That perfect 6 string!

CultOfSix

Hi everyone,
Amongst other reasons, this is mainly why I’ve come here. I’m trying to find my perfect guitar.
Some background info:
I’ve played bass professionally, I’ve been playing for about 25 years. A couple of years ago, even though I’ve always had a guitar or two about the place, I decided to really get into playing 6 strings.
In the past I’ve had Strats and Teles mostly, usually better quality Squier, as guitar was my ‘second instrument’. I decided that I wanted to put a new band together where I played guitar and sang.
i bought a second hand Jap jazzmaster, a 62 reissue. It had always been my dream guitar. I still have and I love it.
But it’s a ‘practical’ nightmare. The bridge can be problematic. The saddles, the screws in its legs. If you have one, you know what I mean. The trem - when you re-string, getting the tuning to settle takes a good while. When I’ve played it live, it looks MASSIVE on me (the bodies are quite big and I’m not a big fella).
So I bought a strat. Gilmour, black with maple neck/board. So much easier maintenance and practicality all round. Love the bright ‘clanky’ tone. The fit of the contours. Much more comfortable than the Tele I used to have years ago. I thought I’d nailed it. Exactly what I want. I’ve always been a Fender guy.
Until I recently played an SG. While I didn’t like the sound of humbuckers (I like a bright trebly single coil sound) That 12” radius finger board - WOW. So flat, so much easier to bend. The shorter scale - perfect!
The slim body, the weight - YES!
BUT - the tone - too thick. The strap button behind the neck - the guitar tips forward. And the neck dive - no no no!
SO - what guitar do I *really* want??
*Flat fingerboard, great action. Slim body. But a bright single coil sound (p90s if not Fender?)
*Low maintenance - string it up and go, no trem, simple, reliable bridge etc, stays in tune if you break a string. Easy to set up.
*Not too heavy. We rehearse for 4 hours on a Sunday afternoon. I don’t want back ache!
* On a budget - a USA Gibson is out of my price range.
Give me suggestions on what to try.
Les Paul Junior? SG with p90’s? Something else?
Thanks in advance!
Pete

guitargeek62

PRS SE Soapbar II - quite SG-like, but a cheaper package and none of the neck-dive issues that some SGs have. The radius is 10” rather than 12”, but I think you’d like it anyway

hassleham

Aerodyne strat!

Roland

I’ll go first. There isn’t a perfect guitar. Even if you find one which meets all of your current desires you will eventually find that your desires or needs have moved on.

Having got that out of the way I’ll hand over to people know more than I do about individual models.

Sassafras

Try loads of different guitars. Your dream one might not be the one you thought you wanted.
Life's full of surprises like that.

octatonic

Sassafras said:

Try loads of different guitars. Your dream one might not be the one you thought you wanted.
Life's full of surprises like that.

This ^^^.

I don't like black guitars and I never liked HSS Strats.
My number 1 is a black HSS Anderson Strat because it plays better than anything else I own.
Sometimes you just find the right thing for you, regardless of what you think you like.

fastonebaz

Ltd viper 1000 in tiger, yum

CeeJay

Job Done

https://www.dawsons.co.uk/gibson-les-paul-junior-tribute-dc-electric-guitar-worn-cherry

olafgarten

Have you seen the Revstar 502, it basically fits all your requirements except for being exceptionally light. It's lighter than a standard LP, about the same as a normal strat. 

CultOfSix

Thanks guys, keep these suggestions coming. The US Gibson LPJ is out of my budget.
The Ltd looks like it would suffer the same issue as one of my bugbears about my jazzmaster - the curve of the base of the body means it’s prone to falling off guitar stands.
The PRS looks promising but I’m not a massive fan of the headstock shape of PRS.
The revstar looks like the best suggestion so far. Reminds me very much of the Yamaha SG and a quick look on eBay tells me they’re actually quite easy to pick up second hand for a very fair price.