Firstly, I would like to say a big Thank You to everyone who has replied.
Some general thoughts and reactions before replying specifically to everyone.
- I agree that neck shape (and other ergonomics) are important - probably more important than tone out of the box. As Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen once said, "I can make any guitar sound bad."
- I like the neck of my Ibanez AS93 (a semi-hollow body similar to a Gibson 335) a lot, which most players describe being like a Gibson neck but thinner (but not like an Ibanez strat). So the Santana necks sound like they would be a better fit
- Yes, I will definitely try before I buy. (I just feel bad going in to a guitar store and trying out guitars when I know I am either going to buy off of Reverb or locally off craigslist).
- As for versatility... I guess what I really mean is that since I have my AS93 and it is great for jazz / blues / classic rock, I am looking for a second guitar that does the things the AS93 doesn't do so well... Like it doesn't have a whammy bar, nor does it do single coil sounds at all. It would be nice to get some "out of phase" sounds to better play some funk rhythm sound (like the "chimey" rhythm guitar chords in Brick in the Wall, or Nothing But Flowers, or Graceland)
Thanks for the well wishes
However, I need to downsize a LOT of things in my life, so I am really looking to only own three guitars total... for now, anyway. So two electrics and an acoustic. And my Boss Katana 50.
I agree about feel and since I need all the practice I can get, I definitely want a guitar that is going to make me want to practice more... or at least be less discouraging to practicing.
As for shape, my FAVORITE electric shape(from a visual standpoint) is the old Yamaha SG (Santana Guitar) or the very similar looking Ibanez AR series (like the AR300). I actually have a second Ibanez (a beautiful looking AR325 with a figured Bubinga top) and it sounds GREAT and is lighter (about 7.3 pounds compared to my as93 at 8.6 pounds), but it has a tendency to neck dive and the body seems a bit small(ish) for me (I am a big guy at 6 foot 3). When practicing sitting down I tend to hunch over more than when playing my as93.
Well... most of the single coil guitars I know of are 25.5 necks. I have a cheap Squier bullet and I don't really like the neck size so much. Maybe it is because of the 25.5" neck, or maybe it is because it is just a cheap squier bullet
I understand what you mean by versatility. I have come to the accepting the fact that dual humbuckers on a mahogany + maple guitar are not going to sound like a strat, even with the coil splitting. But I guess I am hoping that with coil tapping / splitting I could get something that I could get "close enough" to a single coil guitar sound (since I anticipate the only place I am going to be playing live is down at the Bingo Hall on Wednesday nights in front of a bunch of elderly people drunk on Merlot.
But it seems that you think the coil splits / tapping aren't really usable, is that right?