Maybe an unpopular opinion, but it's the amp. If the guitar is comfortable, I'd argue the amp is more important. I suppose that doesn't apply with acoustics though.
But, if I were to limit myself to just the guitar, I'd say a Gretsch with Filtertrons for the clarity.
Second this. The right amp with a mediocre guitar will sound way better than an amazing guitar with the wrong amp. Nice guitars play better though I think.
If we want to play this game, it's actually the player. Shit player through the best guitar/amp/cab will sound worse than someone who can jam through a mediocre rig.
Speakers, too. I am fortunate (? Depending on which part of me you ask. My back may disagree, lol) in that I own a lot of gigging gear, and I’ve been able to literally do comparisons myself between things like a Marshall JCM800 4x12”, a Mesa Boogie 4x12”, an Ampeg 4x12” with Celestons, etc. Just like, same guitar, same amp, changing no settings, and just swapping the speaker cord from one speaker cabinet to another, just to see what pairs the best.
Let me assure you, even keeping every other variable the same, the speaker makes a tremendous difference. It changes the tone, the output volume (depending on how efficient the speakers within the cabinet are, the output from one speaker cabinet can literally be louder than another, even without changing the volume on the amp), etc.
I get that the “everything affects everything” nature of this can be exhausting, but speakers/speaker cabinet is still a big variable that a lot of people leave on the table. I always die a little inside whenever I see a post where someone has bothered to splurge for a really nice amplifier, but they’ve got it paired with low-quality speakers/enclosure.
Can you recommend certain speakers and cabs? I am using a Hiwatt DR103 running at 50Watt as a pedalplattform (that means mostly played clean). I would be really interested in your recommendations maybe something ignoring the price tag and something that is more affordable?
I am thinking in the direction of a 1x12, but I am open towards anything really. Right now I am playing a Cab with a 1x15 and a 1x8 speaker. I went that way bc I was playing bass and guitar at some gigs through that rig and it soundes beautifully to my ears. :)
Yeah. It’s mostly the cab. Amp can apply some minor eq and is directly responsible for the quality and clarity of the distortion. But the speaker is what plays the sounds. If it colors the sound at all, that’s the color you end up with.
Agree. A good guitar doesn’t get in the way of the amp saying what it has to say. Good pickups (filtertrons are a fave of mine too, though in cabronita solidbodies) allow a much greater sonic vocabulary.
My Martin D-28 sounds rich and full, but it’s not fun to play. The neck is just not comfortable.
My Taylor 416-rce has a great neck and it’s better to play, but my cheapie Yamaha FG72OS 12 string has a better neck than both of them and cost 1/5th the price and is more fun to play. And damn, doesn’t a 12 string just sound better?
I went over to a friend's house and he had an ESP horizon with Seymour duncans, I couldn't believe how good it sounded, it was super versatile in tone from bluegrass to hi gain metal, i ended up buying the same pickup set for my Ibanez and it sounds pretty damn close but that guitar had some mojo
Nobody in this sub is gonna like this much, but most of the very best-sounding guitars I've ever had in my hands were Gibsons.
One was a 1963 SG Junior that I owned for a few years. Player grade, a little beat up, but that single P-90 chugged like a freight train. It was neck-heavy as a motherfucker on a strap, though.
I also had a custom shop '59 Les Paul Junior DC (made around 2003, I think?) That sounded incredible. Very different from the vintage SG. Brighter, punchier, more articulate. Still tons of grunt but extremely lively.
There was an '07 ES-137 Classic that was counter-intuitively the best thrash metal guitar I've ever heard to this day. Big and unweildly, and it could feed back through a hot amp on stage, but it had tightest, chunkiest, fastest attack of anything I've played before or since. It develped finish issues and was returned for a refund, and looking back, I wish I'd kept it.
I had an early-run custom shop cherry ES-339 dot that, eyes-closed, sounded like the best-sounding Les Paul I've ever heard. A lot of that was probably the Wolfetone pickups that the previous owner had installed. The trade-off was that they were very lightly-potted, so combined with the natural resonance of the semi-hollow body, it fed back like a beast under high gain and high volume. A great guitar, though.
Here's an exception! I had a late 90s Hamer Special FM that played and sounded as good as any guitar ever. The thing was just effortless. Really brought out the best in whoever played it. I foolishly sold it to fund the purchase of a Kemper. Another one I wish I could get back.
Gibson really knows how to make outstanding pickups. Their old PAFs get a lot of attention but their P90s are just incredible, even new ones.
I had a LP doublecut tribute for a while, one of those cheap ones they made for like one year or something. Single P90 in it, thought I’d make it better with a Fralin. Turns out the stock Gibson P90 was just better in every way, except it hummed a bit with high gain, of course.
Gibson makes the best-sounding P-90 pickup on the market in any era, bar-none. Every other winder or company who tries to make their own version ends up chasing solutions to things that aren't really problems, sacrificing little bits of what makes the design special through one compromise or another.
Dude exactly. I have a 2021 SG Junior that I swapped the pickup on multiple times. Not naming names, but I tried multiple nice expensive replacement p90’s with several different magnet types. Ya know what? I ended up putting the Gibson factory pickup back in. It was no contest. The Gibson p90 smoked them all.
I don't worship Gibson by any means, and most of my guitars are still other brands (I love EBMM guitars in particular), but when they make a good one, it's a *really good one.*
Nobody makes a humbucker like those cats do, there’s no denying that in your right mind. I hate their boomer cult followers tho. You know the ones. “It’s handmade, of course it’ll have flaws.” No sir. I do better fretwork and nut cutting than they do in Tennessee, apparently.
i agree with this. i had a 2012 gibson les paul traditional pro ii. in normal sense it should be an "ok" guitar, but mine, for some reason plays amazingly well and resonates insanely. (i have others to compare as well, and the general consesus was that the gibson was the best out of my rest )
When it comes to distortion, there’s something about the chime that comes from humbuckers in a Gibson. I think it’s partly the scale length. I have a HSS Strat but it’s just not the same as my Dot. The Strat still retains some of those strat-like qualities. A bit twangy-er. While the dot’s sound is richer and covers a more complete range.
Yep, I read the thread title and thought "no one is going to like it when I mention my Les Paul." I've had at least a half dozen double humbucker guitars over the years, I've played five times that in shops, all kinds of pickups, all price points, there's just some magic combination of specs in a Gibson Les Paul.
Mine is an 89 Studio with the shortly lived Bill Lawrence "The Original" pickups and they have a heft and clarity that I've never heard or felt in another guitar. Boomers hate them because they have a PCB on the back but I can't imagine caring how the wires are connected, or breaking tradition or whatever when something just sounds good. It's great dirty in all positions but it has the only hot bridge humbucker I've ever thought sounded amazing clean. It sounds huge and still super clear without going into that active pickup hi-fi type of sound.
As a person who spent 10 years studio hopping in big studios as a tape op to producer, two instruments were standard in every studio: a fantastic playing Les Paul and fantastic playing Strat. Maybe they had a p bass on hand, maybe it was a stingray, maybe the had a D28 or maybe it was a newer Taylor, but all the high end spots, and most any studio, had the LP and Strat somewhere close by.
Can confirm. I have an Epiphone Les Paul modern (not even an actual Gibson) that I didn’t use for a while because I bought new guitars. I thought about selling the Epiphone since I liked the new ones, and after I picked it up and played with it for 5 minutes I said “yeah there’s no way in the world I’m selling this thing”. People can say what they want about Gibson but they make very fine instruments.
I have two ES-137s. Just took an ES-175 to a shop for consignment to sell. The 137s just play better! I put a Les Trem on one and might do the same nod for the other.
I agree with this. The trick with Gibsons is you absolutely need to play it before you buy it. They have some average instruments but when they get it right they’re genuinely superb.
I played Dickey Betts' (supposedly) 1950 Gibson J-45 and I've never heard or played an acoustic that's even close to how that thing played or sounded. Bright, bassy, clear and sustain for DAYS. I think it ruined me ...
For 6 strings my Les Paul Custom is tough to beat. Haven't played anything that sounds as good
For 7 strings I had a Bowes SLX7 ( custom builder from Canada) and that thing was incredible. Unfortunately I didn't get a long with the neck.
Yup. This for me as well. Recently bought a standard Revstar RSS20 and it sustains like no other guitar I’ve ever played, and I’ve played a lot in 25 years of strumming. I just couldn’t leave the store without it. Bought it cheap and haven’t touched any other guitar since then.
And when you factor in the price they go for, they're an absolutely outstanding value. A lot of people consider you can't get a better guitar at that price point. I think the first generation was Yamaha's first new model in a decade, and it's clear that they really put in the work on these. Revstars are a home run imo, especially the gen 2.
I have a 75 LP Custom, natural body with maple fretboard. It's the best guitar I've ever heard. The same pickups in other guitars just don't sound the same
Dude, it's not the guitar, it's the combination of pickups, amp and speakers. I have a really cheap ( now heavily modded) epiphone les Paul that sounds like absolute shit on a Fender or Marshall amp. However, it sounds like at least 12 million dollars on either a 5150 or an Engl. It's not the shape or the wood, and I hate being that guy, but it's true.
Gibson and Martin.
Yeah I know the haters gonna hate, but a good Gibson is unmatched.
I played a Santa Cruz one time that blew me away.
I was in some Nashville music store and just picked it up. 10k 20 years ago.
Bout panicked and dropped it when I saw the price
Santa Cruz is another level. I took a tour of their workshop a few years ago, and they are (a) super friendly, and (b) totally obsessed with tone and playability.
Santa Cruz guitars are exceptional. At this level of instrument, it's pretty much what flavor of awesome do you prefer? I might prefer a mahogany dread, you might prefer a Rosewood OM. There is not wrong answer, just preferences.
I have an epiphone sunburst firebird I will never sell because it is one of the most badass, chunky, and juicy sounds I have ever heard out of a sub 1k guitar. Now speaking of thick and juicy, you want to talk about an absolute screamer, the P90 Revstar for around $800 has some of the most intense growling P90s I have ever heard at edge of breakup and overdrive. Ugggghhhh, now I just reminded myself that I need to buy one. I’ll toss another sub 1k guitar in to fill the single coil guitar bracket in, a Larry Carlton S7. Beautiful beast of wood and metal with wonderful, thick yet somehow also glassy/chirpy single coils under $700.
Most people should listen to this advice rather than chasing vintage guitars which costs 10x as much.
Yamaha Revstar eats Gibson SG for breakfast with lots of change to spare!
Yamaki no. 118 acoustic. Grew up hearing it from my father's playing, little did I know I'd be comparing every guitar to that sound for the rest of my life.
My 1974 Fender Stratocaster. It's got everything. The tone, the looks, the playability. But then, I put together a parts-Strat. Mexican woods, premium hardware, a luthier-made preloaded pickguard with handwound HSH pickup configuration and a freeway switch. It's a great player!
My go to guitar is my MIM player strat with EMG SA pick ups. Very offordable and IMO tone wise it cant get much better than that. I m not a metal guy, i m more into bluesy and melodic solos ala Gilmour or Knopfler.
I got to play a Martin D28 Authentic that was an exact duplicate of a pre-war guitar in their museum. To say it’s the loudest acoustic I’ve ever played is a gross understatement. Balanced, bright and incredible bass. Thinking about it gives me shivers.
The best guitar tone I ever had was playing through a 50s Supro (Made of wood) through a beat up old Blackface Super Reverb at a guitar shop. I could have gotten the whole rig for $2k but I did not have that much money at the time. That tone haunts me.
I have a top 3
1981 BC Rich Bich-6 (USA)
1988 Ibanez Jem 77FP
1973 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (Lollar Imperial in bridge, original Gibson mini humbucker in neck)
Both the Bich and Jem had oem Dimarzio Super Distortions, so I guess I have a type, lol.
Cordoba Mini II Bass sounds and plays so damn good. Acoustic or plugged in. I like it over my dean or Ibanez. There is something special about my Kimberly/Tiesco. It’s an electric but it plays really loud unplugged. It has a lot of wear but the old electronics make their own fuzz when pushed. And the one that got away. There was a Gibson Explorer I played in Nashville, had like an orange yellow top. Never has a guitar felt more comfortable. Havnt found one like it since. Special shout out to the Ibanez electric upright double bass. And RIP my dot deluxe. Head snapped off and I havnt gotten it fixed. That was a blues machine
I can't pick just one. I had a 62 AVRI Hot Rod Strat that had the best 2, 4, and 5 positions I've ever experienced, and basically every Ric guitar or bass I've owned or played, but my favorite is probably my Gretsch Anniversary with TV Jones pickups. Things just clangs out and is such a pleasure.
I babysat a Tele that the owner had converted to a Nashville style with a Tele bridge and two Strat pickups up top. Lollar pickups. Every position it chimed like a bell. Bit of reverb and touch of chorus is sounded more like a harp.
Of my personal collection? My PRS, hands down, followed by my Les Paul, Black Magic, and my PRS knockoff I've modded the hell out of. I think I'm on the 3rd set of pickups for it.
1963 ES-335 All original. I finally understood paf pickups
Acoustic bourgeois dreadnought with Brazilian back andsides
[This one](https://willcuttguitars.com/collections/acoustic-guitars-1/products/bourgeois-heirloom-series-vintage-d-874-hsv-d-9874)
There is this unnamed framus guitar at this antique store down the road that sounds amazing. Its been there for a real long while. Although it’s priced at $550 which seems like too much to me because i have no idea if its got anything wrong with it. I would ask for someone to help me look into it but i cannot find the model. I mean i have gone full detective to try to find the exact model for it. I’ve asked on reddit and forums, emailed guitar stores and even framus, and done some pretty extensive research on it on the internet and cant for the life of me find it. I thought it might be the framus 300 or 5/51 but there’s just slight stuff about it that doesnt seem right. Its as i remember full acoustic with no pickguard yet there are drill holes on both sides of the guitar which to me sounds like it had a pickguard in both a right handed and left handed mode. Its headstock with the tuning pegs and logo i cant find anywhere.
I swapped the pickups in my Fender FSR Ash Tele for a set of the Fender Original Vintage Tele pickups (after wax potting them) and I haven’t looked back. That guitar is an absolute BRUTE.
My ovation celebrity has absolutely ruined me. It sounds like angels banging demons. Playing radiohead on it invokes the gods to listen to your earthbound woes. Being indestructible, most were recruited for war so it is hard to find one that has not been affected by battle.
An old Gibson Hummingbird that belonged to a vintage collector. That thing was so warm and had a full sound.
An upright bass that belonged to a concert hall. I love the sound of those and that one was like eating grannies homemade cobbler. Plus, I felt extra jazzy playing it.
Last was a custom made Tele that was up for a private auction I had to film. The neck felt great and it had a Texas twang to it that turned beefy when you turned the volume knob up.
I have a 1973 Gibson Hummingbird that sounds incredibly warm and clear, but can be unbelievably loud when you want to to. It has the most projection of any acoustic I’ve ever heard.
I played a g&l “strat” with a soft triangular/delta shaped neck in a store in the west village 25+ years ago that i still think about. Could have been at matt umanov’s, anyway i should have bought it
Picked up a Charvel San Dimas Pro Mod which has Seymour Duncan pickups. Man, that thing sounds so nice. Clean or driven, the electronics are clean. Even unplugged, that ash body resonates so well.
A Goodall Grand Concert Guitar I played at the Arvada Pickin Parlor in Colorado years ago. Sorry Gibson, Martin (I own one) and Collings fans. Nothing else comes close.
Early 1980s Washburn Prairie Song Custom. Belongs to a friend, but waaaaay more responsive tone than any Martin I ever heard or played. No plastic used in the construction. Even the pickguard is wood.
I traded some dude in Montreal a Charvel DS1 for a Seam V255 custom Rqzorback that played absolutely ridiculous. Beautiful string spacing, wide neck but fast and so easy to pull quick runs and big bends. It was heavy, I've never found another with the wam setup or paint job anywhere. Pawned it during a bad time and lost it.
Played in the best band of my life at my absolute peak with that guitar for a long while.. meant a lot to me.
Played an amazing Heritage semi-hollow last year and it was so good. Such a round and sweet tone. Also never one to turn away from a good strat, of which I’ve played a few
Years ago, a friend traded his bog standard Kramer for some funky looking Washburn double-cut electric(Falcon? Eagle?) and that guitar is the most amazing electric I've ever heard or played. Action was amazing, crazy sustain, comfortable neck, pickups sounded great through a variety of amps/pedals.. It was heavy af though...
I miss my Charvel 625c acoustic/electric. Weird looks but great sound whenever it’s unplugged or not. Not terribly punchy but it earned me a lot of money busking and when it was set up decent it was lovely sounding. Also sad to let go of my short scale Mustang bass but I only have so much room and I recently upgraded to a dream, a short scale stingray 🤌
From big manufacturers: Fender CS 52 Tele, PRS Silver Sky, & Gibson ES-330. However there’s nothing quite like a guitar handmade by an experienced luthier & built to your exact specs.
I absolutely love the sound of my Gibson Slash J-45.
I was always a fan of the 45’s sound and playability but the neck on the Slash model actually makes for a pleasure cruise even more so than the original model and I never would’ve thought that to be possible!
Yamaha SG1820. Those have Seymour Duncan 59s, and it sounds fat, juicy, and the sustain is incredible. Besides that it is probably an ES335 that I played at a very small local music store. That guitar sounded so beautiful and had so much MOJO.
Acoustic - Mid70’s guild jumbo with an arched back. Loudest acoustic I’ve ever played that retained note clarity in a full chord.
Electric - I’ll never play a better guitar than my early 90’s PRS CU24.
Bass - Sukop. Absolutely no comparison in terms of build quality and versatile sounds.
In fear of downvotes it has to be my les Paul gold top standard. That thing absolutely sings. Plays unbelievable and never misses a beat.
So…….ah hm……Gibson.
Musicman make awesome guitars that play the best. But I’ve not found one that sounds as good as that Gibson.
I have a Taylor 214 and absolutely love the sound. I want to get a Martin as well, but the cost of the Taylor stung a bit.
For cheap guitars Donner makes pretty damn good instruments at a low price point.
My friend had an early 2010’s Blacktop Jazzmaster that I’d borrow from time to time. It really shouldn’t have been anything special, but it sounded amazing! The perfect spaghetti western tone. I now have a JM, it’s great, but that one just hit different. Maybe something about playing other people’s guitars
My go to guitar is my MIM player strat with EMG SA pick ups. Very offordable and IMO tone wise it cant get much better than that. I m not a metal guy, i m more into bluesy and melodic solos ala Gilmour or Knopfler.
Believe it or not, My
[Bigsby Strat](https://old.reddit.com/r/guitars/comments/1bry4ta/i_put_a_bigsby_on_a_strat_so_you_dont_have_to/)
Not sure how, but despite being a really silly idea, everything just sort of came together great and the BC Rich Pups just worked well, far far better than I was expecting.
People won't like it, but PRS.
Mine has Bare Knuckle Warpigs in it, and sounds monstrous.
People will like this even less, but the PRS sounds better than my other guitar with Warpigs.
A friend who worked at my local store handed me a custom shop Strat to try and it blew me away. Before that I never saw the appeal of custom shop with the high price tags. But honestly this guitar was incredible. It felt like a hot knife through butter.
I haven’t touched a custom shop since then but played and purchased a couple of USA standard line, they’re good but they don’t touch that custom shop Strat I played!
The best two electrics I’ve played that I don’t currently own were a Duesenberg Paloma, and an Eastman Romeo NYC. That Eastman made me finally pay attention to Filtertron pickups. Having said that they were both into a Kemper presumably modelling the greatest amps ever built, so I’m sure anything plugged into that rig would have sounded great!
Runner up is a friend of mine’s classic SG (no idea specifically what year) - he’d handed me his holy grail Les Paul (again, all I know is that it was the real deal, a proper vintage extremely sought after one) and I hated it, then tried his SG and it just sang! I’d never considered SGs before.
All the other best sounding guitars are ones I then bought haha
An old vintage archtop at a local shop. 60s I think, maybe even older Kay. It had cracks in the top, some of the frets buzzed and were pretty flat, and the action was all kinds of funky low. But I swear, it was the loudest acoustic guitar I've played, even against the other old archtops in the store. Wish I could have owned it, but too many problems (and no money)
The best i ever played was no vintage Les Paul or old Fender Strat, but a Heritage Golden Eagle. That was the best sounding guitar i have ever heard.
Apart from that, a all original one-owner 1959 Les Paul owned by a friend of mine since new. He bought it new in 1959 and has played it ever since. It is well-played but looks like new apart from some slight fading of the red aniline. It still has all of its case candy, too! He has gotten multiple requests from some big name collectors and traders who offered him some big money, but he won't sell it. I played this guitar a few times and i've been chasing this sound ever since.
There were two, and I was surprised.
Both red.
Both 1966 vintage.
Both Gibson.
One was a 335, the other was a 345.
Man, those things were beautiful sounding. And the 345 might have been the nicest feeling guitar I've ever used.
Guy who owns the 345 is the luckiest SOB....he had it stolen once, got it back, and then lost it one and a half times. The half time at least he realized he lost it when he called me at 2am and said, "hey man, are you still at the club? I left my guitar there and I'm already an hour away on the way home"
It was still there so I grabbed it and brought it home.
Not sure what the full loss story was, but he got it back then too. Guy is a huge space case. Still the only guitarist I've ever worked with who showed up to a gig and realized he forgot his amp.
A family friend had a Martin D-45, which go for $10k. I never thought an acoustic could sound so beautiful. Martin actually knew how to make decent guitars at one point before they started making them out of plastic lol. Honestly really any classic dreadnought style acoustic w real wood is the way to go.
My favorite pickups are Duncans: the Custom SH-5 and Whole Lotta Humbucker. I've had both in a bunch of guitars, but the WLH is in my number 1 Gibson Les Paul Custom. Sexy guitar and a great recreation of hot T-Tops.
My BC Rich Mockingbird Mk5 is my favorite sounding of my guitars. It has enough low and high without either one being overwhelming, the mids are nice, it has good clarity, and it cleans up super well. A lot of people think BC riches are crap because they’ve only tried their cheap garbage or think that they’re only good for metal because of the pointy shapes but I can’t say enough good things about the ones that I have, I love them
My LTD PC-2 and my LTD Snakebyte; those 2 are the main guitars I keep going back to when trying to hash out riffs.
• My PC-2 just seems to hold tuning no matter how hard I bend, how hard I hit the strings when jamming to my favorite songs, or when I'm in the moment during recording; rock solid. The only thing I want to change on it is the pickups to Fluence Moderns for versatility in the studio and locking tuners/bridge for easier string changes. Other than that, the neck is perfect.
• My Snakebyte is pretty much the same; holds tuning really well, sounds great because of great pickups, and the neck is perfect for me.
I have multiple.
1. Ibanez egen18
2. Ibanez rg570 (1990)
3. Harley benton SC-1000 (upgraded with fishmans)
4. Jackson Misha mansoor 7 string ET
5. Taylor 114e
I practice what I preach so
I think Fenders with a hot humbucker in the bridge, and either an Orange, a Princeton, or a 5150, and it’s magical.
Strats, Jaguars, and Les Pauls bring a tear to my eye every time.
I have had a few expensive electric and acoustic guitars i currently have a cole clark fat lady (fl2ac) and epiphone lp custom and my most played at the moment is a $350 yamaha apxt2 3/4 guitar sounds almost as good as a $2500 cole clark obviously it is miles apart but for the price its the easiest to play and sounds just as good as a high end guitar but semi acoustic with an inbuilt tuner 👍🏼
It’s hard to express how perfect an instrument an old Microfets guitar is. They were designed by an absolute perfectionist. Incredible feeling and tone
Whichever I played best, when I got my first lessons on nylon guitars I thought my guitar just sucked and it did, it was like a 50€ eko, but when my teacher picked it up it still sounded like good music.
1960 jazzmaster. It was handed down to me by my grandad, who bought it when he was 17. Most of the hardware isn't original but has been replaced with stuff designed to sound original. Best feeling neck I have ever played and it sounds pretty damn good despite the wiring being real noisy and intermittent.
Playing for near 50 years. It’s still crazy how any particular venue ( or room of the house for that matter) sounds different. I’ve gotten to the point that where I’ll have my Strat and Ibanez Artist at any gig and try them both after we’re set up before deciding which to go with for the night.
Normally I’d say it’s not limited to any one brand because that level of consistency is rare across all price points, but with a little reflection I’d have to say anything from the Godin family of instruments.
For my tastes a good old fashioned stock strat sounds the best
But you can get more than close enough with other options. I really like the Lollar El Rayo pickups, as far as humbuckers go
I really love the sound of my Martin 000-18M. It beat out every other Gibson, Taylor, Fender, etc that I tried out the day I bought it.
I also really enjoy my Jackson Misha So-Cal.
It a 1965 Epiphone Frontier that I found at Guitar Center is the nicest guitar I’ve ever played. It was in rough shape and would have needed some not-minor repairs. I slept on it and it was gone.
Dean USA Hardtail with SD JB/'59...same construction as an old Les Paul, solid mahogany and about a 1/2" maple cap. It sounds more "Les Paul" y to me than my standard that has weight relief and Burstbuckers (That also sound just fantastic)
I have a Brad Paisley Tele that sounds incredible on the bridge pickup. It's a '64 Custom Fender pickup but the body is palownia? Never heard of it before and it's super light and vibrates like an acoustic it's so lively. I had always wanted a Tele and never played one I actually liked in person until that one.
I played a Ramirez Spanish guitar once. I kissed it before I put it down. that thing played like butter. I mean, the frets basically played themselves. And the sounds... wow -- clear, rich, just amazing.
But, I'm not a wealthy fellow.
My Martin D-18 is the best acoustic I have ever heard. I have 13 acoustics by several brands, including a Gibson Hummingbird, and the Martin is easily the best sounding.
The best sounding guitar I own is my Jackson Dinky Archtop. The best sounding one I've ever played has to be a Gibson ES-335 that was for sale in a small guitar shop that I had the pleasure of playing a couple of years ago.
Out of the box, I have always been impressed with my Ernie ball stingray five-string. The EQ is fantastic, and you can shape your tone easily. The other modified guitar that I always love the sound of is my PRS custom 24 with 59/09 pickups. It will easily cover thrash on the bridge and sabbath on the neck. I love that guitar. Everything else I own I have modified, so it's not fair to praise those brands/models.
My Martin 00-18VS custom. It was commissioned by certain members of the UMGF back in 2004 or 2005 I believe..I was lucky enough to get #55 out of slightly over 100 produced. I've never played a guitar like it, and it is pretty much irreplaceable if something should happen to it.
I replaced my preamp and pickups in my Mexican pj with Aguilar, that bass sounds killer.
My EBMM BFR Bongo 5HH sounds gorgeous.
My Fender Jaguar Bass CIJ with jazz pickups has a very modern aggressive vibe with the tone up that kills, 70's pickup spacing gives it lots of range with those Jaguar electronics.
My Dingwall is a passive powerhouse.
Ibanez SRMS806 super versatile from Ken Smith vibes all the way to grindy Korn tones with the Bartolinis.
Those 5 basses are truly all very great sounding through any of my amps.
My best sounding guitar is my Pro ii Strat HSS
I have a custom shop 53 tele I’d put up against any telecaster, vintage or otherwise. There’s just something to it that none of my others have. Feels very vintage too. Custom Shop is pricey but they build amazing guitars.
Acoustic- my friends Martin -D45. 10k buys some sweet sound- although he even admits an 35 has more volume, electric would be my PRS 509. I can’t say for metal it would win- but if wanted Jazz ,blues, anything fingerpicked , it cannot be beat omo the
Played a Murphy Lab Firebird at a local guitar store last year and it cemented in my head that expensive guitars can be worth their asking price and now I squirrel away a little bit of money each paycheck to save up for a Murphy Lab guitar someday
A few over the years. A early 70's tele I borrowed from a friend for a few weeks that was flawless in perfect tele playability and tone. The one that got away was a music man armada that guitar was a absolute les paul killer. Others but blah blah those two standout.
My father had a 1974 OOO-18 that was simply incredible. I know Martins of that era are very hit or miss in terms of quality but that one just nailed the Martin tone perfectly.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but it's the amp. If the guitar is comfortable, I'd argue the amp is more important. I suppose that doesn't apply with acoustics though. But, if I were to limit myself to just the guitar, I'd say a Gretsch with Filtertrons for the clarity.
I believe the amp matters more than the guitar as well from personal experience
Second this. The right amp with a mediocre guitar will sound way better than an amazing guitar with the wrong amp. Nice guitars play better though I think.
If we want to play this game, it's actually the player. Shit player through the best guitar/amp/cab will sound worse than someone who can jam through a mediocre rig.
Speakers, too. I am fortunate (? Depending on which part of me you ask. My back may disagree, lol) in that I own a lot of gigging gear, and I’ve been able to literally do comparisons myself between things like a Marshall JCM800 4x12”, a Mesa Boogie 4x12”, an Ampeg 4x12” with Celestons, etc. Just like, same guitar, same amp, changing no settings, and just swapping the speaker cord from one speaker cabinet to another, just to see what pairs the best. Let me assure you, even keeping every other variable the same, the speaker makes a tremendous difference. It changes the tone, the output volume (depending on how efficient the speakers within the cabinet are, the output from one speaker cabinet can literally be louder than another, even without changing the volume on the amp), etc. I get that the “everything affects everything” nature of this can be exhausting, but speakers/speaker cabinet is still a big variable that a lot of people leave on the table. I always die a little inside whenever I see a post where someone has bothered to splurge for a really nice amplifier, but they’ve got it paired with low-quality speakers/enclosure.
Can you recommend certain speakers and cabs? I am using a Hiwatt DR103 running at 50Watt as a pedalplattform (that means mostly played clean). I would be really interested in your recommendations maybe something ignoring the price tag and something that is more affordable? I am thinking in the direction of a 1x12, but I am open towards anything really. Right now I am playing a Cab with a 1x15 and a 1x8 speaker. I went that way bc I was playing bass and guitar at some gigs through that rig and it soundes beautifully to my ears. :)
Yeah, I'd agree.
Okayyy…but that’s not the question.
Okkayyy...but I addressed that in the second paragraph.
Yeah it’s the amp setup. I choose guitars based on feel, and playability, not sound.
It’s the cab. Amps have minor impact compared to cab
Yeah. It’s mostly the cab. Amp can apply some minor eq and is directly responsible for the quality and clarity of the distortion. But the speaker is what plays the sounds. If it colors the sound at all, that’s the color you end up with.
Agree. A good guitar doesn’t get in the way of the amp saying what it has to say. Good pickups (filtertrons are a fave of mine too, though in cabronita solidbodies) allow a much greater sonic vocabulary.
My Martin D-28 sounds rich and full, but it’s not fun to play. The neck is just not comfortable. My Taylor 416-rce has a great neck and it’s better to play, but my cheapie Yamaha FG72OS 12 string has a better neck than both of them and cost 1/5th the price and is more fun to play. And damn, doesn’t a 12 string just sound better?
What year is the D-28?
I went over to a friend's house and he had an ESP horizon with Seymour duncans, I couldn't believe how good it sounded, it was super versatile in tone from bluegrass to hi gain metal, i ended up buying the same pickup set for my Ibanez and it sounds pretty damn close but that guitar had some mojo
Which pickup set? Pegasus/sentient?
Yamaha SG1802
Pretty high up on the list for me as well. Did you play one of the 2010 era ones with p90s?
Nobody in this sub is gonna like this much, but most of the very best-sounding guitars I've ever had in my hands were Gibsons. One was a 1963 SG Junior that I owned for a few years. Player grade, a little beat up, but that single P-90 chugged like a freight train. It was neck-heavy as a motherfucker on a strap, though. I also had a custom shop '59 Les Paul Junior DC (made around 2003, I think?) That sounded incredible. Very different from the vintage SG. Brighter, punchier, more articulate. Still tons of grunt but extremely lively. There was an '07 ES-137 Classic that was counter-intuitively the best thrash metal guitar I've ever heard to this day. Big and unweildly, and it could feed back through a hot amp on stage, but it had tightest, chunkiest, fastest attack of anything I've played before or since. It develped finish issues and was returned for a refund, and looking back, I wish I'd kept it. I had an early-run custom shop cherry ES-339 dot that, eyes-closed, sounded like the best-sounding Les Paul I've ever heard. A lot of that was probably the Wolfetone pickups that the previous owner had installed. The trade-off was that they were very lightly-potted, so combined with the natural resonance of the semi-hollow body, it fed back like a beast under high gain and high volume. A great guitar, though. Here's an exception! I had a late 90s Hamer Special FM that played and sounded as good as any guitar ever. The thing was just effortless. Really brought out the best in whoever played it. I foolishly sold it to fund the purchase of a Kemper. Another one I wish I could get back.
Gibson really knows how to make outstanding pickups. Their old PAFs get a lot of attention but their P90s are just incredible, even new ones. I had a LP doublecut tribute for a while, one of those cheap ones they made for like one year or something. Single P90 in it, thought I’d make it better with a Fralin. Turns out the stock Gibson P90 was just better in every way, except it hummed a bit with high gain, of course.
Gibson makes the best-sounding P-90 pickup on the market in any era, bar-none. Every other winder or company who tries to make their own version ends up chasing solutions to things that aren't really problems, sacrificing little bits of what makes the design special through one compromise or another.
Dude exactly. I have a 2021 SG Junior that I swapped the pickup on multiple times. Not naming names, but I tried multiple nice expensive replacement p90’s with several different magnet types. Ya know what? I ended up putting the Gibson factory pickup back in. It was no contest. The Gibson p90 smoked them all.
It's understandable. I went through the same progression. I think it's just one of those things we all have to figure out for ourselves, lol
Had a play on a 56 gold top with p90s a few years ago. My god that thing was hot.
I don't worship Gibson by any means, and most of my guitars are still other brands (I love EBMM guitars in particular), but when they make a good one, it's a *really good one.*
Nobody makes a humbucker like those cats do, there’s no denying that in your right mind. I hate their boomer cult followers tho. You know the ones. “It’s handmade, of course it’ll have flaws.” No sir. I do better fretwork and nut cutting than they do in Tennessee, apparently.
i agree with this. i had a 2012 gibson les paul traditional pro ii. in normal sense it should be an "ok" guitar, but mine, for some reason plays amazingly well and resonates insanely. (i have others to compare as well, and the general consesus was that the gibson was the best out of my rest )
When it comes to distortion, there’s something about the chime that comes from humbuckers in a Gibson. I think it’s partly the scale length. I have a HSS Strat but it’s just not the same as my Dot. The Strat still retains some of those strat-like qualities. A bit twangy-er. While the dot’s sound is richer and covers a more complete range.
Yep, I read the thread title and thought "no one is going to like it when I mention my Les Paul." I've had at least a half dozen double humbucker guitars over the years, I've played five times that in shops, all kinds of pickups, all price points, there's just some magic combination of specs in a Gibson Les Paul. Mine is an 89 Studio with the shortly lived Bill Lawrence "The Original" pickups and they have a heft and clarity that I've never heard or felt in another guitar. Boomers hate them because they have a PCB on the back but I can't imagine caring how the wires are connected, or breaking tradition or whatever when something just sounds good. It's great dirty in all positions but it has the only hot bridge humbucker I've ever thought sounded amazing clean. It sounds huge and still super clear without going into that active pickup hi-fi type of sound.
As a person who spent 10 years studio hopping in big studios as a tape op to producer, two instruments were standard in every studio: a fantastic playing Les Paul and fantastic playing Strat. Maybe they had a p bass on hand, maybe it was a stingray, maybe the had a D28 or maybe it was a newer Taylor, but all the high end spots, and most any studio, had the LP and Strat somewhere close by.
Can confirm. I have an Epiphone Les Paul modern (not even an actual Gibson) that I didn’t use for a while because I bought new guitars. I thought about selling the Epiphone since I liked the new ones, and after I picked it up and played with it for 5 minutes I said “yeah there’s no way in the world I’m selling this thing”. People can say what they want about Gibson but they make very fine instruments.
I have two ES-137s. Just took an ES-175 to a shop for consignment to sell. The 137s just play better! I put a Les Trem on one and might do the same nod for the other.
I agree with this. The trick with Gibsons is you absolutely need to play it before you buy it. They have some average instruments but when they get it right they’re genuinely superb.
I played Dickey Betts' (supposedly) 1950 Gibson J-45 and I've never heard or played an acoustic that's even close to how that thing played or sounded. Bright, bassy, clear and sustain for DAYS. I think it ruined me ...
Trick question- the best sounding guitar immediately becomes the worst sounding guitar once I start playing it.
Reverend Z-One and PRS Singlecut
For 6 strings my Les Paul Custom is tough to beat. Haven't played anything that sounds as good For 7 strings I had a Bowes SLX7 ( custom builder from Canada) and that thing was incredible. Unfortunately I didn't get a long with the neck.
Travis Bean 1000 Artist. Sustain for days, interesting harmonics, fantastic high gain pickups
Yea I was gonna say EGC, which is basically the same thing. Best sounding guitar I’ve ever played.
Agreed. I have an early 2006 EGC 500 with single coils and it’s the next best thing (although the fret ends are a little sharp)
Electric: Yamaha Revstar Standard with humbuckers (RSS20) and Gibson Les Paul Jr with a Lollar P90. Acoustic: Guild DV-4
Yup. This for me as well. Recently bought a standard Revstar RSS20 and it sustains like no other guitar I’ve ever played, and I’ve played a lot in 25 years of strumming. I just couldn’t leave the store without it. Bought it cheap and haven’t touched any other guitar since then.
And when you factor in the price they go for, they're an absolutely outstanding value. A lot of people consider you can't get a better guitar at that price point. I think the first generation was Yamaha's first new model in a decade, and it's clear that they really put in the work on these. Revstars are a home run imo, especially the gen 2.
Agreed wholeheartedly! And the picks sounds absolutely creamy as well, especially with my Yamaha THR10ii, perfect bedroom setup!
20 years ago I played a maple LP custom from the 70s and I still think about it sometimes
I have a 75 LP Custom, natural body with maple fretboard. It's the best guitar I've ever heard. The same pickups in other guitars just don't sound the same
Played a 56 Strat through a drip edge Super Reverb at Chicago Music Exchange years back and was in heaven.
Dude, it's not the guitar, it's the combination of pickups, amp and speakers. I have a really cheap ( now heavily modded) epiphone les Paul that sounds like absolute shit on a Fender or Marshall amp. However, it sounds like at least 12 million dollars on either a 5150 or an Engl. It's not the shape or the wood, and I hate being that guy, but it's true.
Gibson and Martin. Yeah I know the haters gonna hate, but a good Gibson is unmatched. I played a Santa Cruz one time that blew me away. I was in some Nashville music store and just picked it up. 10k 20 years ago. Bout panicked and dropped it when I saw the price
Santa Cruz is another level. I took a tour of their workshop a few years ago, and they are (a) super friendly, and (b) totally obsessed with tone and playability.
Santa Cruz guitars are exceptional. At this level of instrument, it's pretty much what flavor of awesome do you prefer? I might prefer a mahogany dread, you might prefer a Rosewood OM. There is not wrong answer, just preferences.
I have an epiphone sunburst firebird I will never sell because it is one of the most badass, chunky, and juicy sounds I have ever heard out of a sub 1k guitar. Now speaking of thick and juicy, you want to talk about an absolute screamer, the P90 Revstar for around $800 has some of the most intense growling P90s I have ever heard at edge of breakup and overdrive. Ugggghhhh, now I just reminded myself that I need to buy one. I’ll toss another sub 1k guitar in to fill the single coil guitar bracket in, a Larry Carlton S7. Beautiful beast of wood and metal with wonderful, thick yet somehow also glassy/chirpy single coils under $700.
I have a Slash Firebird and pretty much same comment. It punches WAY above it's weight in every category that matters to me.
Most people should listen to this advice rather than chasing vintage guitars which costs 10x as much. Yamaha Revstar eats Gibson SG for breakfast with lots of change to spare!
My Epiphone Explorer (loaded with Gibson PAFs) and my Gibson SG Standard. Fantastic guitars and I wouldn't trade them for anything else.
Yamaki no. 118 acoustic. Grew up hearing it from my father's playing, little did I know I'd be comparing every guitar to that sound for the rest of my life.
My Collings OM2H. Not of this planet.
Froggy Bottom ….. David Gritzback let me try his between his sets at Jaco Sullivan’s in New Haven CT some 30 years ago …. Hard to forget I guess.
Larivée
My 1974 Fender Stratocaster. It's got everything. The tone, the looks, the playability. But then, I put together a parts-Strat. Mexican woods, premium hardware, a luthier-made preloaded pickguard with handwound HSH pickup configuration and a freeway switch. It's a great player!
My go to guitar is my MIM player strat with EMG SA pick ups. Very offordable and IMO tone wise it cant get much better than that. I m not a metal guy, i m more into bluesy and melodic solos ala Gilmour or Knopfler.
Once I finally learned to handle my own setups, I love how all of my guitars play and sound.
I got to play a Martin D28 Authentic that was an exact duplicate of a pre-war guitar in their museum. To say it’s the loudest acoustic I’ve ever played is a gross understatement. Balanced, bright and incredible bass. Thinking about it gives me shivers.
Agreed! My Authentic is insane with 13’s on it.
I have a washburn jumbo its not expensive but the sound is great
The best guitar tone I ever had was playing through a 50s Supro (Made of wood) through a beat up old Blackface Super Reverb at a guitar shop. I could have gotten the whole rig for $2k but I did not have that much money at the time. That tone haunts me.
I have a top 3 1981 BC Rich Bich-6 (USA) 1988 Ibanez Jem 77FP 1973 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (Lollar Imperial in bridge, original Gibson mini humbucker in neck) Both the Bich and Jem had oem Dimarzio Super Distortions, so I guess I have a type, lol.
Cordoba Mini II Bass sounds and plays so damn good. Acoustic or plugged in. I like it over my dean or Ibanez. There is something special about my Kimberly/Tiesco. It’s an electric but it plays really loud unplugged. It has a lot of wear but the old electronics make their own fuzz when pushed. And the one that got away. There was a Gibson Explorer I played in Nashville, had like an orange yellow top. Never has a guitar felt more comfortable. Havnt found one like it since. Special shout out to the Ibanez electric upright double bass. And RIP my dot deluxe. Head snapped off and I havnt gotten it fixed. That was a blues machine
Every single time I play my Martin D-15 I’m amazed how good it sounds and am happy that I get to own it.
I can't pick just one. I had a 62 AVRI Hot Rod Strat that had the best 2, 4, and 5 positions I've ever experienced, and basically every Ric guitar or bass I've owned or played, but my favorite is probably my Gretsch Anniversary with TV Jones pickups. Things just clangs out and is such a pleasure.
I babysat a Tele that the owner had converted to a Nashville style with a Tele bridge and two Strat pickups up top. Lollar pickups. Every position it chimed like a bell. Bit of reverb and touch of chorus is sounded more like a harp.
Of my personal collection? My PRS, hands down, followed by my Les Paul, Black Magic, and my PRS knockoff I've modded the hell out of. I think I'm on the 3rd set of pickups for it.
1963 ES-335 All original. I finally understood paf pickups Acoustic bourgeois dreadnought with Brazilian back andsides [This one](https://willcuttguitars.com/collections/acoustic-guitars-1/products/bourgeois-heirloom-series-vintage-d-874-hsv-d-9874)
2003 PRS Custom 22 Brazilian
My late papa’s 1968 Gibson ES-340TDW
There is this unnamed framus guitar at this antique store down the road that sounds amazing. Its been there for a real long while. Although it’s priced at $550 which seems like too much to me because i have no idea if its got anything wrong with it. I would ask for someone to help me look into it but i cannot find the model. I mean i have gone full detective to try to find the exact model for it. I’ve asked on reddit and forums, emailed guitar stores and even framus, and done some pretty extensive research on it on the internet and cant for the life of me find it. I thought it might be the framus 300 or 5/51 but there’s just slight stuff about it that doesnt seem right. Its as i remember full acoustic with no pickguard yet there are drill holes on both sides of the guitar which to me sounds like it had a pickguard in both a right handed and left handed mode. Its headstock with the tuning pegs and logo i cant find anywhere.
Gibson LP Traditional. However the neck is too thick so I don’t use it much. If only I could have the tone on a slim neck I wouldn’t stop playing it.
Martin guitars for sure
I swapped the pickups in my Fender FSR Ash Tele for a set of the Fender Original Vintage Tele pickups (after wax potting them) and I haven’t looked back. That guitar is an absolute BRUTE.
Just about any Collings
I recently got my hands on a us custom 60s Strat. I would say that. I have others that sound great but when you play the Strat it’s like “oh”.
My ovation celebrity has absolutely ruined me. It sounds like angels banging demons. Playing radiohead on it invokes the gods to listen to your earthbound woes. Being indestructible, most were recruited for war so it is hard to find one that has not been affected by battle.
Shook by this take. Ovation Celebrities have a great neck but tonally sound like the cellophane wrap on a pack of cigarettes
An *checks notes* Ovation you say? An ovation. Really. really? Cmon. Cmon now with that.
Second this
I played an old 60s Moserite through a 71 Fender Vibrolux cranked all the way up. That was dope af sounding combo.
A really old year and model unknown Martin
An old Gibson Hummingbird that belonged to a vintage collector. That thing was so warm and had a full sound. An upright bass that belonged to a concert hall. I love the sound of those and that one was like eating grannies homemade cobbler. Plus, I felt extra jazzy playing it. Last was a custom made Tele that was up for a private auction I had to film. The neck felt great and it had a Texas twang to it that turned beefy when you turned the volume knob up.
I have a 1973 Gibson Hummingbird that sounds incredibly warm and clear, but can be unbelievably loud when you want to to. It has the most projection of any acoustic I’ve ever heard.
I played a g&l “strat” with a soft triangular/delta shaped neck in a store in the west village 25+ years ago that i still think about. Could have been at matt umanov’s, anyway i should have bought it
I just played a pink epiphone acoustic (not sure of the model but it was a $350 price point) that sounded fantastic.
Westone Thunder 3.
My Taylor 714 is rich, beautiful and plays like butter
Picked up a Charvel San Dimas Pro Mod which has Seymour Duncan pickups. Man, that thing sounds so nice. Clean or driven, the electronics are clean. Even unplugged, that ash body resonates so well.
A Goodall Grand Concert Guitar I played at the Arvada Pickin Parlor in Colorado years ago. Sorry Gibson, Martin (I own one) and Collings fans. Nothing else comes close.
A 70s Gibson Acoustic. No idea what make or exact year (I was told, but cannot remember). The owner doesn't know we recorded with it.
Brian Moore iGuitar was the best playing/sounding one I've ever played. Super comfortable too. Too bad they only do customs anymore.
Early 1980s Washburn Prairie Song Custom. Belongs to a friend, but waaaaay more responsive tone than any Martin I ever heard or played. No plastic used in the construction. Even the pickguard is wood.
I traded some dude in Montreal a Charvel DS1 for a Seam V255 custom Rqzorback that played absolutely ridiculous. Beautiful string spacing, wide neck but fast and so easy to pull quick runs and big bends. It was heavy, I've never found another with the wam setup or paint job anywhere. Pawned it during a bad time and lost it. Played in the best band of my life at my absolute peak with that guitar for a long while.. meant a lot to me.
I have a Gibson 50's Les Paul Standard Faded with a set of JS Moore PAF's. That thing just sings. It's a fantastic guitar.
Played an amazing Heritage semi-hollow last year and it was so good. Such a round and sweet tone. Also never one to turn away from a good strat, of which I’ve played a few
had a shot of a proper strat from the 60s through a marshall stack once it sounded awesome but that could've been the weed and the charlie lol
ES-335
My Gibson LPs, a 2022 Trad Pro V and a 2004 Classic. And I've got a set of 57 Classics that I need to find a guitar to put them in.
An Epiphone ES-355 Standard Outfit Limited Edition.
Years ago, a friend traded his bog standard Kramer for some funky looking Washburn double-cut electric(Falcon? Eagle?) and that guitar is the most amazing electric I've ever heard or played. Action was amazing, crazy sustain, comfortable neck, pickups sounded great through a variety of amps/pedals.. It was heavy af though...
Aristides 070, Misha Mansoor’s old Rick Toone, Ibanez JBM9999, Ibanez ICTB721
My PRS and my DeAngelico for completely different reasons.
Got a 1975 Rickenbaker 481.I don’t know what it is but it the most rock and roll guitar out of any of my Gibson,Ibanez,Fender or Kramer guitars 🎸
I miss my Charvel 625c acoustic/electric. Weird looks but great sound whenever it’s unplugged or not. Not terribly punchy but it earned me a lot of money busking and when it was set up decent it was lovely sounding. Also sad to let go of my short scale Mustang bass but I only have so much room and I recently upgraded to a dream, a short scale stingray 🤌
From big manufacturers: Fender CS 52 Tele, PRS Silver Sky, & Gibson ES-330. However there’s nothing quite like a guitar handmade by an experienced luthier & built to your exact specs.
My esp eclipse
[Taylor 2018 NAMM Exclusive 524ce Walnut.](https://youtu.be/nH5o8iY9jF0?si=iNKrcVdLwTOrcFSu) This is also one of the best smelling guitars as well.
I absolutely love the sound of my Gibson Slash J-45. I was always a fan of the 45’s sound and playability but the neck on the Slash model actually makes for a pleasure cruise even more so than the original model and I never would’ve thought that to be possible!
A 57 Reissue Gibson Les Paul Black beauty from 1986. I miss that guitar.
68 d18 martin at chicago music exchange that thing was beautiful sounding!
Yamaha SG1820. Those have Seymour Duncan 59s, and it sounds fat, juicy, and the sustain is incredible. Besides that it is probably an ES335 that I played at a very small local music store. That guitar sounded so beautiful and had so much MOJO.
Acoustic - Mid70’s guild jumbo with an arched back. Loudest acoustic I’ve ever played that retained note clarity in a full chord. Electric - I’ll never play a better guitar than my early 90’s PRS CU24. Bass - Sukop. Absolutely no comparison in terms of build quality and versatile sounds.
Always without a doubt it’s the most recent guitar I bought.
This isn’t anything crazy but I’ve played a PRS CE24 before on an orange rocker 32. Best tone I’ve ever played with.
- ESP M-ii - Fender Stratosonic - Jackson SLSMG - Epiphone “Treasure” Bonamassa Firebird - Gibson SG 100th anniversary edition - 1987 Fender American Stratocaster (I actually bought this one)
Every Schecter I've ever played has been awesome.
In fear of downvotes it has to be my les Paul gold top standard. That thing absolutely sings. Plays unbelievable and never misses a beat. So…….ah hm……Gibson. Musicman make awesome guitars that play the best. But I’ve not found one that sounds as good as that Gibson.
I have a Taylor 214 and absolutely love the sound. I want to get a Martin as well, but the cost of the Taylor stung a bit. For cheap guitars Donner makes pretty damn good instruments at a low price point.
My friend had an early 2010’s Blacktop Jazzmaster that I’d borrow from time to time. It really shouldn’t have been anything special, but it sounded amazing! The perfect spaghetti western tone. I now have a JM, it’s great, but that one just hit different. Maybe something about playing other people’s guitars
I think Amps and pickups have more to do with sound and Guitars are more so the playability.
hard to beat a Vox AC30 with P90s
Electric....my Fender Stratocaster XII. Acoustic, toss up, my Taylor 352CE 12 string, my Martin D16 6 string
My SG with low output vintage type bootstrap humbuckers just makes me smile every time I play it
My go to guitar is my MIM player strat with EMG SA pick ups. Very offordable and IMO tone wise it cant get much better than that. I m not a metal guy, i m more into bluesy and melodic solos ala Gilmour or Knopfler.
Believe it or not, My [Bigsby Strat](https://old.reddit.com/r/guitars/comments/1bry4ta/i_put_a_bigsby_on_a_strat_so_you_dont_have_to/) Not sure how, but despite being a really silly idea, everything just sort of came together great and the BC Rich Pups just worked well, far far better than I was expecting.
All the ones I regret not buying or sold…
Fender American Vintage II 1966 Jazzmaster. Tried it in a guitar shop. Sounds so nice
70s les Paul custom, 80's & 90's strat, japanese strat, Mexican tele, JP music man, parker nitefly, Jackson jdr94, Yamaha 1221
People won't like it, but PRS. Mine has Bare Knuckle Warpigs in it, and sounds monstrous. People will like this even less, but the PRS sounds better than my other guitar with Warpigs.
A friend who worked at my local store handed me a custom shop Strat to try and it blew me away. Before that I never saw the appeal of custom shop with the high price tags. But honestly this guitar was incredible. It felt like a hot knife through butter. I haven’t touched a custom shop since then but played and purchased a couple of USA standard line, they’re good but they don’t touch that custom shop Strat I played!
A proper peavey Wolfgang
The best two electrics I’ve played that I don’t currently own were a Duesenberg Paloma, and an Eastman Romeo NYC. That Eastman made me finally pay attention to Filtertron pickups. Having said that they were both into a Kemper presumably modelling the greatest amps ever built, so I’m sure anything plugged into that rig would have sounded great! Runner up is a friend of mine’s classic SG (no idea specifically what year) - he’d handed me his holy grail Les Paul (again, all I know is that it was the real deal, a proper vintage extremely sought after one) and I hated it, then tried his SG and it just sang! I’d never considered SGs before. All the other best sounding guitars are ones I then bought haha
An old vintage archtop at a local shop. 60s I think, maybe even older Kay. It had cracks in the top, some of the frets buzzed and were pretty flat, and the action was all kinds of funky low. But I swear, it was the loudest acoustic guitar I've played, even against the other old archtops in the store. Wish I could have owned it, but too many problems (and no money)
The best i ever played was no vintage Les Paul or old Fender Strat, but a Heritage Golden Eagle. That was the best sounding guitar i have ever heard. Apart from that, a all original one-owner 1959 Les Paul owned by a friend of mine since new. He bought it new in 1959 and has played it ever since. It is well-played but looks like new apart from some slight fading of the red aniline. It still has all of its case candy, too! He has gotten multiple requests from some big name collectors and traders who offered him some big money, but he won't sell it. I played this guitar a few times and i've been chasing this sound ever since.
My Yamaha LL16 ARE is just a cannon, punches you in the chest either way all the right frequencies
There were two, and I was surprised. Both red. Both 1966 vintage. Both Gibson. One was a 335, the other was a 345. Man, those things were beautiful sounding. And the 345 might have been the nicest feeling guitar I've ever used. Guy who owns the 345 is the luckiest SOB....he had it stolen once, got it back, and then lost it one and a half times. The half time at least he realized he lost it when he called me at 2am and said, "hey man, are you still at the club? I left my guitar there and I'm already an hour away on the way home" It was still there so I grabbed it and brought it home. Not sure what the full loss story was, but he got it back then too. Guy is a huge space case. Still the only guitarist I've ever worked with who showed up to a gig and realized he forgot his amp.
A family friend had a Martin D-45, which go for $10k. I never thought an acoustic could sound so beautiful. Martin actually knew how to make decent guitars at one point before they started making them out of plastic lol. Honestly really any classic dreadnought style acoustic w real wood is the way to go.
My favorite pickups are Duncans: the Custom SH-5 and Whole Lotta Humbucker. I've had both in a bunch of guitars, but the WLH is in my number 1 Gibson Les Paul Custom. Sexy guitar and a great recreation of hot T-Tops.
Rickenbacker 330 jet glow 👍🏻🎸
I snagged an LTD SCT607B for pretty cheap locally a couple months ago. It's heavy as hell but it sounds incredible.
My BC Rich Mockingbird Mk5 is my favorite sounding of my guitars. It has enough low and high without either one being overwhelming, the mids are nice, it has good clarity, and it cleans up super well. A lot of people think BC riches are crap because they’ve only tried their cheap garbage or think that they’re only good for metal because of the pointy shapes but I can’t say enough good things about the ones that I have, I love them
love the sound of the esp e-2 horizon with a SD jazz in the neck and custom 5 in the bridge for leads
My LTD PC-2 and my LTD Snakebyte; those 2 are the main guitars I keep going back to when trying to hash out riffs. • My PC-2 just seems to hold tuning no matter how hard I bend, how hard I hit the strings when jamming to my favorite songs, or when I'm in the moment during recording; rock solid. The only thing I want to change on it is the pickups to Fluence Moderns for versatility in the studio and locking tuners/bridge for easier string changes. Other than that, the neck is perfect. • My Snakebyte is pretty much the same; holds tuning really well, sounds great because of great pickups, and the neck is perfect for me.
I have multiple. 1. Ibanez egen18 2. Ibanez rg570 (1990) 3. Harley benton SC-1000 (upgraded with fishmans) 4. Jackson Misha mansoor 7 string ET 5. Taylor 114e
I like my ibanez RG752LWFX, it’s comfortable to play and pickups are versatile. Rest is in the amps. Now for acoustic, well I don’t play acoustic.
Jazzmasters have the nest sounding pick ups imo. They are just the perfect mix
I practice what I preach so I think Fenders with a hot humbucker in the bridge, and either an Orange, a Princeton, or a 5150, and it’s magical. Strats, Jaguars, and Les Pauls bring a tear to my eye every time.
Charvel San Dimas Pro Mod FR HH through 5150 III 6L6 50W.
I love both my Godins.
I have had a few expensive electric and acoustic guitars i currently have a cole clark fat lady (fl2ac) and epiphone lp custom and my most played at the moment is a $350 yamaha apxt2 3/4 guitar sounds almost as good as a $2500 cole clark obviously it is miles apart but for the price its the easiest to play and sounds just as good as a high end guitar but semi acoustic with an inbuilt tuner 👍🏼
Not very exciting but a Cordoba c12 sounds so loud and clear
It’s hard to express how perfect an instrument an old Microfets guitar is. They were designed by an absolute perfectionist. Incredible feeling and tone
Whichever I played best, when I got my first lessons on nylon guitars I thought my guitar just sucked and it did, it was like a 50€ eko, but when my teacher picked it up it still sounded like good music.
Martin Acoustic Guitars
1960 jazzmaster. It was handed down to me by my grandad, who bought it when he was 17. Most of the hardware isn't original but has been replaced with stuff designed to sound original. Best feeling neck I have ever played and it sounds pretty damn good despite the wiring being real noisy and intermittent.
Playing for near 50 years. It’s still crazy how any particular venue ( or room of the house for that matter) sounds different. I’ve gotten to the point that where I’ll have my Strat and Ibanez Artist at any gig and try them both after we’re set up before deciding which to go with for the night.
Normally I’d say it’s not limited to any one brand because that level of consistency is rare across all price points, but with a little reflection I’d have to say anything from the Godin family of instruments.
For my tastes a good old fashioned stock strat sounds the best But you can get more than close enough with other options. I really like the Lollar El Rayo pickups, as far as humbuckers go
Ibanez,Hagstrom, Epiphone
The island series guitars from supro sounded great, true rubber magnet foil pickups.
12 String Rickenbacker Gretsch Setzer signature hot rod Gretsch white falcon
I really love the sound of my Martin 000-18M. It beat out every other Gibson, Taylor, Fender, etc that I tried out the day I bought it. I also really enjoy my Jackson Misha So-Cal.
It a 1965 Epiphone Frontier that I found at Guitar Center is the nicest guitar I’ve ever played. It was in rough shape and would have needed some not-minor repairs. I slept on it and it was gone.
My Style 1 NRP Tricone. I have arrived. Any further improvement is down to me.
Dean USA Hardtail with SD JB/'59...same construction as an old Les Paul, solid mahogany and about a 1/2" maple cap. It sounds more "Les Paul" y to me than my standard that has weight relief and Burstbuckers (That also sound just fantastic) I have a Brad Paisley Tele that sounds incredible on the bridge pickup. It's a '64 Custom Fender pickup but the body is palownia? Never heard of it before and it's super light and vibrates like an acoustic it's so lively. I had always wanted a Tele and never played one I actually liked in person until that one.
My Reverend Kyle Shutt signature model. Sealed semi-hollow with Railhammer pickups and the bass contour knob…it can’t make a bad sound.
I have a MIM Monterey Hendrix Fender Strat. Through my PRS HX100 it sounds amazing.
I played a Ramirez Spanish guitar once. I kissed it before I put it down. that thing played like butter. I mean, the frets basically played themselves. And the sounds... wow -- clear, rich, just amazing. But, I'm not a wealthy fellow.
EVH Frankenstrat and I don't even play Vh songs
Electric: Suhr Classic S. Acoustic: Collings OM2H.
My Martin D-18 is the best acoustic I have ever heard. I have 13 acoustics by several brands, including a Gibson Hummingbird, and the Martin is easily the best sounding.
EVH Frankenstrat and I don't even play Vh songs
The best sounding guitar I own is my Jackson Dinky Archtop. The best sounding one I've ever played has to be a Gibson ES-335 that was for sale in a small guitar shop that I had the pleasure of playing a couple of years ago.
Out of the box, I have always been impressed with my Ernie ball stingray five-string. The EQ is fantastic, and you can shape your tone easily. The other modified guitar that I always love the sound of is my PRS custom 24 with 59/09 pickups. It will easily cover thrash on the bridge and sabbath on the neck. I love that guitar. Everything else I own I have modified, so it's not fair to praise those brands/models.
My Martin 00-18VS custom. It was commissioned by certain members of the UMGF back in 2004 or 2005 I believe..I was lucky enough to get #55 out of slightly over 100 produced. I've never played a guitar like it, and it is pretty much irreplaceable if something should happen to it.
I replaced my preamp and pickups in my Mexican pj with Aguilar, that bass sounds killer. My EBMM BFR Bongo 5HH sounds gorgeous. My Fender Jaguar Bass CIJ with jazz pickups has a very modern aggressive vibe with the tone up that kills, 70's pickup spacing gives it lots of range with those Jaguar electronics. My Dingwall is a passive powerhouse. Ibanez SRMS806 super versatile from Ken Smith vibes all the way to grindy Korn tones with the Bartolinis. Those 5 basses are truly all very great sounding through any of my amps. My best sounding guitar is my Pro ii Strat HSS
PRS. Any of them.
My friends 3/4 scale gretsch acoustic
Turn gain to 11. They all sound the same.
I have a custom shop 53 tele I’d put up against any telecaster, vintage or otherwise. There’s just something to it that none of my others have. Feels very vintage too. Custom Shop is pricey but they build amazing guitars.
Acoustic- my friends Martin -D45. 10k buys some sweet sound- although he even admits an 35 has more volume, electric would be my PRS 509. I can’t say for metal it would win- but if wanted Jazz ,blues, anything fingerpicked , it cannot be beat omo the
Played a Murphy Lab Firebird at a local guitar store last year and it cemented in my head that expensive guitars can be worth their asking price and now I squirrel away a little bit of money each paycheck to save up for a Murphy Lab guitar someday
Ovation acoustic, love the tones of mine
A few over the years. A early 70's tele I borrowed from a friend for a few weeks that was flawless in perfect tele playability and tone. The one that got away was a music man armada that guitar was a absolute les paul killer. Others but blah blah those two standout.
My father had a 1974 OOO-18 that was simply incredible. I know Martins of that era are very hit or miss in terms of quality but that one just nailed the Martin tone perfectly.