Personally I've never been particularly snobby about who built my guitars or where they were made. Whilst of course I've sometimes dreamed of owning expensive Gretsches, Gibsons etc, and have nearly bought such guitars on many occasions, I do wonder if it's really worth it for an average gigging musician like me - or if I'd even feel comfortable jumping around on a stage with a really valuable guitar round my neck. I've mainly gigged a pair of Fender US Standard Teles over the past few years, which I don't really count as expensive as I got them used for very decent prices - they are pretty much no-frills workhorses that will survive most bad treatment, but I have to say I'm often just as happy to grab something cheaper like my humble Chinese Vintage VS6 SG copy. In some applications the cheap SG even sounds better to me! I've found that pickup and electronics upgrades seem to make a huge difference and a few mods to a cheap guitar can make it sound on a par to guitars costing far more.
In this age of CNC machines making the technical side of guitar production very consistent across the world, what do we pay for with expensive guitars? Aesthetic flourishes? Attention to detail, e.g. nice rounded fret edges etc? The name on the headstock? A gesture of support to the labour force of, say, the US over China?
Personally though I love to look at expensive, pretty guitars as much as the next man, when I hit a stage I generally see them as a practical tool. What I really require is a good, solid axe that will sound the part and be reliable. I don't really notice stuff like slightly unfinished fret edges or little aesthetic impurities because I'm too busy rocking out! Perhaps at the end of the day I'm what you'd call an 'unrefined' player, and more nuanced guys may really benefit from the little things that make a top guitar more special.
My opinion is ultimately that these days if you're a tinkerer like me who enjoys modding and doesn't mind not owning a name brand then you can get some really great, perfectly serviceable guitars for very little money. This is just an opinion though and I'm sure lots of you will say you'd never go back to a cheap axe when you've got much nicer ones!
Finally, as a lefty I don't get to walk into guitar stores and directly compare a load of different guitars, so I often have to rely on buying unseen and hoping for the best - perhaps righties who have had the chance to play a lot more instruments will feel differently to me!
This thread is not intended as a rant, a gripe, a 'my cheap guitar is better than your expensive one' so please don't take it to heart - I'm just genuinely interested to see how those of you who have owned and played guitars of all price brackets feel about this
Meaning faded Gibsons, Highway One Fenders, etc. I've found a lot of just plain cheaper guitars that I've bought always had something that needed upgrading, pickups, tuners, etc. By the time I've spent money doing that, I usually told myself I could've just bought a faded Gibson and leave it stock and I'd be happier with the guitar and have better resale. I don't care to pay much more into a guitar purely for cosmetics though.. i.e. dot inlays are good enough for me if the guitar plays/sounds good.
