Split this up to more easily cover the 'important' gear questions I get asked constantly.
Q: Hey can I get your opinion on- A: I'm happy to give my input on any subject, but you're better off making a thread about it in the forums. You'll get more opinions so you can make a better, more fully informed decision. Q: Can I have your Gibson? A: The only time I would sell it was if you got me a MIA 1987 Richie Sambora signature Kramer still bright white (not aged at all), a 1995 USA Fender Richie Sambora signature Strat in faded cherry burst in still new condition, and you got the Fender Custom Shop to make me a one-off brand new Tone-Master amp with two 4x12 cabs with the white casing. I would swap my Gibson for all that. That is the only time I would let it go.
Q: What's your dream guitar? A: There are too many different variations guitars can have for me to name just one.
Q: Why do you like Les Pauls so much? A: See the previously mentioned live performance of Bon Jovi's Always. Richie used a real 1959 Les Paul at that concert to play that solo and it had the best tone I've ever heard. That is the single reason why I like Les Pauls.
Q: What do you think are the best pickup brand and why? A: Swineshead are the best I've found. Their quality is good, they will custom build you almost anything if you ask nicely enough, their service is good and I prefer to give my money to a small business like that than some huge corporate monster like Seymour Duncan.
Q: You never seem to talk about DiMarzio pickups, why? A: I don't like them, simple as that.
Q: Are coil taps and coil splits really any different? A: Yes. Coil tap is something you do to single coil pickups to lower output. Coil split is something you do to humbucker pickups to make them sound more like single coil pickups.
Q: What about active pickups? A: I treat them as a specialist tool. If you even have to think twice about them or ever ask anything about them, then they're not suitable for you. in my opinion.
Q: Okay so whatabou- A: Never buy anything if you have to question it. If you've had it in your hands, played it and liked it, buy it. Never buy anything you're not 100% sure on.
Q: Why don't you like Ibanez? A: I find them to have sub-par build quality and their necks are so thin they physically hurt me to play for more than about a minute and a half. On an Ibanez I can't even get halfway through an average song without being forced to stop because their necks cause my left hand to hurt so much.
Q: Why don't you like 24 fret guitars? A: Because it kills the tone of the neck pickup and I've never seen anyone use frets 23 and 24 well.
Q: What is so bad about solid state amps? I have [model] and I think it sounds great! A: Then good for you. Personally I don't care if an amp is tube, solid state or hybrid. So long as it sounds good, that is all that matters to me. It just so happens that most solid state amps sound horrible and most tube amps sound much better.
Q: Pedal distortion or amp distortion, and why? A: Pedal distortion. It's simply more convenient and it's cheaper to have multiple pedals for different types of distortion than it is to get a load of different amps.
Q: Why does a neck-through guitar have more sustain than a similar set-neck guitar? Is it just more wood contact? A: No, in fact the wood contact on a neck-through makes sustain worse (more wood being taken out of the body, more glue). However, most neck-through guitars have necks (and therefore about half the body) made from solid rock maple. Maple gives better sustain than any other wood, which is why some neck-through guitars have such fantastic sustain. Maple also the brightest tone. The huge amount of glue and the 'wing' pieces of wood that make up the rest of the body help curb the bright tone of the maple. Overall you are left with a guitar that sustains almost as well as a pure maple guitar but with a more balanced tone.
Q: So as long as the neck (and middle body piece) are hard maple, neck-through guitars must be the best, right? A: No. A maple bodied, maple neck bolt-on guitar will provided much more sustain. Any bolt-on guitar and any set-neck guitar will give better direct tone transferal and react better than any neck-through guitar. Neck-throughs are only worth bothering with if you have tiny hands that need the fret access, and if you want fairly good sustain but don't want to have the bright tone of a completely maple guitar. In my opinion, neck-throughs are basically worthless.
Q: Will you join my band? A: No. You wouldn't want me in your band anyway.
Q: If you do ever play in a band, what 'position' do you prefer to play in, what sort of people do you prefer to play with and what genres do you prefer to play? A: Rhythm guitar, always. Female vocalist at all times please, otherwise I don't care about other members. Pop-rock or gothic-rock. And for reference I refuse to drop-tune. E Standard, Eb Standard or D Standard is all I will play in.
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