#Help me decide from these options

163 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

iron kayak
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PRS SE Custom 24 CH or Yamaha Pacifica 611VFM or Ibanez RG550 PN

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My main genre is jrock and math rock

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but i want it to be versatile

fickle osprey
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how many frets do you think you need

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do you need a floyd rose style bridge

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thats really what the question boils down to

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all of these are versatil

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cus all of these can play j rock and math rock

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the more important differences are in those two qusetions i just asked

grave cliff
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So honestly, the best answer is:

Try them all and see which one feels best to you, and plays best to you (you can make any of these work for jrock or math rock, like virtually guaranteed)

If you want to nitpick at the specs...

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SE Custom 24 CH ($649 USD) has:

  • PRS style tremolo bridge (6 point)
  • 2 humbuckers (pretty standard for any rock/metal music, but nothing special about these stock pickups tbh)
  • 25 inch scale length (PRS spec) FYI this affects playing feel to some degree
  • somewhere around 8 lbs in weight (slight variance depending on the cut of wood)
  • Mahogany body (known to be a bit heavier with wood cuts sometimes for more mid range guitars)/ Rosewood fretboard / Maple neck
  • Neck profile on this will feel more like Ibanez, than a Fender, if that makes sense
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Yamaha Pacifica 611VFM ($777 USD) has:

  • VERY IMPORTANT: This has 22 frets, while the others have 24 frets
  • Wilkinson VS50-6 bridge (6 point)
  • Seymour Duncan Vintage Soapbar SP90 in the neck position (single coil pickup, but has a dirtier/grittier sound than a normal say... Fender single coil)
  • Seymour Duncan Custom 5 TB-14 in the bridge position (pretty standard medium output pickup. sounds nice.)
  • 25.5" scale length (fender spec). FYI this affects playing feel to some degree
  • Alder body with flamed maple top / Maple neck / Rosewood fretboard
  • Pacifica neck profiles are more toward "C-shaped", more so like that of a Fender Strat I would say
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Ibanez RG550 PN ($829 USD) has:

  • Edge / "Original" Edge floating bridge (Widely agreed upon to be amazing overall. These are manufactured by Gotoh for Ibanez AFAIK)
  • Standard Ibanez pickups... V7-n and V8-b I believe, but stock Ibanez pickups often don't sound good to my ear
  • Worth noting, these are on the heavier side I would say, just from playing 550's
  • Bonus points: the purple neon body is sexy... LMAO
  • 25.5" scale length (fender spec). FYI this affects playing feel to some degree
  • Basswood body (pretty standard for Ibanez) / Maple fretboard / Super wizard neck in Maple/Walnut
  • Ibanez wizard neck profiles are very slim, try one before you buy, they feel very unique and that could be good or bad depending on your taste

My thoughts:

  • Aesthetically, really your choice (some would argue a certain guitar looks more "j-rock" or "math rock" than another...)
  • Best for j-rock/math rock (I mean literally all of them work... pick what feels best)
  • Best pickups, easily the Yamaha Pacifica (I love higher end pacificas tbh haha, and would choose one over the other guitars you listed... even the Ibby...admittedly)
  • Best bridge, easily the RG550. The Original Edge is literally GOATED, the only thing better is a Floyd Rose Original and maybe a FR1000 or FR1500 depending on the setup + maintenance.... and of course a Gotoh 1996t but original edge is already made by Gotoh lol...)
  • Best weight, depends on the wood cut but they're all mostly the same (I would say the RG550 will tend to be heavier for sure based on the hardware...)
iron kayak
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Thank you very much

iron kayak
iron kayak
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I dont need that

iron kayak
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Im still deciding

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Im going to go to budapest (because i live in hungary) to try some guitars out

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And btw one thing i noticed that the rg550 is way cheaper when i buy it in my country when i buy it from like germany

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Like its 895 usd

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But in like germany its 1020 usd

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And also i found the yamaha pacifica at 1020 usd too

fickle osprey
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HSS setup, could probably appreciate the brighter tones for j rock

grave cliff
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If you don't mind the weight of it... and you like the pickups, and price is a major factor for you... and you don't mind the occasional setup for a floating bridge. the 550 might be your winner

Keep in mind though all floating bridges need LOTS of attention, so if that's an ick for you, keep that in mind haha

iron kayak
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what does like setup mean?

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ive never had a floating bridge

iron kayak
grave cliff
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So for any floating bridge, just natural wear and tear from playing + oils from your skin, components will shift over time from conditions/environment, etc.

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It's best to keep them clean, and get it adjusted (or "set up")

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Either you have to do that, or a guitar tech/luthier at your nearest shop

iron kayak
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how often?

grave cliff
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depends on how often you play I'd say. I try to maintain mine every 1 or 2 months

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and I play a lot

iron kayak
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oh i see

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thats not too bad

grave cliff
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With all of that being said though, the original Edge bridge is literally among the world's best you can get

iron kayak
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but like i said i rarely use the whammy bar

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what guitar do you have btw?

grave cliff
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Yep! You can also block it off too, if you want to make it a hardtail

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There's a brand of wood blocks i forget the name of lol

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But those are amazing for not killing your guitar's sustain while turning the floating bridge system into a hardtail basically

grave cliff
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I used to run an Ibanez RG350DX, got rid of that

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Edge Pro II and Edge III just don't compare to that original Edge

grave cliff
iron kayak
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i see

grave cliff
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It's an obvious one, but I always forget my picks

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Do not forget your pick

iron kayak
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thank you very much

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i will try to decide whether the rg550 or the Yamaha Pacifica 612V

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btw is there a lot of difference between the the rg550 and the rg450?

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because the latter is a lot cheaper

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or the rg470

grave cliff
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If you're okay with 22 frets... man that Pacifica 611VFM is a real killer haha

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I am really liking those pickups a lot.

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Wilkinson tremolos have a pretty decent reputation, and I've never had any problems with em myself

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But i haven't like torture tested one, to be fair

iron kayak
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hmm

grave cliff
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@iron kayak Btw, when you are at the shop... try out an Ibanez AZ Essentials, kinda curious what you think of that haha

It's not in the same price range AT ALL, like it's a super budget guitar

But for the style you play, I'm curious what you'll think

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I was pretty surprised by the way it felt + sounded for a 300 dollar guitar

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considering a lot of ibanez's stock pickups kinda sound the same to me

iron kayak
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okay sure

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btw @grave cliff can u any websites that sell the yamaha for like 730?

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because its a lotmore locally

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and i couldnt find any

grave cliff
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So buying it locally is most likely a better choice (even if it costs a bit more)

iron kayak
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no actually thomann is more expensive😭

grave cliff
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Hmm okay, get it locally for sure if you want the Pacifica then

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Keep in mind they just don't produce many of those models, plus they have more expensive hardware with the pickups

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So you're getting your money's worth for sure

iron kayak
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rip university funds

grave cliff
iron kayak
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Harley benton st20

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Ive had it for 8 years

grave cliff
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oh nice dude! HB's are actually really solid haha

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I mean that guitar can certainly get the job done for j-rock and math rock still

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If you're more concerned about the sound of those genres, you have a lot of options for tone

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We certainly live in a golden age of guitar lol, there are many many ways to solve a tone or guitar problem

iron kayak
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I mean yeah its good, but i plan to join a band and play live in the future

grave cliff
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Ahhhh okay, yeah you need a guitar that's truly reliable then

iron kayak
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Yeah

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I have amplitube 5 tho so i could get a lot of tones

grave cliff
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yeah the pacifica and 550 are absolutely reliable for live performances....

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if you want to play live with a proper amp, can cross that bridge when you get to it

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most VSTs will do just fine for tones yeah, amplitube is solid

iron kayak
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I had issues with the eletronics too

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My dad and i had to literally mold it together

grave cliff
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Yeah that's the tricky part with budget guitars, it's often the electronics

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surprisingly the construction is more reliable and consistent on newer budget guitars

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obviously the wood/materials are less quality too though

plush fern
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It really depends on what you want

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They are all good for different uses i feel

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Do you have experience with any double locking trems

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If you're planning to use the trem alot I think the RG550 would be good

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but from personal experience with ibanez guitars similar to the RG550, its not fit for math rock

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theres tons of tunings for math rock and its very annoying to change tuning on a double locking trem

plush fern
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Personally I would go for the pacifica

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i feel like the tone on the pacifica would be more appropriate

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for math rock

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and j rock

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cuz u can use the neck and the bridge at the same time which is the position alot of math rock and j rock use

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id choose it over the PRS also because of the specs

fickle osprey
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if it means anyting at all

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(it shouldnt)

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bocchi uses a pacifica 611

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mainly because Yamaha paid the studio to include their gear

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but Yamaha 600 series is good in general

grave cliff
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Every new tuning = new setup

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That’s a big point in favor of the Pacifica for sure

iron kayak
iron kayak
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I didnt know that

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And what do you think about cort guitars?

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And also what do you guys recommend as the best guitar in that price range?

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For jrock and math rock ofc

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And also a superstrat

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Or a normal strat

fickle osprey
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j rock and math rock vary in guitars its not like they all use the same gear

fickle osprey
fickle osprey
iron kayak
iron kayak
grave cliff
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PRS and Yamaha's Pacifica range are moreeee in the middle. like Fender necks but flatter feeling

fickle osprey
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not better or worse

fickle osprey
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theres comfortable necks and uncomfortable necks

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thats it

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and u find that out by playing more and more guitars

iron kayak
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Well, anyways im gonna try out guitars so

fickle osprey
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if thicker meant slower playing than why are some of the fastest players in history on classical guitars, which have fat wide necks

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food for thought

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just find whats comfortable

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not “whats best for fast playing and jrock” cus that doesnt exist

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brands like to call their necks “fast” or “speedy” to market to bad players who wanna cope for being slow

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dont fall for it

iron kayak
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Oh i see

plush fern
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some people can play faster with thicker necks

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some people can play faster with thin necks

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it all depends on what you're used to or what u prefer

plush fern
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i can suggest some nice cort guitars

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a really good guitar is the Cort G300 Pro, although it is a floating bridge so not as good for changing tunings, but a ncie guitar in geenral

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general

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I would still stick with the yamaha

iron kayak
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Thank you very much

iron kayak
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Okay ive tried out a lot of guitars

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But

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My absolute fav was the Yamaha pacifica

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But i tried the 311

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Do you think the 611vfm is worth it

plush fern
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itll feel much better than the pacifica u tried too