Which cheap (under $600) guitar??????????

[Monsta-Tone]

I don't want to take my PRS's when I travel for work. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap (under $600) guitar.

What do you guys use?

Here are my needs:
No thin necks. I love my PRS's with Wide Fat Necks, like an old Les Paul.
dual Humbuckers, don't care about the quality, I have lots of them laying around.
Maybe dual P-90.
No crappy pickgaurds, if I wanted that, I would keep my Strat.
Reliable and easy to play.
22 frets, don't like 24.
I really like the scale on my PRS's also, and the radius (10").

I'm a Schecter dealer, but they don't have anything I really like.



I'm looking at a PRS SE Singlecut or SE Custom, although the P-90 SE looks really cool. They are by far the best quality Korean guitars that I've played lately.

 

[Don]

I have a PRS SE Soapbar II that I'm in love with. The wide/fat neck is great. The build quality is wonderful.

It was less than $300 new!

Don't compare it back to back with a real Paul Reed Smith, though.

 

[moltar]

I've been pretty happy with the quality of korean guitars in general. Schec, prs, and even squier.

You could look into a Gibson Melody Maker. Also you might look into talking a Gibson Junior or worn finish studio down to your price range.

Anything by Gretsch you like?
Squier Stagemaster? hahah

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I don't need to. I want one for travel.

I was thinking about the Soapbar II because I have a McCarty and a Custom 22. I thought that the Soapbar would be a nice, but different addition.


Thanks for the info. Where did you get a new one for under $300?

I've been looking for a red one, but haven't found one online yet. Has to be red. Or blue if I go with the Singlecut.

 

[Don]

Guitar Center was closing out Soapbar IIs without maple tops a couple of years ago. I paid $289 each for two of them.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

How do you like them?

I've been looking for a red one, but they are fairly hard to find.

 

[Don]

I bought a cherry one and a sunburst one. The cherry one was for a friend. I kept the sunburst one.

It's a great grab and go guitar. It plays flawlessly, build quality is impressive and the tone is good. It has full size 500k pots, an open frame 3 way switch and a lightweight aluminum tailpiece.
It's not as gorgeous and perfectly made as my former co-workers US made Santana III, but I think it compares favorably to production line Gibsons.

The pickups are a little less aggressive than the P-90 in a Les Paul Junior that I had when I first bought it, but are more versatile.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

That's what I was hoping you would say.

Now I gotta find one. I have a couple of higher end guitars for sale to pay for house repairs, but I can swing a few $$$ for a cheapy.

Thanks Don.

 

[vintagesix]

Try picking up a vintage lawsuit Les Paul copy locally. They can be had from 300-500, and were sometimes regarded as better than the Gibsons at the time. If you can pick up some new fretwire and find a local tech to do a fretjob for cheap you'll have a killer vintage axe in your hands.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Is that the Ibanez LP you're talking about?

 

[vintagesix]

Ibanez were one of the companies who made copies in the 70s. Among others were Univox, Greco, Tokai, Mann (Canadian import version of Ibanez). One of ESP's Japanese subdivisions, Edwards, still makes LP copies with Gibson style headstocks, and I think so do Burny and Fernandes. The lawsuit Ibanez' are the ones with the Gibson style headstocks, but they tend to fetch higher than some of the other brands.

 

[Mr_You]

The new SE Soapbar (Singlecut Mahogany P90) looks interesting.

 

[Jazzman53]

PRS SE Custom - zebra humbuckers, trem, nice neck....well made....plays great and @ around 425 or so its alot of guitar for the money ....I still prefer my custom 22 (3k+) -but wouldnt hesitate gigging with the SE anyday. nice prs feel.

jazzman53