Should i get a RG or Strat?

[ecneret]

i've been playing on LP for 1 yr plus
very very used to it already, literally tried all the tricks on it.
not bored of it of cos, but cos spent $$$ on it dun realli dare to abuse it ..
also wanna try something new.


i was thinking of getting a cheaper guitar i can literally (abuse) maybe an ibanez RG350dx
beautiful guitar, and also the thin neck compared to a LP. but not sure tone wise.
would it be feasible to giv it an overhaul on the pups (changing to dimarzio evos for example) beautiful guitars giv ma fingers more mojo

or maybe get a strat, single coils, different tones to my LP.. i was a strat copy user when i jus started on electric guitar, thou i have never laid my hands on a fender. so am wondering...

which one has more variety potential tone wise, and shreddability (if theres such a word), and which one is more significantly different from the LP im so used to playing.

i wil try my hands on both if i have the chance, but would like to see what the general comments are, note that im not trying to compare orange to apple (albeit both are fruits )
is a matter of which can i realli feel the difference or help me improve my skill more.


pls dun flame me if u guys feel im wasting ur time
i did my homework reading up but i thought it'll be good to hear from the more experienced ppl here especially ppl who have played both RGs and strats and maybe LPs too

 

[wjl123]

There might be a big transition when you change from the Les Paul to a slim neck like the Ibanez. Indeed the ibanez is very shred friendly and I do have an Ibanez rg350dx. The thin neck does help to do more long stretches and stuff. However its best if you go down and test one out yourself.

Tonewise the RG has a HSH config, so you got more versatility on it, but you won't be able to get those nice fat sounds from a Les Paul than on an RG.

 

[junkiemanxl]

IMO, Its about what kinda music are you gonna play with them. Its a matter of personal preference on how you like your tone to be. Single coils and humbuckers has their own distinctive tone.

My personal pref is that i like the feel of a strat. I like the twang and quack for the single coils and it does pretty great for most geners. well, except for metal but its still very do-able.

Sometimes you will need to try it out on different guitars to see what makes it for you.

 

[Henzy]

junkiemanxl has a point regarding the personal preferences. I used to be an "all the way Ibanez" player until I tried alot of strats and bought one, they're quite versatile and do-able for metal. Again like junkiemanxl said

"Its a matter of personal preference on how you like your tone to be"

So you better try out alot till you found the right one

 

[ecneret]

actually i sort of identified the kinda tone and type of music im playing
just 2 words :zakk wylde

thats y i got the mxr wylde overdrive, wylde wah , lp souped up with emg81/85 pups
pretty much there and im able to get the sort of tone im looking for
and when playing my usual repetoire, ozzy / black sabbath / x japan / guns n roses etc, the LP tone serves pretty well in these aspects.

but when it comes to hendrix , its a different story altogether, like what junkiemanxl said, i missed out on the twang and quack of the single coils, which is very evident especially since i practice while playign along with the song on mp3 linked to my amp.
even my gf whos a layman can tell the difference, shes my biggest tone critic

and because i love to shred, thats why i was thinking if getting myself an RG or strat may help me improve on my speed as opposed to shredding on my baseball bat LP
i can go pretty fast on the LP but i will admit its not realli a shredding machine, quite a strain actualli when i needa stretch and stuff, so i always improvise so i will be able to play within range (if u get what i mean )

another thing is the whammy bar thing cos there r limitations when i play songs like Vai's For the love of god etc...

 

[the_insomniac]

heh i think everyone needs a strat in their collection! get that Hendrix feeling on little wing, castles made of sand etc

imo switching from LP style guitars to strats with single coils can be tough at first, cos the scale length is different (fingers gotta stretch a bit more) and the tone is quite different too -- single coils can be very unforgiving if you have sloppy technique.. but it forces you to become a better player. But ITS WORTH IT GET A STRAT haha

 

[Whitestrat]

i was thinking of getting a cheaper guitar i can literally (abuse) maybe an ibanez RG350dx
beautiful guitar, and also the thin neck compared to a LP. but not sure tone wise.
would it be feasible to giv it an overhaul on the pups (changing to dimarzio evos for example) beautiful guitars giv ma fingers more mojo

or maybe get a strat, single coils, different tones to my LP.. i was a strat copy user when i jus started on electric guitar, thou i have never laid my hands on a fender. so am wondering...

If you're looking for one guitar to play almost everything, go for a RG with HSH config. You can always go low output if you want cleaner tones.

At the end of the day, both are very different animals. But if I were going to go for just ONE guitar, I'll get a HSH guitar, and mod it for coil taps and treble bleeds and hopefully, it comes with a vintage styled trem. That's it.

Oh wait. The EBMM Silhouette is exactly that.:twisted:

 

[moo_5150]

I was an Ibanez RG user. I owned RG450 and sold it away. To me RG's is shredder friendly, It helps when u change the pickups specially with high output pickups such us Dmarzio. I installed to my rg's. =) But then I realized and back to strat... hehehhe. To me RG is a nice guitar, but I cant feel the aura to me... haha. I dont like basswood body that ussually came with RG's. Prefer alder or ash all the way on strat...

 

[Hydrofly]

If you're looking for one guitar to play almost everything, go for a RG with HSH config. You can always go low output if you want cleaner tones.

At the end of the day, both are very different animals. But if I were going to go for just ONE guitar, I'll get a HSH guitar, and mod it for coil taps and treble bleeds and hopefully, it comes with a vintage styled trem. That's it.

Oh wait. The EBMM Silhouette is exactly that.:twisted:

4.5k whitestrat, not everyone has that kinda money

 

[Ized]

I was an Ibanez RG user. I owned RG450 and sold it away. To me RG's is shredder friendly, It helps when u change the pickups specially with high output pickups such us Dmarzio. I installed to my rg's. =) But then I realized and back to strat... hehehhe. To me RG is a nice guitar, but I cant feel the aura to me... haha. I dont like basswood body that ussually came with RG's. Prefer alder or ash all the way on strat...

IMO, a strat is much more DIFFICULT to play compared to a les paul or RG. It forces you to focus on dynamics much more than the other 2....but the rewards are well worth it...once you nail your sonic imprint with familarity using it

 

[Godspeed64]

You already have an LP going on, and it has that rawness and aggression that is obviously nice when driven..

Getting an RG would be different in a sense, you have a much thinner neck, a whammy bar to abuse (if it is unstable, get a Gotoh Floyd Rose), and is a good platform for experimenting with different pickups.. Obviously, this is more of a shredder's pick, especially with the jumbo fretboard and wizard neck..

Getting a Strat would be an ENTIRE different beast.. Single coils are hefty to have, and strats have their own character that's amazing to play and listen to.. Obviously, I'd prefer using them for blues as opposed to shredding, and to me, changing em pups to single-coil sized humbuckers is a redundant affair - leave the shredding to the RG!

 

[Whitestrat]

4.5k whitestrat, not everyone has that kinda money

Who told you it's 4.5k? It's much cheaper than that lah...

Anyways, if the TS can afford an LP, then this isn't far off. Also, if you're looking at just ONE guitar to buy, then I'd rather save $$$ to get this.:twisted:

 

[Whitestrat]

IMO, a strat is much more DIFFICULT to play compared to a les paul or RG. It forces you to focus on dynamics much more than the other 2....but the rewards are well worth it...once you nail your sonic imprint with familarity using it

Heh... you've learned well, my young padawan...:mrgreen:

 

[ecneret]

thanks whitestrat, very nice ebmm guitar
btw my lp is an epi
not a gibby ,

not so rich la, lookin for cheap guitar to abuse
and try something diff, a secondmistress lol..
but gotta admit the LP is very me i dun think i'll stop playing it

 

[ShredCow]

ecneret, what pickups are on your LP?

 

[ecneret]

my pups for the LP are emg 81 / 85

 

[ShredCow]

Oh? Hmmm...

okay, reading thru the posts, you'd notice something.

Strats seem harder to play. RGs are easier to play. Why?

What... fretboard radius flatter? Thinner neck? High output pickups.

The radius does matter - but your LP should come with a reasonably flat radius to begin with.

The thickness of the neck does matter - but look at players who shred on guitars with fat, or un-shred-friendly, necks. Richie Kotzen? His guitar has a baseball bat of a neck. Paul Gilbert has been advocating thicker necks for better tone and his speed doesn't suffer.

Now the pickups... hotter pups will be more compressed, allowing more effortless playing. Like your EMGs, play them clean, you strum softly or loudly, the volume doesn't really change a lot. Great for metal, for shred - makes sense mah, its all about economy of movement = speed. But then your cleans suffer, no chime/spank/bite/etc etc...

check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFAo-tFDRb4

I think that's a great sounding LP which possess some of the aspects you'd like to have.

 

[Whitestrat]

Getting a Strat would be an ENTIRE different beast.. Single coils are hefty to have, and strats have their own character that's amazing to play and listen to.. Obviously, I'd prefer using them for blues as opposed to shredding, and to me, changing em pups to single-coil sized humbuckers is a redundant affair - leave the shredding to the RG!

That's why I said HSH RG. Play with lower output pups, and you get a very versatile shredder/blues/rock/jazz/pop machine.

 

[Whitestrat]

Strats seem harder to play. RGs are easier to play. Why?

Because Real Men Play Strats!!!

I like the fight with the strat. I like having to work for tone and melody. I like controlling dynamics. Though the latter is something I find easier with a single coil than a humbucker. Heh.

 

[ecneret]

thanks guys~ plenty of very very useful input

thanks shredcow for the vid, unfortuately my office pc has no sound!
will view it once i rch home today

once again thanks for sharing guys