Ibanez, Jackson, Suhr, Caparison, Carvin, Parker, ESP?

Which makes the best guitars?

depends where its made...

avoid jackson after fender bought them

Ibanez Korea good
Ibanez Japan- best
ibanez anywhere else particularly indonesia- awful

ESP was the best... i'd say anything ESP pre 2001-2-3ish is amazing

Parker is over priced

So Im better off buying used gear then? I had an Ibanez Js1200 but mine had so many problems so Im not really into Ibanez right now. Whats wrong with new ESPs and USA Select Jacksons?

Thanks a lot.

i wouldnt touch a jackson since fender bought 'em
they're not what they're used to be and quite overpriced and just not worth it

ESP...
i loved esp guitars- used them long before ibanez...
they just seem to be a different company
i got when i was 14 (1999-2000)an ESP M-III custom guitar- its like the kirk hammett but with seymore duncans.

its the greatest guitar ever made...
shortly after around 01-02 ESP started making ONLY LTD stuff and didnt make anything esp
and then recently started making lots of ESP's again
i wont say the new ESP's are bad quality- i just think they're a different guitar... they play much differently. the necks are so wide...

the neck on my ESP is thinner and nicer than any ibanez or any other neck out there- the same body/neck style in what esp makes today is so thick and uncomfortable.

i'm fed up with ibanez too...
Vai is the only ibanez user i respect because he uses guitars made by ibanez in Japan... pretty much every other notable guitarist that uses ibanez has their guitars hand made in LA and they put ibanez on the headstock- while the guitars they sell are made across the ocean for pennys of garbage.

all my main gutiars are ibanez- 4elecs plus a classical... i'm endorssed by Godin/Art and Lutherie for acoustics so i have those covered... trying to find a new company for elec guitars now... i found one i'm considering (they even offered to copy the exact size/profile of my ESP neck that i love so much on my new guitars) but before i can commit to one brand i need like...3-4 guitars.

call a really good repairman/lutherie in town and ask him what brands are making the best guitars today- he would know, he fixes them out of the box sometimes...

my tech who's the best in the world is convinced no one is making good guitars now.... and all of them have neck issues and all need fretwork (dressing ect)- he says it boils down to the fact they dont cure the wood enough/at all

i dont like vintage/used/old guitars- i'm the anti-jeff beck/a million others- i like nice shiny new guitars so it sucks when all the guitars out there are sucking....

Haha thanks a lot. This is going to help so much. So which Ibanezs do you use and do you think the Jem is a good guitar? Other than Ibanez I heard Carvin, Caparison, and Suhr, I just dont know where to find one!

i didnt mention this and i'm too lazy to look into it- but i never heard of suhr or caparison guitars...hmmm let me look into it...

i looked into suhr they look like incredibly overpriced strat/strat like guitars... you could go to mighty mighty or allparts and build an identical guitar to your specs for a tenth of the price of those.

i never heard of caparison and looked into it and they seem to be quite unique and impressive- like they do their own kinda thing- seems to be made in japan... seems good- dont know anything about it pricewise but if its in the suhr range its kinda high...

JEM's are great guitars... make sure you get one made before 2004 (they went from ebony to rose wood ect)

The Ibanez Prestige/Jem/RG's from the mid to late 90s are the best instruments quality wise probably ever made... but they're bad now...

carvins are ok...they make great amps (legacy/x100b) the only time i've played one was in the hollywood carvin store back in july (HEY STEVE IF YOU'RE READING THIS THEY TOLD ME ONE OF YOUR LEGACY'S IS FIXED AND READY FOR YOU TO PICKUP FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF LOL) i thought the guitars were good, not my kinda thing- but good. very customizable.

My ibanezeses: RG350dx (sounds like a $400 guitar but i put $1000+ into it, sustainer system, new pickups, new wiring, new everything the is nothing factory on this guitar-- i do have a perfect install job of it)- RG5EXQM1 and a RG7321 hardtail 7 string...

i've never had a problem with the 7 string (prob cuz its non trem)

i know all the people with 5 JEM's and 100 prestiges reading this are saying "well you have low end ibanez's and thats why they suck blah blah blah" i play my guitars...every day...very hard.... i'm very hard on my guitars... so i'd rather beat up a $300-700 guitar and have 3 of them than a few super expensive ones i'm too afraid to even play (i met a guy who had a floral jem and was literally too afraid to play it and let anyone touch it, and he was kind of an ahole about it)

something i can say good...which people may frown upon... China is making some amazing instruments for $300-400. Change the electronics/pickups and youre set.

haha so you think there are no good guitars then? How can I get an old guitar that hasnt been used?

BTW Caparison go for around 2000 dollars. Thanks for all the help

dude i'm in the same shitty predicament...

i want a new nice guitar... but they all suck...

this company i was working with and i think i'll go with them... but i dont want 1 guitar i need like 3-4. and one of my ibanez's i cant ever sell no matter what...

http://www.atomicguitarworks.com/

jeries' guitar needs:
>24 frets
>floyd rose
>rosewood/ebony fretboard
>super thin/fast neck
>Dimarzio pickups

The other option other than atomic guitar works- i've played them- i've played almost every guitar they have... good stuff- the idea of copying my ESP's neck is arousing!

the other option i have is i have 1-2 companies in china that will build me EVERYTHING/ANYTHING i want...
for like $350 including shipping they'll make me anything i want... if its something simple it will ship in like 2 weeks... and lets say i got an inlay of my whole name acroess the entire neck... production time is 19 days

(fender/esp/anyone is 6mo-12mo)

i'm not in a hurry any more because i'm able to surive with my ibanez' for the time being- got the trems blocked on 2 of em

Amen


Ernie Ball Music Man is another company you can check out, Green969.
Good stuff, great customer support.

you know thats true i've never heard ANYTHING bad about the EB music man guitars...

i do have one issue... they had a model from the dbag from good charlette and its like a mapleneck/fretboard, no trem and 1 humbucker and it was like $2500... lol

probably the guitar with the worst resale value in history

the best electrics as far as price versus vaule and quality are ESP/LTD . I have yet to see a shitty ltd. Even thier low end stuff is amazingly well done. We carry ESP/LTD where i work so i have seen a few come and go, but i am sure there are one or two bad ones out there.

The ibanez stuff is good but has gotten too expensive IMO.


I have never seen anything bad about Music Man, i have played a couple of JP models and some axis models and whatnot, all done extremly well.


I bought an agile 8 string and was blown away by how well it was made and played. www.rondomusic.com .


BTW Parker is a US Music Corp line which is washburn and randall . They are not a Gibson company. Either way parker guitars were indeed much better before US Music Corp bought them.

A custom build by a local guitar maker is the way forward then...... and will probably work out cheaper than all those over priced signature models that everyones so fond of!