Are expensive guitars overrated?

  • Thread starter Thread starter GT
  • Start date Start date
Maybe some but certainly not all. I have some fairly expensive instruments and I feel they're worth the money.
 
Well,

I would hate to give up my Rickenbacker 4001, Track you know what I mean!! I'd sleep with it if the laws allowed.

But I also really love my Alvarez Strat copy, at $100.00. Had it for years, doesn't feel or play like a cheap guitar at all. Actually I traded my old whacked out Teac 3440 for this one.

GT
 
Oh, there are inexpensive guitars that are great instruments. When they first started making Squires back in the mid 80s I bought a Strat and in terms of playability and intonation, it was a fantastic guitar. I think the line can blurr in electric guitars as far as price/performance goes. At a point of around $300 it seems that any thing more is trim.
Acoustic guitars on the other hand I think the number is MUCH higher (4 digits).
 
Track Rat said:
Maybe some but certainly not all. I have some fairly expensive instruments and I feel they're worth the money.
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Anderson's are worth the money.
Damn guitar plays like silk.
 
Last cheap guitar I tried, that felt like a cheap guitar, was an Epiphone SG copy.

It felt way too light, and the neck had a very dry wood (not smooth) feel to it.

I think you can tell a cheaply made guitar, sometimes from the minute you pick it up.

GT
 
On the other hand, those Parker Fly guitars feel cheap, but they're not.
 
I think you get what you pay for. I just purchased my first expensive guitar, a Martin HD28, and it is the most amazing thing in the world. It almost plays itself. I'd played $1000 acoustics in the shop before but never thought they were that much better than my Washburn D21S. Then I played the Martin, which was heavily discounted; never thought I'd be able to afford one....


For electrics, my Epi Dot plays pretty good. Well, after I put heavier strings on it and adjusted the intonation. I don't agree that over 300 is simply trim, but you can get a nice electric guitar in that price range. The Tom Andersons do play like butter. Quality craftsmanship still matters.
 
Eyes, I ws thinking of getting a PRS. Do you think they're overpriced?
 
With new guitars I would say not. You're paying for craftsmanship, feel, tone, and playability. You get what you pay for and there's enough out there to choose from to suit your sensibilities.

Expensive vintage guitars, on the otherhand, in many cases are overrated. You end up paying a premium for collectability that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with playability.
 
My Musicman Sillouette Special was about $1000. Damn worth the money. I haven't played too many guitars that feel worth $1000, but this guitar feels it... as do most Musicman guitars. In the acoustic dept., $1000 is very noticeable over a $500 acoustic.
 
JR#97 said:
My Musicman Sillouette Special was about $1000. Damn worth the money. I haven't played too many guitars that feel worth $1000, but this guitar feels it... as do most Musicman guitars. In the acoustic dept., $1000 is very noticeable over a $500 acoustic.
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JR,

You've spent $400.00 more on one guitar, than I did on all three guitars I have in my studio.

I sometimes wonder if this makes sense?

GT (Cheap Bastard Productions)
 
I have a 1969 Martin 000-18.....
sweet tone....

it was $300:00 in 1972....used...with a hard shell case....

it sat in a closet for 23 years or so until I rescued it.....

it has appreciated tremendously.....so.....

what is cheap today......

might be worth hanging onto and taking care of....ya know?

I also have an Alvarez 2001 RD8 ...paid just under $300.00 for it
with a hardshell case.......
sweet tone.....

I think I will stick it in the closet... :D
 
It all comes down to what it's worth to YOU!


If Eddie Played $79.99 Sears guitar, I can't really see how the fans would even care, or how it would make a difference soundwise with all the chorus and distorsion he uses.........

But, if a $3000 Guitar feels better to him, and stays in tune better, and sounds better to HIM... Then it's damn worth the money to him...


Joe
 
GT said:
JR,

You've spent $400.00 more on one guitar, than I did on all three guitars I have in my studio.

I sometimes wonder if this makes sense?

GT (Cheap Bastard Productions)
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What doesn't make sense to me is when people pay $1000 for 3 guitars that do what my 1 guitar can do! ;) And I used to be one of those people!

For the first 15 years of playing the guitar, I played shit guitars. Nicest one I had was a Kramer American Pacer that sold for $1000 new, I paid $500 for and sold for $350 to put down on my Musicman. I played everything under $1000 and a few over a $1000. The Musicman was just the perfect guitar for me so I forked out the extra dough. Trust me, I did not believe in spending over $500 for an electric! But after playing everything I could find and not liking most of them, it made sense to pay the extra for a guitar I'll keep forever. Same story on my acoustic. I guess it boils down to what your priorities are. I'm a guitar player first over recording hobbyist.
 
JR#97 said:
What doesn't make sense to me is when people pay $1000 for 3 guitars that do what my 1 guitar can do! ;) And I used to be one of those people!

For the first 15 years of playing the guitar, I played shit guitars. Nicest one I had was a Kramer American Pacer that sold for $1000 new, I paid $500 for and sold for $350 to put down on my Musicman. I played everything under $1000 and a few over a $1000. The Musicman was just the perfect guitar for me so I forked out the extra dough. Trust me, I did not believe in spending over $500 for an electric! But after playing everything I could find and not liking most of them, it made sense to pay the extra for a guitar I'll keep forever. Same story on my acoustic. I guess it boils down to what your priorities are. I'm a guitar player first over recording hobbyist.
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JR,

The three guitars In my studio, that I was refering to, are a bass, acoustic, and electric.

Are you saying that your Musicman is all of these in one?

GT
 
JR#97 said:
My Musicman Sillouette Special was about $1000. Damn worth the money.
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I have two Silhouettes, and I agree that they are great axes, and well worth the money I spent on them. I also have a MM Sterling bass. Again, well worth the money.

I think the threshold of diminishing returns is higher than $300. I'd put it closer to $800. From there on you're paying for maple tops and inlays and brand recognition.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
SS454 said:
Eyes, I ws thinking of getting a PRS. Do you think they're overpriced?
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Hey SS454 (my favorite muscle car BTW,)

Compaired to older PRS's,... Yes.
New PRS's are no longer "hand made" as the older ones, these new guys are massed produced.
Considering the amount of $$$ you're going to put out,.. they are overpriced.

Try and pick up a pre 1995.

And check out this link.....
http://www.edromanguitars.com/compare/prs_prs.htm
 
With new guitars I would say not. You're paying for craftsmanship, feel, tone, and playability. You get what you pay for...
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Not with Gibson Les Paul Standards (and upward). Overrated or merely overpriced for the level of workmanship? You decide.
 
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