What makes a Good guitar?

[OpethInFlames]

Well? What does make a good guitar. Im planning on getting a new one for christmas and just dont know how to tell if a guitar is good or not. And dont tell me to try one out, for some reason they all sound the same to me, although ive only tried a few out. I was thinking of getting a BC Rich, just because it looks so cool!

[treyphish]

thats a tuff question......i just bought a gibson les paul studio. i also have two fender strats. just from reading the forums on here and talking to a lot of guitar dealers the past few days, i'm beginning to see that it comes down to just personal preference.......if you like that bc rich go for it. you figure all the brands of guitars if there are so many bad chioces who the hell is buying these guitars that they are able to stay in buisness you know what i mean. people say this sucks that sucks .......well somebody is buying them!!!!!!!!!!

[smfulla]

well there are only general things that will make a guitar bad. For example, buzzy frets, warped necks etc.
But it does come down to personal preference. Say like which pickups you prefer, which wood type you like, how many frets you want, what style of body. But then it also comes down to comfortability.

[OpethInFlames]

Tell me more.... What effect does the type of wood have? I thought it was just for looks. As for pick ups, i like the double, single, single configuration. Also, i had no idea that there were different fret sizes- I thought they all were made to a standard size.

[smfulla]

well the type of wood and the shape of the body can affect the tonality and sustain of notes.
Pickups help with the tonality (not sure about the sustain). But as ESP_Viper told me before, if you have an EMG active pickup it totally takes away the tonality and all that, that the wood give you. It's just all pickup.
And as far as frets go, I'm not sure if you can actually get differently spaced frets. I'm talking about more frets. 22 fret and 24 fret necks are the most common. As far as fret size goes, the fret wire is variable.
Also neck width and heardth is a preference

[jaytee]

about wood:

http://www.edenhaus.com/woods.htm

http://www.geocities.com/bodkin_guitars/woods.htm

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Articles/Guitars_Wood_And_Tone/

just for kicks...

--jt

[jazzman15]

You need good, low action without buzz, lots of sustain, a playable neck, and good pickups. I have an Ibanez RG. I like the tone and the Wizard II neck. Plus, it was fairly cheap. The RG 170 is a good guitar.

[55'gibby]

you want a flat neck: hold down the string in the first and say the 22nd fret there should be only a minor gap (1/64" to 1/32"), and NO twist, you want a great joint between the body and the neck, sustain is a factor of mass (weight x density), good action (low), no buzzes (fret or otherwise), high mass bridge and machine heads (plated red brass is pretty good). Fret span is a factor of scale lenght, fret wire comes in three basic types Gibson (wide and flat), Fender style (high and round), and Martin. Look at body geometry (neck at angle to body or parallel, can I sit and play it), weight (can I even lift this fool thing) balance (is is neck or body heavy, does it want to tip when I play it) and maybe 6 dozen other things... go to the guitar store pick up a REALLY expensive guitar and play it, now do the same with a REALLY cheap one and compare the differences. Then prioritize what you want and like in a guitar, then find one you like... cuz if you don't like it you won't play it.


Glad I could muddy the waters

[OpethInFlames]

And muddy the waters you did!

Wow, although i have no idea about thalf the stuff your talking about, i know exactly what to look for. Now im off to see if my present guitar is a cheap POS(you see, i got it as a present).

[55'gibby]

I glad to see you missed my point! I'm saying that a person who is looking for a good guitar, and, doesn't know what they want should look at ALL the factors that make a good guitar. One thing that is never mentioned here is what is a good guitar is really a matter of perspective. Remember phrases like good are relative terms, I may think one guitar is good and you think it's crap, but, somethings (like physics) are common to all guitars. I have owned guitars that looked great, played great and have sunk 100's into them trying to make them into what I like. A little knowlege up front would have saved me a lot of work and a bunch of cash, just to find out I couldn't make it what I really wanted. If all I ever played was the same style of guitar all my life how would I know I didn't like the others?

[pantera1]

Just so you know man... BC Rich's are great guitars. I love my Platinum Bich. The pickups are awesome, the action is low, it looks badass... It rocks man!

[OpethInFlames]

Good to hear that, i was looking to get the NJ Warlock or NJ Assassin.