=512503 is just like that guitar, both amazing guitars. Don't go for any other trem but this ZR man!
Posted by: kebsis Feb 21 2009, 04:47 AM
A classic fender style trem that goes only downwards? Or a Floyd Rose Style that goes up and down?
I don't like the words *cheap* and *tremolo* in one sentence, my first guitar had a cheap floyd and it was terrible, couldn't play it without detuning it...
If you just want it to do some slight vibrato, i guess you can be cheaper off but if you wanna do the fun stuff (divebombs; pitch squeals, etc) then you gonna need a high class trem like an ORIGINAL Floyd Rose, a Ibanez Trem from their Prestige guitar series or liscense Floyd Rose by Kahler, Wilkinson, etc (high quality copies). Cheap trems won't hold their tuning with extreme whammying, get the real deal!!!
If you still want the guitar to be fairly cheap, look into Schecters, they are the guitars with the lowest prices that have actual Original Floyds on them!
Well, like I said I don't want to sacrifice quality for a lower price; there's no reason to buy something cheap if I'm just gonna have to go and buy another one further down the line. At the same time, I have little experience with trems so I can't really say any specifics of what I want. Although I suppose I'll be wanting one capable of doing everything a trem can, divebombs and whatnot.
My first guitar, as it happens, was a Schecter Diamond series... that was a decent guitar for the price (although the electronics eventually crapped out...) so I'll look into them.
Posted by: MickeM Feb 21 2009, 09:18 AM
A Fender Highway One maybe fits the budget in the states?
I wouldn't recommend a cheap double locking Floy Roser type. Only high quality ones will cut it. Trust me on that.
Posted by: berko Feb 21 2009, 02:35 PM
My first guitar, as it happens, was a Schecter Diamond series... that was a decent guitar for the price (although the electronics eventually crapped out...) so I'll look into them.
Schecter guitars will be your choice if you want a Floyd Rose type of trem that is quality made and that is assembled to a guitar which is also a decent piece of instrument. The "floyd rose style" trems will allow you to change pitch of the string both upwards and downwards in a fairly wide range. It's harder to change strings or to tune them but that's a matter of practice and experience.
But the golden rule is: no cheap trem. It could be quite disappointing to suffer with a guitar that won't allow you to play with the trem without constantly dropping out of tune.
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Feb 21 2009, 04:16 PM
Here are mine two suggestions:
Ibanez S320 S ~500$
* 3-piece maple neck
* Mahogany body w/Open-pore finish
* Ibanez INF pickups
And if you could stretch out a bit this is a much better choice:
Ibanez S520EX ~600$
* Wizard II neck
* 3-piece maple neck
* Mahogany body
* 22 jumbo frets
* Bound rosewood fingerboard
* ZR bridge
* IBZ INF1 humbucking neck pickup
* IBZ INF2 humbucking bridge pickup
* S Special 12th-fret inlay
* Black hardware
Posted by: lcsdds Feb 21 2009, 04:53 PM
Ibanez S320 S ~500$
* 3-piece maple neck
* Mahogany body w/Open-pore finish
* Ibanez INF pickups
And if you could stretch out a bit this is a much better choice:
Ibanez S520EX ~600$
* Wizard II neck
* 3-piece maple neck
* Mahogany body
* 22 jumbo frets
* Bound rosewood fingerboard
* ZR bridge
* IBZ INF1 humbucking neck pickup
* IBZ INF2 humbucking bridge pickup
* S Special 12th-fret inlay
* Black hardware
Awesome guitars!!
Posted by: kebsis Feb 21 2009, 07:04 PM
Ibanez S320 S ~500$
* 3-piece maple neck
* Mahogany body w/Open-pore finish
* Ibanez INF pickups
And if you could stretch out a bit this is a much better choice:
Ibanez S520EX ~600$
* Wizard II neck
* 3-piece maple neck
* Mahogany body
* 22 jumbo frets
* Bound rosewood fingerboard
* ZR bridge
* IBZ INF1 humbucking neck pickup
* IBZ INF2 humbucking bridge pickup
* S Special 12th-fret inlay
* Black hardware
Those look really awesome dude. I was hoping for something in a lighter color because I've already got two black guitars, but of course overall quality is a more important factor. I'm gonna head over to the guitar store in a few minutes, and when I get back I'll be sure to post any axes that I found interesting (just to make sure they aren't garbage!)
Posted by: g-forcelover Feb 21 2009, 08:04 PM
Anything with a ZR trem. is amazing from my experience.
Posted by: lcsdds Feb 21 2009, 08:06 PM
S470's come in quite a few different finishes.
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Feb 21 2009, 10:16 PM
Cool man, I'm glad you like it. You can check for other finishes as well, I'm not sure if they are sold only in black. Let us know what find in the store. Cheers!
Posted by: kebsis Feb 22 2009, 02:11 AM
Guys, what do you think of SAT Pro II bridges? Any experience with them?
edit: I was playing this model at Sam Ash:
http://ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-RG350DX
It sounded good, although it was a tad out of tune (I just tuned it by ear to standard, although I usually tune my guitars down a half step). I love the look and the price is right too. But can anyone comment on the quality of the bridge? Will I be retuning the thing every five minutes?
Thanks.
Posted by: lcsdds Feb 22 2009, 02:34 AM
edit: I was playing this model at Sam Ash:
http://ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-RG350DX
It sounded good, although it was a tad out of tune (I just tuned it by ear to standard, although I usually tune my guitars down a half step). I love the look and the price is right too. But can anyone comment on the quality of the bridge? Will I be retuning the thing every five minutes?
Thanks.
I believe the SAT Pro II bridge is non-locking which equals nightmare if you are doing any Vai type tremolo stuff. The bridge on the guitar with the link you provided I have heard good things about but it is still not as good as the ZR. Get the ZR, you won't regret it!!
Posted by: kebsis Feb 22 2009, 11:27 AM
Hey guys, thanks for all the replies, all this information has made everything alot easier here! However I've decided against getting another guitar at the moment; I probably still will in the next few months or so, but in the meantime I've decided to fix up an older guitar I currently have. This thread is definetley going in my favorites folder though, so I can refer to it when I do get around to buying. That said, since I don't like starting alot of threads, I'd like to ask a couple of questions here about fixing up the other guitar...
The guitar in question is a Schecter Omen 6, Diamond Series, pictured here (same color as shown):
http://www.pulseonline.com/Schecter/bigOMEN6WSN.jpg
It was my first guitar which I bought, I'd say two or three years ago. It still looks like new, unfortunately the hardware has completely crapped out on it. So I'm replacing the pots and pickups, but that's not a problem. At the same time, I'm going to replace the hardware (knobs, bridge, pickup covers and tuning machines) with chrome colored hardware to make it a little flashier.
I want to replace the tuning machines with locking tuners but I don't know if they will fit into the holes left by the existing ones. Does anyone know if that could be a problem?
Thanks again everyone for your help so far!
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Feb 22 2009, 05:06 PM
What new tuners you wanna put on it?
Posted by: sidewas lightning Feb 22 2009, 05:58 PM
Ibanez makes a lot of models that fit your description. They have an almost limitless variety of models.
Posted by: kebsis Feb 22 2009, 10:01 PM
These (the chrome colored ones)
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sperzel-33-TrimLok-Tuning-Machines?sku=361012
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