Interesting argument for the difference between cheap & non-cheap guitars...

[WhiteStrat]

Good points, and I hear ya, Whitestrat, but I've got to move on. I feel like I need to get away from acquisitiveness and concentrate on those instruments that really light my fire.

PLUS: there's a whole 'nuther issue about this: I firmly believe that some instruments will allow us to play better than other instruments. For me, Fender basses bring something out that doesn't seem to be there with, say, a Carvin or a G&L, and Gibson guitars affect me the same way.

Back to Gear_Junky: I was a long-term owner/player of a Bigsby-equipped Country Gent, and I never had tuning problems. In fact, I'd love to find a cherry red 355 with a Bigsby (but then, that would mean the 335 would have to go).

With me, there are more issues than whether it's fun to modify guitars, or the question, posed by one's significant other, "how many of those things do you NEED, anyhow?" (the answer, for me, currently, is "about 10"). It's about not surrounding myself with stuff that another person could profitably be using for his or her enjoyment, and about my not feeling like the guitars own me. I do play 'em, ya know, and, if I DON'T play 'em, they go to someone who will.

I smell what you're cooking. Sounds like you're in a good place to me!

 

[antichef]

double post....

 

[antichef]

A couple of years ago, I picked up up two "Antoniotsai" SG clones off ebay (one for me, one for my daughter) - each was about >$100 + $100 shipping - say $200-$220 each. Each one has a *lot* of abalone and mother of pearl inlays and they look really cool. One's made out of alder, and one's mahogany with a maple cap. The fretboards each have a lot of cool inlay, and the fret shape and material is nice. If you web surf, you can find bitter complaints about their acoustic guitars, but not so much about the electrics - I've been impressed with the inlay workmanship and overall materials.

Other than that, they were crap - set up was awful, frets uneven, electronics were out of a gumball machine, tuners flaky. The pickups actually didn't sound bad, but were too low output for me. I replaced the pots and tuners on both. I put Gibson P-94s in the alder one and a Rio Grande Texas/BBQ set in the other. I got both professionally set up (and then my son badly broke the neck on one, so I got it repaired and set up again) - all in, I spent more in fix up on each than I did on the guitar itself, but with the initial price you can see that's not saying much.

Now they're both among the most playable and best sounding guitars I've ever played. The way the necks are done, I don't think they're as durable as some, though - just gotta be careful. I've also got a Gibson SG Supreme, which I love to play - but it pretty much gets equal billing in that regard with these two.

edit: My son has an Epiphone Bully SG - it's plywood, and I bet it's among the lowest end instruments they've ever put out. We put a new pickup in that (Seymour Duncan "Screamin' Demon"), and it sounds/plays really nice, too

I feel like I need to get away from acquisitiveness and concentrate on those instruments that really light my fire.

nice! On it!