Screamingdaisy
(O)))m
I started writing this yesterday, but got distracted... When I first started typing this I couldn't decide on which guitar I liked better, but as of now I already know.
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I spent a few hours A/Bing two guitars yesterday and couldn't make up my mind. It reached the point where the shop owner told me to take both home to try through my rig and bring back the one I don't want. Another reason to support your local independent.
Option A: P245 in faded blue jean
I really wanted to like this guitar, but I was afraid it'd be too close to either the Les Paul or McCarty I already have. Truth is it has a lot of mids and is fairly harsh sounding. Clean tones are flat and lack the complexity of my LP or the depth of my McCarty. Dirty tones are good, but tend towards being a little harsh and brittle.
Edit: I swapped the strings (not stock, appear to be D'addario NPS) for a set of Gibson Nickels. Totally turned this guitar around. The harsh overtone is gone and the thing is a crunch monster. It's cleans are still the weakest of the three, but as gain is added it becomes the strongest.
I was worried about overlap, but it sounds nothing like a Les Paul, and although it's similar to the McCarty its carving out its own niche. The P245's thinner, more mid heavy sound jives really well with OD, and you'd swear this guitar was custom voiced for my Wah. Conversely, the much fatter sounding McCarty prefers clean boosts as OD guts it's low end and my Wah has never sounded quite right with it.
The piezos are an added bonus. I was told I needed an accoustic amp to get the most out of them, but (IMO) they sound quite good through the clean channel on my amp. I have a couple of songs with acoustic parts I normally play on electric. This will be a nice alternative.
Option B: Custom 24
The truth is I like both guitars. The Custom 24 is closer to the sound I'm after but the P245's controls are a better match for how I actually play. Yesterday I was fairly certain I was going to choose the Cu24, but now I'm leaning towards meeting in the middle by getting the P245 and ordering a set of \m/ pickups for it.
----
I spent a few hours A/Bing two guitars yesterday and couldn't make up my mind. It reached the point where the shop owner told me to take both home to try through my rig and bring back the one I don't want. Another reason to support your local independent.
Option A: P245 in faded blue jean
I really wanted to like this guitar, but I was afraid it'd be too close to either the Les Paul or McCarty I already have. Truth is it has a lot of mids and is fairly harsh sounding. Clean tones are flat and lack the complexity of my LP or the depth of my McCarty. Dirty tones are good, but tend towards being a little harsh and brittle.
Edit: I swapped the strings (not stock, appear to be D'addario NPS) for a set of Gibson Nickels. Totally turned this guitar around. The harsh overtone is gone and the thing is a crunch monster. It's cleans are still the weakest of the three, but as gain is added it becomes the strongest.
I was worried about overlap, but it sounds nothing like a Les Paul, and although it's similar to the McCarty its carving out its own niche. The P245's thinner, more mid heavy sound jives really well with OD, and you'd swear this guitar was custom voiced for my Wah. Conversely, the much fatter sounding McCarty prefers clean boosts as OD guts it's low end and my Wah has never sounded quite right with it.
The piezos are an added bonus. I was told I needed an accoustic amp to get the most out of them, but (IMO) they sound quite good through the clean channel on my amp. I have a couple of songs with acoustic parts I normally play on electric. This will be a nice alternative.
Option B: Custom 24
I love the way this guitar sounds and plays. The \m/ pickups are beefy as **** with a ton of low end, yet somehow not muddy. It drives my amp pretty hard, yet maintains articulation and doesn't mush up.
Thing is that I'm not really into Floyds, and the trem arm is in the way of the controls. Not too sure I dig the 2 and 4 positions either.
The neck tone I have mixed opinions on.... it's clean tones aren't that great, thin and kind of plinky. However, with high gain the neck sounds great... Fattens things up for lead without producing the boom/mud a typical 21-22 fret guitar neck pickup has. I always wondered how shredders got that sound out of a neck pickup... and now I know.
Edit: The more I try to play actual songs with this guitar the more I realize the layout doesn't suit my style. I use the controls a lot and having the bar in the way is agrivating and slows things down. I'm sure with time I'd get used to it, but there's a small list of nagging details that make me feel less enthused about this guitar today than I did yesterday.
Thing is that I'm not really into Floyds, and the trem arm is in the way of the controls. Not too sure I dig the 2 and 4 positions either.
The neck tone I have mixed opinions on.... it's clean tones aren't that great, thin and kind of plinky. However, with high gain the neck sounds great... Fattens things up for lead without producing the boom/mud a typical 21-22 fret guitar neck pickup has. I always wondered how shredders got that sound out of a neck pickup... and now I know.
Edit: The more I try to play actual songs with this guitar the more I realize the layout doesn't suit my style. I use the controls a lot and having the bar in the way is agrivating and slows things down. I'm sure with time I'd get used to it, but there's a small list of nagging details that make me feel less enthused about this guitar today than I did yesterday.
The truth is I like both guitars. The Custom 24 is closer to the sound I'm after but the P245's controls are a better match for how I actually play. Yesterday I was fairly certain I was going to choose the Cu24, but now I'm leaning towards meeting in the middle by getting the P245 and ordering a set of \m/ pickups for it.
