Somewhat unique single coil/brightly voiced guitars?

[Medicine Melancholy]

I've been thinking about what I want from a guitar a bit more, I've been mostly focused on Fender and thus obviously the short scales but I'm wondering in general what guitars are out there that are cheap/affordable, sound single coily but not like a Tele or Strat(especially Tele, I already have one), look kinda neat and sound different.

The blacktop Jazzmaster was kind of intriguing for a while, but it has such a ridiculously honky bridge pickup which is what I want to avoid. Both Humbucking and Tele bridge pickups tend to be honky which I don't like for cleans, I like the sparkle of a Strat or Jag bridge pickup. Maybe it's not all Tele bridge pickups, but I think it's a big part of the Tele sound, you get this middy honky on the bridge which sounds great with certain types of dirt but all your clean tones are instant cowboy boot territory.

Sure you can do the Andy Summers thing if you get an Electric Mistress(which I do) but it's not quite the same.

I don't like spending a lot of money on guitars since I like my cheap-ass guitars. I have a First Act Sheena, which looks and sounds great and plays pretty well too, and one of the Xaviere Teles, which I maybe don't like as much but has a beautiful neck pickup(Fatbody). Unfortunately I did manage to dent my Sheena a bit and it's one of those guitars you actually don't want to dent, and my Tele which is all woody and therefore enhanced by dents and scratches unfortunately has a slightly warped neck, plus the body is weirdly glossy.

I've considered just swapping out the bridge pickup of the Tele(and neck), but I actually like Teles for certain things, and I really want to try and get a guitar with a Trem.

I was considering a Dano guitar, maybe a Dead on '69(second hand of course, for political reasons) but I think they pretty much only do one sound, or maybe one of those more indie looking Schecter or Ibanez guitars. One of the Xaviere offsets with P90s is fairly high on my list too.

[Medicine Melancholy]

Thinking about it, I really fucking love my Sheena. I wish I hadn't scratched it. I know guitars aren't meant to be scratched, but it is the most beautiful cheap ass guitar in existence. If i give it a bit of a clean it might help, but the dents are obvious. Maybe I'll find some way of covering them. The pattern is a bit irregular so maybe a little splotch of paint the same colour as it...

[Will]

Check out the Epiphone Casino. It's definitely a bright, jangly, single-coil sound, but totally different from a fender. Shorter sustain, a more acoustic sound, and a fuller midrange are the main differences.

If you listen to the Beatles song "I've Got a Feeling" (assuming you have the same mix as me), you'll hear John's Casino panned hard left and George's tele hard right. They're both playing through the same kind of amp, so it's a good comparison point.

It sounds like what you're after is more of a scooped sound. Danelectros do have this, but they're less "sparkly" than a fender. They tend to have a smoky and muted quality, though they're still lively sounding. It's actually more akin to an archtop sound than anything else. The '69 is a bit more fender-y since it's solid, but not by much. The trem is stiff and vaguely crummy. Also, there's some extent to which I feel that Danos don't like being strummed. They seem to sound best when fingerpicked or playing arpeggios.

Check out a Casino and maybe the new LP Special reissue with the dual P90s.

[Medicine Melancholy]

Check out the Epiphone Casino. It's definitely a bright, jangly, single-coil sound, but totally different from a fender. Shorter sustain, a more acoustic sound, and a fuller midrange are the main differences.

If you listen to the Beatles song "I've Got a Feeling" (assuming you have the same mix as me), you'll hear John's Casino panned hard left and George's tele hard right. They're both playing through the same kind of amp, so it's a good comparison point.

It sounds like what you're after is more of a scooped sound. Danelectros do have this, but they're less "sparkly" than a fender. They tend to have a smoky and muted quality, though they're still lively sounding. It's actually more akin to an archtop sound than anything else. The '69 is a bit more fender-y since it's solid, but not by much. The trem is stiff and vaguely crummy. Also, there's some extent to which I feel that Danos don't like being strummed. They seem to sound best when fingerpicked or playing arpeggios.

Check out a Casino and maybe the new LP Special reissue with the dual P90s.

Cool thanks for the help

I don't think I want too much of a scooped sound as I like mids for my distorted tones, I use a lot of fuzz so need mids to cut from time to time. I just don't want the excessive upper mids a Tele bridge pickup seems to add. The same kind of EQ as a Strat bridge pickup or jag would be fine.

Hollowbody guitars can feel a little awkward for me though because of the size. I have an Epiphone Dot up at my parents house, it's a nice guitar but I wouldn't like it to be my primary guitar I think.

Also considering a Baritone ATM. Also really liking the look of the Schecter Ultra III, though not likely to afford one any time soon

[Ankhanu]

One of my favorite artists plays a Danelectro baritone fairly frequently, and it's an incredible sound.
The Ultra III is an incredibly versatile guitar, and it's definitely on my "Must have" list (it'll be the next guitar I buy, after I get my bass cabinet). It'll give you access to all kinds of different tonal characters.

[timhulio]

Gretsch Black Penguin. Single coils, gold accoutrements, don't see them very often. Plenty of alt-rock cred.

[Rox]

If you could ever find one and then swing the cash a Tele Sonic is right up your alley .

[toez10]

+1 on a casino. The gretsch electromatic stuff is pretty good for the price. You can never go wrong with a rickenbacker for spanky, jangly, cleans.