RR said:
eldi said:
Yes, $3,000 is way to exsessive for a guitar with a basswood body (yucck!). I mean, c'mon, you'd think for that price you think that they'd at least put an alder or an ash body on those....basswood has to be the most toneless, dead sounding wood out there.
:?: Hmmm ....
I guess your conclusion means Steve Vai's and Joe Satriani's Ibanez models made of basswood are toneless dead sounding guitars. Same with Eddie Van Halen asked Peavey to use basswood with a maple top on his model.
I'd put my Les Paul Classic(Mahogany with maple top), my US '57 Reissue Fender Strat (Alder body), and even my '85 Kramer Pacer (Maple body) against any "artist model" Ibanez or Peavey any day......IMO, basswood bodies combined with a Floyd Rose style tremolo are recipes for uninspiring sounding guitars, although the maple top on the Wolfgang may help bring out some brightness and sustain, and I admit I do like the way the necks feel on the Wolfgangs & the EVH Musicman model, but take away the maple top, & I assure you, the Wolfgang would make a lousy guitar. But isn't there an Ibanez JEM model with an alder body available? My first "pro level" guitar was a late 80's Ibanez RG-550 (A guitar I believe Steve Vai also helped design, with basswood body, & an "Edge" F. Rose style tremolo.) I didn't realize how awful that guitar was until I bought my first Les Paul. (And even they can have variables in tone, I own a Custom & a Classic, & my Classic kicks my Customs *** all the way around.) The Ibanez sounded cold, dull, & had hardly any sustain when compared to any of my current axes (I still have that guitar, haven't played it in over 10 years, I plan on making a sculpture out of it). And, many times with "artist" signature models, many times the guitars that the artists might play on stage or in the studio might appear to be the model they have designed/endorsed, but are actually "ghost built" by an independent luthier and made to the artist model specs, complete with the logo of the mfg that is endorsing that artist, to be in compliance with the contract that the artist might have with the mfg, while the units that make their way to the music store are being shipped in from the factory in Korea, Japan, etc. Just because an artist endorses/designs a guitar doesn't make it any better. I see way more pros playing P.R.Smiths, Les Pauls, and vintage style Fenders, (and they are probably not even endorsees, they probably bought them, and thats not to mention the boutique guitars like Tom Andersons & the like) than I see playing JEM's, Wolfgangs & Satriani models, if that says anything.....
$3,000 is still way too much to pay for a basswood bodied guitar, even if it has the "Charvel" name on it with Eddie Van Halen's endorsement. Not when I could buy a real vintage "San Dimas" Charvel with real tone wood for a body or even a new PRS for less $!
