8 V-style guitars for under 500 bucks

V-shaped electric guitars are just cool. I owned one in the past and may again in the future. Do I really need one for anything? Nope. I just like the way they look. My preferred V shape is what's known as a Rhoads V where the bottom fin is shorter than the top.

It's fortunate these days that there are several good low-cost V-shaped guitars out there to choose from. I remember a time when there was no such thing as low-priced V - especially the Rhoads shape which was usually $750 or more.

Every one of the V guitars below is under 500 bucks. Some are less than half that price. Check out each one below and you'll be amazed at how low they can get yet still retain great build quality.

After checking out the guitars, see my notes below because there are certain things about V-shaped axes you should know before buying one.

One other note before showing the guitars: I purposely stick to "normal" looking V guitars here. There are some wacky ones out there like Tyrant X, but those barely qualify as V's to me.

Dean Dave Mustaine VMNTX United Abomination

This is a guitar that looks like it's supposed to cost $1,000 but comes nowhere near that price. This is definitely a "look-at-me" guitar. It's not only a V but has wild graphics on it, and done in a way that doesn't look cheesy.

ESP LTD V-50

One of the best (if not the best) bargain V guitars out there. When you need a basic solid V that crunches like nobody's business, there's no other V that can beat the V-50's price point.

B.C. Rich Metal Master Kerry King V

If the Mustaine model is a little too wild concerning the graphics and you want something a little more subdued but still very noticeable, the Metal Master model fits the bill here.

Jackson JS32T King V

This is what I call the "Guitar player's V". No, it doesn't mean it plays or sounds any better than the other V's I've mentioned, but if the goal is to impress other musicians, having "Jackson" on the headstock matters. This is a real-deal Jackson King V, and yes it also comes in black. The price will shock you - in a really good way. You'll like the price so much you'll probably buy one - unless you like the one you see below even more.

Jackson JS32T Rhoads

For many of you, this is your V. And said honestly, if I were in the market for a V guitar right now, this is the one I'd buy. Ridiculously low price for a true Jackson Rhoads model. Everyone will think you spent a grand on this guitar, and go ahead, let 'em believe that. :)

Kramer Vanguard

This guitar is a bit odd-shaped, but there's a reason for it. That cut at the high-fret portion of the neck gives you ultimate access to those frets for super-easy shredding access. Also, this V does have a double-locking Floyd-Rose system on it.

B.C. Rich JRV Standard

If the Vanguard above has a shape that's too wacky for you and you want a traditional sharp V-shape with a Floyd-Rose setup, this is what you want.

Jackson RRXT Rhoads X Series

Another from Jackson, and just barely under $500 but still qualifies. The difference with this Rhoads other than appearance is that it has far better hardware everywhere and a compound-radius neck (12-inch to 16-inch). This V is as pro-level as you can get in this price range, and is pretty much guaranteed to be the most comfortable-playing of the lot.

Can't decide which to get?

If you've said to yourself, "Yeah! I want a V! But I don't know which to go with...", get a Jackson. Any Jackson. Other guitar players you know will be impressed that you a have a guitar with "Jackson" on the headstock, and on stage the guitar has the "just-right" V shape that non-musician (as in fans) would expect.

The good and bad of V-shaped guitars

There are two and only two things good about V-shaped guitars.

1. They are in all honesty the most comfortable guitars to play when standing up because they're light and balanced perfectly.
2. They look cool.

That's it. You will get absolutely no tone advantages or better playability out of a V-shaped guitar.

As for the bad stuff about V-shaped guitars, it's fortunately a short list, but still a list worth knowing.

1. You cannot play it while sitting down without wearing a guitar strap.
2. V-shaped guitars are not known for lasting long. You may get 3 to 7 years of regular use out of one before it starts having neck problems or hardware failures. This is why very few vintage V-shape guitars exist, because they simply wear out early.
3. Getting a case for a V-shaped guitar is never cheap.
4. When placed on a guitar stand, it has to be set high or you'll bump the fins on the floor and scratch the finish (it's always better to put a V guitar on a wall stand because of this). For the Rhoads shape, a floor guitar stand must have a "fork" (where the guitar rests) that turns because of the offset fins.
5. No matter how much you try to avoid it, you will nick/scratch the guitar on the fin tips. It will happen, so don't be surprised when it happens. It happens to every V-shape guitar owner.

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Top 5 things musicians and bands do on the internet that are wrong

I'm going to say up front that I am not a master of knowledge when it comes to how musicians and bands conduct themselves on the internet. However I don't think anyone will disagree with my list below of things musicians and bands do on the internet that are flat out wrong.

1. Making fun of fans

This is wrong on so many levels. If a fan likes your stuff, posts a comment on your YouTube channel, Facebook page, @replies you on Twitter or whatever, and the post is something positive, but you reply back with something negative and make fun of the guy or girl, you're just an idiot, plain and simple.

Of course anyone who plays music would say, "I would never do that!" Oh, yeah? I've seen a bunch of you out there do it without even knowing it.

It's like the old saying goes. If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.

The only exception to the rule is when someone spams your channel or Facebook page. That's not cool. But even then it's just better to delete and block the spammer rather than try to get the last word. Consider a silent ban/block of the spammer to be your last word instead. It's just as effective and nobody has to watch you complaining to someone, which nobody wants to see anyway.

2. Having no videos

Do you play? Do you want to get noticed? Sure you do.

But if you don't have any videos, nobody will know you exist on the internet.

The kid who posts crappy videos with his cell phone on YouTube is getting more exposure than you are because he has videos online and you don't.

3. Being political

Fans want to hear your music and don't want to hear you talk about government in any way, so don't do it. The moment you go political, even just briefly, you lose fans.

4. Making it difficult to contact

There's a reason my email address is plastered all over the place - it's so people can reach me easily. Not only in email, but by YouTube message, Facebook message, Twitter, etc. If someone wants to get in touch with me, I make it easy to do. But I've seen some bands and artists that make it difficult for basically no reason.

The worst thing is when a band/artist forces someone to fill out a stupid form just to contact them. That's just stupid. What if a major record label wanted to contact you? Businesses do use email a lot, you know. And they don't take kindly to web forms. In fact, most of the time if there's no email address, they just won't contact you at all even if they are interested in you. Business runs by email. Use it.

"But I don't want spam!" Deal with the spam. It's a fact of life when using email. Get used to it.

Oh, and one other thing. Don't post any "rules about emailing" you either, like "your email must have subject line [blah blah blah]" or some other stupid crap like that. Just put your email address out there and be done with it. People do this all the time and it's a normal thing. Yes, it does mean you'll get spammed every so often, but like I said, if you use email, you get spam sometimes and that's just the way it is.

5. Not having a web site (or at least a blog)

I have a blog (what you're reading right now) on a real-deal domain (meaning dot-com/net/org/whatever), and - surprise surprise - my email address is listed so I can be contacted easily.

If you have no money to register a web site with a domain registrar, at bare minimum at least get a free blog. Use whatever you like.

I strongly suggest having a blog because some people just don't like Facebook and won't go anywhere near it. I can use my own fan base as an example here. I've been told more than once by certain YouTube fans of mine that they absolutely will not use Facebook, but consider YouTube OK. And then there are those who don't even like YouTube because it's Google-owned and will only keep up on what I'm doing by just my blog alone. Yes, really.

Get a web site. If you can't afford one, get a free blog instead. Blogs are really easy to maintain. If you know how to send and receive emails, you pretty much already know how to write on a blog. After writing some posts on there, as long as your name, your artist name or your band name is on the blog, it should be indexed by Google quickly so your blog can be found. You can also let your fans know where your blog is by posting it on your YouTube channel and Facebook page or both.

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Rich's 10 recording tips to get songs done fast

Next week I plan on releasing another song. The rough draft is already online, and the finalized version of that should be done before the tail of next week. The only reason it hasn't been done sooner is because I've been dealing with some computer issues (stupid power supply crap), but I'll have that all taken care of next week.

Releasing a song really fast is easy. You don't need a bunch of expensive gear, but rather just the basics to get your production efficiency ramped up.

(Note: I may do a video series on this later, but for now here's the blog version of it.)

1. Learn how to get drums done fast

A bunch of guitar players don't release songs mainly for the reason they can never get the drums done. You've got the riffs, the verse-chorus-verse stuff and the solo all in order, but.. no drums. This is why I bought the BOSS DR-3. Should you buy one of those? That's up to you, but my recommendation is to buy any drum synthesizer whether new or used. If you don't have a lot of cash to spend, grab a cheap Alesis SR-16. Those things are everywhere. Get one, learn how to make your drum patterns and go for it.

Just do whatever it takes to get your drums done so you don't have to worry about it.

One song I made has a really simple drum pattern, but that was the whole point. I did the drums then finished and released the song.

2. Buy a bass guitar

Get one. Don't do that tuning-down-the-guitar thing because it will sound awful. You'll probably only play your bass when in the recording stages. That's fine. Just have a bass so it's one less thing you have to worry about.

3. Doubling-up tracks is not a sin. Do it.

This adds a fullness to the sound and is a standard recording technique that's been done ever since the early 1960s.

Doubling-up works for guitars and vocals - but not bass or drums as with those instruments you can "mud out" too quickly.

4. Three to four-minute songs are the standard

A common mistake a lot of guitar players make is to produce songs that are way too short or way too long. The "happy medium" is 3 to 4 minutes; this is a formula still followed today by mainstream artists across all music genres.

Seven-minute "epics" are usually not something most people would want to listen to, so stay away from those.

5. It is okay to sound "fake"

Ask yourself a question. Are you making music for other musicians or for people? The answer, obviously, is people, as in non-musicians.

There are some uppity guitar player "purists" out there who think that in order to record a guitar, it must be through an amp, must be done using expensive microphones, must be recorded through an expensive mixing board and blah blah blah.

Screw all that.

Just grab a drum synthesizer, your guitar, your bass guitar, something with some decent amp modeling in it (even a cheap multi-effects pedal will get the job done), a cheap mixing board to feed into your computer's sound card, use free multi-track software like Audacity and just do it.

And if you get any complaints from the uppity guitar purists that say "I can tell that's an effects pedal!", whatever. You're making music getting songs done faster while all they're doing is being annoying whiners. Let them complain. Just keep making music.

6. Simplify your hardware so you can produce music the fastest possible way

Some guitar players have piles of gear where it takes them a half-hour before they're even ready to start recording, and that's stupid.

Ideally, you should be able to start up your computer, power on your mixer, power on your effects, plug in, start your multi-track software and be ready to record in less than 2 minutes.

Guitar snobs say this isn't possible. I say b.s. to that because I do it now. Whenever I have an idea for a riff, I can plug in and record a rough track very quickly. While other guys are fumbling around with pedals, knobs, wires, switches, microphones and other crap, I'm recording and they're not.

7. Simplify your songwriting style

The more complicated your songs are, the longer they'll take to record. It's not a sin to do your standard "three chord song" if you want to. As long as you're relatively sure what you wrote isn't ripping off someone else, just get it done and release it.

8. Just got a riff but no song? Record it anyway, because you can use it later

That song I just released recently? That was something I recorded in 2007, five years ago. Yes, really.

Always record any song idea you have, even if it's just a riff. Chances are really good you'll come back to it later (even years later) and make a song out of it.

9. Need an idea for a song? Play a song you like backwards

Many famous guitar players get their ideas from simply taking a song they like by someone else and reversing it. This is not plagiarism since the chord progression will be completely different, and obviously your style will make the song unique to you.

For whatever song you like, just write down the chords it uses and flip them around. You may find some great songs of your own by doing this. For example, if a riff in a song is E D A, flip it to A D E and see if it works. If it does (and you're sure it doesn't sound like any other song you know), use it.

10. Think less like a guitar player and more like a producer

Don't think about guitar gear. Don't think about how many other guitar players you will impress, because you play for people and not for musicians. Just get the stuff you need to record, record quickly, bang out songs and release them.

You can start by making simple goals, such as "I will release one song per month". Anyone can do that. Could you do 2, 3 or even 4 songs a month? You probably could - although I wouldn't suggest doing more than 4 in a month because that's a bit too much.

The point is that as long as you have what's needed (guitar, bass guitar, drum synth, mixer, multi-track software), and you train your brain to start producing more, you will.

Now go write a song.

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Banana does not wish to be modified

(For those who don't know, Banana is my 2010 Squier Bullet Strat. I call her Banana because she's banana-colored.)

I am a believer in the cosmic forces that keep this wacky world of ours put together, and yes this does extend to guitars.

I know a guitar is an inanimate object. I know it does not have feelings or desires. I understand all that. However there are certain times when a guitar will 'say' to you, "don't modify me". So you don't, otherwise the guitar will somehow ruin itself.

I just said recently that I bought a prewired HSS pick guard and an additional replacement humbucker for Banana.

Then I get this email (the parts with X's are things I commented out for security reasons):

Subject: Backorder Notice from GF Sales ********

*******,

Thank you for your order *****.

We are emailing you to inform you that the item you ordered "Alnico Fat Pat Boutique Humbucker Chrome Bridge Position - H14" is currently out of stock. Your order must have gotten through before the system took them down.

We can help you out in a few ways.

- You can exchange to a different item if you would like.

- We can place you on a backorder list, we will ship any other items on your order and ship the backordered item when it comes back into stock.

- We can also cancel the backordered item, or your order, and refund you.

Please advise on how you would like to proceed. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we appreciate your assistance.

-GFS Support Staff

First I'm going to say it was very cool the way GFS handled this. Instead of just blindly shipping out half the order and leaving me hanging out to dry wondering where the other half is while it was on backorder, they stopped the order, emailed me and waited for my reply before doing anything.

That's awesome customer service. Truly. Vendors ordinarily never do anything that would "break the sales chain" so to speak, but GFS actually cares about the customer and puts him first, so good on them.

My reply was simply this:

If none of the order has shipped yet, cancel the whole thing and please refund, thank you.

I didn't know at the time I sent the reply whether they'd gone ahead and shipped half the order out. I went on the assumption they did, so I mentioned that if none of it shipped, then cancel the whole thing, and if not, they would have emailed me back and said "HSS pick guard already shipped out but we can refund you the backordered part if you want", and go from there. Fortunately they did put a stop on the order and waited for my reply before doing anything, which again is great customer service.

Today I received the email that I was refunded in full. After a few days I should get my money back (it takes a day or so before the processing completes on a refund).

Anyway..

The message sent to me here by the cosmic forces that be is, "Don't modify Banana. Don't do it." So I'm not.

In my experience, whenever you buy hardware specifically to modify a guitar and have a really hard time getting the stuff you want, cosmic forces are telling you not to do it, and that you should listen. The last time I didn't listen, I ended up with the Surf Strat and hated the pickups in it. When you don't listen, that's what happens.

The same thing happens in reverse, by the way. If you walk into a guitar store one day, pick up a guitar that for some strange reason "called out" to you, play it and it's the best freakin' thing you've ever played, you should buy it. Right there, right then. If you can't afford it, put it on layaway. Do whatever you have to do. Just get the thing. If you say to yourself, "Well, I can't afford it now but another one will come along and I'll get it then when I have the money", that's a mistake. The next one won't play or sound the same.

Many guitar players buy guitars this way, and the story is always the same. "I went in to buy strings but I saw [insert guitar here], played it and just had to have it because it played so awesome."

The 'magic' of any guitar can be wrecked by modifying it. Some guitars are made to be modded and this is true. But others for whatever weird wacky reason just absolutely do not want to be modified. Whenever you go to buy stuff to mod the guitar, you'll always have a difficult time. Something happens that prevents you from going to the music shop that day. On an online order, something like what I described above happens. On the way to the music store you get a flat tire. Any number of things can happen. Again, that's the cosmic forces telling you not to mod the guitar.

Banana spoke, and said she wants to stay as is, so she will.

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star trek

Oddly enough, I've never written a post exclusively about Star Trek, so I figured it's about time I did.

I have a confession to make. I liked ST:TNG a lot, but I hated ST:TOS for the longest time because I thought it was just stupid - and that's the one I'm going to talk about.

I decided to start watching this because it's a 1960s television show that doesn't outright suck.

The only things I really knew about the original 'Trek before watching it were the technical TV aspects of it. I do hold a college degree in TV & Radio Production and know quite a bit about television history. The entire reason everyone wears brightly colored uniforms on 'Trek was specifically to promote color television. It's the same reason sportscasters of the era wore very loud yellow jackets and had microphone socks that were oversized and in red, yellow, blue or green.

The television industry wanted people to buy color TVs to see the colors, and did everything they could to promote it, right down to what people wore. And it worked. Star Trek was no exception.

I've almost made it through season 1 of 'Trek, and I've learned on Netflix what you see is the remastered series. Any time you see an image of space, ship or planets, that's all CGI - but I have to admit it's very tastefully done.

This is one of those ultra-rare instances where I actually prefer the remastered over the original. The ship models used and the space scenes created back in the 60s for 'Trek were awful and this is a well known fact. The technology was primitive and the budget simply not there, so they had to make do with what they had. That being said, I have no problem at all watching the remastered version.

Only in very tiny instances did they throw CGI into the live action scenes, but I can tell whoever did the remastering was really careful about it. It's obvious that great care was taken not to tick off the fan base by "pulling a Lucas", so to speak.

I watch 'Trek for what it is - a 1960s sci-fi show. Since budget was at a minimum for effects, concentration was placed on making good stories. And for the most part they are.

The thing that strikes me most about 'Trek is the obvious 60s influence, because that's when the show was made. 1966 thru 1969 to be exact. That's before my time and it was a very different world back then. As cliché as this sounds, men were men, women were women, each knew their roles and everyone was okay with that. You also see several instances of the show taking potshots at hippie culture of the time and showing a resounding disapproval of it. Whether that was Gene Roddenberry's (the show's creator) idea or not I don't know.

Star Trek is just a quirky 1960s television show. Visionary to some, groundbreaking to others, but to me it's just good television. I feel for some reason that I owe it to myself to watch it through, so I'll do it. Yeah, there are some scenes that are just beyond stupid (like Kirk vs. Gorn), but with sci-fi sometimes you get that. It's okay, I can deal with it. :)

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