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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Question On These Guitars

Posted by: eleven May 20 2007, 06:01 AM

Hi, was wondering if any of these guitars were good.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&g=guitar&base_pid=510482&index=6

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&g=guitar&base_pid=517370&index=0

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&g=guitar&base_pid=517379&index=0

It's probably stupid, but I'm looking for a guitar with light blue as the main colour. I figure if your gonna play something you might as well like it too. Like the steve vai pavel uses, but that would drain the wallet for a few months. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Posted by: Ryan May 20 2007, 07:10 AM

well cant tell yea if any of those guitars are good or not...its personal preference really on that..but also i havent played nothign toher than a fake strat sad.gif, but all them guitars look very nice, i would liuke ot get that gibson just because the looks biggrin.gif

Posted by: Kaneda May 20 2007, 02:28 PM

It's all a matter of personal preference. I've tried two of those - the 62 reissue Jaguar and the SG Goddess. The only thing to say against the Jaguar (if you like it otherwise) is the bridge design - may have seemed a great idea to old Leo, but it never was. Most Jaguar players replace that bridge (or do some roughing on it) when they get annoyed with the buzzing, the going out of tune and the strings getting displaced smile.gif When that's done, most I know like it. Aesthetically, to me, the Jaguar is messy, but again, it's a matter of personal preference.

The SG Goddess... It's pretty much an SG Standard with a different colour (which is nice smile.gif), those weird transparent pickups and, most importantly, thinner design all over - thinner body, smaller fingerboard radius, thinner neck. I own an SG Standard Cherry, which is already "low distance" in terms of spacing between strings and scale length - the Goddess went too far for me - too little space for my fingers (which are actually rather thin). The Les Paul is done with a similar design choice, but I haven't tried it. My more experienced guitarist friend complained that the tone was also a tiny bit thinner and with less sustain than a standard SG. Other than that, it's a Gibson SG, which means it's a great guitar wink.gif (unless you're a Gibson/Fender-hating Ibanez/ESP/Hamer/Jackson/PRS/Schechter/Manson-fan)

Then some standard advice...

You don't say if this is your first guitar, so I'll just have to assume it is wink.gif. So, the most important thing would be to try and play them, if you haven't already. Play them at all costs - if you can't play anything, just finger some chords and single notes around the fingerboard, to get a feel for how your fingers "fit".

Then compare them to guitars that you may not like the design of, but which differ in terms of neck dimensions and body size. If you're a beginner, try, say, a modern (non-reissue) Stratocaster or Telecaster, to get an idea of the relative size of the fretboard - since all three guitars you mention have a small fingerboard compared to those - both in length and width. Find out what's most comfortable - if it isn't the Jaguar, or the blue SG or Les Paul, then have a look around - there's certainly other guitars in light blue tongue.gif

And then (again, if you're a beginner) go back and try the Goddess, Les Paul and Jaguar again, if you really like the design of those best. Just because it isn't 100% comfortable now doesn't mean it won't be when you build up flexibility and strength in your fingers. wink.gif

A lot of guitarists will tell you to simply pick what's most comfortable, but I really think that to a large extent, your first guitar decides what will be most comfortable for you in a year. When I bought the Standard SG, I also borrowed a Stratocaster. After a few weeks of just doodling around on them both, I got the opportunity to have my workplace pay up for an American Deluxe Strat. They're pretty different in terms of size, but I don't really find one more comfortable - or "better to play" - than the other. I play them both pretty much equally.

EDIT: Also, I don't get why Gibson go overboard marketing the Goddess and Vixen to women (thankfully they chose names that make sense for a guy - who wouldn't want a Vixen Goddess around their neck wink.gif) - what makes a thinner design and different colour choice a design for women? smile.gif

Posted by: eleven May 20 2007, 04:08 PM

Thanks guys for the reply.

Kaneda: Wow, thanks for the indepth look.

This would be my second electric. I don't plan on buying one yet any time soon, at least not till I get better in guitar. Currently I own a RondoMusic Strat replica/copy. The frets are fine to me so far. Really liking the Goddess the more I look at it.

How much smaller are the frets of the Goddess compared to the Strat? Would it be possible to measure the 12th fret of both guitars in cm? I'm not sure if I know any stores around that carry the Goddess, so I might have to order it online.

Posted by: Kaneda May 20 2007, 05:36 PM

QUOTE (eleven @ May 20 2007, 05:08 PM) *
Thanks guys for the reply.

Kaneda: Wow, thanks for the indepth look.

This would be my second electric. I don't plan on buying one yet any time soon, at least not till I get better in guitar. Currently I own a RondoMusic Strat replica/copy. The frets are fine to me so far. Really liking the Goddess the more I look at it.

How much smaller are the frets of the Goddess compared to the Strat? Would it be possible to measure the 12th fret of both guitars in cm? I'm not sure if I know any stores around that carry the Goddess, so I might have to order it online.


I actually found something surprising here (to me). Never speak before you know, Kaneda... wink.gif

The Strat feels like it's quite a bit longer between frets (I tend to use it for stretching exercises wink.gif), but the difference isn't that great. From nut to 22nd fret on the Strat is about 46 cm. The Standard SG - and the Goddess, I'd assume, since they have the same scale length - is 44 cm. Feels like a bigger difference than it is laugh.gif.

When it comes to neck width, the Strat is 54 mm wide at the 12th fret (measured in a straight line, which doesn't really tell everything, due to the curve on the fingerboard), while the SG is 55 mm - i.e. wider! It certainly feels narrower. I'm baffled. smile.gif

Anyway, according to specs, the Standard SG is 43 mm wide at the nut. I have no idea where they measure, but I get 45 mm... Strat is 45 mm too - probably a few micrometers narrower than the SG. The Goddess is supposed to be around 41 mm wide at the nut, which is probably about right (now that I find out how much difference a few millimeters make).

I guess the feeling of distance on the fingerboard has at least as much to do with curvature on the neck, and how thick (as opposed to wide) the neck is, as it has to do with the actual distance smile.gif

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