looking for a low budget "role player" guitar

[Woodsie]

I have my main guitar, my Les Paul GT and I have a SSS Strat. what i need is something i can keep in a Drop D when needed or another guitar as a backup to my LP but more versatile. I want something with at least a Humbucker in the bridge and a trem. i also want to keep it vintage stying (strat, Lp, Tele) no shred guitars. I'd like to keep it under $600 for new so I can try and score used for under $500.so far what i've seen that i like is
Fender Strat Blacktop models: I'm pretty sure this is a no brainer. I've heard good things about these. either a HH configuration or the HSH configuration. they seem to be pretty popular and can be had used under $400. anyone have any experience with these?
I saw a used Godin Velocity at my local GC and I started doing some research and, they seem nice too. a super strat that is a little more geared toward shred but the HSS config says otherwise. it has some nice pickups, SD in the bridge with a preamp boost switch. used around $4-450.
G&L Rampage Tribute. the cheaper one. $399 used with,what appears to be, a other than stock pickup.
If i could live without the trem, i also like the Blacktop Tele and I really would love a LP jr. either Gibson or the AXL USA Bulldog.(this has nothing to do with this post, i jsut really want something with P90s also)

I know ultimately the decision is mine but, since i had some time, i figured i'd ask opinions.

[3l3phantstomp]

Cant' go wrong with the AXL Badwater even for this situation. Its a low budget flamethrower! You could get a $100 pawn shop princess squier strat, throw pickups/setup on that, and still come in under the USA build Axls.

Then there's the frankenstein "modern player marauder" from fender that has the soapbar in the neck position and triplecoil(?!?!?!) in the bridge position, with tremelo as well. This may scratch the role player itch, and the p-90 itch..., and the look fits the mission.

happy hunting!

[Woodsie]

Fender Triple Coil! what!? Now I'm intrigued

Good suggestions. But, while I'm not looking for top of the line, I'm not looking for bottom of the barrell either. I have a Squier tele so I'm not a complete brand snob. I still want something that is going to stay around as part I my collection. I know Godin makes some nice stuff and, have you seen the specs on the AXL Bulldog? Awesome and the price is about par with the new Gibby LP Jrs. I have a store nearby that is an AXL dealer but he doesn't stock more than a couple of lower models and seems hesitant to get something in so I can try it. My problem really lies with GAS. There are at least a half dozen guitars I could name in as many seconds that I desperately want. another LP, LP Jr, G&L Rampage and a Humbucker Strat being on top of the list.

[oranginator]

You may want to ditch your notion of needing a Humbucker.

The most versatile pickup in the world IMO is the P90. It sounds like a single coil and it sounds like a humbucker, but it doesn't fake at either. It's pure, unique, and causes intense salivation. Technically, it's a single coil, but it's got the boldness and harmonics of a humbucker. Additionally, once you play P90s through an Orange, there's no going back.

To me, I think you'd want nothing else than a Tele with dual P90s. Add a bigsby if you need the tremolo. I'm getting one custom made right now by Marc Rutters. I've used the Squier Custom II for awhile, and I felt like I could play any song with it, and it would still sound pretty damned close to anything song I was recreating. Infact, this guitar has kept me from having to tote around my 52' RI Tele and my Les Paul around to gigs, because I felt like I could do everything with it. It was a blend of the simplicity of the sound of a telecaster, but also the bite and bark of the P90s (Lindy Fralin), and the sustain of humbuckers.

You won't get that thin, light spank, spongey-sound of regular single coils if your doing stuff like SRV, but it will go much further at this than a humbucker will.

Take a look at the Fender Black Dove as a start. It fits in your price range. But if you need a tremolo, then you're after something else.

[Woodsie]

You don't even know how bad I want a P90 guitar. That's why I want a LP JR. The AXL Bulldog comes stock with a Fralin Dogear. I was looking at Jazzmasters too. P90 and trem. I honestly think I can live without the trem. I really like that Black Dove Tele. A little more than I planned to spend but might be worth waiting a little longer for. Thanks for that find, I've never seen it before.

[jason41224]

you really can never go wrong with a G&L. those are incredible guitars, period. then you consider the price and it's even better.

[Y0UNGBL00D]

ive been eyeing the marauder for a while now...

[Woodsie]

ive been eyeing the marauder for a while now...

Really digging the Marauder but this Jag-yoo-arr sounds awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbVCxgWVBIw

EDIT: I just found out my local GC stocks the Modern Player thinline tele with P90's and the Modern Player Jaguar. I'm definately going to check these out.

[Woodsie]

The ship where I take lessons is a Fender dealer. They had a Black Dove and a Classic Player Thinline in stock. The BD retails for $799 at GC, he said he'd do $575. What a deal. The Thinline is $399, he'll do $349. I mentioned to him that I'd love to hear it through my Orange and he let me take the Thinline home for a couple of days. May not be exactly what I'm looking for but should be fun.

[SlovakZombieHero]

Damn it sounds like you have an awesome shop! Those Black Doves are awesome guitars. I've been GASing hard for a Tele with P90s lately. Was it a Classic Player or a Modern Player thinline they had for $399? Either way that sounds like a deal compared to what I've seen around.

[Woodsie]

I was actually just coming back to correct that. It is the Modern Player. It is a great shop. I'm ordering the MP Strat in Silverburst for my other guitar player. $349. Better than GC.

[Randy Bass]

The ship where I take lessons is a Fender dealer. They had a Black Dove and a Classic Player Thinline in stock. The BD retails for $799 at GC, he said he'd do $575. What a deal.

That is a great deal on the Black Dove - I'd be all over it. By the way, do you take lessons from Seasick Steve, by chance ?

[Woodsie]

The ship where I take lessons is a Fender dealer. They had a Black Dove and a Classic Player Thinline in stock. The BD retails for $799 at GC, he said he'd do $575. What a deal.

That is a great deal on the Black Dove - I'd be all over it. By the way, do you take lessons from Seasick Steve, by chance ?

Lol, no. It's Paul at Dan's Music in Warwick, RI.

I played the Modern Player Thinline at band practice today. What a great sounding guitar. I really liked it. I think I'm going to scoop up that Black Dove though. The more I think about it, the more I think I want it.

[oranginator]

Yay! I rock on my recommendations! I've never even TOUCHED the Black Dove, either. On paper, it's very much like my Squier Custom II (but with better materials), so I'm assuming that it will rock. You may want to consider the Squier Tele Custom II, and just plan to set aside $100 for a full-tune setup, and you'd have a decent rocker guitar for pennies at that point. But the Black Dove will be the nicer guitar...the wood should be Alder while the Squier uses Agathis. You could have bought my Squier Tele II (it had a Nashville Tele neck on it) for about $200 if this post was made 3 weeks ago. Then you can slap in some Fralins, and rock the house down with it...

The Black Dove will have the strat headstock, which I'm sure you know by now. This can add some flavor to the looks depending on how you look at it.
The Fralin P90 offering will likely be better than what Fender sells in the Black Dove. I would expect to be happy with Fender's P90s, but I'm sure there can be some improvement from the Fralins.
The Black Dove has a gut-cut for more comfort. If you were a purist, you wouldn't be looking at this guitar anyways, but you should be aware of that.

Other than that, I'm not sure on the string-to-string spacing. I prefer the smaller (vintage strat or tele spacing, and nothing more). Not sure if the Black Dove has large spacing or not (like the Tele Deluxe).

[oranginator]

If you guys are interested in this configuration made in a very premium way, you may want to keep track of my thread at the TDPRI forums:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-de ... build.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This configuration is a must in any guitarist's arsenal IMO. Fender doesn't make an American-made configuration. I wanted the best of the best, so I had to custom make it. Marc is the perfect person to do it, too. Imagine taking a design by Fender in which the tele was definitely frankensteined, and turning it back into a tele with true form with the playability of a 52 RI. That's essentially what I'm doing with this build. Super pumped, and I'm expecting it to be in my hands in 3-4 more weeks.