That #1 guitar that you have loved/slaved over the most to develop "your voice."

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Nigel

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Let's post 'em!

For me, it's a 1978 (year I was born) Ibanez Studio 100.

My dad gave it to me when I was about 16, had been under some Indiana farmer's bed for years or something like that.

It came with the V2 pickups, and at the time I was trying to play 311 (note the alien head sticker from the "Music" CD) and Jane's Addiction, so they did not work at ALL!

Got a set of PRS Dragon II's because I thought PRS pickups were the ticket (didn't know Mahoney had Seymour Duncans installed!) and they were more clear, alright, but harsh at volume. Took years to figure out they were Alnico IV, really loved the clarity and articulation at bedroom levels, but cranked it was ice-pick city! Back in the 90's I was gigging a Rivera M60 and FL cab with brand new V30's, so anyone in front of that cab was hurting, I can tell you!

Over the years I had antiquities, blues buckers, p-rails, a JB, phat cats with magnet mods, experimented with pots and capacitor values, which led me to where I am today: Screamin' Demon flipped in the bridge, Fat Tone Retro 90 in the neck (8K/A5 P-90). 250K volume pot, 500K tone which is out of the circuit on 10 (scratched the trace off), .015 cap wired 50's style for woman tone, 333K resistor from the bridge hot lead to ground so it sees about 142K like two 250K pickups. The Demon needs that like a JB. I do miss the vibe and feel of a JB, but for complex chords under gain, the Demon gets it done.

Tried an all-bone nut but went back to the stock brass/bone one. That twang can't be beat!

Put some Stew-Mac copper shielding tape in the electronics cavity and that wrapped it up, added the vintage nobs as a tribute to EVH and they matched the truss rod cover perfectly.

This one is MINE! What guitar have you grown with that says YOU?

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Zakk Wylde Custom Lespaul with Richlite fingerboard.

I have and I have had the ebony ones, but the Richlite notes are more sharp and clear than the ebony .
I like the maple neck attach and clear notes over the mahogany too.
The C neck type as the Eric Johnson Fender feels the best for me.
The down side it is heavy as a trunk.
 
They had stainless frets back in the day, that I don't remember but then again lol...
 
My old charvel 3dr i got back in 88-89(cant remember). Its been broke a couple times, had like 20 different pickups in it, and still plays low and slick. Still has the old jt6 trem, but blocked off. Hell of a metal guitar.
 

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It’s a toss up between these two. One is the most expensive guitar I’d had up until that time, the other one literally the cheapest.

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Both of them are unique and really helped me to sound like me.
 
Fordman65 said:
Where did you read Hetfield used an H3? That's new to me. Gibson dirty fingers, maybe a dimarzio or 2 then on to EMG. Never heard of him using TAs.
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In 1988 I was 25 years old and into Metallica so I found out in a magazine what pick up Hetfield used. Today I found some information on the web, but there was no web back then, only guitar mags.


"I'm replying to myself-

I remembered a picture of this guitar on their myspace page 10 years ago lol
I found it-
I also found someone posting the same picture in a Duncan forum saying they were Duncans but someone corrected them that it was a Tom Anderson H3+ used on Ride/Master and then later changed to EMG's for the tour.

This does sound right because the guy that worked on the guitar knew they were "different" pickups and wasn't certain what they were. He thought they were perhaps dimarzio passive protoype pickups- but the H3+ could be correct and would basically fill in what the guy working on the guitar didn't know.

I should also mention- as someone that has really worshiped Hetfields ear for guitar tone for a while now- Nothing will get you close- no pickups or guitar or preset will get you to his sound. His right hand technique could be the best- his strength and attack is so powerful- that's where the sound is at. Honestly- before gear- copying his right hand angle will get you further than most amps and pedals can. That's where his secrets are at."
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That would be my 1983 Kramer Pacer Imperial I bought brand new in 1983 straight from the factory totally unfinished maple with an awesome heavy C radius profile, it is the only one I know of, most had heavy poly finishes in 1983. I bought another twin 83 close in serial numbers but it has a heavy polyurethane finished neck but the profile is pretty close. It has been through a couple of refrets and alot of maintenance due to the floyd posts loosening up, my luthier grafted in some Maple blocks and that took care of things. Both have Poplar bodies. I tried other Maple Kramers and the Poplar wood just is the wood for me, at least in a Kramer body. I tried a multitude of pickups in it in 84-85 I bought a shoebox full of pickups from some guy in Chicago, got them home and started swapping them in, Dimarizio SD, SD PAF, Dimarizio pro PAF, then I installed an unknown to me SeymourizerII Duncan that measured about 12K and had a SeymourizerII sticker on the bottom...that was the pickup it did everything I wanted, it has never been dethroned in that guitar and it is still in there circa 2021. I later found out the Seymourizer II was Seymour's Hot PAF before he overwound it some more to 14K to develop the Custom. I did replace the neck pickup with an EMG passive single coil for strat tones but it rarely gets used.
 

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Man those old Ibanez Studios are amazing! Shame about the stock pickups though - those old Maxon super-distortion-looking pickups sound killer to me.

This has been my main for most of my life - 1989 Hamer USA Californian Standard


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1996 Fender Ash Tele, totally stock. Had it since 1999. Not a fancy guitar by any means but the one I never sold..it just has something special.
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