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Posted by: superize Dec 8 2009, 02:23 PM

I have decided to buy a new guitar soon and i have looked at som options.

Schecter Hellraiser
Epiphone Les Paul standard or custom(Could someone tell me whats the difference between theese two)

I have heard that schecters are great for metal playing and that they will suit my style well bu i have always wanted a les paul since they are more versistible......

I am not sure i will be able to play them before i buy that depends if they have them in my local guitar shops

My budget is about 1000 dollars.

Any other suggestions are welcome aswell

Posted by: ZakkWylde Dec 8 2009, 02:41 PM

On the Real gibson the Standard and Customs are extremely diffrent regarding wood quality and build quality (Customs are handmade)

On the Epiphone Les Paul it comes down to the details as the woods and crafting are the same. They only differ in their looks so it's up to you if you want a Standard with a bust top or a Custom with double binding, headstock inlay and so on...
I would swap the pickups on the Epiphone to get a better sound (especially for metal). Great guitars for the price!!

Other good (I assume Metal guitars) would be an ESP LTD EX 401 or an Epiphone Les Paul from the Prophecy series (Metal Epiphones with EMG and thinner necks!!)

http://www.thomann.de/se/espltd_ex400bk.htm

http://www.thomann.de/se/epiphone_les_paul_custom_ex_me.htm

Posted by: Fran Dec 8 2009, 06:40 PM

With that budget you are close to a Gibson LP Studio which is much better than the epiphones. I'd save a bit more and go for the real thing.

Posted by: Staffy Dec 8 2009, 06:42 PM

Couldn't said it better myself! +1

//Staffay

Posted by: ZakkWylde Dec 8 2009, 07:14 PM

Well a Gibson Les Paul studio is more like 1500$ but you guys are right: They are an incredible lot better than the Epiphones!!

Soundwise, the LP Studio kills every competitor in this price segment, just listen to Gabriel Leopardis Studio and what awesome lessons he has done with it and how versatile it is!!!

Posted by: mhskeide Dec 8 2009, 07:15 PM

Or, you could go nuts at ebay with a 1000$ for hand

If you don`t mind buying second hand, you might end up scoring a way better guitar than you`d imagine for your bucks

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Dec 8 2009, 09:32 PM

10000% agree on this one.

Posted by: ruben_mcn Dec 8 2009, 10:33 PM

Go for the les paul studio =)

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Dec 11 2009, 01:35 AM

Les paul's are awesome, go for that one

Posted by: Frankster Dec 11 2009, 04:35 PM

Hi!

I bought this Gibson Les Paul Studio two years ago
http://www.musik-service.de/gibson-les-paul-studio-worn-brown-prx395757762de.aspx

It sounds and looks really great!

Posted by: superize Dec 11 2009, 04:54 PM

I have started to think in other terms now....

I got a Jackson js30 warrior that i really like so i am considering getting the Jackson wrxt warrior....

http://www.musikshopen.com/jackson-wrxt-warrior-p-872.html?cPath=22_31_194

Posted by: ZakkWylde Dec 12 2009, 02:52 PM

The WRXT is not really a great improvement on your current gear, it not as good as a hellraiser and not remotely as good as a used Gibson LP Studio (cheap tremolo, chepa pickups, cheap hardware...)

If it has to be a Jackson Warrior, atleast go for the WRMG - it has EMG pickups, better tone wood and hardware!

Posted by: sted Dec 12 2009, 10:20 PM

As your into your metal mate why dont you consider a seven or even an eight string? A guy had an agile eight string weapon at a seminar i went to today, whilst not my taste he was getting some seriously metal tonage out of that thing!

Just a thought!

Posted by: Santiago Diaz Garces Dec 13 2009, 04:32 AM

There are tons of great guitar, but you have to decide what you want to play. If you want to go metal, you should definitly go for the Schecter Hellraiser. But if you want to go on other styles, you should go for the second hand Gibson LP Studio

Posted by: blindwillie Dec 14 2009, 08:45 AM

Go for the Hellraiser. Better than an Epiphone, more bang for the buck than an Gibson. Better than a Gibson imo. Why would a Les Paul be more versatile?

Posted by: Marc_Maiden Dec 14 2009, 08:53 AM

Hellraisers are certainly not more bang for the buck than gibson. hellraisers from from $400-600 New. If you decide to upgrade the pick ups, that is another $100-200. you will need to take your hellraiser to a plek to get the frets as nice as the ones on a gibson...add another $300..do not get me started on korean quality VS MIJ or MIA...the list goes on and on.


regular gibsons are great deals...you can always choose to pay more for bells and whistles though.


as for versatility..gibsons sound great for everything. I never cared much for them, but i certainly respect them. I know many Death metal players who play on the same gibson as many blues and jazz players.


and in my honest opinion, there is no such thing as a guitar better for this genre or that genre. anyone can play anything on any guitar. Strats can do metal...even telecasters can do metal...ive seen ibanez guitars do jazz..it is all about the player, not the guitar.


second hand gibson is the way to go in this case. throw down the money...get a guitar that will last you for years, and go home happy

Posted by: sted Dec 14 2009, 09:02 PM

Lets just make this clear mate, if you like the Les Paul sound (Who doesnt) then you have to buy a Les Paul, I know it sounds obvious but trust me, I have owned two and NOTHING ELSE will give you the same sound.
Thats not to say a PRS SC245, my own Lag, Schecter etc dont sound great, they do, but they arent les pauls! And therein lies the problem, because the method of construction is what gives them that sound, but is also what put me off keeping mine, I love the tone but I just couldnt click with mine so it had to go.
My own personal opinion is that there would be better axes for your style of metal but the LP will be right up there with any guitar on thumping rock tones and some drop tune shizzle, either way mate you end up with a fantastic, if a little unwieldy, guitar!

Posted by: ZakkWylde Dec 14 2009, 09:32 PM

Since you obviously don't know what to get I would suggest to get to a BIG music store and try stuff out.

I don't know where you live and if there are such stores arround but I would rather make a 1 day roadtrip with a couple of hundred miles to a guitar store to find my dream guitar then buying something from afar that some dudes on the internet said it was best for me^^

Seriously though, try to travel to a store by any means neccessary! Do what Hammerfall tell you to do!!

Posted by: superize Dec 14 2009, 09:37 PM

I will go to my nearsest music stores on saturday and there i will try out as many different guitars as i can but it is not that big music store so they might not have all the guitars i want to try out

Posted by: Frederik Dec 14 2009, 10:30 PM

Try a LP Tokai Japan, that should fit ur price range, and that a nice instrument!

Posted by: Marc_Maiden Dec 14 2009, 10:40 PM

tokai LP, Orville LP, late 80's Epiphone LP are all really nice MIJ les paul clones


they are not by anymeans a real les paul only because they are MIJ.


if you ever have a chance, compare the difference of MIJ and MIA...the differences are little but they are there. Japanese products tend to have thinner necks, brighter sounding pick ups...you get the idea.


MIJ vs MIA when it comes to high end guitars usually comes down to preference

Posted by: blindwillie Dec 15 2009, 08:25 AM

I don't know about pricing in other countries, but a Gibson LP starts at 2,5 the price of a Hellraiser here. I'd say that's more bang for the buck in the Hellraiser. The Gibson is so overpriced it's ridiculous.

Why on earth should you want to "upgrade" the pickups on the Hellraiser other than to get a different sound? But if you want a different sound don't buy the Hellraiser in the first place, get a Black Jack or a Classic C1 or something.

Fix the frets? I don't know. The thing I dislike most about the Gibson is the shape of the body and the frets.

Posted by: superize Dec 15 2009, 11:02 AM

For my budget i belive a schecter would be the best choise... i cant afford a Gibson

Posted by: edguy Dec 15 2009, 11:29 AM

Hey superize,

Schecters are great. I got one too and all i can say it is an awesome guitar. Here you can see the specs and two pics:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=32414

cheers and hope you join the Schecter Clan

Posted by: superize Dec 15 2009, 12:18 PM

I hope that they have some schecters in the guitar stores i am going to on saturday so i can try them out......

But it definently leans to a Schecter guitar

Posted by: ZakkWylde Dec 15 2009, 01:32 PM

You can't get a Gibson Les Paul studio new for 1000$, but you can get a used one in great condition on Ebay!
Don't hesitate to get a used guitar, you get much more value for your money because a used LP Studio will blow a new Schecter out of the water!

Not that Schecters are bad, they are good guitars with a great hardware and pickups for the price but the building quality and wood quality of the Schecters aren't too good. (I had a Hellraiser C-7 and I wasn't impressed with the sound, good pickups don't cover bad tone wood and cheap crafting)

If you manage to get a used LP Studio for your money, you get a guitar made from quality honduras mahagony that was built in the United states a Korean assembled Schecter can't compete with that . Tonewood and construction is the one thing that can't be upgraded and the Gibson Studio just excells in this price region. You will hear what I mean when you have the possibilty to play both guitars next to each other; Sustain, thickness of tone, low end, definition - all that will be better on the LP, I can guarantee that!

The fretjob is amazing, no dead spots and super low action without buzzing since the frets are measured in by a PLEK machine (that's what marcmaiden meant, Blindwillie!!) The frets on my schecter were not set in properly (buzz at low action)


In the end it comes down to prefearance though. The LP is just the better guitar (used) for the money but it still is a gutiar designed over 50 years ago - you might find it uncomfortable to play compared to a modern guitar or you might not like the sound of a Les Paul and prefer a Schecter

Posted by: ztevie Dec 15 2009, 01:47 PM

Schecter are nice guitars. Altough, I felt my Schecter C1+ was a little bit muddy and dark with not so much bite... THis was probably due to the mahogany body and neck? And bite is essential to metal palm muting technique.
I took out the Duncan Designed and replaced them with EMG 81 & 89. It was a little better but not quite there...

Question is: Do you like the playability of LesPaul style guitars, do you like the tone of them?

I had a LesPaul Studio once also, didn't like it, playability couldn't compare to other guitars I had.
Personally I'm more into slimmer shredder kind of guitars... A'la Ibanez RG and 80's-90's shredder guitars. Much nicer, thinner necks and the playability is outstanding compared to the, in my opinion, clumsier LesPaul style guitars..
This is of course only my 2 cents, you have to find your own idela type of guitar.

Posted by: ZakkWylde Dec 15 2009, 01:59 PM

A lot of guitars are all mahagony and have a lot of bite and precision. It was propably due to a badly glued in neck! This was also the case on my Gibson Silverburst Flying V (all mahagony). It sounded muddy and untight, regardless of the pickups I put in there and then I tried another one and it sounded perfect! A luthier told me that the neck joint was propably not glued in right.

On every company there are guitars that come with production flaws. (I sold the V)

Posted by: superize Dec 22 2009, 12:38 PM

Now i have finally foundaguitar i am going to buy.....

http://www.blocket.se/vasterbotten/Jackson_RR24_24854726.htm?ca=2&w=1&last=1

A Jackson RR24

Tomorow i will go to my music store and get this baby and i cant wait...

I got it for around 1400 dollar and thats a pretty good deal

Posted by: ZakkWylde Dec 22 2009, 12:43 PM

Cool guitar. I was about to buy one myself but Ihas only one humbucker.

Then I found a used USA Jackson and went for that

Posted by: mhskeide Dec 22 2009, 01:26 PM

Oh man, that`s one evil guitar
good luck/congratulations on your guitar-to-come

Posted by: superize Dec 22 2009, 06:19 PM

Its now official....

There will be no christmas celebration forme i will sit in my room all day and play guitar.........

Posted by: kaznie_NL Dec 22 2009, 06:38 PM

Congratz

Posted by: Fran Dec 23 2009, 01:02 AM

Awesome! Can't wait to watch you rocking the REC with your new axe

Posted by: superize Dec 23 2009, 10:06 PM

Now i finally got my new baby.......

Pictures and videos will come later