So I'm joining a band that's playing heavy stuff. Sludge/Noise Rock. I'd really like a better guitar for this kind of stuff like with a stop tail.
Right now I have a cheap mexican jazzmaster that's alright but I'd rather keep it as a spare than have it be my main guitar. It has a humbucker in the bridge that I replaced with a cheap GFS PAF but it's just not a great playing guitar.
I'm trying to stick in the $600 - $850 range. Here are my ideas:
1. Charcoal Frost Jazzmaster body, thicker neck, stop tail, humbuckers or mini-hums? I like the jazzmaster shape but I also kind of want to try something different for a change.
2. Japanese Les Paul Custom. Probably an Edwards? If I don't like the stock humbuckers I'd probably go with phat cats ala Kowloon Walled City or just something for the bridge. I can't afford a real les paul custom and none of the studios I've ever played really felt worth the price. I've heard great things about the japanese copies. I'd feel a little cliche playing a les paul custom but I like the style and the sound is probably great for both noise rock and sludge stuff.
I'm a really big fan of the old Yamaha SG shape that's like the thickness of the les paul but double cut like an SG, but all of the ones I've seen on ebay are usually a little more than I want to pay or just beat to hell and have chipped necks and stuff. Things I couldn't easily fix or deal with. There are some guitars like the Reverend Sensei that look similar but none of them really do it for me.
What do you guys think?