Most versatile Guitar?

NoteWriter

NoteWriter

New member
Hi, i want to hear others opinion on what might be the most versatile guitar possible. ( 6 string )

My Idea of a perfect guitar would be,,

-Super Strat body, 2 Cutaways.
-Compound radius Neck, 24 frets
-6 string, ( i prefer the traditional 6 string, no 7s & 8s )
-Floating bridge, NO LOCKING NUTS. that stuff sucks for me.
-EVH D tuna for drop D tunings.
-2 humbuckers and a single coil in the middle, 5 way switching
-Switching is as Follows, H,HS,S,SH,H
-4 knobs , 2 volume 2 tone for Humbuckers only.
-Push pull pots for Coil splitting, Phase shifting and Blow switch. ( jimmy page mod )
-1 Kill toggle

From what i have above, i think you could pretty much play anything on it, ( as far as gear required )

Any other suggestion peeps? Feel Free to post and share :)
 
Most versatile guitar in my opinion is a Telecaster. Just need one for metal, rock, pop, blues, country and jazz.
 
The sky's the limit :p
tumblr_mp7kphCWZm1qc3g8bo1_1280.jpg

Variax with Roland
IMO, PRS 513 works well too.
 
I find this to be THE most challenging question to answer (at least, until the Variaxes came out). The truth is, there is no ONE guitar to rule them all (not like in LOTR heh). What i can suggest is that you list out the genres you'll be playing most, then arrange them in order of priority/frequency of playing. Then from there, take the top 3-5 and select your guitar based on those.

I agree that teles are extremely versatile; a H-H or S-H config should serve you well for most genres and it doesn't need to cost a bomb. 2nd hand works well, then wiring/cap upgrades and pickup upgrades will do the trick. Then of course, your cables and your amp matter too, so.......and the list goes on.

Here's my top 3 versatile axes (without the Variaxes, which are play cheat):

1. Swing Prism SE. Tried this guy out a couple of years back (don't know if its still around or sounds the same) and while it didn't nail anything down pat, it did a pretty solid job across most genres. The piezo in the bridge helped a lot too. Fit-and-finish wise, it was one of the best. Mike @ SV does a solid job on setups.

2. Fender H-H tele. Install upgraded pickups, change the caps to your liking and install a coilsplit and you'll be ready to rock many many genres. Not quite as pleasing for the really nice clean blues licks (a coil splitted humbucker still has the inherent 'thickness' of 2 single coils), but if you don't intend to do much of that this could be a slightly cheaper option.

3. Yamaha Pacifica 312J. I haven't touched a Pacifica in eons, but there was a time when they were revered as THE best bang-for-buck beginner to midrange guitars in the market. They popularised the HSS config and made big strides for beginner axes. Quality has dropped drastically since Yamaha switched production to China in 2008, but i believe the midrange 3-series is still a respectable axe, especially on a budget, without needing to upgrade anything. I recently tried a 2012 piece at a friend's place and was pretty impressed.

Hope this helps!
 
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Reactions: Vax
Funny no one mention Gibson LP

being a huge SSS fan and a strat lover, i find that the LP covers slightly more ground. without doing any mods, a good Gibson LP can do blues, metal, heavy rock, classic rock, jazz, R&B etc etc. the warmer tone makes it ideal for a lot of genres, theres no single coil tone if you are looking for that.
 
Ratboy said:
Its not the guitar .. its the player.
But if must choose, i guess a regular strat will do.
Click to expand...

I'm about to say the same thing. LOL.. :D

But here is one new thing that I think would add some sound versatility to your guitar.
Get a pair of Duncan P-Rails, You could get 4 different sounds on each pickup (P-90, single coil and humbucker in series/parallel). I'm about to install it on my Tele.
 
zoyd_berg said:
I'm about to say the same thing. LOL.. :D

But here is one new thing that I think would add some sound versatility to your guitar.
Get a pair of Duncan P-Rails, You could get 4 different sounds on each pickup (P-90, single coil and humbucker in series/parallel). I'm about to install it on my Tele.
Click to expand...

Like this?

I got immediate GAS for a '72 Deluxe Tele after watching that video!
 
Vax said:
Like this?

I got immediate GAS for a '72 Deluxe Tele after watching that video!
Click to expand...

Yeah man, but I'll be using lil'59 on the bridge instead cause mine is standard tele, no routing for HB.
I also watched that vid and drooled.
 
Last edited:
To the OP's specs...you have forgotten a few extras which i'll add to the superstrat!
- remove the 5 way switch and add an independent on/off switch, phase reverse, coil split and parallel/series for each pickup (alternative to use the seymour duncan triple shot p/u mounts).
- you could add a coil tap to the middle single coil
- note the humbuckers can be p-rails as mentioned earlier
- make the body chambered without ugly f holes
- add a Tremelo-no
- add string dampeners to do tapping galore
- midi pad controller like on Matt Bellamy's Manson
Oh geez...the things one could do with a guitar
The "I like tradition" brigade do hold things back a bit so it's hardly surprising innovation is quite weak despite a few Variax's, midi pads, wiring mods!

How about a really space-craft shape! Given the Strats hark back a period of chrome, curves etc!
 
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