Kyoga wrote:definitely make sure that your neck is built in and uses the wood most suited to your taste.
If the pickups suck, you can always change them.
"Built in" meaning what exactly? Neck through/set neck? Or just good decent piece of wood that compliments the body and just isn't crap? I personally like bolt ons for the simple fact that in the rare/unforseen case that the neck warps or gets damaged in some other way, you can replace it. Of course, I'm really not into shredding and stuff, so the massive bolt on neck heal isn't really ever a problem to me. That might have something to do with it too.
I didn't really feel like making another TL;DR post, but wood quality is definitely one of those things you have to look into when testing out guitars. (and another reason you don't want to buy online, but instead in person.) Swamp ash for example, and if I'm not mistaken, can have two totally different qualities to it depending on where from the tree it's cut. I forget if the wood higher up or lower down is desirable, but regardless just because a guitar is made from swamp ash doesn't guarantee it'll be a decent piece of wood. Cheaper brands or MIM versions of American companies (like Fender MIM for instance) aren't very selective about what pieces of wood they'll use, so obviously you're more likely to get a shoddy piece of wood with an MIM strat as opposed to an American strat. Wood is the one thing you really can't change on an electric guitar, so if you get that right in the initial purchase, everything else is changeable.
To me, it still all comes down to testing out any guitar you like the look of. You may find a POS bottom of the barrel $150 starter guitar that looks, feels and plays better to you than any $1000+ guitar. It may be a one in a million chance, but you never know unless you try, and hell, you could end up saving pockets full of cash while still purchasing what you truly feel is the best guitar for you.
Basically what you said, Warbalist, just in a lot more words. The guitars I own that I'm most happy with are on both ends of the fence. My built from scratch explorer ended up costing a little over $1K and my silly meant-for-a-decoration Twilight Sparkle strat that cost around $200-$300.
I must ask Warbalist what pickups you prefer? I'm currently looking into getting new pickups for my seven string and ideas would be nice. I've currently got my eyes on a few brands; Seymour Duncan and Bare Knuckle to be exact. Wouldn't mind having a few names chucked my way to see if they're up my alley. (even particular models, if you chose these two brands.) What about you Kyoga? Any recommendations?
