worth spending more than $1000 on a guitar?

B

BigMuffinMan

New member
I own several guitars, the most ive even spent on one being about $1000 for my LP studio, others in the $600 - $800 range.

Anyone out there with some $1000+ or $2000+ guitars? Is there really something special about those high end guitars? or do you think its all about the player and not his gear?
 
My Standard Hardtail Strat = $1200 in 1981
My Kramer Pacer Imperial = $1350 in 1983
My Eric Clapton Strat = $1700 in 1990

I've played the lesser valued models (say under $1000) of Strat and Epiphone. The more expensive models feel easier to play and have a better tone. They're dependable and consistent. I never want "something better".

Now I expect we'll hear from all those who find their economy models play and sound just like the expensive ones. So you really can't tell unless you play the actual instrument - for more than just a few minutes too....
:D
 
You get what you pay for and you get what you over pay for.

More expensive guitars (generally) sound and play better...are they worth the extra cost...maybe...some guitars though are clearly over priced.

Having said that Im sure anyone who has the cash would buy a more expensive guitar...thats a no brainer...is it better?...one would think "yes".

I own epiphone guitars...If I was rich and had the cash I would buy gibson...Are they better?...for the price they better be.

Right now I have my eye on a musicman axis guitar in the price range of almost $2000..I would hope for that kind of cash your getting a very nice
sounding guitar.

:cool:
 
It really depends on the company and model. American made guitars are made by $30/hr union workers. YOU are paying for the difference as compared to a $3/hr Korean sweatshop piece. American guitars have tighter specs. Try 10 Korean made guitars-same model and there will be differences, usually finish differences.

Are they really "worth" double the price? I don't think so. That's me. I'm more into tone and my $799 Epiphone Les Paul II can stand up tone-wise to the $3500 supremes.
Mind you, there is a BIG difference between a Squire Strat's tone and an American Strat, but a good Mexican strat can sound really good.

Part of it is that when you pay $2000+ for a guitar, you simply must in your mind convince yourself that its worth it.

If I was rich, I just rather have a real American Les Paul supreme, but my recordings sound every bit as good and mine's still quite the looker.
 
There's no reason you can't embellish a less expensive guitar with good electronics and hardware.

I took a stock Ibanez GAX, cost $150 new, and set the action and intonation to suit me and installed a set of Grover tuners. Then I replaced the stock pups with Seymour Duncans. I kept the stock pots but replaced the ceramic cap with an old Bumblee cap. Next I installed an EMG single coil between the humbuckers and changed the three-way switch to a five-way. She's easy to play and has a really warm tone. I've got no issues with the guitar except that it could use a better bridge setup and perhaps a bone nut.

Could I sell her for what I've got in her? No way, not even close. But she plays great, sounds just as good, and is unique, plus, I know every bit of her (I describe my guitars with pronouns just like a boat).
 
I have an Epiphone "Les Paul" standard something or other and a Gibson Les Paul standard too.

The Epiphone cost me around $700 a couple of years ago and the Gibson more thn 3 times that.

The Epiphone is a very nice guitar, Especially after I dumped another $200 into real Gibson pickups for its. It plays very well and the tone is pretty decent and I enjoy playing it and like it a lot.

However it isn't anything like as nice as the actual Gibson (which is magical or something) and I don't think anything I could do to it would make it so. Is the Gibson worth 3 x the price? I guess that's entirely up to you, if I had to make the choice between feeding my familly and getting an Epiphone, or starving and getting a Gibson I would choose the Epiphone in a heartbeat. Since I don't have to make that choice then playing the Gibson is very nice indeed

As allways YMMV
 
I have lots of guitars and have never felt the need for expensive axes but I did recently get an fairly 'spensive custom hand made jobbie and it's way better than my other axes so ...... yeah, maybe if your skills are up to it they may be worth it.
 
I am of both worlds...

Most of my guitars- Westone Thunder 1A, Westone Spectrum SX, Squire Standard Strat, Seagull S6-Folk and S6-Dreadnaught, Arbor 12-string, etc- sold for well less than a grand, new, and cost me even less, as I bought all of those used. Even the Epiphone LP was used and never cost $1000- that being the one I put Burstbucker Pro Alneco 5's (whew! What a name!) in, and it sings- and still cost me far less than half a grand.

But I do own two guitars that sold, new, for $1000 or more- a MIA Fender Standard Strat, and a Martin D-16SPD. The Fender I bought used, and paid less than $1000; the Martin, new, and it cost much more than the $1000 point of demarcation.

If I just grab either the Martin or the Seagull, or the Fender or the Squier, and start playing willy-nilly (or is that wet willy?) I can not tell any difference- but if I settle into my playing, small, subtle differences emerge, in both tone and playability.

So, yes, there are differences, subtle but real. When you spend more, you experience:

1. Better tone.
2. Easier playability.
3. That elusive, hard-to-describe quality that comes simply from playing a better instrument. Yeah, I can hear you now: "That's not real, it's perceived!" Trust me, buddy, it's real, and besides, what is reality, except what we perceive it to be?

Now, are the improvements or betterments worth the price? Almost certainly, no- you have probably moved past the point of diminishing returns- but man, oh, MAN, playing the better guitars sure is sweet!

Certainly, when playing live, especially on stage with a full band/touring/subjecting a guitar to all the vagrities of life on the road, and playing to people in either a huge arena or a smoky bar- people who are far more interested in a fun evening than the tone quest- the only real advantage is the name recognition the name on the headstock gives you. Now, THAT is perhaps the best argument for owning a Chinese counterfeit (as long as it is one of the better ones to come off the line) that was ever made- you need'nt worry so much about your axe(s) getting stolen or broken.


Oh, and having played both a Squier and a MIA Strat, both standards, both lefty, both with modern tremolo bridges, both upgraded to Texas Specials- essentially as close to the same guitar as they can be yet still be near the opposite of Fender's price range- I can say, with some authority, that although everything else matttheaxe says is certainly true, he is way off base saying that
matttheaxe said:
Mind you, there is a BIG difference between a Squire Strat's tone and an American Strat...
Click to expand...

Rather, his last statement (edited only for clarity) applies to Squiers, MIM and MIA Strats as much as it does to Les Pauls:
matttheaxe said:
If I was rich, I just rather have a real American (fill in the blank*), but my recordings sound every bit as good and mine's still quite the looker.
Click to expand...

* Feel free to fill the blank with any of these: Les Paul, Strat, Tele, beer, woman. Yes, American Woman- and I don't care WHAT Burton Cumming, or his pale imitator Lenny Kravitz, says. And don't EVEN get me started on Randy Bachman's Hollywood Christianity/Mormonism!
 
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I played a $25,000 Gretsch Tuesday night. No shit, only 5 were ever made. Gold-leaf under the orange. The guy who owns it has a very serious collection.

I could barely hold it properly. It just didn't feel good at all. Some guitars are better than me.
 
Most of mine are in the sub-$800 range...though I do have a some that are over $1000...like my '52 RI Tele...then there are my vintage Hagstrom Swedes, though prices on them are not always firm, depending on the market at any given time.

I recently picked up a Duesenberg '49er, which is the most expensive guitar I own, and while it doesn’t necessarily play/sound substantially *better* than my sub-$800 guitars (it has its own tone/feel)...I can certainly see where the extra $$$ went. :D
It's very high-quality build from tip-to-tail...the hardware is top-notch, and there is an attention to details not found on many less expensive guitars.
I may actually buy another one down the road, I am very impressed with it, but it's just another guitar in my roster. I will still use my other ones as much, and most of them each have their own "sweetness", so the Doozy won't always get the first nod for stuff.

There are high-priced guitars that try to justify their price simply by their brand name, but when you look at them and play them…you kinda’ wonder why the extra cost....? :rolleyes:
And there are less expensive guitars that certainly are not worth a penny more.

I’ve been in the hunt for a Gibson SG…always liked the look/tone of the SG, though the tone is not something that unusual, and can be gotten with other guitars. Most of the standard fare SGs can be had for under $800…but there’s a couple of the reissues which seem to fetch $1200-$1500 on the used market, and even much more when new…but honestly, I picked them up and played them side-by-side in the music stores and I can’t see a hell of a lot of quality difference…there are just a few different looking parts to create the reissue vibe…and for that there’s double the price tag...???
So…I’m kinda disillusioned about getting an SG now....or which model to get. I really like the differences in styling with the ’61 RIs…but man, I don’t see why they cost so much more. For a couple hundred more, I can really get a high-end, high-quality guitar rather than just a “styled reissue” guitar….I dunno.
That said…the SG RIs seem to hold their value…though that doesn’t mean anything if you plan on keeping the guitar (which I do) and not reselling later on. ;)
 
(Is it) worth spending more than $1000 on a guitar?

Depends on what you want. If the desired quality is only tone then the answer is probably no but the search may be lengthy depending on the exact "tone" you are after.

On the other hand if you want a real Les Paul Custom or '54 Re-issue then the answer is rather obvious, isn't it?

There are more than a few reasons to buy a guitar. The price you pay will in large part be determined by which reasons drive you.


lou
 
You can find joy with cheap guitars and expensive ones.

At one end of the spectrum I have a Gibson Custom Shop R4 that ran me a bit over $3K. Near the other end I have a dual-pickup Melody Maker that cost around $350. I truly enjoy both guitars equally.
 
ido1957 said:
Now I expect we'll hear from all those who find their economy models play and sound just like the expensive ones. So you really can't tell unless you play the actual instrument - for more than just a few minutes too....
:D
Click to expand...

Well, I've spent less than $1,000 on all of my guitars, though many of them would have went for more than that new - an Ibanez UV7PWH, a Fender American Standard Strat (actually, this one I bought new), a Martin MC16-GTE acoustic, a killer custom bass I got for cheap when a luthier I know (Mike Sherman) sold a bass a customer couldn't pay for he'd been using as a shop loaner. I also have a PRS Singlecut SE I got for cheap that's just a blast to play, even if it's not quite of the same quality as some of my more expensive instruments.

I've also owned, well, one much more expensive guitar, an Ibanez RG7CST J-Custom. It was kind of an interesting experience for me, it was a gorgeous, great looking, and great sounding guitar, and I never played it. I was just afraid I might hurt it or something (and, since it was one of about 18, that worried me, haha).

So, I think psychologically I'm more comfortable playing guitars in the $800-$1,000 ballpark, and I think I'm less inhibited as a guitarist on them. I suspect if I ever buy a full custom that won't be as big an issue since resale value will be a fraction of the purchase price, and I think furthermore once you get through the first couple dings and dents it's not such a big deal, but there's definitely a psychological side to this for me.
 
The fact is, with offshore manufacturing and CNC machinery, and the mature design of solid body electric guitars, it doesn't take a large sum of money to get a musically useful and satisfying instrument. We're in a golden age of mass production, when consistency and quality unobtainable 40 years ago (when I started playing) are achievable at the lower end.

I've owned some cheapos, and some more expensive ones (30-some at last count) but I have now settled on Gibson electrics and Fender basses. This is partly because I really like Gibson designs (so far I've had a Les Paul, and currently own an SG and a 335), and partly because, dammit, I can afford 'em.

To take the 335, there are many knockoffs around, but each one lacks something the real Gibson has: the cheaper ones have less intuitive and convenient controls, inferior sound (this can be alleviated by replacing the pickups -- but I didn't have to replace the Gibson ones), gloppy finishes, poorer woods (there's nothing like the thrill you feel when you discover your prized guitar was sawn out of plywood), "features" like bolt-on necks, and much reduced resale value. I owned a Sheraton II (with Seymour Duncans) and it was OK, but the 335 is better in every way. I could never bond with it; but as soon as I took my 335 out of its case, I was (and remain) in love. Even so, had I had my hands on a Sheraton II back in the day, I would have been delighted.

So, yeah, higher end guitars are worth it to me, even though superficially similar guitars are available for a lot less money. I spent enough years playing the cheaper ones, and I am fully aware of their unreliability, stability issues, and other problems that start surfacing as soon as the new wears off. Let's be happy that we can buy good guitars for not much money, but that doesn't mean that there's not added value in the great ones.
 
I would have said it would be worth, but after breaking my most expensive (yet not too much expensive) I decided that I would be a little bit less sad if it was a cheapo.. But still the joy of playing a comfortable instrument (w.r.t. personal preferences) with good sound (w.r.t. personal preferences again) beats the sadness...
 
stevieb; what we perceive it to be? Oh said:
way[/I] off base saying that
Rather, his last statement (edited only for clarity) applies to Squiers, MIM and MIA Strats as much as it does to Les Pauls:

This is an example of how Korean and chinese instruments can differ between instruments. I played played a Squier that sounded like crap. Loose specs means that there can be good ones and bad ones. Same does go with Epi's there are some lemons out there.
Click to expand...
 
Zaphod B said:
I dare ya to go over to the Les Paul forums and and speak such heresy! :D
Click to expand...
Ha ha. Actually that's where I heard such heresy first. It's almost always the case with "closet-queens" (or case-queens), the almost mint condition vintage axes that show up from time to time. They are in unplayed condition because they play or sound like shit and got put away. It's true!

Of course they are still worth a quarter mil.


lou
 
I've owned cheap guitars ever since I've been playing. That was a long time ago.

I still own a cheap Dean Vendetta that I repainted and it plays and sounds like a $100 guitar. That's not all bad. But yeah, it could be a lot better.

I bought an Epi LP Custom several years ago. Miles above the Vendetta, but not quite up to a Gibson in either playability, build, or electronics. Still a nice guitar. I've played many Gibsons owned by other people and the Epiphone was just not quite there.

Last December I laid out a big chunk or change for a Rick Turner Model 1 C-LB.

Gibson can't even come close to sound quality, build quality, or playability of a hand-made custom guitar. There is absolutely no ground for comparison. If you are far enough along in your skills and can afford it, I say a custom hand-made guitar is one of the best investments you can make. Not only monetarily, because it will never decrease in value if it's from a well known luthier, but your skills will improve because of the playability and easy with which you can improve those skills you have.

A competant guitar player can make a cigar box sound great, but when you're not quite up to the pro level yet, it can make a big difference in learning.
 
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