Cheap guitar vs. Expensive guitar

[jrosenstein]

Also check out the low-end martins.

agreed. i have a Martin D15, mahogany dreadnaught. got it a couple years ago for about $550. i played dozens of guitars in my search for a good, reasonably priced acoustic, and i didn't find anything below $1000 that i liked more than the D15.

 

[Lopp]

Actually, the wife is due in mid-July, so those things'll be spurtin' milk for a year.

BTW, I just found out from the ultrasound it's another boy.

A lil' Buck62!


Then get those things modded to spurt beer.

 

[Lopp]

Regarding cheap vs. expensive,

Of course most of the owners of a PRS or other expensive guitar are going to say it's worth it.

First of all, obviously they were predisposed to thinking it was worth it, otherwise they would not have bouth one.

More importantly, not many people are willing to say they made a poor decision in a purchase. Especially when spending so much $$. Otherwise, they'd be calling themselves a dumbass.

Which is not to say expensive guitars are not worth it. However, there is a point of deminishing returns. Great guitars can be found for well under a grand. Whereas guitars costing twice as much usually don't give twice the quality. Alternately, once a guitar gets too cheap, it starts becoming almost worthless.

 

[LocusLarsen]

I have to say that the best guitar is the most expensive one you can afford. I know after about a grand you start to spend on the flash...but I like that.

 

[Dani Pace]

In over thirty years of playing I think at one time or another I've tried just about everything out there. Believe it or not some of the cheap guitars do play quite nicely and some even sound pretty good. The main difference I've found is in how well they stay in tune, you know it sucks to have to keep tuneing over and over. Necks that bend or twist and weak machines drive me up the wall. Not to mention all those little rattles that the cheap ones have ( or develope ) when you play hard. If you are looking for a good deal try the pawn shops and used gear stores and get a good guitar for the price of a cheap new one. Thats how I got my 55 Les Paul, and a couple of others.

 

[Aaron Cheney]

Regarding cheap vs. expensive,

Of course most of the owners of a PRS or other expensive guitar are going to say it's worth it.
More importantly, not many people are willing to say they made a poor decision in a purchase. Especially when spending so much $$. Otherwise, they'd be calling themselves a dumbass.

Which is not to say expensive guitars are not worth it. However, there is a point of deminishing returns. Great guitars can be found for well under a grand.

Absolute truth.
I'd put the PODR for electrics at about $800 to $1000 bucks. After that you're paying for flash or "vintage" appeal.

The point about people not wanting to 'fess up about bad purchases is well-taken too. That's why you really have to take reviews with a grain of salt. Ever look at the Harmony Central reviews? While I do find them useful for spotting trends (like Gibson's terrible finishes, or PRS' lousy customer service) for the most part people give everything a 10 or a 1 - but mostly 10's. I'll bet a great percentage of those glowing reviews were written for no other reason than to justify the purchase in the owner's own mind.

Also interesting that every guitar for sale on Ebay has a super fast neck with no buzzing and sounds great. You know the line: "I hate to part with her, but I have to pay the rent..."

Yeah, right.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com

 

[badassmak]

My nuts are fucked!

All of my guitars cost 250$ or less

Everyone of them I am *just* noticing are all having nut issues.

Piss me off.

I want a real guitar.

 

[Dan DA]

If you're looking for a decent guitar at a low price, check out the better Gregg Bennett series by Samick. They're pretty good, and come with Grover tuners, Duncan pickups, good bridges and quality wood. Their workmanship is very good and the guitars, when set up properly, play and sound as well as the Gibson's I've played.

I bought the Avion AV6 for $389, and I love it.

http://www.samickguitar.com/electric.html

 

[dragonworks]

By quality used

 

[Dan DA]

Of course you should buy a quality product, but don't be misled into thinking only the major brands make quality products. Look at a lot of guitars before you buy. I've seen some poor quality Fenders and Gibsons. When I bought my Takamine F-349 over 25 years ago, nobody I knew had ever heard of Takamine. That guitar has served me well, and was used on several of the Michael Stanley Band records.

 

[badassmak]

Yea, it really helps to know what to look for. Only after I am satisfied with my level of knowledge will I go out and look. I wonder how many guitars brand new on the shelf will be of sub-par quality?...it will be very interesting to see.

I can definately see getting a great guitar for under a grand. And not neccesarily new either. I'm also pretty sure than anything out there will kick ass on my El Degas...well maybe not those radio shack guitars .

 

[TheGuitarMan]

Of course you should buy a quality product, but don't be misled into thinking the major brands make quality products.

Yep.

 

[Neil Ogilvie]

By quality used

Thats what I do - I can't remember the last time I bought a new piece of equipment.





Oh yeah, I remember now.

 

[DaisyCutter]

Okay, I've always wondered about the real sound/playing difference between (for example) a $200 Fender electric and a $1200 Fender electric. It seems like there really can't be much difference. Am I crazy? Or, why do people pay that much for a guitar when they make much cheaper models that don't appear that different?

Also the long-term value of the instrument and it's sound won't depreciate much, if you buy a quality instrument to begin with. The sound will likely appreciate if it is of quality materials and construction.

There are always gems to be found in the bargain lines of electrics and acoustics. I have several bargain instruments that sounded better than the high priced stuff in the showrooms when I bought them. But over the years they now sound pretty yucky. But the quality guitars I bought sound as good or better than when I bought them.

With a quality instrument, you are buying quality control and craftmanship. You shouldn't have to deal with noisy electronics, cheap wiring, bad paint job, tuning pegs that don't stay in tune, crappy and weak pickups, junky knobs that spin around like a misaligned car wheel after a couple of months, or intonation so high you could drive a truck under the strings.

But you can get some great sounding and playing guitars for dirt cheap nowadays. Those cheap Pacificas are pretty damn cool for something under $200.

 

[Buck62]

If you're looking for a decent guitar at a low price, check out the better Gregg Bennett series by Samick. They're pretty good, and come with Grover tuners, Duncan pickups, good bridges and quality wood. Their workmanship is very good and the guitars, when set up properly, play and sound as well as the Gibson's I've played.

I bought the Avion AV6 for $389, and I love it.

http://www.samickguitar.com/electric.html

You're 100% right!

I've been saying this for almost 6 months now.

I have an Ultramatic UM-4 that is absolutely incredible in tone, feel, playability and looks. The Greg Bennett line are the best guitars you can get for the money right now.

I feel vindicated!

 

[charger]

a little soundcheck

I always find that no matter what guitar I play I sound like me. Here's a little recording test I worked up to compare cheap and expensive guitars: 2 takes of the same thing, two rhythm tracks and a solo, using the same guitar sounds, recoding input chain, and mix levels for all 3 parts. Only difference is the guitars that I used.

For one recording, I used a cheap guitar: a Yamaha Pacifica 112, about 5 years old, that I got for $150 due to a large scratch in the body (new it costs $175).

For the other recording, I used a medium-expensive guitar: an Ibanez s540, about 9 years old, I think it cost me around $900 new.

Both guitars have stock pickups, Ernie Ball 10's, and wood finishes: the Yamaha is Alder with some sort of non-gloss clear poly finish, and the Ibanez is Mahogany with tung oil. The Ibanez has a Maple neck and fingerboard, and a Floyd Rose trem; the Yamaha has a Maple neck and rosewood fingerboard and a Fender-style trem. I used the bridge humbucker on both guitars for all tracks.

Here are the files: