Favorite Blues Guitar

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
Ok! When I started all this last March I wanted an affordable, (not cheap) guitar and amp, and now I am hooked. I bought an Ibanez S521 (~$400) because it is an easy to play guitar with the understanding when I bought it that it is probably more suited to a metal head, but then again, I just put it in "set it and forget it" mode (thanks Ron Popiel) with a sound that was well suited to what I wanted to do. Well, here I am having grown up a bit since then and am thinking I might trade it in for better "blues guitar". What is the collective opinion?
The positives with this guitar is that it is easy to play and small and light. I pick up an Epiphone or Gibson LP and it feels like I am holding a brick, and I borrowed a hollow body from a friend and it feels enormous. I am not sure what to do. Thanks
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
Well from what you’ve said you’re probably looking for a Strat or one of the many clones. Classic blues sounds, Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour - the list is endless. And there are models in every price range. Having said that, you might also want to check out the Tele’s and the smaller body sem-hollow guitars like the Gibson/Epiphone 339 or the Eastman T484.
 

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
Thanks. I will look into this. I played a friend's Squire Strat and frankly, compared to my Ibanez it seemed not very well made. I guess I need to save my money because if I am going to do this I would like to get something good. I have to say that for a $400 guitar the Ibanez seems well made and I can truly hear an out of tune instrument and virtually never tune this thing. It stays in tune very nicely. How important is the humbucker vs single coil thing. Pardon me if I ask newbie questions but I am leaning the guitar and have not yet learned much about the mechanics/electronics or amp.
 

Crossroads

Thump the Bottom
All guitars can play the blues, they just may sound a little different doing it. I have two Ibanez guitars and don't play metal, only classic rock and blues.
So f your unhappy with the sound or feel or just want something else, that's fine. But if your just looking for a blues guitar you already have one.

But if you want something else you might want to narrow down the field. This is my list of preferences (doesn't mean it's right for you)

Price limit
F-Hole or solid body
22 or 24 fret neck
Humbuckers , single coils or both
Fixed bridge or wang bar
Neck type Chunky, flat, small C
3 way or 5 way stitch
From there I go frets and color
Artist models will cost you more cause they have to pay the artist license

My personal opinion American Srats and LPs ae overpriced, and yes LPs can weigh a ton, and then there's that tuning thing too, but they do sound good.

If I (again I, not you) were looking now I would be looking @ PRS, Ibanez, Schecter, maybe a MIMM Strat or Tele, but that's me not you.

You need to get out to music stores, I know that can be intimidating, but most places have separate rooms you can try equipment out in.

Good Luck
 

Many Moons

Biking+Blues=Bliss
Hey David. Welcome to the forum.(y)

You can play the blues on virtually anything. It's all about the selection of notes (as Griff constantly reminds us, mixing the major/minor scales) and the 'feeling' that is put into the piece. I play a strat and absolutely love it, but in my hands compared to Griff's it doesn't even remotely sound the same, so it's all relative. By the sound of it you are really comfortable with, and enjoy playing the S521, and it would be a shame to trade it in for something that you may not feel as comfortable with. Have you tried Amp modelling? I use Helix Native from Line6, and the amount of tones I can get out of it is staggering. Maybe you should try something along those lines, or effects pedals (be careful in that minefield:confused:) before you make any hasty decisions.
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
Have no knowledge of the S521. But what makes it not a blues guitar. Fixed bridge no locking nut so not a metal guitar as the RG series are considered. Fixed bridge twin humbuckers could be describing an LP. The ceramic pickups may be a little bright sounding (though some love ceramic pickups). As has already been said if you are comefortable playing it then keep it. With the ceramic pickups if they are a little hot try turning the guitar down and the amp up to get back to the same volume level you may find a mellower more bluesy tone. And you can then turn it back up if you want to really rock out.

cheers

Al
 

Jalapeno

Student Of The Blues
It's not the arrow, its the Indian. The blues doesn't know what guitar its being played on. If the pickups are too hot for your blues sound just roll off the volume control until it sounds right. Here is me playing rhythm guitar for The Thrill Is Gone on a "metal" guitar with a high gain amp model with the guitar volume rolled back to 2

The Thrill Is Gone BGU Live 2016 rhythm challenge exercise

Don't mind the kid singing, he'll do fine someday :)

Eric
 

sdbrit68

Student Of The Blues
noooooooooo keep it. I have a Ibanez s770, a Jem, and an older rg3, I use them all for blues. The reason it is called a metal guitar is the thin fast necks, and supposedly the pick ups.

But, as we know, adjustments to the amp can drastically change the sound. You like the way the guitar plays, you seem to like it, if the pick ups arnt everything you want, why not consider just changing out the pick ups ?

I am not sure there is anything that is a specific BLUES guitar, there are just common ones that are used. WHen I go to jams, it seems everyone has a Fender amp, or anymore, a VOX, I come in with a Buggera 1990 (Marshall JCM 900 clone), considered more of a rock amp, many people have used it and gotten great blues sound......soooooooooo
 

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
This place is great! This is just what I was looking for. I have a LIne 6 Amp and it is set on Everlong with the Drive at about 2. I suspect one of the issues is that learning to play the guitar is simple compared to learning to use the amp)) Fooling around with all the presets was just so frustrating as most of the settings sound like a colonoscopy without anesthesia. Not my thing. Anyone who uses a Line 6 and can suggest a setting that is "bluesy"? I have a 30W practice amp.
I like the guitar as I have fairly small hands and some wrist pain from injuries but the neck works.
 

Ted_Zeppelin

I’ll agree with you so that both of us are wrong.
It's not the arrow, its the Indian. The blues doesn't know what guitar its being played on. If the pickups are too hot for your blues sound just roll off the volume control until it sounds right. Here is me playing rhythm guitar for The Thrill Is Gone on a "metal" guitar with a high gain amp model with the guitar volume rolled back to 2

The Thrill Is Gone BGU Live 2016 rhythm challenge exercise

Don't mind the kid singing, he'll do fine someday :)

Eric
Sounds great Eric. We are going to miss you in NY next week!
 

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
Going from your Ibanez humbucker guitar to a single coil strat or tele might sound real thin. Especially with a SS amp (in my opinion). But you need one available. As far as heavy Les Paul's? Sure the non chambered or non weight relieved ones are heavy. I've got one that weighs 12 lbs. But my weight relieved Les Paul's are in the 8 to 9 lb range. If you want a Les Paul, look for a chambered or a weight relieved one. http://aws2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Gear-Tech/en-us/Wide-World-of-Weight-Relief.aspx If you don't have many guitars you might want to keep it for a while until you have both a Les Paul and a strat. Most of us on the forum have several if not many guitars. And American made guitars are great! I prefer them. Good luck! :Beer:
 

OG_Blues

Guitar Geezer
......if your just looking for a blues guitar you already have one.
Yup, took the words right out of my mouth.
I have never held that particular model Ibanez in my hands, but I'll bet the build quality and playability is way better than any Squier you might look at. Those Wizard necks are just awesome IMO.
Seems like you have already recognized this.
I have various guitars to choose from to play (some fairly expensive), but my most used guitar is my $90 Ibanez RG470MHZ that I bought used and fixed up a bit.
Now, if you just want to spend a bunch of money and try something different, that's part of the learning process of finding out what really suits you best, so nothing wrong with that. I have found that what is "best" for me has evolved over time. I think that's pretty normal for most people.
 

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
Well, thanks to everyone and in particular Al Holloway. I turned down the guitar volume and adjusted the amp volume and it did make a difference. I am playing with it and it seems there are places I can go with the tone and sound that I didn't know were there. It ain't Lucille but better than before. Now, that doesn't mean I'm not going shopping))
 
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