danoff
I could use some education on guitars - what makes one better than the other. Why some of the pickups are solid and others show the elements etc. But I know what I like to look at - ibanez. This one is my style.
This is the S470DXQMCN... or something like that.
I like this one too.
...and this.
Man I miss playing my guitar.
For starters, the differences in the guitars you pointed out are mechanical, electronic, physical, ornamental and visual.
The top guitar has a Floyd Rose type tremolo with locking nut. It has a H-S-H pickup design. It has decorative inlays and a transparent paint job. The body has a nice quilted maple top. This guitar is more geared for hard rock, modern rock music styles, more or less.
The second guitar is similar in shape, size and scale with the same amount of frets, but has a cheaper, or standard tremolo without a locking nut. It has a "Burst" style transparent paint job with regular dot marker inlays and matching headstalk. It has a H-S-S pickup design. It has a flame maple top. It is geared more for jazz, classic rock, blues, pop rock or other "easier music" types.
The last guitar has a Floyd Rose type tremolo with a locking nut. It has a H-H configuration with EMG humbucking, "active" style pickups. No dot markers or traditional inlays, but a decorative inlay design near the octave. Basic paint scheme and most likely a solid body guitar compared to the other two solid body plus veneer top guitars above. The lack of maple top makes it sound darker, while the EMG active style pickups offer more intense, brighter, more bass pickup guitar tones. This guitar is a metal or hard music rock machine that most likely kills.
Skinnier pickups, SINGLE COILS, have a brighter but thinner sound.
Fat Humbucker pickups with poles visible offer a fatter, warmer sound, with less "bite" but with much smoother tones compared to the single coils.
The fatter humbuckers with out poles are often referred as "bar" and or "active" style pickups, but are mostly passive. They have a sharp, intense output, with a lot of "bite" like a single coil, but are much fatter and louder. Great bass and brilliance tones, too.
The difference in guitars that make them feel different when playing them are scale (the length of the neck), radius (the amount of curve to a neck), number of frets (21 to 24), the thickness of the neck and the width of the neck. The shape of the neck can be different, like V neck shape, C shape neck, completely rounded or very flat. Some necks have a "compound radius." That means it has more of a curve to it and the chord end, and has a flatter surface at the higher frets for easier soloing. Also, finish or non-finish necks effect playability and feel.
How the neck is set into the body effects feel and sound. The wood type of the body, neck and fingerboard both effect the sound of the guitar, and little bit of the feel. Maple is hard, while rosewood is softer and ebony being very soft to the touch. Then, the fretwire width and height has an effect on feel and playability.
The type of wood used for the body, like basswood, alder, swamp ash, maple, mahogany, poplar, etc. and how it's cut. Solid body, hollow body, semi-hollow body, etc. also change how a guitar sounds.
This is just a basic description of the differences, and trust me, it can get a lot more elaborate than this.
My brother, I'd try to talk you down. But I'm afraid we'd both end up at the local guitar store, and on the way to major trouble with the wives.
