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i don't like twang
i don't like spank
I play with a clean tone and use pedals for dirty sounds. I need a solid-ass guitar that puts out clean and clear tone at the neck and good bite at the bridge. So far I've liked Les Pauls the best but the pickups were a little hot and I'm trying to find a stock guitar that I like. If that's not possible then i wouldn't really know which pickups to buy.

Right now I have a Dano 63 and a Blacktop Telecaster, but they are a little plinky for me, also the telecaster looks to have a straight neck that angles away from the body, and I don't really want to spend money to adjust the neck pocket on a cheap guitar. Does the Dano even have a truss rod? I haven't checked the heel.
I'm unemployed so I have been trading and selling on craigslist a ton and have not found anything satisfying. I did have an LP for a bit but I had to sell it to buy an amp that would do loud cleans for shows.

have you tried an SG or a Les Paul Special? Gibson was remaindering LP Specials with P90s or humbuckers for a SICK price on Musicians Friend the other week.

I get where you're coming from, from what it sounds a les paul would do the trick if you put lower output pickups in it, a Duncan jazz/jb set is cheap and close enough, or you could try GFS.
As far as stock guitars go... Have you tried anything with actives? They can sound sterile sometimes but definitely no twang or spank to be had.

i had a flying V with an EMG 60 and i hated changing the battery. I should have gotten a battery box, taking the pickguard off every time really sucked. I think i don't like the idea of active pickups and the tone degrading as the power dies, but yeah active pickups would be ideal if they sounded warmer

As far as the Gibson Specials go, I haven't really played many P90 guitars but I guess I need to make a trip to guitar center. Are they clean and smooth?

Junk wrote:Are they clean and smooth?

They can be.

Junk wrote:i had a flying V with an EMG 60 and i hated changing the battery. I should have gotten a battery box, taking the pickguard off every time really sucked. I think i don't like the idea of active pickups and the tone degrading as the power dies, but yeah active pickups would be ideal if they sounded warmer

Yeah I definitely agree, if there was some sort of easy power supply solution they would be great, on full battery there are some great sounding actives that are really clear and articulate.
A jazzmaster may be worth checking out too, you can get a nice deep clean tone using all the knobs and switches, you'd just need it shielded properly if you use a lot of dirt.

HAAAAAAAAAAa, he had a Jazzmaster, actually. You might want to post a fuuuuuuull list of what you've owned so we can know what not to suggest, my homie.

My suggestion is definitely something gibson scale. Try one of those old Greco or Tokai LP clones mehbe?

Maybe try a Tele Deluxe? Not sure how different it is from the Blacktop Tele, but the Wide Range pickups might be a bit more versatile for your tastes.
Other than that I would say an SG style with some "vintage-output" pickups from somewhere like GFS. They have pretty affordable options compared to Seymour Duncan or Dimarzio.
Good luck either way! It's hard to find the perfect sound sometimes, but it's worth the trouble.

Clean and smooth?
ES335 (or an Epi dot I suppose).

Or hunt around for an Ibanez Artist (the old ones are awesome) or an old Yamaha SG(the SG2000 was a killer guitar).
You'll get no plink or twang from those. Lower the pickups too, or turn em down if they're too hot.

I really really like the current Gibson 57 Classic pickups. Played a Les Paul with those in it the other day, and it was the perfect output and tone for me. Warm and full and smooth and not too hot.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I will post a list of what I've had cuz its nice to think about the past
Squier strat
Gibson V
Ibanez s470dxqm
Ibanez rg7321
Danelectro hornet reissue
Danelectro dano 63
Samick strat
Holiday Stratatone
Gibson les Paul studio
Fender stratocaster
Fender blacktop tele

There was a Carvin guitar that looked like an SG2000 at a pawn shop that I need to go take another look at. I'll keep all of this intel in mind

Yeah, I think for smooth you want to go in the humbucker direction. Gibson p90s are pretty raw and rude sounding, so you'd have to get a replacement set if you ended up with an LP Special. Ibanez is reissuing the Artist right now, so see if you can find an AR320 to play.

How about just sticking some p90s inside a Les Paul? Comfy guitar, lower output but handles gain really well.

hclapp219 wrote:Ibanez is reissuing the Artist right now, so see if you can find an AR320 to play.

Really? That's great -- one of those would def be worth trying.

If you ever look into a 335 stye guitar, I highly recommend looking into a Schecter Corsair. Coil taps built in, a bunch of sounds, mine plays like a dream and the neck pickup sounds beautiful.