Do you buy guitars that are signature ?

[DrewJD82]

I‘m pretty much good with any radius over 9.5”, 12” is definitely my preference for Strats and somewhere around 16” or 17” for shreddy guitars, but I really wouldn’t bitch about anything above 9.5”.

 

[Eagle]

12” is where it starts for me. Occasionally if you have a perfect relief profile less can work but it’s rare.

 

[la szum]

Any idea why Leo originally went with such a small/tight radius? Did he just not know
better? Were Boomer Bends not a thing back then?

Was it totally random, or was he borrowing from some precedent or previous design choice
on other guitars? I've always wondered.

 

[la szum]

Compound radius necks are pretty cool. I discovered recently that a radius can be too large for me, and
a neck a little too flat.

 

[Eagle]

Any idea why Leo originally went with such a small/tight radius? Did he just not know
better? Were Boomer Bends not a thing back then?

Was it totally random, or was he borrowing from some precedent or previous design choice
on other guitars? I've always wondered.

Leo couldn’t play the guitar. He took advice from a select few none of which bent strings at all in the late 40s early 50s.

 

[DrewJD82]

The Broadcasters came with a 7.25” radius and like Eagle said, I’m guessing it was primarily for a large lack of guys who were soloing/doing a lot of bending back then so no one had much of a reason to bitch about it.

And they didn’t really have a lot of options back then, these days when we run into an issue we come on a forum and ask for opinions/experiences and get a ton of options to choose from to fix an issue, back then it was probably “Oh, this chokes out when I bend it. Guess I’ll just play that note at the fret instead of bending “

I don’t think Fender changed the radius on guitars until the 80’s? I was looking at some 70’s necks today and they were all 7.25”

 

[Eagle]

Fenders first guitars with a flatter radius were the 83 two knob strat and Tele 12”

 

[FAKA!]

Ah man... I have a few... 2 were birthday gifts -> Epiphone Zak Wylde Graveyard Disciple and an Epiphone Marcus Henderson Signature Apparition. The PRS USA Holcomb I bought was an impulse buy and I had no idea who Holcomb was at the time and I had no idea who Nolly was when I bought my Dingwall NG3 lol.

 

[DrewJD82]

Fenders first guitars with a flatter radius were the 83 two knob strat and Tele 12”

 

[Baba]

I buy guitars based on what it offers for my needs in my price range

what about you guys?

I'm with you, and it just happens that, I love PRS Custom 24's, and white is one of my favorite guitar colors. At that time, (and probably still), the only way to get a white one, without going private stock, was to get a Navarro sig, so I did.

Same with the Tremonti SE that I bought. I wanted a singlecut with a wide thin neck shape, the Tremonti was the only way to get that.

Neither player are mainstays in my music collection. In fact, I don't own ANY of their music, nor do I pay any attention to either one

 

[TheOrangeChannel]

I had a stable of the original EBMM JP6's at one point. Fun guitars but a little small. Same goes for Strandbergs, they're all Ola's signature gear lol.

Depends on the rig though going forward, mostly I fall in the Ibanez Prestige camp these days (prior to Covid I got a ton of different variants of 6's and 7's for nothing) and I modded them to taste (Hipshot bridges etc). Given my predilection, there's a couple of Jems and maybe the Martin Miller AZs, or the new Bowen 6 I'd add... maybe the new Tim Henson because the pickups sound insane and I need a trem based ride.

Nowadays, if I were starting out or looking to upgrade past beginner gear, for the money the newer Schecter crop of Nick Johnston, Aaron Marshall, and John Browne models check a bunch of boxes and feels and can be had for very little, some with stainless steel frets and decent pickups (save for the Johnston's SC's they blow).

 

[mavrick102000]

I bought them used.

I had a JP6 and a Buddy Guy Strat, I put a different neck on. Miss them both.

I bought them because of the features, not because they were a signature model specifically.

On the JP6 I wanted the piezo to run with an AXON MKII rack mount synth, and I wanted a Strat and the price was right, the hard V neck contour not so much, but the 20dB mid boost circuit hidden inside was sweet.

 

[Blix]

 

[MindCrime]

I do have one. Schecter Nick Johnston Diamond Series. I don't play any of his music but the guitar itself DOES check a lot of boxes for me.

Stays in tune, neck feels fantastic and it drips with great tone !

 

[dronerstone]

Tough topic. I got myself a Fender Jag-Stang in the 90's, when I was a teenager, and heavily into Nirvana. It was up for grabs below street price, and I didn't care about the cringe-factor at all. Sold it in 2005, which I sometimes regret - but only because the old ones go for good money these days...

About ten years ago, I kept lusting for a P90/Bigsby hollowbody, so I researched the options, only to find that a used Yamaha SA503 would give me exactly that, at an affordable rate. Three pickups, any combination possible, etc.

Since I'm a QOTSA nerd, it would've been a huge no-go. After contemplating various aspects and lots of overthinking, I still went and bought one (800€), and it's a nice guitar!

It's not like it has the band's logo on there, or a printed signature on the headstock, so it's not as obvious, especially if you're not aware of that particular model. Sounds and plays nice, although unfortunately the wiring and pots kinda live up to the "cheap/vintage" vibes they're going for.

Looking fwd to posting a pic, but I should probably do some cleaning before that, maybe even restring.

 

[Sascha Franck]

My currently most used guitar is a Schecter Nick Johnston HSS (the cheap indonesian model, would've bought quite something else if I wanted to spend the money for the USA made one, I mean, they're as expensive as Suhrs...) but I defenitely didn't buy it because it's got a connection to Mr. Johnston. He's a great player, but after all, I want a guitar to be after my taste, not after his. Would be the same with any guitar I'd buy.

 

[GuitarBilly]

I have a few. Les Pauls, Jackson Gus G signature Star and a Fernandes that is a copy of a Jackson Rhoads. I didn't but these guitars because of the artists though. I just like them. Also all of them were customized for my needs/ likes so they're very different than the stock models now.
I wouldn't buy something that is too personalized like EVHs Frankenstein though. That's Ed's guitar. But I wouldn't mind a Wolfgang.

 

[ptb1]

I bought a RB signature, but I sold it and build my own instead:

 

[aivoryuk]

I do have one. Schecter Nick Johnston Diamond Series. I don't play any of his music but the guitar itself DOES check a lot of boxes for me.

Stays in tune, neck feels fantastic and it drips with great tone !

I used to have that one and regret selling it. The neck is great

 

[Eagle]

I bought a RB signature, but I sold it and build my own instead:
View attachment 6064

I bought a RB signature, but I sold it and build my own instead:
View attachment 6064

USA ,Japanese or Mexican? I have a Mexican one and it is very good but I did refret mine in Jescar 58118ss