Cheap v expensive guitars - your real world experiences!

[MaxProphet]

the factory in china making squier CV's (and now fender modern player?) series is the tits

[Dark Helmet]

great sound comes from strange places sometimes...


just play 'em all until you find "the one"

[OrangePaul]

Whilst my Les Paul Traditional seems to be in a different league overall... sound and feel wise to my other guitars I don't think MIC is as bad as some would have you believe.

My original MIJ squires...a Tele and Strat, whilst they do sound great feel rather 'cheap' to me to play.

As a general rule though I do believe more or less you get what you pay for but I agree you do sometimes have to stop and wonder just what that is...

Materials/wood, electrical components, time and process taken to build and finish off the instrument are all factors I guess.

[baytamusic]

Some of you guys have very different definitions of cheap guitars than I do. If it's over $500 used it's expensive in my book.

[bassdrop]

I've only ever bought a handful of instruments during my career because I've luckily been a one-horse kind of player. My Warmoth parts bass is impeccably built with great hardware, but the weight was what pushed me away from it in the end.

My Custom Shop Fender is more of a mixed bag. The feel of the neck is second to none, the nitro finish is awesome, and the quality of the wood is obvious- lightweight ash body that is very toneful. That said, the hardware quality was below spec for me. The bridge saddles constantly required adjustment even after loctite on the threads- I ended up replacing the bridge with a Badass II. The tuners have also had problems, but since they hold tune fairly well I won't be replacing them for a while, I just have to replace the post screws every few months as they keep falling out! The electronics didn't suit me too well either, but that was more preference on my part. I now have the bass loaded with Joe Bardens and an all passive wiring harness from Rothstein Guitars- it sounds incredible now. If I were to buy again I would probably get a bass from Alleva Coppolo since he doesn't charge any more than the custom shop and you don't need to do any upgrades- everything is built by hand and is spot on for the era of Fender you're after (he also builds really nice Fender style guitars as well).

[jason41224]

expensive to me is over 1K. reasonable is between 500-1K. low balling is anything less than that. Gibson is over 2K, of course

[Randy Bass]

I like cheap guitars. I think the point of diminishing returns is somewhere around $1,000. Having said that, I have a bunch of sub-$500 guitars and basses.

[Stainboy]

I've had some really cool vintage budget guitars - Sears Silvertones (great for slide), but I've always owned and gigged pricey Gretsches and Gibsons. I've never been fearful of taking 'em onstage, even in some rough clubs. The way I see it, Teddy, is that life is short. I wanna' enjoy owning playing the guitars I dreamed of owning as a kid. I recently had my new Gretsch knocked over at a club. It was a scary face-first hard fall. Luckily, there wasn't even a scratch - the new Gretsches are very well-built. I've also had an expensive Duo Jet stolen at a gig, but I did get it back. Will any of this stop me from taking risks and playing them live? Never. I do believe that more often than not you do get what you pay for, and that has certainly been the case with the more pricey guitars I've owned. I take great care of my guitars, but I definitely don't baby them. They're made to be played.

That being said, I've also owned and enjoyed many really "cheap" guitars that played like a few grand. If I came across a $400.00 guitar that had the sound and vibe I was after, I wouldn't hesitate. Some of the late 90s Epiphone stuff was a killer bargain. There's also a lot to be said for buying a budget guitar and rigging it with better pickups and electronics.

Bottom line for me personally is that I just love how it feels to walk on stage with a cool sparkle Les Paul or a flashy Jet.

[Le Chat Noir]

I was waiting for someone to utter the words 'life is short' Greg - and you're right, that is an important consideration, for sure! At the end of the day, if you really want a particular guitar, you can afford it and feel that it's 'the one' for you, relative value doesn't matter and you can't take money with you... just buy the damn thing and enjoy it whilst you can!

On the subject of Gretsches, the Electromatic range seems to be coming on nicely and I have been tempted to give them a try - read a lot of very positive reviews about the Pro Jet and they even do it as a lefty! My crazy dream is to one day own a Black Penguin if I ever get so rich that I can drop that on a guitar without worrying... no way I'd ever take it on a stage though

[kmlabs]

My LTD EC1000s are about £700/£800 new - I'd never have paid that for a guitar a few years back, but I won one from Guitarist magazine, loved it and then bought the purple one which is now my main guitar.

The ESP version (Eclipse) is about £1800 new... the wood, pickups, hardware etc are all the same, but they have a wider flatter neck. I guess the extra money is in labour costs. I've not played one, but I can't see how they can be over twice as good as my LTDs.

The custom Jackson I've got on order is going to be (apart from my house) the most expensive thing I own - even the deposit was more than I paid for my car! In pure money, it won't be "worth" that price, but because of the connection to my girlfriend, it will be worth every penny to me.
Interestingly too, I've based the specs for that guitar on my much lesser model Jackson - scale length, neck dimensions etc - since although it's not as nice as my LTDs it's a really nice guitar to play.

My friend bought some no-name Tele copy the other week, and got me to check it out - I couldn't stop playing it, the neck was just awesome, he almost had to wrestle it back off me! He paid less than £100 for it.

Finally, regarding throwing things round on stage, I'm not exactly the world's most active guitarist (although nowhere near in the same league as Teddy!), but I don't stand still either - and I don't think that will change when I've got the new guitar. Since Nina died, something I've realised is that everything is just stuff - even that guitar. Anything can be replaced, people can't - it'll be insured (of course), and although I'd be gutted if anything happened to it, when it comes right down to it it's just wood and electronics, and it WILL be replaceable.


EDIT: Haha, the tl;dr version - I don't really know, but I like my guitars and don't mind if they get damaged

[Les Paul Lover]

I was wondering about your custom jackson the other day Kerry.
Any news as to delivery date?



Guitar quality & prices aren't related:

I find guitars come in 4 category:

- Poor guitars: just get rid of them/don't buy them, waste of time and money

- Average guitars: The finish may not be fantastique, perhaps some hardware could do with upgrading. They're fully playable, can be made reliable, but most often will need modding, and that very often makes them uneconomical

- Well made guitars: An instrument that lively and reliable, with good tone. no mods needed (not counting pick ups, that's for taste)

- Exceedingly well made guitars: Just the notch above the well made one. The neck will be incredible and true, all the fonctional parts are a cut above everything else.



And then it's all cosmetics. And they can matter.

[savage8190]

I think its not really about tone, but feel....at least for me. Ive had some killer sounding budget guitars, but they never felt quite right. Where as higher end guitars (particularly Gibsons for me) just seem to sit right for me. I don't mind paying extra to have a neck that fits my hand like a glove...if that's what it takes, so be it. You dont HAVE to break the bank for that kind of quality either...I think the Les Paul Studio and the SG standard are easily as good or better than most higher end Gibby's, and they can be had for a good price.

That said, Ive never played a guitar under about 300 bucks that I felt was even worth considering...

[bassdrop]

And really as guitarists and electric bassists, we have the pick of the litter when it comes to inexpensive instruments. A good quality upright bass would set me back at least $4,000USD. A better quality carved instrument would be at least 10-12,000.

[Thinline_slim]

I know I could get away with a cheaper guitar and be happy since there are some absolutely great guitars in the $400-$600 new range. I have a PRS SE-SH which is a fantastic build in feel, looks and playability.

But...

I would probably stick to American made Fenders and/or Japanese Gretsches if everything burned to the ground today and I had to start over. Nothing out there really has the vibe of a upper end Gretsch at a cheaper price point that I've found. I could probably find a less expensive Tele and do some hardware upgrade, but I'd probably go with an American made and just swap the pickups.

[the gray area]

I think I would mirror some of the comments about "how the guitar plays & makes you feel" over name and absolute value.
I consider myself lucky to have 3 fairly expensive-for me- guitars & 1 cheap guitar that I love to bits.
A "naturally relic'd" (read getting a bit tatty, AS tele, a Gretsch Duo Jet, & a 2011 hand made & custom for me Gordon Smith Graduate. These 3 I love but the £300 Danelectro danoblaster Innuendo from the '90s, plays pretty damn well & is quirky & soooo cool it's great & well worth more than its monetry value.