Guitar choices - please advise!!!

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:46 am

if you want an all around great guitar go with the tele
you can get ALOT of tones out of it

if you want a great single coil guitar GET THAT MEXI STRAT!
like i said earlier, early 90's strats rock, end of it

and if you want a good humbucker guitar i'd probably say the Dearmond
coil taps sound like shit and dont get you a decent single coil sound at all i've found

the tele will rawk
the those strats rawwkke
and that Dearmond looks like a blast!

guitarister · Post by **guitarister** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:06 am

So you'd pick the Fender Strat over the Yamaha then? That was my inclination as well, but I wasn't sure if the Yamaha was a hidden gem or something. I wish I could just ask him which ones were good, but then again I wish I didn't have to...

Anyway, your picks are basically what mine were. The possible substitutions I was considering as other options were the Brownsville, Fernandes Tele, or Yamaha instead of the Fender Strat. Also, Westbury vs. DeArmond? My lean is toward the DeArmond.

I've heard mixed things about single coil vs. coil tap (to be honest no one I knew had a guitar that could split). I'm wondering if it depends on the pickups. People seem to say that if you upgrade pickups it does a better job (which is an option for me if it will make a better guitar afterwards). If the coil tap actually works well I was thinking of possibly grabbing the Tele, the DeArmond, and then either the Brownsville or Westbury.

guitarister · Post by **guitarister** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:09 am

If my second bro decides he doesn't want one, I was thinking

1) Fender Tele

and

2) One from these: Strat, DeArmond, Fernandes Tele, possibly Brownsville but not too sure on that one.

guitarister · Post by **guitarister** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 1:42 pm

Got to let them know by tomorrow.

Jesse · Post by **Jesse** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:54 pm

I remember Matt going on about his Westbury all the time. Apparently really nice-sounding guitars. Solid and the like. I'd personally go for that one, or the S/H sunburst Tele.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:18 pm

I have two Westburys, awesome guitars and not for n00bs.

Jesse · Post by **Jesse** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:23 pm

They remind me of those 80's Vantage VS-600/700's. I played a couple of those... neck-through-body, coil split, etc. They played and sounded freakin' fantastic, I just never had the money.

guitarister · Post by **guitarister** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:52 pm

How does the Westbury compare against the Skylark? They are both Matsumoku guitars so just curious.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:10 pm

They are all very similar, especially Vantage and Westbury, in fact i think the headstock decal is the only difference. I'm sure Vantage guitars even have the 'W' Westbury stamp on the machine heads.
Matt had a white deluxe, but they are difficult to find. Mine are standards and they come with DiMarzios (59 PAF and Super Distortion) but they are not split coil.
They are beasts, but they are players guitars, about the same weight as a S.G. but more comfortable. On todays new market i think they would retail at around $600.

Just about anything from the Matsumoku factory is good quality. Lookout for old Washburn falcon/hawk, Ibanez Artist, Westone Thunder, Aria Pro II and i'd include Yamaha SG's as well. The problem is a lot of people are getting 'clued up' about Matsumoku and it is becomming increasingly difficult to find a bargain.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:14 pm

Just looked at your list again and to be honest the Westbury Deluxe is easily the higher quality choice guitar in that list imo. Its never gonna be a Fender though. Its more like PRS meets Gibson.

guitarister · Post by **guitarister** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:34 pm

So now my thinking is the Westbury, DeArmond, and then probably either the Fender Tele or Strat for me, but not sure which.

Also I know the Fernandes Tele's can sometimes outmatch the Fender ones. Would you say the Fernandes or Yamaha are better than the Fender Strat?

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:19 pm

No not really. Its all personal preference, the Fender Strat is pure class, Fernandes/Burny make great copies. Yamaha are grteat quality but they are not a Fender. The Westbury Deluxe is in a different league to the DeArmond though.
Your comparisons are a bit strange. There are good and bad models of every brand but the chances are an american Strat will be the best you try in the shop (of the Strats), but dont dismiss other brands because they could suprise you.

guitarister · Post by **guitarister** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:30 pm

K, so I know the Westbury is totally different than a Strat, but which would you say is better than the other? (tonally and action-wise - I don't mind upgrading pickups to get what I want)

Yeah, I wish I could actually sit down and play these guitars cuz that would make this much easier. I'm assuming though that none of these are duds (he cared a lot about his guitars and I doubt he'd have kept any that weren't at least good) so best guess is that all the horror stories some people have said about some of the models don't apply to these because he would've played them prior to buying them. I'm assuming that most of them are good quality, but some are a little better and others a little worse and some are just different from one another.

So far from what people have said the most unique ones seem to be Westbury and Brownsville in terms of sound. Would I benefit more from one of these lesser known ones that may be rarer than the Fenders? I don't mean in terms of collectibility or some crap like that but more in terms of how they play/sound.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:51 pm

when it comes down to it, it doesn't matter what we think. It matters what you want from the guitar. From what fran says that westbury sounds really nice and is probably the nicest guitar but the kind of music you said you want to play, it would not be ideal. The most versatile guitar there is the strat. there is a very good reason they are the most popular electric guitar ever. but I think the tele would really hit the mark on the kind of sound you have described, plus it is also a very versatile guitar. As has been stated it can do everything from country to british rock to SLIPKNOT MOTHER FUCKER. People pay less for MIM teles because they are snobs. If your relative kept the guitar well maintained and set up then it should have none of the problems people complain about with MIM fenders. In my personal opinion that particular one looks really cool.

in the end, we can give you advice but you have to make your own decision about what you want in a guitar.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:54 pm

guitarister wrote:K, so I know the Westbury is totally different than a Strat, but which would you say is better than the other? (tonally and action-wise - I don't mind upgrading pickups to get what I want)

They are totally different so one cannot be better than the other. Action is part of the set up and again tonally they are very different.
Buy both. You'll never look back.

guitarister · Post by **guitarister** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:57 pm

Looks like WB is the way to be.

Guitar choices - please advise!!!

Which guitar should I get?