The ultimate Session guitar ?

Wessel · 2008-10-13T18:56:55+00:00

Which guitar is the most versatile guitar ? The one guitar that can adapt to all different genres and playing styles and session gigs. Everything from a meta...

The ultimate Session guitar ?

Heath

My Cort Z44 does a frekkin good job of going from death metal , blow your shorts off to mellow blues to decent sounding accoustic stuff and easily

andrewjbryson

Fender Baja Telecaster
Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS

DNC

yeah I would say the petrucci model... If you listen to Dream theather they really go around the world in 180 minutes (no punt intended) .... The only thing I would add is maby a single coil pick up to realy get that strat sound... I know the Ibanez jem can do that. But Don't like the whole H-S-H thing...

Maby if you just mod the electronics on the musicman so the for it only uses 1 coil of the humbucker. Add a 5 way selector switch.

Mr-M

Take just about any decent guitar with an HH Pickup configuration and swap the pups out for Seymour Duncan P-Rails. Alnico Single Coil, P-90 soapbar and humbucker (with the choice of series or parallel wiring for different levels of output and articulation) pickup tones in one guitar. http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/progressive/prails_shpr1/ Or there's the Vox Virage Guitars which have custom designed Dimarzio's called 3-90s, which are P-90 sized triple coil rail pickups that give you soapbar, single coil and humbucker tones. The guitars are super-high quality, apparently made in Japan by Fuji-Gen (same guys who make the high-end Ibanez guitars) and have some really advanced design features. The designer Rich Lasner also designed the Ibanez JEM, RG and Yamaha Pacifica guitars. Retail at like $3300 in the US, so out of my price league, but I'm excited to check them out when they do arrive in SA. http://www.voxvirage.com/ The PRS 513 is also really awesome IMO.

Heath

ok those pickups are sweet , anyone know where i can get some , or do i have to import those sick puppies

DNC

Tailon wrote: ok those pickups are sweet , anyone know where i can get some , or do i have to import those sick puppies

I know that Andy mcgibbons have got the the "dealership" for SD. They are in Jhb, but you local guitar shop should be able to order from them.. depending if they have stock.

Mr-M

Andy McGibbon's are the Seymour Duncan importers, but they haven't got them. Last I checked it was 12 weeks until the shipment arrives and that was around a month ago, so I'd reckon they arriving December. Based on my previous backorders with Andy's I'm not overly optimistic about that happening though. Maybe I'm wrong - give them a call.

I might just buy them off eBay before that. I remember watching the video demo on youtube back at the beginning of the year and been GASing for them since then. Just haven't got around to getting them yet - I've had so many pedals to buy! ?

Heath

Andys is terrible for back orders , if they don't have stock start looking else where .... always takes forever

Reinhard

I'd say a tele or a P90 Les Paul.

Renesongs

The one thing that always stands out for me about the Fender Stratocaster is it's versatility you just have to look at the diversity of guitarist who use strats for their stock sounds Malmsteen, Gilmour, Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Sony Landreth just to touch the suface, I mean how much more diverse do you want to get?

Orion

Renesongs wrote: The one thing that always stands out for me about the Fender Stratocaster is it's versatility you just have to look at the diversity of guitarist who use strats for their stock sounds Malmsteen, Gilmour, Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Sony Landreth just to touch the suface, I mean how much more diverse do you want to get?

Yip, that was my reason for buying a Strat. Im not saying that it beats the Ball or the 513, but it can definately do just about anything.

C-LYDE

MoJo JoJoe wrote: PRS 513

Since I figured they are a rip-off of the Ibanez S series - my 2c is the Ibanez S (Jap) series.
- Humbuckers for the fat lead or may7 comping.
- single coils for the cut
- Split coil for the twang

C-LYDE

Renesongs wrote: The one thing that always stands out for me about the Fender Stratocaster is it's versatility you just have to look at the diversity of guitarist who use strats for their stock sounds Malmsteen, Gilmour, Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Sony Landreth just to touch the suface, I mean how much more diverse do you want to get?

To a certain extend that is very true - however those artist were not trying to sound like anything other than themselves..? Imagine the producer saying "..that's lovely Jimmy - but we really need something more country-like on this part" or " Dave, this is really good stuff - but it sounds nothing like George Benson!"

The single coil sound is very popular - but mho is that the strat is over-rated as an instrument in today's world.. ? ?

It all depends on what we interpret as "session requirements" 8)

MoJo-JoJoe

C-LYDE

MoJo JoJoe wrote:
C.LYDE wrote:
MoJo JoJoe wrote: PRS 513
Since I figured they are a rip-off of the Ibanez S series - my 2c is the Ibanez S (Jap) series.
- Humbuckers for the fat lead or may7 comping.
- single coils for the cut
- Split coil for the twang
Maybe just do some in-depth research before considering a guitar like the PRS 513. Once you've done that you'll know if you're close with your assumption that they are an Ibanez S-series ripoff. There has never been any other guitar that is like a PRS 513. Its pickups are revolutionary and I think they make for the best possible Session guitar when you can have only one guitar.
Of course the best way to go is to have no compromises and as such to have many guitars that specialise at each tonal job. There's a reason top Studios have so many guitars...

Actually come to think of it....Session musos usually don't shoot for a ton of different tones - they have their trademark tones and when they get booked they are expected to deliver just that tone, so maybe this discussion is all in vain.... ?

Don't take all this discussion too serious mate. ?

I'd buy the PRS if they were reasonably priced..! ?

- I actually do tons of research ... on everything...it's my nature and fits my daily job.. ?
- The 513 is a combination of the H-S-H concept and PRS's own 5 way switching. Now look at the old Ibanez guitars - they were the 1st to introduce the H-S-H type arrangement (almost 15 yrs ago)
- sure the parallel/serial switching has always been A PRS thing but the H-S-H is not.

It's similar to giving kudu's to Fender for the S-S-S, 5 way switching or Les Paul for the 3 way H-H arrangement.

As for session muso's and tone requirements - again I say it depends on the requirement of the session. Take someone like Lee Ritenour - much more versatile than most solo artists, and fits the profile of gun-for-hire, hence his known for playing various instruments from nylon strung Gibsons to Valley Arts Strats.

WantzChas

+1 on the MusicMan Petrucci signature. That is just so awesome.

MoJo-JoJoe

C-LYDE

This is the funny about about 'factual discussion' - unless we start posting references of sources all of it is mere "factual based opinion" or if you want "'non-factual' based opinion". ?

For example

1)What do you base your reasoning on that a PRS is reasonably priced? Have you any idea the manufacturing cost of a PRS is?

2)Stating that the H-S-H existed before the Ibanez S series (yes I own the same I540S) is your opinion - how is that more 'factual' than me saying that based on a guitar made public in 1987, it is therefore ahead of a design made public in 2006(??)

In fact by that reasoning the electric guitar was therefore invented soon after electricity was discovered, by some tinkerer in workshop somewhere unknown? I hope Les Paul is aware of this 'fact' :?

Antagonistic? 8)

MoJo-JoJoe

Gearhead

I do however agree with C.Lyde that the discussion lists some non-logical opinions (are my pointy ears showing?) on what is a good all-round session instrument:
- the Tele can by no means called versatile since it has a very particular sound
- a 7-string, not an instrument every guitarist will be immediately comfortable with

To me the PRS mentioned is more versatile since it has medium scale length, a choice of pickup selections and there's few guitarists purist or spoilt enough not to at least try it. If I had a studio and would offer my customers one single guitar as session instrument this would be it.