As much as I like jackson, the qc issues and lack of variety hold them back. I'm esp and schecter are the best. But jackson has some really awesome artist signatures.
I'm a ESP/LTD, Ibanez and a jackson guy but you're correct. Ibanez and ESP has the best overall QC, even the Ibanez Indonesian made guitars have good QC. I love Jacksons because they sound great and look super metal but their QC has been horrible. It's best to buy a older MIJ or USA made jackson if you want good quality.
The QC issues you bring up were also with both esp and schecter. These companies went with Indonesian builds and they're all built in the same factories. The serial numbers somehow tell the build location and one of three factories was having big QC issues, and that's where the problem feel. As of today, I think it's pretty well corrected. I'll stick to Jackson.... Playability to me is pretty well on line with Ibanez, but loaded better at better prices. At the same time, I'm not worried about variety. Give me versatility. I have a Korean km7 FRS..... They were QC nightmare and I have some of the problems. Still a great guitar.
I like Ibanez and Schecter because they were brands that were played by bands I was listening to back in the early 2000's right out of high school. So that was the selling point for me. I like the comfort of the necks on those guitars. It all comes down to personal preference. I'm still wanting to try a multi scale guitar.
Thanks for actually sharing your opinion, most channels would have just shared the results. I agree ESP/LTD is the best of both the budget and high end metal guitar. The Black/Arctic Metal and 1000 series are the best things to happen to metal players in a long time.
ESP is the metal master lol and I'd say Solar is potentially there. all Solar needs is more exotic woods and a custom shop and solar will have it in the bag.
I have 6 guitars and 3 basses and every single one is a different brand. Now that I think about it they all have different pickups too. Cort 8 string multiscale, Jackson Kelly, Schecter Ravendark flying V, Dean Mustaine flying V, ESP LTD, Cordoba electric classical guitar, Dingwall bass, Spector bass, Ibanez bass. I have also owned bc rich warlock, Washburn, and an old white Kramer flying V I'd love to find again. Best brand? Never heard of it. All that said I picked Jackson on the poll cuz the Kelly is my favorite that was on the list of brands.
Can totally relate to your comments about growing up looking at the musicians you admire. I had many metallica posters and now 25 years later still love esp/ltd, Jackson and gibson.
I was an Ibanez guy for the first 25 years of my career or so. My favorite was a DT200 (was, cause i sold it, it was getting too heavy for my aging back). That was until i bought a Jackson RR3. I then became a Jackson guy. But i recently bought a Schecter, and i love it. When shops finally get a decent inventory, like prior to this whole armageddon thing, i might look for another Schecter.
I own a Ibanez, a 90s MiJ Jackson, a couple Epis, and an LTD (and a few other brands not really relevant to the convo). Jackson was my favorite up until recently. I still absolutely love my Pro series MIJ, but new Jacksons are just lacking in quality (control), variety, and bang for buck. I bought an LTD EC1000 last year and it's just fantastic. Fishmans, ebony board, SS frets, awesome color flip paint, locking tuners, just flawless. It blows away everything in a comparable price range and even a good bit above Jackson (and just about every other brand) offers. And the new 22 offerings seem like they're going to continue that trend. I'd love it if Jackson can return to form and/or if other brands rise to the challenge, because I love options and competition with just make everyone else raise their game. But as it stands, I have to agree ESP/LTD is at the top of the heap currently.
I own two Jacksons--one being a Pro Series Rhoads and the other a Pro Series Monarkh. My first guitar was an Epi Les Paul that still feels like "home" to me, and I pretty much use that as my yardstick for guitars. The one guitar I want to get my hands on is some form of an ESP Eclipse. I tried an LTD eclipse a few years ago in a guitar store and it was the only time I think I would have purchased a guitar on the spot if I had the cash on me. Those are literally the definition of a modern, hot-rodded les paul for anyone looking for a more sleek version of a classic guitar.
Ernie Ball Music Man. Completely lost interest in any other guitars once I got a majesty (and can’t get more original than that guitar). Just simply the best guitar I ever played, and sounds amazing with any amp. The Jason Richardson signature is a great guitar too.
I'm team Ibanez & Schecter. I own 2 Jackson soloist from the late 80's, 2 Charvels from 89, 7 Ibanez's from 86- 95, 1 hellraiser from 2010. BC Rich, Kramer, Fender, ESP Lynch model guitars I've owned & still have. Planning on buying Kiesel guitars once I sell most of my collection.
Caparison is a really quickly growing brand!! Way out of my price range..but cool brand!! Great endorsees as well!! 1. Joel and Adam from KSE 2. Courtney Cox of the Iron Maidens. 3. Michael Romeo of Symphony X
Caparison guitars have been killing it since 1995, yes they are expensive, but they are exclusive and perfectly priced for such a high quality in what you get in a guitar.
@@corbanjohnson8694 i have played usa jacksons and esp japans, as far as quality, craftsmanship with caparisons in my opion it is top notch. I've never picked up a shitty caparison guitar that had a flaw in it. Now playability, that's all how you set up the guitar for your preference, for what your looking to get out of it in general. But in my experience any guitar can sound like and play like shit if you just dont know what your doing. Highly recommend the caparison you wont be disappointed.
You should do a series on checking out guitars from boutique guitar brands. I recently got into Woodrite guitars and fell in love. Still mad didn't get Matt Pike guitar. They sold out in a day!
I voted for Schechter since I have 3 hard rock basses from them, but I would also mention that Harley Benton is coming in with some good hard rock guitars and basses!
Right now I have several Jacksons, a Gibson SG, an Ibanez RG. No comnplaints. However I really want an ESP and/or Solar although I have little experience with either...
Couldn't ever deal with the pickup selector being in between the volume and tone knobs on Jackson guitars. Maybe cause I've mostly used Ibanez...who I think have the switch in the perfect place. ( other brands put it there also....like Solar)....I also HAVE to HAVE the arm curve/ cutout whatever....(not the sqared off edge)....again RG Ibanez guitars have it,like some other brands. Any brand similar to Ibanez are cool for me
I'm going to throw one in here for Caparison. I mean, when you think about it, you want to love Jacksons, but lately the quality control issues have been crippling. Well, who made all of those awesome made in Japan Jacksons that were as good as or in some cases even better than the made in USA ones? It was Caparison! It's the Jackson DNA and custom shop quality, without any of the QC issues modern-day Jackson is facing.
Since ESP is my favourite brand and their guitar fits my hand shape the best out of most brands, I gotta choose them. Their qc is amazing and they provide a lot of different models to choose from. You can go full on crazy designs like the FRX or the stream, some classic slapper or eclipse, the iconic horizon series. You can defiantly find at least one model you like. They also provide a rather wide range of price options. You got the more affordable LTD and Edward’s, the slightly more expensive E-II, then the expensive but amazing Japanese ESP. I truly think ESP is amazing as a guitar brand.
Schecter (at least in the $700-$1500 range). By far the best value for the money. Made in a great factory in Korea, stainless steel frets on all their models above ~$1k, fishman pickups, I mean the list just goes on. For classic metal stuff though, I like EVH and Charvel.
This didn't age well. Barely any stainless steel models left at affordable prices. Fake inflation +import costs make Schecter not the best bang here in Germany
I can’t say the best but my favourite is Schecter. Especially the PT SLS ELITES, I just change the fishmans for EMG Daemonums or Hot 70s and there you go! 🤘🏼🙂. The ESP ltd Te-1000 Black Blast has been tempting me for a while now too!!! 😁
ESP is the most willing to be willing to experiment with specs with the LTD 1000 stuff. They were the first big line to adopt evertunes, whether you like them or not. They started the Fluenece + evertune formula that a lot of people no consider beat to to death. They’re not just ahead of the curve, they tend to be the leader with “modern” specs/trends. Not an esp fanboi, i don’t even own their stuff, but their product manager clearly knows what he’s doing
I love my Jackson V, but I just ordered a Solar 7-string with fishmans and an evertune, so I imagine it’s going to blow my socks off and be my favorite guitar once it arrives. Can’t WAIT! 🔥🤘🏻
I’d personally say Ibanez, they have always been the metal players guitar, from kiss in the 70s, Steve vai in the 80s, Korn in the 90s to bands like meshuggah, between the buried and me and periphery, also they have some of the best quality control
i started off playing lots of fenders and squier in my teens and 20s and 30s, now in my 40s 2019 got my first ltd jh 600 the quality is amazing.i recently got my first solar v2.6 and i like very economical is one the best features on it really. i would like to try a charvel out. i would like to try more jacksons but not enough to say i would buy one or not. id did have an ibanez rg 550 mij back in the day but couldn't get along with 16 radius. the only fender i have anymore is the fender kc jaguar. its such a monster.plus i grew up when nirvana blasted out in 91.
I own a Solar 1.6 BLB with fishman moderns and also own a schecter omen with Jim Root Sig Daemonons, Gibson silver burst les Paul, and fender strat HSS with EMG Kirk Hammett sig pickups and by far I love my solar the best. Love the neck profile, and it’s playability is unmatched for me. Never played an ESP so can’t talk on it as well as Ballaguer or Jackson.
Agreed on Jackson's prices. They charge more for less. As far as brands go I've always for whatever reason gravitated towards schecter and PRS. PRS is the nostalgia part. And schecter is kinda my benchmark for quality on a budget. I got my c1 platinum for 400 new in 2018. Has emgs and grover tuners. Hard to beat it.
I am about to buy me a Ltd Ec1000 baritone coming out later this year because its dark black, baritone and looks damn slick. Esp is always way up there for me despite having my own Custom Guitar.
Charvel for sure is definitely one of the best. So many out there and hard to say whose the best. But if I had to pick. Charvel,Jackson,Esp,Balaguer,Solar,Jericho are my go to guitars. Still so many others I could chose so I tried to keep it short with what I enjoy. Great video brotha 👍🏻
Back in the day Kramer ruled metal. They almost put Gibson & Fender out of business until Grunge hit. New Epiphone made Kramers are great axes as well, but not as good as the originals whose parts were made by Sports & well ... ESP. So it's funny that in full circle ESP is still on top.
I guess this is even niche within metal (I equate them to stoner / doom / "shoegaze metal"), but Dunable is pretty cool too. I know it's essentially another take on a Gibson RD, but man those R2's do look sick.
At the $1000 level, Japanese Ibanez guitars from around 2016 are amazing metal machines. I know we’ve moved on from EMGs in metal but dude those guitars still rocked
What are the best pickups now? What did we move onto since the EMGs? Last electric guitar I bought was a Hellraiser Avenger about 15 years ago, which did have an EMG 85 and an EMG 81, which were top of the line then.
@@kyleheaser351boombaby it seems to me like fluence moderns are the “stock” Metal pickup of this era in so far as that exists. Bareknuckle pickups are one brand who’ve spent the last decade really pushing the boundary in terms of the palate available to players (I’ve played a lot of sets now and I find the Juggernauts to be unrivalled) and their popularity is definitely part of the shift away from EMGs in guitar UA-camr culture. I know that the pickup sounds informs the style and vice versa, so it’s probably also the case that “modern” metal doesn’t lend itself to mid-compressed fizzy high gain the way thrash or butt-rock do. The sheer variety of tones you hear in the average metal song today, the prevalence of drop-tuning, and of course fatigue have everyone looking for the next great sound and EMG hasn’t been a big name in that sense for a while. They’re happy with the “Ronseal” tag line
I feel it's whatever the player feels best with. I personally love Gibson style guitars (ie Epiphone and Japanese Gibson clones). I love the way a Les Paul feels and sounds. I like the shorter scale length and chunky neck. I don't like the feels of traditional "metal" guitars.
I used to think bc rich was awful due to the awful cheap models they had. I tried one of their new mockingbird and put money down on it! It's definitely going to be my metal guitar!
So I am a Gibson and epiphone fan, I love them, I love my sg, and eventually will own a les paul or 2. However, metal for me, I am a huge ESP fan, I own 4 ltds and I love each one. But my new favorite is my mayones regius. Favorite metal guitar and brand, no questions asked at this point. Gibson, esp, mayones, those are my favorite
Big Jackson fan here, but lately not impressed with anything they have. Sticking to my early 90's early 2000's MIJ Jackson's. I finally was able to afford a Caparison Horus and the build quality and attention to detail is so spot on and the over all feel and playability is 110%.
I’ve been playing for over 20 years and during those years I had all the brands you can imagine: from Jackson and Ibanez up to Gibson and PRS and I’m totally agree on your points about nostalgia, price, features and Artists. I’m a Les Paul lover but now I’m mostly playing 8 string and after trying several brands even I like Ibanez, ESP is the only brand that fulfills all my needs as guitarist and found the EC 208 is the perfect guitar for what I’m looking on a 8 string
My choices for metal/hard rock: Older MIA/MIJ Jackson guitars, PRS especially old CE24s or DGTs, LTD esp. Ec-1000s, Schecter (especially for rock), lastly Gibson (but I have to mod the pickups)
I’ve heard negative things about qc with korean jacksons. I was going to buy a mick thompson jackson until I read multiple reviews discussing issues with them. I have a mim jackson and that thing is great. Esp kills it for me every time i buy in their 1000 dollar range (have only bought 2). The 7 string Ibanez i purchased in the 400 dollar range was decent.
Personally, I'm an Ibanez guy. The RG is just a timeless classic, and I can't imagine a situation where I don't immediately look at an RG first when I'm considering getting a new guitar for whatever reason. But lately, I've started getting pretty curious about ESP/LTD.
i own a dean, fender, jacksons and i haven’t had the ability to get any esp or ltd guitars but the ones i’ve tried out have been phenomenal same goes for schecter. however jackson is the brand i keep coming back to its a brand that works for me and in case anyone cares im mainly a thrash and death metal guy.
My vote was ltd / esp I like they're slight twist on classic designs. I didn't think of keisil another one to consider is prs they're a sleeper I know most won't agree but there playability translates to everything.
Idk, my personal experience, I went to the music store every day and coveted Ibanez RGs. I also loved Vai and Satriani, and to me, the RG was the ultimate best guitar. Over the years, I have bought and sold 2 Ibanez and today don't have any in my collection or any that I'm looking at. I think your tastes can morph as you learn and play more instruments.
It's very price dependent, but overall my picks would be Schecter, or the broad Epiphone/Gibson umbrella, though not their newer high ticket price gouge items. For the lower budget, I reckon Epiphone, those P90 Les Paul Specials & SGs sound boss, and the humbucker standards, and Cantrell Wino are cool too. Honorable mention to the grungy J Mascis Jazzmaster, Guild Polara's. There's entry-level Solar above that I'd to try, and ESPs too In the 1-1.5k area, Schecter would probably be my overall sweetspot pick. Fender get an honorable mention with guitars like the Jim Root Telecaster and Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster. Above that, I reckon Gibson Standard SGs, Standard Specials, and second-hand early 90s Les Paul Studios (Wine Red, Ebony fretboard). But I more love early metal Sabbath, Stoner Rock, Doom metal. Above that price, maybe I'd start to look beyond classic Gibson designs, I'd say Strandberg guitars, & Dingwall basses.
Ibanez. They progressed the guitar to what is today with Steve via creating the RG. Creating the 7 string. Best company made floating bridges. Love the low pro. They started the flat necks.
My first guitar was an Ibanez GRX20 and now I have a BC Rich Mockingbird, but I’ve been a fan of ESP just cuz as a left-handed player I wanna have a variety of different shapes and ESP has that
Schecter and ESP/LTD are my go-to brands, and I'm not a brand guy but when I'm in the market for a new guitar the specs I'm looking for and the build quality I expect is always found in these 2 brands. I will say ESP/LTD get's credit for doing things Schecter was doing before them like Stainless Steel fret's on production guitars. Schecter started doing that at least a couple years before ESP/LTD did. Brands I avoid. Gibson & Jackson. Both have had build quality issue problems. Gibson's build quality has improved but they are so afraid to do anything new in part because of their longtime fans. Jackson's quality has tanked ever since Fender bought them. Which is odd given Fender's are usually pretty good as are other brands they own like Charvel (which Fender bought about the same time) for example.
Jackson is my #1. I see a lot of comments on their QC but I’ve never had a problem with any of mine and I own Japanese, Korean, Mexican and Indonesian made. Also really like my schecter and Esp Ltd guitars too. Just gotta get an Ibanez now.
I want to love Jackson but no matter how much I spend on the new stuff there’s always something going on with them lol. ESP,Schecter and Ibanez for me.
Have you ever played GOC? It's probably not your style, and I didn't like the look at first. I have played them and I love them. Feels like part of a more modern take on the guitar.
I've recently bought an ec 256 for $350 new and a Jacksonbacker bass for 540$ new, both just killer guitars for sure way above those price points they were both on sale when I got them
Do two more polls with the rest of the brands- then take the top winners (ESP and other two and do final poll! That will allow you to compare 15 or more etc…
For my first real guitar my dad bought me a blue MIJ Jackson dinky back in 2000. All these years later still love them, however I’m not arguing one bit ESP/LTD sits on top today for their specs and most importantly their quality.
Prs guitar ms have stepped up when it comes to appealing to the rock/metal community. For example the archon and the mr 15 amps and some of their guitars are geared towards metal players
Hey, Ray! Totally off topic, but now that it's been announced, I wanted to ask, are you bummed that your tattooer is moving away? He's actually going to be working in my buddy Brian's shop here in western MA. Small world, man. Small world.
My problem with ESP LTD is that finding exactly what you want in their catalog seems to be just a matter of luck. There seems to be very little structure and consistency across the various models in their range. I'll find one that looks really good to me (e.g. SN-1000HT Fire Blast), but then I found out that they don't make a floating bridge version so I'm SOL. A lot of models also still don't come with stainless steel frets despite being priced in the same range as other models that have them. This is why I ultimately fell into Schecter in the first place. With Schecter, I can find a guitar that looks good to me and then the chances are high that it is actually available in the configuration that I want, be it hard tail, floating bridge, 7 strings and sometimes more. There is also more consistency in their offering where typically anything above $1200 is almost assured to be made in Korea and come with stainless steel frets.
For $1200 or less, Schecter. For $1500 or more, Kiesel. Ibanez normally would have taken both slots a few years back, but after grabbing an $1800 Ibanez Prestige in Guitar Center and having my hand get cut up due to sharp frets, I can't recommend them at all in good conscience.
This is one of the more knowledgeable comments iv seen on here. Iv bought/sold/traded tons of guitars over the past 2 years. My carvin dc400 is miles ahead of anything else iv played accept my bc rich mockingbird.
Got to go with ibanez for innovation, originality, variety of finishes and tones/pickups. all the other brands seem to mostly use the same formula. esp for example all the shapes are copies of existing shapes mostly black and white finishes humbuckers almost exclusively . Just my opinion but tone seems to take a back seat on a lot of these brands
My favorite is Schecter, although I must admit ESP caters more to metal than any other. I love my old Jackson's too, but they've been slacking these past few years.
Schecter is 110% the best! In todays modern market. ESP has dropped the ball. The LTD quality has gone down, while prices have gone up. Obviously any straight ESP guitar is going to be great, but what used to be 2-3 grand, is now 3-5 grand. It's ridiculous. But Schecter has some GREAT 1,000-1,500$ models that are 100% worth every penny. The Evil Twin is great!
@@Sgt6217 I have the Explorer body style Evil Twin. If you do get one, you should check out the new one, Its a strat body, with a sustainiac pickup in the neck! With a solid hip shot bridge. I want it so bad! But I would feel stupid buying two evil twins.
@@9hk38f lmao I guess I'm stupid? I also have two c-1 platinum blue and black and banshee Mach 6 and Mach 7. My favorite is the C-1 evil twin so I got one for drop D and another one for C standard.
My mom worked a second job for long time to buy me an Ibanez and afford my guitar lessons. She died at 49. Ibanez will always have a special place in my heart.
I find myself being ibanez and gibson nowdays. Mainly the artists that use them do it for me. Ibanez has joe satriani, steve vai, munky, the guys from ensiferum, the dragonforce guys, nita strauss, HAD john petrucci just to name a few
As much as I like jackson, the qc issues and lack of variety hold them back. I'm esp and schecter are the best. But jackson has some really awesome artist signatures.
I really LOVE the Warrior, prob my top 3 favorite bodies, but I hate how Jackson’s feel when I play them. The QC isn’t great like you mentioned too.
I'm a ESP/LTD, Ibanez and a jackson guy but you're correct. Ibanez and ESP has the best overall QC, even the Ibanez Indonesian made guitars have good QC. I love Jacksons because they sound great and look super metal but their QC has been horrible. It's best to buy a older MIJ or USA made jackson if you want good quality.
The QC issues you bring up were also with both esp and schecter. These companies went with Indonesian builds and they're all built in the same factories. The serial numbers somehow tell the build location and one of three factories was having big QC issues, and that's where the problem feel. As of today, I think it's pretty well corrected. I'll stick to Jackson.... Playability to me is pretty well on line with Ibanez, but loaded better at better prices. At the same time, I'm not worried about variety. Give me versatility. I have a Korean km7 FRS..... They were QC nightmare and I have some of the problems. Still a great guitar.
I think Gibson and Epiphone are in the running To with the Recent Epiphone Prophecy Guitars and with the New Gibson Dave Mustain V’s
@@DamianoftheRyans I prefer Japanese.... Made every bit as good with half the price tag
I like Ibanez and Schecter because they were brands that were played by bands I was listening to back in the early 2000's right out of high school. So that was the selling point for me.
I like the comfort of the necks on those guitars. It all comes down to personal preference.
I'm still wanting to try a multi scale guitar.
I think the artist brand that has made huge moves is Schecter. The effort and variety of models is pretty amazing.
Yeah but they also absolutely ruined their metal cred with the MGK release
@@AdamManley7Yh a bit of a sell out move but the specs you get you can’t even find on top American brands
@@AdamManley7I'm surprised people actually care.
Thanks for actually sharing your opinion, most channels would have just shared the results. I agree ESP/LTD is the best of both the budget and high end metal guitar. The Black/Arctic Metal and 1000 series are the best things to happen to metal players in a long time.
ESP is the metal master lol and I'd say Solar is potentially there. all Solar needs is more exotic woods and a custom shop and solar will have it in the bag.
Solar needs to have fretboards not constantly cracking and they could thrive
Awesome video, man! Glad I caught that poll and I'm going with Schecter. I love my Omen-6.
Oh I have a omen 6 and it's amazing
I have 6 guitars and 3 basses and every single one is a different brand. Now that I think about it they all have different pickups too. Cort 8 string multiscale, Jackson Kelly, Schecter Ravendark flying V, Dean Mustaine flying V, ESP LTD, Cordoba electric classical guitar, Dingwall bass, Spector bass, Ibanez bass. I have also owned bc rich warlock, Washburn, and an old white Kramer flying V I'd love to find again. Best brand? Never heard of it. All that said I picked Jackson on the poll cuz the Kelly is my favorite that was on the list of brands.
Can totally relate to your comments about growing up looking at the musicians you admire. I had many metallica posters and now 25 years later still love esp/ltd, Jackson and gibson.
I was an Ibanez guy for the first 25 years of my career or so. My favorite was a DT200 (was, cause i sold it, it was getting too heavy for my aging back). That was until i bought a Jackson RR3. I then became a Jackson guy. But i recently bought a Schecter, and i love it. When shops finally get a decent inventory, like prior to this whole armageddon thing, i might look for another Schecter.
Schecter or ESP no question about it!
Same owner haha
I own a Ibanez, a 90s MiJ Jackson, a couple Epis, and an LTD (and a few other brands not really relevant to the convo). Jackson was my favorite up until recently. I still absolutely love my Pro series MIJ, but new Jacksons are just lacking in quality (control), variety, and bang for buck. I bought an LTD EC1000 last year and it's just fantastic. Fishmans, ebony board, SS frets, awesome color flip paint, locking tuners, just flawless. It blows away everything in a comparable price range and even a good bit above Jackson (and just about every other brand) offers. And the new 22 offerings seem like they're going to continue that trend. I'd love it if Jackson can return to form and/or if other brands rise to the challenge, because I love options and competition with just make everyone else raise their game. But as it stands, I have to agree ESP/LTD is at the top of the heap currently.
You do a great job with the videos Xander!
Bro it’s awesome to see how much you’ve grown as a content creator and as a dude since you’re early vids.
Horns.
I recently found a love for Schecter guitars, which really make great guitars, so my vote goes for them :)
Schecter diamond series !!!
I own two Jacksons--one being a Pro Series Rhoads and the other a Pro Series Monarkh. My first guitar was an Epi Les Paul that still feels like "home" to me, and I pretty much use that as my yardstick for guitars. The one guitar I want to get my hands on is some form of an ESP Eclipse. I tried an LTD eclipse a few years ago in a guitar store and it was the only time I think I would have purchased a guitar on the spot if I had the cash on me. Those are literally the definition of a modern, hot-rodded les paul for anyone looking for a more sleek version of a classic guitar.
My Gibson Explorers are pretty effin metal...Solar has to be in the convo tho. Ola produces some outstanding guitars.
Gibson sucks anymore! You are wasting your money, on a name printed on a head stock. There quality is going down, and prices are up!
Dude when Guitqr companies see Metallica and U2 fans buy explorers the see the money bags. Schecter and ESP make the best explorers imo.
@@Highrollinhunter Schecter Evil Twin Explorer is amazing!
Ernie Ball Music Man. Completely lost interest in any other guitars once I got a majesty (and can’t get more original than that guitar).
Just simply the best guitar I ever played, and sounds amazing with any amp.
The Jason Richardson signature is a great guitar too.
Scrolled till I found someone with good taste. I agree!
@@nvteriffs THe Majesty is the best shredding axe on the planet.. it rips in any tuning and the fret accessibility is out of this planet.
I'm team Ibanez & Schecter. I own 2 Jackson soloist from the late 80's, 2 Charvels from 89, 7 Ibanez's from 86- 95, 1 hellraiser from 2010. BC Rich, Kramer, Fender, ESP Lynch model guitars I've owned & still have. Planning on buying Kiesel guitars once I sell most of my collection.
Tried it all, always went back to my ESP's
Caparison is a really quickly growing brand!! Way out of my price range..but cool brand!! Great endorsees as well!!
1. Joel and Adam from KSE
2. Courtney Cox of the Iron Maidens.
3. Michael Romeo of Symphony X
Chris Amott had a signature back when he was with Arch Enemy.
Nick hipa and Adam Dutkiewicz also have signature models with caparison.
Caparison guitars have been killing it since 1995, yes they are expensive, but they are exclusive and perfectly priced for such a high quality in what you get in a guitar.
@@freddyleal1756 Are they as good as a USA or Japanese made ESP?
@@corbanjohnson8694 i have played usa jacksons and esp japans, as far as quality, craftsmanship with caparisons in my opion it is top notch. I've never picked up a shitty caparison guitar that had a flaw in it. Now playability, that's all how you set up the guitar for your preference, for what your looking to get out of it in general. But in my experience any guitar can sound like and play like shit if you just dont know what your doing. Highly recommend the caparison you wont be disappointed.
Appreciate this video, I personally love Fender. Also love the fit dude!
You should do a series on checking out guitars from boutique guitar brands. I recently got into Woodrite guitars and fell in love. Still mad didn't get Matt Pike guitar. They sold out in a day!
I voted for Schechter since I have 3 hard rock basses from them, but I would also mention that Harley Benton is coming in with some good hard rock guitars and basses!
My schecter c1 and Damien elite are 20 years old and still plays as beautiful as ever.
I've got a SCHECTER diamond series C6 and it's cool for metal and not too expensive .
Right now I have several Jacksons, a Gibson SG, an Ibanez RG. No comnplaints. However I really want an ESP and/or Solar although I have little experience with either...
Couldn't ever deal with the pickup selector being in between the volume and tone knobs on Jackson guitars. Maybe cause I've mostly used Ibanez...who I think have the switch in the perfect place. ( other brands put it there also....like Solar)....I also HAVE to HAVE the arm curve/ cutout whatever....(not the sqared off edge)....again RG Ibanez guitars have it,like some other brands. Any brand similar to Ibanez are cool for me
I'm going to throw one in here for Caparison. I mean, when you think about it, you want to love Jacksons, but lately the quality control issues have been crippling. Well, who made all of those awesome made in Japan Jacksons that were as good as or in some cases even better than the made in USA ones? It was Caparison! It's the Jackson DNA and custom shop quality, without any of the QC issues modern-day Jackson is facing.
Just subscribed love this channel
Hey thank you so much!
Since ESP is my favourite brand and their guitar fits my hand shape the best out of most brands, I gotta choose them. Their qc is amazing and they provide a lot of different models to choose from. You can go full on crazy designs like the FRX or the stream, some classic slapper or eclipse, the iconic horizon series. You can defiantly find at least one model you like.
They also provide a rather wide range of price options. You got the more affordable LTD and Edward’s, the slightly more expensive E-II, then the expensive but amazing Japanese ESP. I truly think ESP is amazing as a guitar brand.
I love schecter, but my main is a sterling jp157
I never thought about artist rosters influencing me until just now when I realised Dave mustaine was the sole reason I wanted my jackson king V
Schecter man. Reasonable price, fairly decent sound and obviously, the look
i think i can speak for 90% of esp players in saying that metallica is what got us started using esp
There’s only 2 brands I stick to-ESP/LTD and Jackson, I’ve never had and problems with either of them! They always play great right out of the box!
Schecter (at least in the $700-$1500 range). By far the best value for the money. Made in a great factory in Korea, stainless steel frets on all their models above ~$1k, fishman pickups, I mean the list just goes on. For classic metal stuff though, I like EVH and Charvel.
This didn't age well. Barely any stainless steel models left at affordable prices. Fake inflation +import costs make Schecter not the best bang here in Germany
I can’t say the best but my favourite is Schecter. Especially the PT SLS ELITES, I just change the fishmans for EMG Daemonums or Hot 70s and there you go! 🤘🏼🙂. The ESP ltd Te-1000 Black Blast has been tempting me for a while now too!!! 😁
ESP is the most willing to be willing to experiment with specs with the LTD 1000 stuff. They were the first big line to adopt evertunes, whether you like them or not. They started the Fluenece + evertune formula that a lot of people no consider beat to to death. They’re not just ahead of the curve, they tend to be the leader with “modern” specs/trends. Not an esp fanboi, i don’t even own their stuff, but their product manager clearly knows what he’s doing
Love the comment about Gibson and fender and turning into metal guitars.
I love my Jackson V, but I just ordered a Solar 7-string with fishmans and an evertune, so I imagine it’s going to blow my socks off and be my favorite guitar once it arrives. Can’t WAIT! 🔥🤘🏻
How's the Solar?
I’d personally say Ibanez, they have always been the metal players guitar, from kiss in the 70s, Steve vai in the 80s, Korn in the 90s to bands like meshuggah, between the buried and me and periphery, also they have some of the best quality control
i started off playing lots of fenders and squier in my teens and 20s and 30s, now in my 40s 2019 got my first ltd jh 600 the quality is amazing.i recently got my first solar v2.6 and i like very economical is one the best features on it really. i would like to try a charvel out. i would like to try more jacksons but not enough to say i would buy one or not. id did have an ibanez rg 550 mij back in the day but couldn't get along with 16 radius. the only fender i have anymore is the fender kc jaguar. its such a monster.plus i grew up when nirvana blasted out in 91.
Dean and ESP are my favorites. The best brand, is the best brand for the individual. There is not right or wrong answer.
Hey Ray! Great video as always. You should consider talking about where you buy those great tshirts! Mad style!
Been a Charvel player since '85.
Great subject. !! yeah from michael t wyman in L.A. Jam Night Guitarist and bass player 2013-2019.
I own a Solar 1.6 BLB with fishman moderns and also own a schecter omen with Jim Root Sig Daemonons, Gibson silver burst les Paul, and fender strat HSS with EMG Kirk Hammett sig pickups and by far I love my solar the best. Love the neck profile, and it’s playability is unmatched for me. Never played an ESP so can’t talk on it as well as Ballaguer or Jackson.
Agreed on Jackson's prices. They charge more for less. As far as brands go I've always for whatever reason gravitated towards schecter and PRS. PRS is the nostalgia part. And schecter is kinda my benchmark for quality on a budget. I got my c1 platinum for 400 new in 2018. Has emgs and grover tuners. Hard to beat it.
I am about to buy me a Ltd Ec1000 baritone coming out later this year because its dark black, baritone and looks damn slick. Esp is always way up there for me despite having my own Custom Guitar.
Schecter and ESP hands down for me! But PRS guitar's work great for metal as well.
Charvel for sure is definitely one of the best. So many out there and hard to say whose the best. But if I had to pick. Charvel,Jackson,Esp,Balaguer,Solar,Jericho are my go to guitars. Still so many others I could chose so I tried to keep it short with what I enjoy. Great video brotha 👍🏻
Back in the day Kramer ruled metal. They almost put Gibson & Fender out of business until Grunge hit. New Epiphone made Kramers are great axes as well, but not as good as the originals whose parts were made by Sports & well ... ESP.
So it's funny that in full circle ESP is still on top.
I guess this is even niche within metal (I equate them to stoner / doom / "shoegaze metal"), but Dunable is pretty cool too. I know it's essentially another take on a Gibson RD, but man those R2's do look sick.
At the $1000 level, Japanese Ibanez guitars from around 2016 are amazing metal machines. I know we’ve moved on from EMGs in metal but dude those guitars still rocked
What are the best pickups now? What did we move onto since the EMGs? Last electric guitar I bought was a Hellraiser Avenger about 15 years ago, which did have an EMG 85 and an EMG 81, which were top of the line then.
@@kyleheaser351boombaby it seems to me like fluence moderns are the “stock”
Metal pickup of this era in so far as that exists. Bareknuckle pickups are one brand who’ve spent the last decade really pushing the boundary in terms of the palate available to players (I’ve played a lot of sets now and I find the Juggernauts to be unrivalled) and their popularity is definitely part of the shift away from EMGs in guitar UA-camr culture. I know that the pickup sounds informs the style and vice versa, so it’s probably also the case that “modern” metal doesn’t lend itself to mid-compressed fizzy high gain the way thrash or butt-rock do. The sheer variety of tones you hear in the average metal song today, the prevalence of drop-tuning, and of course fatigue have everyone looking for the next great sound and EMG hasn’t been a big name in that sense for a while. They’re happy with the “Ronseal” tag line
I personally like my PRS with Seymour Duncan invader pickups for metal and heavy metal. Playing all that remains on it go crazy as well
I feel it's whatever the player feels best with. I personally love Gibson style guitars (ie Epiphone and Japanese Gibson clones). I love the way a Les Paul feels and sounds. I like the shorter scale length and chunky neck. I don't like the feels of traditional "metal" guitars.
I used to think bc rich was awful due to the awful cheap models they had. I tried one of their new mockingbird and put money down on it! It's definitely going to be my metal guitar!
My two fav bands wage war and slipknot (not the lead guitarist) use fender jazzmaster and I do think they look pretty metal
So I am a Gibson and epiphone fan, I love them, I love my sg, and eventually will own a les paul or 2. However, metal for me, I am a huge ESP fan, I own 4 ltds and I love each one. But my new favorite is my mayones regius. Favorite metal guitar and brand, no questions asked at this point. Gibson, esp, mayones, those are my favorite
Big Jackson fan here, but lately not impressed with anything they have. Sticking to my early 90's early 2000's MIJ Jackson's. I finally was able to afford a Caparison Horus and the build quality and attention to detail is so spot on and the over all feel and playability is 110%.
I’ve been playing for over 20 years and during those years I had all the brands you can imagine: from Jackson and Ibanez up to Gibson and PRS and I’m totally agree on your points about nostalgia, price, features and Artists. I’m a Les Paul lover but now I’m mostly playing 8 string and after trying several brands even I like Ibanez, ESP is the only brand that fulfills all my needs as guitarist and found the EC 208 is the perfect guitar for what I’m looking on a 8 string
I love RG570's. Also Jackson, just got a Virtuoso and it's really nice....
Telecasters Les pauls and Vs for me. Always been a huge ESP guy but I do have and dabbled with epiphone and higher end squiers.
Good! Everybody has to stay on their toes!
My choices for metal/hard rock: Older MIA/MIJ Jackson guitars, PRS especially old CE24s or DGTs, LTD esp. Ec-1000s, Schecter (especially for rock), lastly Gibson (but I have to mod the pickups)
I love schecters
I’ve heard negative things about qc with korean jacksons. I was going to buy a mick thompson jackson until I read multiple reviews discussing issues with them. I have a mim jackson and that thing is great. Esp kills it for me every time i buy in their 1000 dollar range (have only bought 2). The 7 string Ibanez i purchased in the 400 dollar range was decent.
I think shecter and ibanez and Jackson are the best because shecter and ibanez do 9 string guitars and Jackson do mick thomson,s signature guitar
Personally, I'm an Ibanez guy. The RG is just a timeless classic, and I can't imagine a situation where I don't immediately look at an RG first when I'm considering getting a new guitar for whatever reason.
But lately, I've started getting pretty curious about ESP/LTD.
i own a dean, fender, jacksons and i haven’t had the ability to get any esp or ltd guitars but the ones i’ve tried out have been phenomenal same goes for schecter. however jackson is the brand i keep coming back to its a brand that works for me and in case anyone cares im mainly a thrash and death metal guy.
My main axe is my Gibson sg with EMGs I’m not sure I think it was a limited run
My vote was ltd / esp I like they're slight twist on classic designs. I didn't think of keisil another one to consider is prs they're a sleeper I know most won't agree but there playability translates to everything.
Idk, my personal experience, I went to the music store every day and coveted Ibanez RGs. I also loved Vai and Satriani, and to me, the RG was the ultimate best guitar. Over the years, I have bought and sold 2 Ibanez and today don't have any in my collection or any that I'm looking at. I think your tastes can morph as you learn and play more instruments.
It's very price dependent, but overall my picks would be Schecter, or the broad Epiphone/Gibson umbrella, though not their newer high ticket price gouge items. For the lower budget, I reckon Epiphone, those P90 Les Paul Specials & SGs sound boss, and the humbucker standards, and Cantrell Wino are cool too. Honorable mention to the grungy J Mascis Jazzmaster, Guild Polara's. There's entry-level Solar above that I'd to try, and ESPs too In the 1-1.5k area, Schecter would probably be my overall sweetspot pick. Fender get an honorable mention with guitars like the Jim Root Telecaster and Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster. Above that, I reckon Gibson Standard SGs, Standard Specials, and second-hand early 90s Les Paul Studios (Wine Red, Ebony fretboard). But I more love early metal Sabbath, Stoner Rock, Doom metal. Above that price, maybe I'd start to look beyond classic Gibson designs, I'd say Strandberg guitars, & Dingwall basses.
Ibanez. They progressed the guitar to what is today with Steve via creating the RG. Creating the 7 string. Best company made floating bridges. Love the low pro. They started the flat necks.
My first guitar was an Ibanez GRX20 and now I have a BC Rich Mockingbird, but I’ve been a fan of ESP just cuz as a left-handed player I wanna have a variety of different shapes and ESP has that
Schecter and ESP/LTD are my go-to brands, and I'm not a brand guy but when I'm in the market for a new guitar the specs I'm looking for and the build quality I expect is always found in these 2 brands. I will say ESP/LTD get's credit for doing things Schecter was doing before them like Stainless Steel fret's on production guitars. Schecter started doing that at least a couple years before ESP/LTD did.
Brands I avoid. Gibson & Jackson. Both have had build quality issue problems. Gibson's build quality has improved but they are so afraid to do anything new in part because of their longtime fans. Jackson's quality has tanked ever since Fender bought them. Which is odd given Fender's are usually pretty good as are other brands they own like Charvel (which Fender bought about the same time) for example.
Thank you 🎸🔥
Jackson is my #1. I see a lot of comments on their QC but I’ve never had a problem with any of mine and I own Japanese, Korean, Mexican and Indonesian made. Also really like my schecter and Esp Ltd guitars too. Just gotta get an Ibanez now.
I want to love Jackson but no matter how much I spend on the new stuff there’s always something going on with them lol. ESP,Schecter and Ibanez for me.
Have you ever played GOC? It's probably not your style, and I didn't like the look at first. I have played them and I love them. Feels like part of a more modern take on the guitar.
I like em all!!! Every brand has a gem or two
I like Dean and Ibanez guitars I have a few of them but I'd also like to get an ESP guitar they look Really awesome to 🤘
Jackson is my absolute love, but I'm really being tempted to try a Solar
I use a Jackson Scott Ian v and a Dean z 79 and both guitars are awesome
I’m a big Charvel guy, but I understand a lot of others get the job done well, just been what I like
I've recently bought an ec 256 for $350 new and a Jacksonbacker bass for 540$ new, both just killer guitars for sure way above those price points they were both on sale when I got them
Your passion for Fender and Gibson...
Is how I feel towards brands like D'Angelico, Gretsch, Dean, Ibanez, and Yamaha.
Do two more polls with the rest of the brands- then take the top winners (ESP and other two and do final poll! That will allow you to compare 15 or more etc…
For my first real guitar my dad bought me a blue MIJ Jackson dinky back in 2000. All these years later still love them, however I’m not arguing one bit ESP/LTD sits on top today for their specs and most importantly their quality.
Prs guitar ms have stepped up when it comes to appealing to the rock/metal community. For example the archon and the mr 15 amps and some of their guitars are geared towards metal players
Hey, Ray! Totally off topic, but now that it's been announced, I wanted to ask, are you bummed that your tattooer is moving away? He's actually going to be working in my buddy Brian's shop here in western MA. Small world, man. Small world.
Great video
My problem with ESP LTD is that finding exactly what you want in their catalog seems to be just a matter of luck. There seems to be very little structure and consistency across the various models in their range. I'll find one that looks really good to me (e.g. SN-1000HT Fire Blast), but then I found out that they don't make a floating bridge version so I'm SOL. A lot of models also still don't come with stainless steel frets despite being priced in the same range as other models that have them.
This is why I ultimately fell into Schecter in the first place. With Schecter, I can find a guitar that looks good to me and then the chances are high that it is actually available in the configuration that I want, be it hard tail, floating bridge, 7 strings and sometimes more. There is also more consistency in their offering where typically anything above $1200 is almost assured to be made in Korea and come with stainless steel frets.
For $1200 or less, Schecter. For $1500 or more, Kiesel. Ibanez normally would have taken both slots a few years back, but after grabbing an $1800 Ibanez Prestige in Guitar Center and having my hand get cut up due to sharp frets, I can't recommend them at all in good conscience.
This is one of the more knowledgeable comments iv seen on here. Iv bought/sold/traded tons of guitars over the past 2 years. My carvin dc400 is miles ahead of anything else iv played accept my bc rich mockingbird.
Jackson fanboy myself, but would certainly give anything else a go.
Got to go with ibanez for innovation, originality, variety of finishes and tones/pickups. all the other brands seem to mostly use the same formula. esp for example all the shapes are copies of existing shapes mostly black and white finishes humbuckers almost exclusively . Just my opinion but tone seems to take a back seat on a lot of these brands
My favorite is Schecter, although I must admit ESP caters more to metal than any other. I love my old Jackson's too, but they've been slacking these past few years.
Schecter is 110% the best! In todays modern market. ESP has dropped the ball. The LTD quality has gone down, while prices have gone up. Obviously any straight ESP guitar is going to be great, but what used to be 2-3 grand, is now 3-5 grand. It's ridiculous. But Schecter has some GREAT 1,000-1,500$ models that are 100% worth every penny. The Evil Twin is great!
@@9hk38f got two C-6's and a C-7 might get the pt evil twin🤘
@@Sgt6217 I have the Explorer body style Evil Twin. If you do get one, you should check out the new one, Its a strat body, with a sustainiac pickup in the neck! With a solid hip shot bridge. I want it so bad! But I would feel stupid buying two evil twins.
@@9hk38f lmao I guess I'm stupid? I also have two c-1 platinum blue and black and banshee Mach 6 and Mach 7. My favorite is the C-1 evil twin so I got one for drop D and another one for C standard.
@@Sgt6217 ha no, your not stupid! Schecter! Rock on!
I think the best brand is the one that makes guitars that inspire you to play.
My mom worked a second job for long time to buy me an Ibanez and afford my guitar lessons. She died at 49. Ibanez will always have a special place in my heart.
I find myself being ibanez and gibson nowdays. Mainly the artists that use them do it for me. Ibanez has joe satriani, steve vai, munky, the guys from ensiferum, the dragonforce guys, nita strauss, HAD john petrucci just to name a few