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Decent sub £300 guitar with humbuckers

Greggo

By Greggo,
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Greggo Enthusiast

Greggo

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After a chop and change and refresh of my instruments, Im trying to get to my magical number which is 4 instruments.

I.E - 2 electiric guitars - 1 with with single coils 1 with humbuckers
1 acoustic
1 bass

Ive got 3/4 sorted , but I want to get a nice guitar that is inexpensive (between £200 - £300) that has humuckers that will complelent my single coil guitar, a Squier CV telecaster.

Ive had various ideas of guitars within that budget e.g an Epi Les Paul, JSH Vintage vRS (which is a bit like a PRS) and an Epi Dot Studio.

Anyone else got any ideas that they can throw my way to whet my appetite?

Edited by Greggo
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Ancient Mariner Collaborator

Ancient Mariner

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What kind of musical styles do you want to use it for? I'd be very inclined to hunt ebay for an older Washburn or Ibanez, possibly a Tokai (though the non-Japanese ones didn't seem to good).

*edit* - Dean and Hamer are very good value used too, although you might want to do a PU swap since some of their humbuckers had an accent on output more than tone.

Edited by Ancient Mariner
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Paul S Grand Master

Paul S

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I'd always default to Westone - not only do they make superlative quality, value-for-money basses but also 6 string. Some models are fitted with MMK45 pickups which have a bit of a cult following. Huge monster humbucking tone on those. Thunder, Spectrum, Pantera or - king of the heap, Prestige (although you'd struggle to find one in the price bracket) Some have active circuitry, some have coil tap - depends upon the model. I have a Thunder 1T, which is passive, has 2 x humbuckers (though not the MMK45), coil tap and tremelo which I reckon sounds as good as my mates Gibson Studio. Cost me £33!! .

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Matt P Experienced

Matt P

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some good options have already been suggested, i have a similar setup to the one you are trying to achieve, a mex fender tele standard and a mid 90's tanglewood chicago (es335 semi copy) the chicago only cost me 220 quid and it's a beaut, i did have a vintage brand les paul as well but i had to sell it to make way for my p-bass, it's currently with a friend but i hope to buy it back as soon as i can find space in the house for it as it was a fantastic guitar (and it only cost me 90 quid at cash converters!)

i've yet to play a bad vintage guitar!

Matt

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Greggo Enthusiast

Greggo

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I am quite drawn to the vintage v100 (les paul copies) I must admit, as their stuff is decent quality. I've got a Vintage MM copy and its a good well built bass (but is going to go in the cull towards a new electric as its a 5er therefore too many strings for me for a bass!)

I wish the V100's in Blueburst though, it would proably be a done deal if that was the case.

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Greggo Enthusiast

Greggo

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Been doing some more investigation and I particularly like the idea of the Epiphone SG Special which is £145.

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-sg-special-cherry/16841?gclid=CJOp2sWRpr4CFRQbtAodyQQAug

I used to have a Gibson SG-X, which was a limited edition simpler version of an SG, but with just a single humbucker and this has a similiar vibe but with the added bonus of a neck pickup.

Anyone any experience of these guitars? They seem to get positive reviews. In my opinion, they look nicer than the traditional SG with its simpler arrangement of knobs and with the black open pole syle humbuckers.

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Matt P Experienced

Matt P

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i had an Epiphone g400 for a while but never really got on with it as it was too neck heavy, it was a well built guitar and sounded and looked excellent but the neck dive was too much for me and I sold it and went over to the Vintage V100.
But if ypou had an SG before and loved it then i'd guess that the epiphone would be perfect,

Matt

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Mykesbass Grand Master

Mykesbass

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I sometimes sound like a stuck record banging on about Cort but my mate in the local music shop has one of these (the P90 version) - it's a beaut! [url="http://www.cortguitars.com/en/product/m520"]http://www.cortguitars.com/en/product/m520[/url]

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skej21 Mentor

skej21

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[quote name='Greggo' timestamp='1399627500' post='2445937']
After a chop and change and refresh of my instruments, Im trying to get to my magical number which is 4 instruments.

I.E - 2 electiric guitars - 1 with with single coils 1 with humbuckers
1 acoustic
1 bass

Ive got 3/4 sorted , but I want to get a nice guitar that is inexpensive (between £200 - £300) that has humuckers that will complelent my single coil guitar, a Squier CV telecaster.

Ive had various ideas of guitars within that budget e.g an Epi Les Paul, JSH Vintage vRS (which is a bit like a PRS) and an Epi Dot Studio.

Anyone else got any ideas that they can throw my way to whet my appetite?
[/quote]

The Epiphone LTD ED 1966 G400 SG has some great humbuckers (better than the cheaper models!) and comes in at £260. Might be worth a shout?

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-limited-edition-1966-g-400-pro-cherry/59662?gclid=COzh2Jzxrr4CFaXHtAodEkAAHQ

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randythoades Collaborator

randythoades

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If I was buying new I would probably go for the Vintage. They are excellent guitars, if a little generic, but great pickups and hardware. I would agree with some other comments though and go second hand off ebay. There are some great deals to be had on some of the older Japanese or Korean made stuff from the likes of Westone, Aria, Washburn etc. Great guitars and a reasonable investment. If you wanted to sell it, it will likely increase slightly in value whereas the Vintage or Epiphone will plummet from the new price...

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Greggo Enthusiast

Greggo

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Thanks for replies. Another really inexpensive guitat that has got my eye is the Epiphone Les Paul Junior, which has a single bridge humbucker and woudl be very familair to me with previously having a single humbucker SG.

They are only £99 so a trade in of one of my two basses would definitely cover it and a pickup swap could make them sing from what I understand.

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molan Veteran

molan

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My lead guitarist uses an Epiphone Les Paul for heavier rock songs and a US Strat for the rest.

The big difference he made to his LP was to upgrade the pickups, wiring, pots, sockets etc. He went for Fatboy PAF pickups, really nice units and great service.

His totally transformed it, powerful, bags of sustain, killer solo tone and great for raucous driven rhythm parts.

Overall cost would be over the £300 budget but some upgrades to a good used LP type guitar could make a huge difference :)

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Ancient Mariner Collaborator

Ancient Mariner

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[quote name='Greggo' timestamp='1400581177' post='2455040']
Thanks for replies. Another really inexpensive guitat that has got my eye is the Epiphone Les Paul Junior, which has a single bridge humbucker and woudl be very familair to me with previously having a single humbucker SG.

They are only £99 so a trade in of one of my two basses would definitely cover it and a pickup swap could make them sing from what I understand.


[/quote]

It looks pretty, but will be made of low quality 'nameless' woods and bargain-basement hardware. It will likely be playable and giggable with work, but you might do a lot better. If you DO want one then go along to a music shop and try 5 or 6 to see if there's one that plays better than the others. Look for un-even frets and sharp fret ends, odd twists in the neck, a poor fit where the neck fits the pocket, loose or very stiff tuners, intonation problems with the bridge at max adjustment. Hold it up from just below the headstock with one hand and tap on the back with the knuckles of the other and listen to whether the wood resonates and rings on or just gives a dull, dead thunk. Play the thing unplugged first and see if it sounds lively or dull - if it fails the unplugged test then it will be dull sounding amplified.

If I were buying that then I'd budget for a new bridge, pots, cap and pickup, possibly tuners too. The cheap pots that go into guitars at this level can really kill tone, and the first job on a budget electric after strings and set up is a set of Alpha pots (all log A type) and Orange-drop caps, even if I keep the pickups.

I've always maintained that there are good guitars, acceptable guitars and bad guitars, and they can be found at all price points. However the hit rate of good to bad goes down appreciably in the very low budget ranges. My cheapest guitar is a £25 melody acoustic with a plastic bowl back (I wanted a guitar that could be knocked around and loaned to people) and I've played out with it, but it needed significant work before I could do so.

Edited by Ancient Mariner
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Matt P Experienced

Matt P

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i'm quite a fan of the epiphone les paul juniors i have/had one (it's currently in my friends posession but i think i still officially own it) mine is a sunburst one and was pretty good straight out of the box but being a mod freak i ended up replacing the bridge, tuners, pots and pickup. it started out as a fairly decent budget guitar but it's a monster now!

watch out for the string spacing though, it's actually closer to a fender than a gibson (52mm at the bridge) it caught me out when i was buying a pickup. i've actually got a seymour duncan jb and a new bridge sitting in a box waiting for another cheap lp jr to pop up locally so i can mod another.

Matt

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Greggo Enthusiast

Greggo

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[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1400189827' post='2451762']


The Epiphone LTD ED 1966 G400 SG has some great humbuckers (better than the cheaper models!) and comes in at £260. Might be worth a shout?

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-limited-edition-1966-g-400-pro-cherry/59662?gclid=COzh2Jzxrr4CFaXHtAodEkAAHQ
[/quote]

Didn't see this post originally - these look very good. Love the Pelham blue one

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Wil Rising Star

Wil

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My current main guitar is a Gretsch Corvette I picked up used for around £300. Wonderful thing, great tone, bridge pickup excels for rock and the neck has a full, plummy tone which is great for blues, bigsby (which I far prefer to any tremolo system I've used), set neck, fairly flat neck profile which plays beautifully. Also looks the bomb. I was considering a Les Paul but very happy to have gone with this.

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  • 3 weeks later...
gadgie Explorer

gadgie

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I have an Epi SG with klusons and Wizards in it.
Now the 'not a sales pitch honest part' I did a blind test with this guitar and an SG standard with my band one night to practice. Played it through my DSL50 head and 70's Marshall GB loaded cab. They all picked the Epi for sound.
Oh well:(

PS. Lucky the SG didn't belong to me, it was the other guitarist in the band..................guess what, he also picked the Epi...oh oh!

EDIT: Sorry....back on topic. I would say any Epi or guitar in your buget could be made to sound very good indeed. For me though I would look out for a Gordon Smith GS model on fleabay....or push the budget to get a new one.

Edited by gadgie
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MoonBassAlpha Mentor

MoonBassAlpha

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I've only heard good things about the Vintage Lemon drop Les Paul - one ending on ebay in a couple of days:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-V100RPGM-Lemon-Drop-Distressed-Electric-Guitar-/291170434680?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item43cb1c3e78

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Annoying Twit Proficient

Annoying Twit

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I own both a Vintage V100, and also a Westone Thunder IIA guitar. IMHO both are decent guitars, and will do the job. I've heard that the Vintage VS6 is decent too. The V100s can be bought for about £100 second hand. My Westone cost me £175, but it came with an original hard case and is in superb condition. I've seen VS6s go for £80 or so on ebay. I have played a Chinese Tokai, and didn't feel that it was better than the V100. I'm no guitarist though, so this post may be worthless :)

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