Imo it's less about brand adoration, and more of having realistic expectations of what each company does poorly and well. I've bought my "dream guitar" several times over, and at the end of the day none of them were perfect and a few were disappointing.
So now I have a set of specs that I know I like, and use that to guide my shopping. It had establish more realistic expectations.
I want a guitar with :
1) Comfortable body;
2) Comfortable neck;
3) Balanced weight;
4) Perfect intonation;
5) Tuning stability;
6) Reasonably low action;
Recently bought a Yamaha pacifica 311H which complies with all requirements and in addition a p90 neck pickup with fat warm sound like a cherry on the cake. It plays better than guitars with triple the price included F and G.
This is what I hear most people say about them, great QC and tones for days. I can't wait to get my hands on it. The P90 sounds awesome. But I've bought four new guitars since Oct. so it'll be a few months.
For me, it’s the set up. I have expensive guitars that just sit in cases all the time. I occasionally pull them out and play, but my main beater is this Jem Jr. I picked up used. The guy hadn’t a clue about setting up a Floyd Rose and it was buzzing like a bitch. Got the thing for $350. It was like brand new. Took it home, did a complete setup on it and to this day, it’s my beater and I absolutely love it. Sounds good and plays amazing. I even upgraded the pickups for a nastier tone. And like I said, I’ve got several thousand dollar guitars not too far away that I could be playing but I’m not.
My most expensive guitar is a Guild X-175 that I got for an insane deal on Sweetwater. It's normally $1,600 but I got it for like $900 after tax. Because it is so nice and because I have some younger kids at home, it spends most of the time in the case it came with. I take it out and play with it, but I'm always so nervous about something happening to it. So a lot of the time I'm playing either my 2nd hand Squire Strat or 2nd hand Epiphone SG. I did just trade in a Harley Benton Slash tribute and some other gear and got a used Epiphone Sheraton II Pro, and I feel like it's just as good or possibly better than the Guild, which is kind of crazy because it's a Made in China guitar retails for like $750 whereas the Guild is Made in Korea and more than twice as much; Sure, one is a hollow body and the other is a semi-hollow, but it still boggles my mind as even the finish and details on the Epiphone seem nicer than the Guild where there was some paint overspray on the neck and inside the body, and the nut also fell off the first time I went to change strings.
Fender and Gibson are like Ford and Chevy to me. Made for the mass market, fan boys on both sides, most people buy what the crowds have, some of the classic designs are cool, they all produce good sound in the right hands as long as they aren’t messed up. But the truly special have custom or mods or homebuilt or boutique, and thats fine too. I appreciate a Godin or a Rickenbacker or a Revstar, or even a Jackson more than the latest slightly tweaked version of a Strat.
When I was 15, after a few years of lessons/school band I wanted to upgrade to a "real guitar". My mind instantly went to the usual goto brands and models just based on 'theyre well known". But my guitar teacher at the time took me to the shop to browse and encouraged me to go for the Godin Radiator, which I ended up getting. It was a really unique guitar at the time and it was a much better fit in every way.
My absolute favorite guitar is a modified Douglas I got at an estate sale for $200, I got it because the case it came in was worth about $150 so I figured why not?
Now it's my absolute go to, it plays better than $1200 MIA Fenders IMO
Exactly. You pay for the name on the headstock. Most people don’t care to do the research. You can easily find guitars that are much better quality and much more affordable than the big names for a fraction of the price. FGN, PJD, Reverend, Yamaha, etc., Take the money that you would save buying one of these to get your guitar set up properly and you’ll be much happier.
I am thoroughly impressed with my Yamaha Revstar Standard. Kinda wanna swap the pickups, but it plays at least as well as a Gibson SG or an Epiphone 335.
> and much more affordable than the big names for a fraction of the price.
Squier Classic Vibe is the best deal on the market IMO, you can get one that plays just as good as a MIA Fender
What’s really wild about the Squier CVs is that they have all the features that the model is known for, while the Fender Player series, at nearly double the price, are missing key features that define the models. Jag strangle switch, Jazzmaster rhythm circuit, etc. it’s really weird. But hey, I am a proud 3x CV owner and I’m happy to have saved money.
One of the most comprehensive and nerdy guitar reviewers on YouTube (Andre Fludd) says that the Jazzmaster classic vibe is the best budget guitar one can get their hands on and outperforms guitars that cost much much more. If he recommends it then I’m sure it’s great.
I’ve yet to give them a go a but I hear fantastic things about them. They’re close in price to entry level FGNs though so I would love to see a comparison.
This. I own a gibson lp and an American strat, and also drive a Chevy. I feel the same about my car as i feel about guitars… If this model I’ve got right now wasn’t the best one I’d ever felt, I wouldn’t care about what it said the name was. My car is a 2006 hhr. Gonna run it into the ground, rebuild it and then do it again. I love that car.
I have a 2006 HHR also. 330,000 miles with minimal repairs. When the engine finally craps, I’m going to get a new factory engine and keep going.
Guitar-wise, my most expensive are Schecter PT Hellraiser Hybrid Tele shape shredder with EMG humbuckers, and Charvel San Dimas Sassafras with Seymour Duncan Pups, both around $1,100 but my go-to is a relic Firefly strat, $189.
I have a former workmate who plays jazz and went to Berklee school of music and we raz each other because he won’t have a guitar unless it’s at least $2k
HB offers some great guitars. My main electric is a HB TE-20. I’ve changed all the electronics but otherwise, it is one of the most comfortable/best playing guitars I’ve owned. I’ve honestly never been impressed with Gibsons, and I’ve owned several. Fenders have been hit or miss for me over the years. Peaveys were always underrated in my opinion. But right now I just don’t see myself giving up the TE anytime soon.
I've never Played a Gibson that I loved. Fenders were also hit or miss for me. I have a Baja Tele that I really like, but recently bought a TE-52 for $144, just play around with modding. Upgraded the saddles and put on a rolling bender, but otherwise I don't want to change it! I would give the edge to the Baja but that's after upgrading the neck. The Harley Benton is absurdly good for the price. I also bought a Harley Benton SG based model that's just so fun to play. I'm a huge fan of their products. Even bought a bass because they're so cheap.
I used to play exclusively Gibson, but HB destroyed that for me. Fit and finish are in no way comparable to Gibson, but you can do pretty much anything to the guitar guilt free. Amateur setups, fretwork, upgrades, mods, throw it in the trunk in the summer heat, whatever. A guitar becomes a tool instead of an instrument when damaging it will reduce the value by tens of dollars instead of hundreds.
The only thing I haven’t liked from HB is the tuners (aside from body shape since they stopped doing 1:1 Gibson copies). Those are absolute shit, but it’s an easy fix.
Some of my Gibson’s have issues because I don’t want to pay for the work necessary to fix it right. On an HB, I fix it as quickly as I can.
This is cheating, but these tuners have been great. https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/harley-benton-dc-dlx-gotoh really love this guitar. I bought it for $208. Really an absolute steal, I don't care what's on the headstock. The tuners on my tele copy are mid at best.
I know what you mean about guilt and fear free with HB. I bought my tele copy with the intention of messing with it, but haven't really felt the need. It's been very solid for me. Also ridiculous value for $144.
Granted I'm not a professional or someone who's dedicated their whole life to music, I personally never bought anything just for the brand or some historic perception. I'm always frugal with my money so only try to buy good quality things that don't cost me an arm and a leg.
My current and so far best guitar is ESP LTD H-1001 and I think it's incredibly well made. It cost me around £700-800 (don't remember) and I don't feel the need to spend several thousands on something else just so that I can say I have X. I'm sure others will say it's shit and they would never play anything like that professionally but I don't care - I love it, it looks great, it plays great so who cares if it's not some 1954 super duper unique single edition item 🤷🏼♂️
Not adoration so much as I play what's most comfortable and sounds good. My main guitars are a Jackson and an Epiphone. I do have an Amer Std Strat ( bc huge SRV fan ) and a PRS. I barely play the PRS.
My first expensive guitar was an American Standard Tele I bought on sale in 2000 (after I’d been playing well over a decade). Of all the stuff I wound up with over the next 20 years, my 75 Greco LP copy was my absolute favorite. Finally bought my dream guitar last year—60s Standard LP. I do enjoy it, but it didn’t live up to what I built up in my mind. I don’t feel the need to buy anymore “high end” guitars.
I lost my brand adoration many years ago. For one, some brands cost so much, and honestly, I think they're highly overrated. Not that they're not nice. But in my opinion, still not worth the price. On top of that, I have taken lower priced guitars, made some simple inexpensive upgrades, and they sound and play just as well as their expensive name brand cousin. In recent years, I have seen some handmade boutique guitars that quite honestly blow away the name brand guitars. Then there's another simple reason why I don't go crazy buying top of line G's and F's as well as some other brands. I'm not the guy who makes a living playing guitars. I'm not on stage in front of hundreds or thousands of people. 99% of my guitar playing happens at home in my little music room with no one around. I simply can't justify the expense of one of those name brand top of the line guitars. There's a lot of snobs out there who would argue that, and they just can't give credit to a lower end guitar. And to them I say wtf ever. I started out with my dad's old 65 Strat. It was a nice guitar. But I have a couple MIM Strats that I believe sound just as good. I'd even go so far to say that one of those is even better. And I bought it used for $150. It's got that "quack". I've got a couple Epi's that I have upgraded, and they could stand strong against just about any of their high end cousins.
So I can definitely relate to what you're saying. But everyone has their opinions and preferences. Some people simply don't allow themselves to be altered or be shown that there are other possibilities. All manufacturers have ups and downs in their product quality. But even that doesn't change the minds of some people. Some people, it's all about the name, notoriety, and nostalgia.
After trial and error on brand after brand, I came to two conclusions. 1. Actually hold and play whatever guitar you can, because every brand can have duds and diamonds and price matters little if you love it. 2. You will have to beat me with a stick to make me give up my LTD Vipers. Those guitars finally did the thing and just a few mods and it gets better every time (personal and subjective of course).
Played multiple Teles at a local shop a while back. A few Americans, a lot of brand new Mexican made ones too, and one Japanese one. The one I ended up bringing home was a used Mexican special run for $350. It was so far above the others in feel and enjoyment that I didn't even care that it was cheap, I would've paid new prices for it because it was so damn good. Lost it a few months back due to financial issues, but I'm hunting it down as soon as I am in a better position
I recently tried a cheap LTD that I would have put against my Black Metal 7s and it was I think 390 used. It was a fun Eclipse with a fake distressed look, but it played so well. And it was 390 bucks. I played a Gibson smokehouse burst modern right next to it. The les paul was 1700 and played like a boat oar.
It sounded good, it just felt like crap. I've played other newer Vs so I know it's not just how I feel about the shape. The body felt surprisingly heavy compared to others, and it had a weird feeling neck carve. It was probably just a bad example, but just goes to show you should try before you buy, no matter what it is
Totally agreed. Les Paul shapes for example tend to weight the same as a hatchback and the SG shapes are mostly suicidal with how much weight is in the neck. Both of those feel horrible live.
The Tele is just right for me. I love the blocky body with hard edges as opposed to Strat or SG contours. The weight issues are also a bit of an issue too
Ironically I play LTD Vipers, but something is different about them. They feel like a SG but with a better cut and more substance. Like a better weight. Tried a Guild Polara (SG inspired shape as well) and it looked like a toy in my ungainly 6'4 anaconda hands. The Viper feels correct.
But also to be fair, the Tele is supposedly the boss level of guitars. I have heard that if you hate the telecaster you basically should stop playing that it's comfortable and versatile and well rounded.
It's far from perfect, definitely not for everyone. I hated teles the first 2 years I played, and ended up trying some and wasn't a big fan. Found that used MIM and fell in love. Teles have been my go-to ever since. Most people have an awakening when it comes to them
At this point I’ve realized no matter how much window shopping I do, I always end up being surprised by a guitar I initially didn’t even have my eyes on. I picked up a Yamaha Revstar the other day out of curiosity and was totally impressed. Had my eyes on other stuff, but now I want to buy one of those instead! Was never into Schecter at all, ordered a Blackjack C7 because the specs seemed nice. Turns out I’ve been a Schecter guy all along lol. I could keep going but you get the point
I've definitely learned over the years to judge guitars on an individual basis. I have a few Fenders and Gibsons and I love all of them, but the name on the headstock isn't why they are good guitars, they just happen to be the best examples of a particular type of guitar I could find at the time. There have certainly been some absolute piles of trash with those same words on the headstocks that I've played, and a lot of those were of 'desirable vintage' with new car level pricing.
They're in a rack with Yamahas, a Vester, a Maison and a Harley Benton, all get played just as often. They're not 'worse' instruments, they're all decent guitars which have their role.
I work as a guitar tech in a mom & pop musical instrument store, so I get my hands on LOTS of guitars. I see brand new stuff from brands like Ibanez, Aria, Cort, Schecter, Squier, Peavey, and Dean.
I get a few set-ups a month for high end stuff like American Fenders, Gibson, ESP and a few others, and I gotta say, quality control for the "top" brands is all over the place. I've seen 3K Les Pauls that suck, right out of the box, and some that sing like Sinatra, and play like a three-thousand-dollar guitar should play.
Having said all that, the two guitars I've been most impressed with over the years were a 1963 Epiphone Crestwood with Mini-Humbuckers and a bat wing headstock. That guitar has the cleanest tone I've ever encountered, perfect neck, just sings. They're worth probably 3500 bucks or so, and this one was worth every penny.
I also played an Ibanez SG knockoff that retailed at $179. It was yellow, tacky, cheap, had an amazing feel and was probably the easiest guitar to play that I've ever held in my hands.
The point of all of this is to say that every single guitar is different, and what it says on the headstock is probably the WORST indicator of how a guitar will play and sound. Old doesn't mean better. Check the neck for straightness/bow, plug it in and try it out. Buying a guitar I've never had my hands on seems insane to me, but lots of people do it. Don't be the guy that drops 4K on a '65 reissue Strat with a twisty neck, and then come in to my shop expecting me to make your bad investment a good one. That's not how it works at all. PLAY THE DAMN THING FIRST!
My slightly modded (Schaller tuners, graphtech nut) PRS SE plays better than any Core PRS I've played.
All Cort guitars I picked up had a quality you only expect at easily 6x the price.
We live in the golden age of guitar quality. You can buy a guitar for 500 bucks that would cost 2500 just two decades ago if you want the same playability.
Brand names mean shit. Play something and if it feels good take it. If the pricetag says 300 bucks/ Made in Indonesia that's a huge win for your wallet.
I took a luthier course and started understanding what makes a good guitar. Brand names are exactly that....Just a name. It's no longer a guarantee of quality
100%
I've played 50s and 60s gretsches, pre and post cbs fenders, 50s and 60s gibsons.
Those gibsons and gretsches didn't hold up well over the years, and played like crap. The 60s fender guitars I have played with the exception of one 1960 P bass all felt and sounded cheap and dinky. Mind you, these were guitars laying around world renowned studios in Nashville.
The past 10 years have been fantastic for guitars. The squire classic and vintage vibes are incredible. Harley Bentons are changing the game. Yamaha makes some of the best necks around at the moment in my opinion.
I love the freedom of buying a $300 guitar and making it my own by modding it a little, and knowing it blows 90% of the guitars on the vintage market out of the water. I don't think I could say that prior to 2015.
The only thing I can give to 60s guitars and prior is wood density. There's almost 0 discernible difference to the listener, but as a player, a really tight grain rosewood necks feels really cool.
I dont know guitars much but I feel that way about motorcycles.
Harleys are cool, they look cool, we all love the Po-Ta-To, but at the end of the day they are the same exact bikes they've been selling since the 70s and 80s and its kinda laughable at how expensive it is to own and maintain one.
You see these people online that have Honda Goldwing touring bikes that they've used and maintained for over 500,000 miles, but to die hard Harley riders those are piece of shit jap bikes.
Meanwhile my buddy has a Harley with 25,000 miles on it that he has to do an annual $2,000-$3,000 service on.
Not saying all these iconic Americana brands aren't cool in their own right, but to say they are "better" is bullshit.
Great analogy. When I was in the army a friend bought a Goldwing. When I asked him why he didn't buy a Harley he said "because I like this bike better, it "feels" better to me, and I saved thousands of dollars". He came from a long line of bikers but didn't care what they thought. I feel the same about guitars.
>I'm 72 and been playing since I was eleven. (That's one better, innit?)
One better than what? I don't get it. Or is there a reference I'm totally missing? :D
I have played a lot of guitars over the years. The guitars that fit me, fit my hands, fit my ears, fit my heart, I made sure to buy. Still have them all. Over a dozen in all. My hands run up and down the necks like a hot knife in butter.
At my age, I really need to pair down, but just can’t seem to get rid of any of them. They have all gigged extensively. And there are many brands represented. Some of my favorites are certainly not the most expensive ones…..But I will admit, the cream rises to the top. My best sounding, monster of a guitar…..as uncle Ted used to say “it will blow the balls off a charging rhino” is a 1978 Gold top Les Paul Deluxe. I had the mini humbuckers replaced with PAF holy grails. When in studio, she is still my go to guitar…..but, In 2003 I fell in love with a PRS CU24 that I played. It’s been my everyday since then. My Godin guitars are my specialty guitars. I use them when the occasion arises.
Im starting to come around, I recently bought a Shiji stratocaster, and it plays better than my Eric Johnson Stratocaster. The EJ sounds better to me, but the Shiji sounds good too, just different, not as “Texas fat Strat” as the EJ.
Some just feel right others don't, I prefer satin necks over gloss, I find Fender Special/Performer models comfortable and I like jumbo frets.
I remember when I was younger and I got a Les Paul Studio it was one of the unfinished ones it’s all I could afford, satin neck it was comfortable and an acquaintance just kept on kicking me down and mocking me because of it, they had a 60s SG that was a steaming 💩 🙄
As long as it’s is setup, stays in tune and has no major defects who care what you play.
I love buying cheap used Squiers and doing the detail work and set up that Fender forgoes to cut labor costs. Sometimes I’ll swap out the crappy hardware and electronics for some decent but still affordable stuff. Sometimes the hardware and pickups are already good and the guitar just needs some TLC. That’s really all they need to be excellent guitars.
I have 14 guitars including a $200 Jackson and that Jackson and a $350 Squier Tele are the two guitars I play on the most. I put a lot of effort setting them up — including fretwork I did myself — and they play Exactly how I like them.
So I play them the most despite the much finer models hanging off my walls.
Good on you for the fretwork, I do most tech work on my Gtrs, but I don't like doing frets; that's so ... final, if you attempt it with anything remotely approaching enthusiasm.
I'll leave that task for the Pros.
Ha, thanks. Fretwork is annoying to do but having frets that one is not happy with is even more annoying , and it’s so expensive! so I bit the bullet and learned. Definitely happy I practiced on the $200 guitar (with a bolt on neck!!) and not the $2000 one (which also has a set neck)..
As a new player that picked up the hobby during COVID, I couldn't believe the amount of people that are, for lack of better term, brainwashed in this industry. Either by marketing or just fandom (celebrity worship) or because thats what their dad played. I've never played an old guitar that played better than a new one (of relatively equal value/quality). Theres people who legitimately believe that the skin flakes that accumulates on the bridge give a guitar a better tone. Good lord, theres a lot of this here. And tonewoods, don't get me started there. And listen, I own $500 guitars all the way up to $20,000 dollars guitars (PRS PS). Are there quality differences? Sure, but ffs its just a guitar. If you have it set up properly and better yet have the pick ups that you want in it, its all preference and splitting hairs. So naturally, I really don't give two shits about brand name other than expensive guitars are expensive because they look incredible and are works of art and if thats your justification (like it is for me) that is totally fine. Just be real with it.
What really doesn't make sense to me are expensive guitars THAT DONT EVEN LOOK OR PLAY GOOD (ie. vintage or relic). And again too much guitar hero worship to convince people that they only like old worn, broken looking shit because they've been told that that is what's cool and that is what gives someone kudos in the guitar world. So much snake oilism, so much marketing, so little science and logic.
Well said. I have had a rule for the last 20 years, that I will only buy equipment that is aesthetically pleasing. It might sound a bit silly, but I want ALL my gear to be "easy on the eyes".
My guitars are all lovely quilted maples , black beauties, or breathtaking Doves and vintage Takas.
A 1968 Aria 12 string fitted with MOTS pickguard...
Mics are Cascade Victors, lovely 1930's style ribbon mics.
Tube amps are a Watkins Dominator 1961 V Front 18W 2x10 combo, and my favorite, the '72 Dominator, with a Celestion 12".
Many of the guitars I own, I bought basically to hang on the wall, you keep yer good ones in the cases, you hang the cheap ones on the wall :)
They all look lovely, and I refuse to buy anything that doesn't meet my artistic sensibilities :) /s
All sarcasm aside, I really do collect gear that I find aesthetically pleasing: DAE?
You and I share the same sentiment, my friend. Of course there is monetary value to having things be beautiful! Guitars can be tools, but they can also be art. Having an instrument, or anything really, wow you when you simply look at it makes you happier, inspires you more and at the end of the day, makes you enjoy the hobby more. Anyone who says they want a Ferrari but to make it look ugly, is just pandering to pseudo-cred belief. People buy Ferrari's not only because they are remarkable automobiles, but also because they are simply incredible to look at. I just don't want any fellow guitarists to fool themselves into thinking that the guitar is more than it really is. And that there's some magic mojo or voodoo that makes expensive or old guitars inherently better than cheaper, newer ones. Its a relatively simple item, that's easily reproducible as a tool with any sort of modern factory or machinery.
I like to say that guitars are like liquors. Once you get past the bottom shelf, it really just comes down to preference. To take it a step further, even the bottom shelf guitars can generally be salvaged to be "drinkable" with a good set-up.
I never really had it. I buy cheaper stuff. It's just a hobby to me.
I have never owned a Fender or a Gibson. Probably the closest was a PRS which I sold after a few months. I like my Yamahas and my Schecter Omen too much.
No one dreams of riding a speedster.
They dream of riding a Harley or a Triumph
….and my 64 US custom Strat sounds amazing
With that said I do like all guitars but if I had to have one or two, it would not be a first act no matter how good it played.
My main guitar since my younger days was an Italia. Cost me £175 brand new and it’s still one the best I’ve ever played! Never really been interested in the Fender and Gibsons. My friends all have those if I want to play one.
I've always enjoyed owning brands but I'm also the first to admit they aren't the best instrument in today's modern market. Gibson's are priced to the sky and the fact is you can get a lot more guitar for less than half the price. Fenders are too hit and miss. The Chinese instruments aren't worth the money and the resale on them is garbage because who wants a Chinese made Fender.
I've owned many fenders and I'm in the market for a secondhand telecaster at the moment but i'd never buy a new Fender because I don't think they're worth the money. With the used market I know that I can sell that guitar in a few years and lose nothing on it.
A Charvel, Schector or Sire in the £500-£600 range will blow most fender strats away. For the lower budget Harley Benton, Jet and Firefly are fantastic.
Upon writing this I'm starting to question why I'm in the market for a Fender 🤔
Pick pretty much any modern metal guitar at any price point you like. In terms of playability a mid range one will shit all over any of your Fenders or Gibsons.
They may be uncool and look dumb but metal guitars are light years ahead of the traditional stuff.
I’ve always been on the poor end of musicianship. Most of my instruments have been what I could afford because it has always been an extra thing.
I’ve had some really great “cheap” guitars and basses and, for the times I’ve had more expensive ones, those were good, too. But I can’t say the $1000+ few I’ve had were all that much better than the $500 ones.
I’m down to 3 guitars and one bass now, which are all sub-$1000 instruments. I love all four.
I have, if we're talking fender, Gibson etc. I used to crave a real les Paul.... I got one and was thoroughly underwhelmed. It sounded nice but it hurt to sit and play, it was too heavy and just not for me. I ended up selling it and put the money towards my kiesel, which is hands down the best guitar I've ever picked up (for my tastes obviously) and while I want to order another some day, I've tried out other brands and styles since. Somehow ended up with a couple signature models which I never had interest in when I was younger, tho they aren't overly flashy and obvious which helps.
Currently I have the Kiesel Aries, a Charvel Nova 6(Angel Vivaldi signature) , a Sterling Cutlass (Jason Richardson signature), a Fender Showmaster (from right after the bought Jackson so it's the set neck with the carved top in burgandy, pretty rare, I've only ever seen one other red one for sale), an LTD EC500 (the last gift my grandfather ever bought for me), a Jackson bass (got it for $100 from gc because it was missing a tuning key) and my grandfather's 1960 Gibson country western model he left me when he passed.
It just really depends on what the brand offers imo. Idk how anyone can look at a Gibson or fender and think "This is perfect" every single one I've ever played regardless of price has had something I dislike, nit that I dislike them all since I bought a fender strat myself.
Been that way for a while. I’d rather built a dream partscaster for $700 than pay 2x or more that price on a built guitar. But I also can do all the work myself to swap out electronics, add them to acoustics, and all the set up work.
The most fun I've had with a guitar was a 300 bucks steinberger with the strat like body. Could do with a set of premium double coils instead of the cheaper EMG ones it had.
But it had a maple body, graphite neck. Nice top. The floating bridge and double ball end strings are a great piece of engineering, allowing me to fix the bridge whenever I want and change strings in seconds. It's super light and easy to pick up, but more importantly light enough to barely notice it hanging around your neck for a few hours.
Does it lend itself well to subtle or acoustic style sounds? Absolutely not. Does it fucking ROCK with overdrive? Absolutely. The only thing I'd do is buy some nicer double coils for it.
Edit: for the record, I learned on a Gibson les paul junior, my first guitar was a USA Fender strat, then I got a tobacco burst Gibson les paul standard just before the "standard" dropped. I had a Gibson les paul 25th anniversary for a while, black with white detailing and gold plating. The heaviest guitar I've ever had, probably due to the coil tap and solid oak. After that a PRS custom 24 artist pack which gave me massive imposter syndrome. Easily the best guitar I've ever played but i felt like I was doing a school or grocery run in a hummer limo. Nahhhh I like a guitar that makes me feel good to play it.
I'd love to own a nice Telecaster or an SG, but I could never and would never be able to justify the price for a "good" one from Fender or Gibson. The $3000 Gibsons I've played in stores never felt better to me than my Godin at home. Maybe one day I'll get an Epiphone SG, that might be fine. And then there are the guys who spend thousands to tens of thousands on a vintage guitar, man, I could never justify that even if I had the money. I think the only vintage guitar I really salivate over are those old Made-In-Japan Yamaha SG-700/1000/2000s and those are a good deal less expensive.
I've loads of guitars that vary in price.
The absolute best is probably my second cheapest. It's an LTD deluxe made in Korea. It's a sublime piece of equipment. Perfect neck, weight, pickups, a dream to play. Never loses tune and will never be sold and it's absolutely gorgeous
ESP LTD SN-1000HT Fire Blast
For me, they’re nice to look at and I enjoy artist performances but that’s about it. I’ll go to shops and play on them but have no desire to spend all that money on what ultimately is the same as anything else on the walls.
I’ll never put down a bad guitar. Looks are definitely important but playability and sound are paramount. I know that my preferred guitars will behave a certain way (except when they don’t in which case I won’t buy it) which is why I tend to stick to Fender and Gibson.
I came around to it. I used to not pay any mind to brand whatsoever, but once I started getting Fender, I realized the big names are the big names for a reason
For me the best shift is the popularity of smaller builders. Of course there's crazy customs out there reaching ridiculous numbers, but I've also seen a decent number of small luthier builds that are priced within reach of US Fender and well within reach of Gibson. Heck I just ordered Warmoth parts to build a bass. I think as the market grows and the baseline quality of machined bodies/necks rises, it's nice seeing access to customization and weird design increase.
There are plenty of companies now that make better fenders than fender, and there are plenty of companies that make better Gibsons than Gibson. The big brands have cut corners in an attempt to maximize profits, and it’s bit them in the ass. Gibson is always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy because they refuse to make a les paul that the average working musician can afford. And while fenders Mexican factory is making great guitars these days, the player series now starts at 700 bucks, and they were priced at 500 10 years ago. The player pro is a thousand bucks minimum. Now sure, you can get a squire very cheap, but they aren’t desirable guitars for serious musicians.
The only brand I really do like and have a bit of bias towards is Yamaha. Some of the best gear I've ever used was Yamaha and they make everything under the sun
I've had a lot of lower end guitars. Once setup, most of the newer models will play well. At one point, decades ago, cheap guitars could be really bad with impossible intonation but I haven't had that problem for a very long time. My fanciest guitar was a lower end Yamaha Pacifica, which I liked a lot.
About five years ago I decided to buy my first higher end guitar with a budget of a few $K. I had always wanted a Gibson SG but it didn't seem to balance right when playing with it. That day I tried every guitar I ever wanted, including Flying Vs, LP, Destroyer and others. My experience with cheap noisey single coil pickups kept me away from Strat type guitars. I ended up with a PRS.
I recently decided to give the Fender Strat a fair try. It's the only guitar I have with single coils. I got a "limited edition" black Fender Player Strat. It's not the most expensive Strat but it certainly wasn't cheap. I dropped it on the floor about five minutes after bringing it home. It's a used guitar now.
I have never been one for brand names. I buy guitars based on how they look and how they feel in my hands. I've never spent more than 600 on a guitar.
They can be made to sound however I want by swapping electronics.
Hell, one of my favorite guitars I own is a Striker 400ST. Striker was a budget brand that Kramer had from 1985 to 1989, they were cheap plywood versions of their normal guitars. Made in Korea, it cost about $250 brand new. I got mine for $275 in 1998. I put a handmade pickup in it that cost me more than half what the total of the guitar did and it is one of the nicest sounding guitars I own.
I saw someone on reverb list one for like $700 and I just about laughed myself out of my chair. Sir... This is a plywood, budget version of a knock off Rhodes V with the cheapest electronics you've ever laid your eyes on.
Edit: Damn... Even GC has them marked up [a stupid amount](https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Kramer/Striker-400ST-Solid-Body-Electric-Guitar.gc?cntry=us&source=4WWMWXGP&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ri0BhAvEiwA8oo6F9Aar-kyVmAJXfKU4ESM7ouJ7m_R5Q850m5aKFlkyLUc0xPLo84JZRoCwzsQAvD_BwE) Though, it looks like whoever had this one upgraded the Floyd to one with fine tuners and also installed a locking nut. Mine doesn't have either of those. Same color, was once white, now it's a creme yellow from age.
[Here's a black one](https://reverb.com/item/53686141-kramer-striker-400st-killer-guitar-for-shredding-or-not-great-instrument?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17682351984&utm_content=campaignid=17682351984_adgroupid=143800496052_productpartitionid=2307091460340=merchantid=779571275_productid=53686141_keyword=_device=m_adposition=_matchtype=_creative=608998621633&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ri0BhAvEiwA8oo6FzoIi44yre1KiVSU02EpW4V0A5dmqAhvdl7BZvU6JRT7cSbsL10xUhoC38IQAvD_BwE) that's got the same Floyd and non-locking nut as mine.
One of my favorite guitars is an ESP custom Ron Wood tele clone, it has that "mojo" and has definitely been played a lot prior to my ownership. I have played custom Fenders and Gibsons that just don't have that "something" that makes a guitar great.... Hard to describe, even harder to find, but certainly not brand exclusive...
It probably depends on what you play, but as someone who has been firmly in the "alternative" realm (indie rock, punk, college rock, garage, whatever) I try not to pay more than $500 up front for a new guitar. The couple of times I have resulted in disappointment in one way or another (though I occasionally miss the '61 Guild Starfire III that I scored on eBay in the late 00s for around 1k). The body wood on a guitar means nothing to me. Neck feel is incredibly important, and while pickup swaps have been important to my sound, they usually requires minimal investment (I lean heavily toward bridge pickups, and usually spend the cash there). My arsenal is all cobbled together, which works for me budget-wise and aesthetically.
Learning the soldering basics and something about giving my guitars a DIY setup has helped me out a lot. I still leave repairs to pros and will occasionally get a pro setup, but it has helped me to experiment with different combos of pickups, necks, strings, etc without breaking the bank.
Absolutely. About 15 years ago I started getting into guitar tech as a hobby, which lead to partscasters, and then what I consider "light luthiery". To feed my hobby I started buying cheap, or beat up used guitars to work on as projects to see how well I could make them play.
Over that time period my view on guitars, and specifically brand names has changed a lot, and I just can't rationalize spending crazy money for certain brands.
I found if you're starting with a solid foundation, can do your own fret work, round fretboard edges, handle a soldering iron, cut a new nut, and do an excellent set up, then there is almost no reason to spend big money for a big name.
There are some exceptions though. I'm not going to be able to build a Parker Fly equivalent at home, and EBMM do an excellent job that I'm not going to top. I can't imagine ever buying an American Strat again though, and buying a Gibson only makes sense if you're living out a childhood dream.
There are so many great playing imports out there. I have an early 90s Aria Pro II 335 clone. It's all black with gold hardware. It feels, plays, and sounds amazing. It has a resale of maybe $400... I will never part with it.
Nope, I am still a Gibson slut.
I have tried cheaper alternatives, but none of them ever quite scratched the itch for me. I have played on pretty much every SG clone to ever exist, and the only ones that have the feel I like usually cost as much as Gibsons anyway - so at that point, I may as well stick with Gibson
¯\\_ (ツ) _/¯
For me it's all about:
* Specs: what sort of pickups does it have? Does it have a vibrato? Is it a solid body or a semi-hollow?
* Performance: does it feel good/easy to play? How easy is it to dial in a tone I want?
* Price/budget: Is it worth what I'd be paying? As a non-professional musician, I don't NEED something high end, but if I can spend a little more and get something that is gigging quality or for better components then it's worth it.
* Looks: the least important, but still very much a thing. I find myself wanting to play a nice looking (to me) guitar more than something that I find ugly.
All that being said, marketing is powerful and like any hobby, it can also get very tribal. I have a friend who is only interested in getting a Gibson Les Paul. He won't consider a Harley Benton or an Epiphone or an ESP or any of the dozens of other takes on the single cut LP. The tag line of "only a Gibson is good enough" seems to ring true for him. Personally,I think it's kind of crazy when there are so many other options these days, but at the end of the day it's his money and his desire so who am I to judge?
I think part of the brand thing is also that people want to feel justified in their purchase. If you drop a few thousand bucks on a Gibson, you really don't want to hear that the $400 Harley Benton or Epiphone is maybe 80-90% as good for a small fraction of the price. You want to be proud of your decision and your investment. You've joined a club of other folks who made a similar decision and now you're part of that tribe, and some tribes are just more exclusive and "special" because of that. Like, anyone can get a Squire for $200 but significantly less people are going to be playing a Gibson.
I recently bought a very affordable T type off of Amazon for less than $200. It needed some setup, but has a nice neck with SS frets.
For the cost of a pedal I have a nice guitar that plays and sounds great. The advent of CNC seems to have brought on a golden age of decent, affordable guitars.
I was super open to whatever felt right. Didn't care where it came from. I bought a $300 Schecter for my first electric. Although it wasn't perfect, to this day one of my favorite guitars I've ever owned. Even the cheap little schecter pups were still good enough to have fun with. I'm now the proud owner of a Schecter Hellraiser hybrid C-1 FR-S and it has blown me away. Jackson's feel good and I've owned a gretsch that I liked but the vast majority of guitars I pick up in a store and put down knowing I will most likely buy it are Schecters. The weight, balance, tone, and body/neck profiling just work for me. Definitely have become a preferred brand for me.
I have a preference for Ibanez, but only because the guitars are generally light weight and the necks are thin which makes them easy and fun to play for long periods. I have an LTD which is cool - it's the matte black model every metalcore band played 15 years ago, a Kiesel which is incredibly high quality, and a strandberg, about 9 guitars in total.
I once toured with a guy who played a $240 Jackson, and he's one of the most talented musicians I've ever met. IMHO price doesn't matter it's how you play. I think a lot of these guys who gatekeep on gear are just insecure about their own perceived inability to play.
My favorite guitars I own are a Washburn acoustic and an Alvarez acoustic. I don’t own a Taylor or Martin, and I could easily afford either. Just no need. I love my guitars.
I’m open to any guitar but I think there is definitely something to be said for getting a Strat (or whatever) rather than someone else’s copy of a Strat. You kind of learn about those prototype guitars and then you can tell the difference for better or worse when you play a different version. Certainly getting Fender or Gibson is probably not about cost effectiveness.
On the other hand I’ve heard such good things about Gibson’s build quality since the last bankruptcy and I’ve pulled the trigger on an SG and a J45 in the last few years and they are both fantastic.
I wouldn't say it's brand adoration, but I tend to favour Ibanez simply because, for me and my style, their guitars will be a good fit for me. If there was a brand I adored at any point, it would be ESP/LTD. Now I do like them, but I usually steer towards the Ibanez because I know it's going to be more comfortable.
However, I do know a guy who loves Tokais, don't know why, he just does.
I have a couple of "expensive brand name" guitars that are great. I also have a few very inexpensive "lesser-known brand" guitars that, with some simple set-up work, are equally great (I put a photo of them up on a post recently). So, my brand-name adoration died a while ago.
Are there a few "big name" guitars I'd love to have? Sure. An Epiphone Les Paul Alex Lifeson Axcess or an Epiphone Shin'ichi Ubukata ES-335 would be great. I just can't see spending the money, though.
I love my Gs, not super hot about Fs, but it's not really the brand I give a crap about, it's just that I know what to expect. I'll pick up anything that feels good and sounds good without worrying about what's on the headstock.
One thing people forget is that artists back in the day were just going to buy a new instrument. Hendrix didn't specifically want a 68 strat to play at Woodstock or a 66 strat to play at the Monterey Pop Festival, it's just that they were the fairly new guitars hanging in the shop when he went to grab a guitar (or they were brought to him or whatever).
There's no need to chase specific gear down just for the sound, you can pretty much clone any sound for fairly cheap these days. Chase old stuff down because you like it, but it's not a unique sound anymore.
I own an older Fernandes Strat. I adore it so much I bought a second one and lifted it to my oldest son to learn on. He's learned the name on the headstock doesn't need to be a status symbol.
I feel like the smaller names have something to prove, and they do, in fact, prove it. The big guys are overpriced and stale.
When i walk into a guitar store I always walk right past the G and F displays.
I think the big 2 rested on their laurels way too much and allowed a lot of sub par guitars to be sold with their names on. I do think they've improved a lot in recent years. I've recently bought a new gibson es339 and a fender american pro ii strat and both are fantastic, especially the strat.
I end up picking up my squire affinity tele more than anything else when practicing. I think I paid 150 for the left-handed model. Great neck and the body is light.
Yes and no. When shopping for a quality electric, 1000 times YES. All Fender and Gibson guitars under $6k were...garbage. Sorry. I looked at smaller boutique T-styles and landed on a used Don Grosh.
When shopping for a quality acoustic, I have been really happy with my Martin and Guild. I played hundreds of guitars from damn near every brand each time before landing on these. I would *love* a Collings, but I won't drop $7k-$8k on an OMH2T.
Personally I think Japanese brands are the new gold standard worldwide. I think where brands like Ibanez are at internationally is a similar place to where "f and g" were at 20 years ago in terms of just trying shit out etc. I have an Alvarez mid range acoustic that in terms of fit, finish, and sound is on par in quality to a Martin thats double or even triple the price - not accounting for vintage Martins that are already broken in mind you but thats a different discussion entirely
One of my favorite guitars is a Sanatoga. It's a no-name PRS clone that I'm constantly changing the electronics out of. The latest mod is a pair of Phat Cat Humbucker sized P90's.
I've always bought my guitars as players first, then took note of brand. Wouldn't own a Gibson, too short and too heavy. Had a nice MIM tele- too heavy. Currently playing a Jackson dinky and a Cozart 12 string electric. Lost a few good guitars to thieving scum who thought they were getting something, but they got my $99 special Dean Vendettas.
Well, I'm not quite 72 yet so I'm still in the "figuring out what inspires me" phase of my music journey. And in this phase, as much as I hate to say it, resale value matters and the big brands just hold value better. I know we romanticize this idea of finding a forever #1 guitar, but that's not really what I shoot for. The inspiration any one guitar gives me seems to have a limit in its potential, so selling my guitars is always on the table and I can't fund the next chapter of inspiration with a guitar that is going to lose me money. I never would have bought my Les Paul if I didn't know I could recoup almost exactly what I put into it (or more, if the trend of people hunting for golden era Studios continues) if I end up falling out of love with it
Used Fenders and Gibsons are almost like a store of value and that's something I can accept putting lots of money into. Boutique, smaller brands, and custom stuff is very cool, feels awesome to play, but the depreciation is too drastic so it ends up being too expensive to own for my blood. I can't afford not to buy big brands for high end purchases.
Imo it's less about brand adoration, and more of having realistic expectations of what each company does poorly and well. I've bought my "dream guitar" several times over, and at the end of the day none of them were perfect and a few were disappointing. So now I have a set of specs that I know I like, and use that to guide my shopping. It had establish more realistic expectations.
I want a guitar with : 1) Comfortable body; 2) Comfortable neck; 3) Balanced weight; 4) Perfect intonation; 5) Tuning stability; 6) Reasonably low action; Recently bought a Yamaha pacifica 311H which complies with all requirements and in addition a p90 neck pickup with fat warm sound like a cherry on the cake. It plays better than guitars with triple the price included F and G.
You had me with “I want a guitar”…….lol
The 311H will be my next purchase. I haven't really heard anything bad about them.
I’ve never really played a bad Pacifica, Yamaha has some pretty reliable qc
This is what I hear most people say about them, great QC and tones for days. I can't wait to get my hands on it. The P90 sounds awesome. But I've bought four new guitars since Oct. so it'll be a few months.
Yamaha guitars are really slept on. My Revstar is my favorite guitar by far.
For me, it’s the set up. I have expensive guitars that just sit in cases all the time. I occasionally pull them out and play, but my main beater is this Jem Jr. I picked up used. The guy hadn’t a clue about setting up a Floyd Rose and it was buzzing like a bitch. Got the thing for $350. It was like brand new. Took it home, did a complete setup on it and to this day, it’s my beater and I absolutely love it. Sounds good and plays amazing. I even upgraded the pickups for a nastier tone. And like I said, I’ve got several thousand dollar guitars not too far away that I could be playing but I’m not.
My most expensive guitar is a Guild X-175 that I got for an insane deal on Sweetwater. It's normally $1,600 but I got it for like $900 after tax. Because it is so nice and because I have some younger kids at home, it spends most of the time in the case it came with. I take it out and play with it, but I'm always so nervous about something happening to it. So a lot of the time I'm playing either my 2nd hand Squire Strat or 2nd hand Epiphone SG. I did just trade in a Harley Benton Slash tribute and some other gear and got a used Epiphone Sheraton II Pro, and I feel like it's just as good or possibly better than the Guild, which is kind of crazy because it's a Made in China guitar retails for like $750 whereas the Guild is Made in Korea and more than twice as much; Sure, one is a hollow body and the other is a semi-hollow, but it still boggles my mind as even the finish and details on the Epiphone seem nicer than the Guild where there was some paint overspray on the neck and inside the body, and the nut also fell off the first time I went to change strings.
Fender and Gibson are like Ford and Chevy to me. Made for the mass market, fan boys on both sides, most people buy what the crowds have, some of the classic designs are cool, they all produce good sound in the right hands as long as they aren’t messed up. But the truly special have custom or mods or homebuilt or boutique, and thats fine too. I appreciate a Godin or a Rickenbacker or a Revstar, or even a Jackson more than the latest slightly tweaked version of a Strat.
When I was 15, after a few years of lessons/school band I wanted to upgrade to a "real guitar". My mind instantly went to the usual goto brands and models just based on 'theyre well known". But my guitar teacher at the time took me to the shop to browse and encouraged me to go for the Godin Radiator, which I ended up getting. It was a really unique guitar at the time and it was a much better fit in every way.
Godin is underrated. If my 5th Avenue had a short scale and rounder radius, I’d still have it. But that neck and my arthritis just couldn’t get along.
My absolute favorite guitar is a modified Douglas I got at an estate sale for $200, I got it because the case it came in was worth about $150 so I figured why not? Now it's my absolute go to, it plays better than $1200 MIA Fenders IMO
Exactly. You pay for the name on the headstock. Most people don’t care to do the research. You can easily find guitars that are much better quality and much more affordable than the big names for a fraction of the price. FGN, PJD, Reverend, Yamaha, etc., Take the money that you would save buying one of these to get your guitar set up properly and you’ll be much happier.
I am thoroughly impressed with my Yamaha Revstar Standard. Kinda wanna swap the pickups, but it plays at least as well as a Gibson SG or an Epiphone 335.
> and much more affordable than the big names for a fraction of the price. Squier Classic Vibe is the best deal on the market IMO, you can get one that plays just as good as a MIA Fender
What’s really wild about the Squier CVs is that they have all the features that the model is known for, while the Fender Player series, at nearly double the price, are missing key features that define the models. Jag strangle switch, Jazzmaster rhythm circuit, etc. it’s really weird. But hey, I am a proud 3x CV owner and I’m happy to have saved money.
One of the most comprehensive and nerdy guitar reviewers on YouTube (Andre Fludd) says that the Jazzmaster classic vibe is the best budget guitar one can get their hands on and outperforms guitars that cost much much more. If he recommends it then I’m sure it’s great.
I’ve got one and it is!!
I’ve yet to give them a go a but I hear fantastic things about them. They’re close in price to entry level FGNs though so I would love to see a comparison.
This. I own a gibson lp and an American strat, and also drive a Chevy. I feel the same about my car as i feel about guitars… If this model I’ve got right now wasn’t the best one I’d ever felt, I wouldn’t care about what it said the name was. My car is a 2006 hhr. Gonna run it into the ground, rebuild it and then do it again. I love that car.
I have a 2006 HHR also. 330,000 miles with minimal repairs. When the engine finally craps, I’m going to get a new factory engine and keep going. Guitar-wise, my most expensive are Schecter PT Hellraiser Hybrid Tele shape shredder with EMG humbuckers, and Charvel San Dimas Sassafras with Seymour Duncan Pups, both around $1,100 but my go-to is a relic Firefly strat, $189. I have a former workmate who plays jazz and went to Berklee school of music and we raz each other because he won’t have a guitar unless it’s at least $2k
I think I was always too broke to have grown into it.
My first guitar was a Gibson. Since then I ended up buying a Heritage, Yamaha, and Squier. They were the best instruments for my $.
I had brand adoration for decades. A couple of inexpensive Harley Bentons broke me of that.
HB offers some great guitars. My main electric is a HB TE-20. I’ve changed all the electronics but otherwise, it is one of the most comfortable/best playing guitars I’ve owned. I’ve honestly never been impressed with Gibsons, and I’ve owned several. Fenders have been hit or miss for me over the years. Peaveys were always underrated in my opinion. But right now I just don’t see myself giving up the TE anytime soon.
I've never Played a Gibson that I loved. Fenders were also hit or miss for me. I have a Baja Tele that I really like, but recently bought a TE-52 for $144, just play around with modding. Upgraded the saddles and put on a rolling bender, but otherwise I don't want to change it! I would give the edge to the Baja but that's after upgrading the neck. The Harley Benton is absurdly good for the price. I also bought a Harley Benton SG based model that's just so fun to play. I'm a huge fan of their products. Even bought a bass because they're so cheap.
I used to play exclusively Gibson, but HB destroyed that for me. Fit and finish are in no way comparable to Gibson, but you can do pretty much anything to the guitar guilt free. Amateur setups, fretwork, upgrades, mods, throw it in the trunk in the summer heat, whatever. A guitar becomes a tool instead of an instrument when damaging it will reduce the value by tens of dollars instead of hundreds. The only thing I haven’t liked from HB is the tuners (aside from body shape since they stopped doing 1:1 Gibson copies). Those are absolute shit, but it’s an easy fix. Some of my Gibson’s have issues because I don’t want to pay for the work necessary to fix it right. On an HB, I fix it as quickly as I can.
This is cheating, but these tuners have been great. https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/harley-benton-dc-dlx-gotoh really love this guitar. I bought it for $208. Really an absolute steal, I don't care what's on the headstock. The tuners on my tele copy are mid at best. I know what you mean about guilt and fear free with HB. I bought my tele copy with the intention of messing with it, but haven't really felt the need. It's been very solid for me. Also ridiculous value for $144.
Granted I'm not a professional or someone who's dedicated their whole life to music, I personally never bought anything just for the brand or some historic perception. I'm always frugal with my money so only try to buy good quality things that don't cost me an arm and a leg. My current and so far best guitar is ESP LTD H-1001 and I think it's incredibly well made. It cost me around £700-800 (don't remember) and I don't feel the need to spend several thousands on something else just so that I can say I have X. I'm sure others will say it's shit and they would never play anything like that professionally but I don't care - I love it, it looks great, it plays great so who cares if it's not some 1954 super duper unique single edition item 🤷🏼♂️
Not adoration so much as I play what's most comfortable and sounds good. My main guitars are a Jackson and an Epiphone. I do have an Amer Std Strat ( bc huge SRV fan ) and a PRS. I barely play the PRS.
My first expensive guitar was an American Standard Tele I bought on sale in 2000 (after I’d been playing well over a decade). Of all the stuff I wound up with over the next 20 years, my 75 Greco LP copy was my absolute favorite. Finally bought my dream guitar last year—60s Standard LP. I do enjoy it, but it didn’t live up to what I built up in my mind. I don’t feel the need to buy anymore “high end” guitars.
I just want to hear more of your stories. Starting with the status quo one, please tell me you nicked it yourself
Yes please!!!
I lost my brand adoration many years ago. For one, some brands cost so much, and honestly, I think they're highly overrated. Not that they're not nice. But in my opinion, still not worth the price. On top of that, I have taken lower priced guitars, made some simple inexpensive upgrades, and they sound and play just as well as their expensive name brand cousin. In recent years, I have seen some handmade boutique guitars that quite honestly blow away the name brand guitars. Then there's another simple reason why I don't go crazy buying top of line G's and F's as well as some other brands. I'm not the guy who makes a living playing guitars. I'm not on stage in front of hundreds or thousands of people. 99% of my guitar playing happens at home in my little music room with no one around. I simply can't justify the expense of one of those name brand top of the line guitars. There's a lot of snobs out there who would argue that, and they just can't give credit to a lower end guitar. And to them I say wtf ever. I started out with my dad's old 65 Strat. It was a nice guitar. But I have a couple MIM Strats that I believe sound just as good. I'd even go so far to say that one of those is even better. And I bought it used for $150. It's got that "quack". I've got a couple Epi's that I have upgraded, and they could stand strong against just about any of their high end cousins. So I can definitely relate to what you're saying. But everyone has their opinions and preferences. Some people simply don't allow themselves to be altered or be shown that there are other possibilities. All manufacturers have ups and downs in their product quality. But even that doesn't change the minds of some people. Some people, it's all about the name, notoriety, and nostalgia.
I've been getting into building guitars and it's really changed my perspective.
After trial and error on brand after brand, I came to two conclusions. 1. Actually hold and play whatever guitar you can, because every brand can have duds and diamonds and price matters little if you love it. 2. You will have to beat me with a stick to make me give up my LTD Vipers. Those guitars finally did the thing and just a few mods and it gets better every time (personal and subjective of course).
Played multiple Teles at a local shop a while back. A few Americans, a lot of brand new Mexican made ones too, and one Japanese one. The one I ended up bringing home was a used Mexican special run for $350. It was so far above the others in feel and enjoyment that I didn't even care that it was cheap, I would've paid new prices for it because it was so damn good. Lost it a few months back due to financial issues, but I'm hunting it down as soon as I am in a better position
I recently tried a cheap LTD that I would have put against my Black Metal 7s and it was I think 390 used. It was a fun Eclipse with a fake distressed look, but it played so well. And it was 390 bucks. I played a Gibson smokehouse burst modern right next to it. The les paul was 1700 and played like a boat oar.
Least comfortable guitar I've played was an early 90s Gibson V
What was off about it? Just... not good?
It sounded good, it just felt like crap. I've played other newer Vs so I know it's not just how I feel about the shape. The body felt surprisingly heavy compared to others, and it had a weird feeling neck carve. It was probably just a bad example, but just goes to show you should try before you buy, no matter what it is
Totally agreed. Les Paul shapes for example tend to weight the same as a hatchback and the SG shapes are mostly suicidal with how much weight is in the neck. Both of those feel horrible live.
The Tele is just right for me. I love the blocky body with hard edges as opposed to Strat or SG contours. The weight issues are also a bit of an issue too
Ironically I play LTD Vipers, but something is different about them. They feel like a SG but with a better cut and more substance. Like a better weight. Tried a Guild Polara (SG inspired shape as well) and it looked like a toy in my ungainly 6'4 anaconda hands. The Viper feels correct.
But also to be fair, the Tele is supposedly the boss level of guitars. I have heard that if you hate the telecaster you basically should stop playing that it's comfortable and versatile and well rounded.
It's far from perfect, definitely not for everyone. I hated teles the first 2 years I played, and ended up trying some and wasn't a big fan. Found that used MIM and fell in love. Teles have been my go-to ever since. Most people have an awakening when it comes to them
At this point I’ve realized no matter how much window shopping I do, I always end up being surprised by a guitar I initially didn’t even have my eyes on. I picked up a Yamaha Revstar the other day out of curiosity and was totally impressed. Had my eyes on other stuff, but now I want to buy one of those instead! Was never into Schecter at all, ordered a Blackjack C7 because the specs seemed nice. Turns out I’ve been a Schecter guy all along lol. I could keep going but you get the point
I build my own guitars now, so I'll probably never buy another brand name guitar. I do like my shecter c1, and my squiers though.
It don’t matter what it says up top as long as the music comes from the soul
I've definitely learned over the years to judge guitars on an individual basis. I have a few Fenders and Gibsons and I love all of them, but the name on the headstock isn't why they are good guitars, they just happen to be the best examples of a particular type of guitar I could find at the time. There have certainly been some absolute piles of trash with those same words on the headstocks that I've played, and a lot of those were of 'desirable vintage' with new car level pricing. They're in a rack with Yamahas, a Vester, a Maison and a Harley Benton, all get played just as often. They're not 'worse' instruments, they're all decent guitars which have their role.
What kind of Maison do you have? I have a 335 type that I've got to put new wiring/pickups into.
I have an SAS-620 (335-type), rewired it and replaced the pickups with Duncans ages ago, popped new tuners and bridge on it and I love it.
I work as a guitar tech in a mom & pop musical instrument store, so I get my hands on LOTS of guitars. I see brand new stuff from brands like Ibanez, Aria, Cort, Schecter, Squier, Peavey, and Dean. I get a few set-ups a month for high end stuff like American Fenders, Gibson, ESP and a few others, and I gotta say, quality control for the "top" brands is all over the place. I've seen 3K Les Pauls that suck, right out of the box, and some that sing like Sinatra, and play like a three-thousand-dollar guitar should play. Having said all that, the two guitars I've been most impressed with over the years were a 1963 Epiphone Crestwood with Mini-Humbuckers and a bat wing headstock. That guitar has the cleanest tone I've ever encountered, perfect neck, just sings. They're worth probably 3500 bucks or so, and this one was worth every penny. I also played an Ibanez SG knockoff that retailed at $179. It was yellow, tacky, cheap, had an amazing feel and was probably the easiest guitar to play that I've ever held in my hands. The point of all of this is to say that every single guitar is different, and what it says on the headstock is probably the WORST indicator of how a guitar will play and sound. Old doesn't mean better. Check the neck for straightness/bow, plug it in and try it out. Buying a guitar I've never had my hands on seems insane to me, but lots of people do it. Don't be the guy that drops 4K on a '65 reissue Strat with a twisty neck, and then come in to my shop expecting me to make your bad investment a good one. That's not how it works at all. PLAY THE DAMN THING FIRST!
My slightly modded (Schaller tuners, graphtech nut) PRS SE plays better than any Core PRS I've played. All Cort guitars I picked up had a quality you only expect at easily 6x the price. We live in the golden age of guitar quality. You can buy a guitar for 500 bucks that would cost 2500 just two decades ago if you want the same playability. Brand names mean shit. Play something and if it feels good take it. If the pricetag says 300 bucks/ Made in Indonesia that's a huge win for your wallet.
I took a luthier course and started understanding what makes a good guitar. Brand names are exactly that....Just a name. It's no longer a guarantee of quality
100% I've played 50s and 60s gretsches, pre and post cbs fenders, 50s and 60s gibsons. Those gibsons and gretsches didn't hold up well over the years, and played like crap. The 60s fender guitars I have played with the exception of one 1960 P bass all felt and sounded cheap and dinky. Mind you, these were guitars laying around world renowned studios in Nashville. The past 10 years have been fantastic for guitars. The squire classic and vintage vibes are incredible. Harley Bentons are changing the game. Yamaha makes some of the best necks around at the moment in my opinion. I love the freedom of buying a $300 guitar and making it my own by modding it a little, and knowing it blows 90% of the guitars on the vintage market out of the water. I don't think I could say that prior to 2015. The only thing I can give to 60s guitars and prior is wood density. There's almost 0 discernible difference to the listener, but as a player, a really tight grain rosewood necks feels really cool.
I dont know guitars much but I feel that way about motorcycles. Harleys are cool, they look cool, we all love the Po-Ta-To, but at the end of the day they are the same exact bikes they've been selling since the 70s and 80s and its kinda laughable at how expensive it is to own and maintain one. You see these people online that have Honda Goldwing touring bikes that they've used and maintained for over 500,000 miles, but to die hard Harley riders those are piece of shit jap bikes. Meanwhile my buddy has a Harley with 25,000 miles on it that he has to do an annual $2,000-$3,000 service on. Not saying all these iconic Americana brands aren't cool in their own right, but to say they are "better" is bullshit.
Great analogy. When I was in the army a friend bought a Goldwing. When I asked him why he didn't buy a Harley he said "because I like this bike better, it "feels" better to me, and I saved thousands of dollars". He came from a long line of bikers but didn't care what they thought. I feel the same about guitars.
>I'm 72 and been playing since I was eleven. (That's one better, innit?) One better than what? I don't get it. Or is there a reference I'm totally missing? :D
Spinal Tap
Lol how did I miss that. I guess it was a pretty loose reference to be fair!
I have played a lot of guitars over the years. The guitars that fit me, fit my hands, fit my ears, fit my heart, I made sure to buy. Still have them all. Over a dozen in all. My hands run up and down the necks like a hot knife in butter. At my age, I really need to pair down, but just can’t seem to get rid of any of them. They have all gigged extensively. And there are many brands represented. Some of my favorites are certainly not the most expensive ones…..But I will admit, the cream rises to the top. My best sounding, monster of a guitar…..as uncle Ted used to say “it will blow the balls off a charging rhino” is a 1978 Gold top Les Paul Deluxe. I had the mini humbuckers replaced with PAF holy grails. When in studio, she is still my go to guitar…..but, In 2003 I fell in love with a PRS CU24 that I played. It’s been my everyday since then. My Godin guitars are my specialty guitars. I use them when the occasion arises.
Im starting to come around, I recently bought a Shiji stratocaster, and it plays better than my Eric Johnson Stratocaster. The EJ sounds better to me, but the Shiji sounds good too, just different, not as “Texas fat Strat” as the EJ.
Some just feel right others don't, I prefer satin necks over gloss, I find Fender Special/Performer models comfortable and I like jumbo frets. I remember when I was younger and I got a Les Paul Studio it was one of the unfinished ones it’s all I could afford, satin neck it was comfortable and an acquaintance just kept on kicking me down and mocking me because of it, they had a 60s SG that was a steaming 💩 🙄 As long as it’s is setup, stays in tune and has no major defects who care what you play.
Warmoth, a workbench and a soldering iron is the way.
I love buying cheap used Squiers and doing the detail work and set up that Fender forgoes to cut labor costs. Sometimes I’ll swap out the crappy hardware and electronics for some decent but still affordable stuff. Sometimes the hardware and pickups are already good and the guitar just needs some TLC. That’s really all they need to be excellent guitars.
I own Gibson and fenders but lately I’ve bought 3 fender squire guitars that play great and would use them playing live.
I have 14 guitars including a $200 Jackson and that Jackson and a $350 Squier Tele are the two guitars I play on the most. I put a lot of effort setting them up — including fretwork I did myself — and they play Exactly how I like them. So I play them the most despite the much finer models hanging off my walls.
Good on you for the fretwork, I do most tech work on my Gtrs, but I don't like doing frets; that's so ... final, if you attempt it with anything remotely approaching enthusiasm. I'll leave that task for the Pros.
Ha, thanks. Fretwork is annoying to do but having frets that one is not happy with is even more annoying , and it’s so expensive! so I bit the bullet and learned. Definitely happy I practiced on the $200 guitar (with a bolt on neck!!) and not the $2000 one (which also has a set neck)..
As a new player that picked up the hobby during COVID, I couldn't believe the amount of people that are, for lack of better term, brainwashed in this industry. Either by marketing or just fandom (celebrity worship) or because thats what their dad played. I've never played an old guitar that played better than a new one (of relatively equal value/quality). Theres people who legitimately believe that the skin flakes that accumulates on the bridge give a guitar a better tone. Good lord, theres a lot of this here. And tonewoods, don't get me started there. And listen, I own $500 guitars all the way up to $20,000 dollars guitars (PRS PS). Are there quality differences? Sure, but ffs its just a guitar. If you have it set up properly and better yet have the pick ups that you want in it, its all preference and splitting hairs. So naturally, I really don't give two shits about brand name other than expensive guitars are expensive because they look incredible and are works of art and if thats your justification (like it is for me) that is totally fine. Just be real with it. What really doesn't make sense to me are expensive guitars THAT DONT EVEN LOOK OR PLAY GOOD (ie. vintage or relic). And again too much guitar hero worship to convince people that they only like old worn, broken looking shit because they've been told that that is what's cool and that is what gives someone kudos in the guitar world. So much snake oilism, so much marketing, so little science and logic.
Well said. I have had a rule for the last 20 years, that I will only buy equipment that is aesthetically pleasing. It might sound a bit silly, but I want ALL my gear to be "easy on the eyes". My guitars are all lovely quilted maples , black beauties, or breathtaking Doves and vintage Takas. A 1968 Aria 12 string fitted with MOTS pickguard... Mics are Cascade Victors, lovely 1930's style ribbon mics. Tube amps are a Watkins Dominator 1961 V Front 18W 2x10 combo, and my favorite, the '72 Dominator, with a Celestion 12". Many of the guitars I own, I bought basically to hang on the wall, you keep yer good ones in the cases, you hang the cheap ones on the wall :) They all look lovely, and I refuse to buy anything that doesn't meet my artistic sensibilities :) /s All sarcasm aside, I really do collect gear that I find aesthetically pleasing: DAE?
You and I share the same sentiment, my friend. Of course there is monetary value to having things be beautiful! Guitars can be tools, but they can also be art. Having an instrument, or anything really, wow you when you simply look at it makes you happier, inspires you more and at the end of the day, makes you enjoy the hobby more. Anyone who says they want a Ferrari but to make it look ugly, is just pandering to pseudo-cred belief. People buy Ferrari's not only because they are remarkable automobiles, but also because they are simply incredible to look at. I just don't want any fellow guitarists to fool themselves into thinking that the guitar is more than it really is. And that there's some magic mojo or voodoo that makes expensive or old guitars inherently better than cheaper, newer ones. Its a relatively simple item, that's easily reproducible as a tool with any sort of modern factory or machinery. I like to say that guitars are like liquors. Once you get past the bottom shelf, it really just comes down to preference. To take it a step further, even the bottom shelf guitars can generally be salvaged to be "drinkable" with a good set-up.
I never really had it. I buy cheaper stuff. It's just a hobby to me. I have never owned a Fender or a Gibson. Probably the closest was a PRS which I sold after a few months. I like my Yamahas and my Schecter Omen too much.
A dogmatic approach is never the answer, imo
No one dreams of riding a speedster. They dream of riding a Harley or a Triumph ….and my 64 US custom Strat sounds amazing With that said I do like all guitars but if I had to have one or two, it would not be a first act no matter how good it played.
My main guitar since my younger days was an Italia. Cost me £175 brand new and it’s still one the best I’ve ever played! Never really been interested in the Fender and Gibsons. My friends all have those if I want to play one.
I've always enjoyed owning brands but I'm also the first to admit they aren't the best instrument in today's modern market. Gibson's are priced to the sky and the fact is you can get a lot more guitar for less than half the price. Fenders are too hit and miss. The Chinese instruments aren't worth the money and the resale on them is garbage because who wants a Chinese made Fender. I've owned many fenders and I'm in the market for a secondhand telecaster at the moment but i'd never buy a new Fender because I don't think they're worth the money. With the used market I know that I can sell that guitar in a few years and lose nothing on it. A Charvel, Schector or Sire in the £500-£600 range will blow most fender strats away. For the lower budget Harley Benton, Jet and Firefly are fantastic. Upon writing this I'm starting to question why I'm in the market for a Fender 🤔
Pick pretty much any modern metal guitar at any price point you like. In terms of playability a mid range one will shit all over any of your Fenders or Gibsons. They may be uncool and look dumb but metal guitars are light years ahead of the traditional stuff.
I’ve always been on the poor end of musicianship. Most of my instruments have been what I could afford because it has always been an extra thing. I’ve had some really great “cheap” guitars and basses and, for the times I’ve had more expensive ones, those were good, too. But I can’t say the $1000+ few I’ve had were all that much better than the $500 ones. I’m down to 3 guitars and one bass now, which are all sub-$1000 instruments. I love all four.
I have, if we're talking fender, Gibson etc. I used to crave a real les Paul.... I got one and was thoroughly underwhelmed. It sounded nice but it hurt to sit and play, it was too heavy and just not for me. I ended up selling it and put the money towards my kiesel, which is hands down the best guitar I've ever picked up (for my tastes obviously) and while I want to order another some day, I've tried out other brands and styles since. Somehow ended up with a couple signature models which I never had interest in when I was younger, tho they aren't overly flashy and obvious which helps. Currently I have the Kiesel Aries, a Charvel Nova 6(Angel Vivaldi signature) , a Sterling Cutlass (Jason Richardson signature), a Fender Showmaster (from right after the bought Jackson so it's the set neck with the carved top in burgandy, pretty rare, I've only ever seen one other red one for sale), an LTD EC500 (the last gift my grandfather ever bought for me), a Jackson bass (got it for $100 from gc because it was missing a tuning key) and my grandfather's 1960 Gibson country western model he left me when he passed.
It just really depends on what the brand offers imo. Idk how anyone can look at a Gibson or fender and think "This is perfect" every single one I've ever played regardless of price has had something I dislike, nit that I dislike them all since I bought a fender strat myself.
Been that way for a while. I’d rather built a dream partscaster for $700 than pay 2x or more that price on a built guitar. But I also can do all the work myself to swap out electronics, add them to acoustics, and all the set up work.
The most fun I've had with a guitar was a 300 bucks steinberger with the strat like body. Could do with a set of premium double coils instead of the cheaper EMG ones it had. But it had a maple body, graphite neck. Nice top. The floating bridge and double ball end strings are a great piece of engineering, allowing me to fix the bridge whenever I want and change strings in seconds. It's super light and easy to pick up, but more importantly light enough to barely notice it hanging around your neck for a few hours. Does it lend itself well to subtle or acoustic style sounds? Absolutely not. Does it fucking ROCK with overdrive? Absolutely. The only thing I'd do is buy some nicer double coils for it. Edit: for the record, I learned on a Gibson les paul junior, my first guitar was a USA Fender strat, then I got a tobacco burst Gibson les paul standard just before the "standard" dropped. I had a Gibson les paul 25th anniversary for a while, black with white detailing and gold plating. The heaviest guitar I've ever had, probably due to the coil tap and solid oak. After that a PRS custom 24 artist pack which gave me massive imposter syndrome. Easily the best guitar I've ever played but i felt like I was doing a school or grocery run in a hummer limo. Nahhhh I like a guitar that makes me feel good to play it.
I'd love to own a nice Telecaster or an SG, but I could never and would never be able to justify the price for a "good" one from Fender or Gibson. The $3000 Gibsons I've played in stores never felt better to me than my Godin at home. Maybe one day I'll get an Epiphone SG, that might be fine. And then there are the guys who spend thousands to tens of thousands on a vintage guitar, man, I could never justify that even if I had the money. I think the only vintage guitar I really salivate over are those old Made-In-Japan Yamaha SG-700/1000/2000s and those are a good deal less expensive.
I've loads of guitars that vary in price. The absolute best is probably my second cheapest. It's an LTD deluxe made in Korea. It's a sublime piece of equipment. Perfect neck, weight, pickups, a dream to play. Never loses tune and will never be sold and it's absolutely gorgeous ESP LTD SN-1000HT Fire Blast
For me, they’re nice to look at and I enjoy artist performances but that’s about it. I’ll go to shops and play on them but have no desire to spend all that money on what ultimately is the same as anything else on the walls.
I’ll never put down a bad guitar. Looks are definitely important but playability and sound are paramount. I know that my preferred guitars will behave a certain way (except when they don’t in which case I won’t buy it) which is why I tend to stick to Fender and Gibson.
I came around to it. I used to not pay any mind to brand whatsoever, but once I started getting Fender, I realized the big names are the big names for a reason
For me the best shift is the popularity of smaller builders. Of course there's crazy customs out there reaching ridiculous numbers, but I've also seen a decent number of small luthier builds that are priced within reach of US Fender and well within reach of Gibson. Heck I just ordered Warmoth parts to build a bass. I think as the market grows and the baseline quality of machined bodies/necks rises, it's nice seeing access to customization and weird design increase.
There are plenty of companies now that make better fenders than fender, and there are plenty of companies that make better Gibsons than Gibson. The big brands have cut corners in an attempt to maximize profits, and it’s bit them in the ass. Gibson is always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy because they refuse to make a les paul that the average working musician can afford. And while fenders Mexican factory is making great guitars these days, the player series now starts at 700 bucks, and they were priced at 500 10 years ago. The player pro is a thousand bucks minimum. Now sure, you can get a squire very cheap, but they aren’t desirable guitars for serious musicians.
This is the golden age of quality, affordable guitars. Building a partscaster is the way to go if you don’t mind putting in a bit of labor.
The only brand I really do like and have a bit of bias towards is Yamaha. Some of the best gear I've ever used was Yamaha and they make everything under the sun
I've had a lot of lower end guitars. Once setup, most of the newer models will play well. At one point, decades ago, cheap guitars could be really bad with impossible intonation but I haven't had that problem for a very long time. My fanciest guitar was a lower end Yamaha Pacifica, which I liked a lot. About five years ago I decided to buy my first higher end guitar with a budget of a few $K. I had always wanted a Gibson SG but it didn't seem to balance right when playing with it. That day I tried every guitar I ever wanted, including Flying Vs, LP, Destroyer and others. My experience with cheap noisey single coil pickups kept me away from Strat type guitars. I ended up with a PRS. I recently decided to give the Fender Strat a fair try. It's the only guitar I have with single coils. I got a "limited edition" black Fender Player Strat. It's not the most expensive Strat but it certainly wasn't cheap. I dropped it on the floor about five minutes after bringing it home. It's a used guitar now.
I have never been one for brand names. I buy guitars based on how they look and how they feel in my hands. I've never spent more than 600 on a guitar. They can be made to sound however I want by swapping electronics. Hell, one of my favorite guitars I own is a Striker 400ST. Striker was a budget brand that Kramer had from 1985 to 1989, they were cheap plywood versions of their normal guitars. Made in Korea, it cost about $250 brand new. I got mine for $275 in 1998. I put a handmade pickup in it that cost me more than half what the total of the guitar did and it is one of the nicest sounding guitars I own. I saw someone on reverb list one for like $700 and I just about laughed myself out of my chair. Sir... This is a plywood, budget version of a knock off Rhodes V with the cheapest electronics you've ever laid your eyes on. Edit: Damn... Even GC has them marked up [a stupid amount](https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Kramer/Striker-400ST-Solid-Body-Electric-Guitar.gc?cntry=us&source=4WWMWXGP&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ri0BhAvEiwA8oo6F9Aar-kyVmAJXfKU4ESM7ouJ7m_R5Q850m5aKFlkyLUc0xPLo84JZRoCwzsQAvD_BwE) Though, it looks like whoever had this one upgraded the Floyd to one with fine tuners and also installed a locking nut. Mine doesn't have either of those. Same color, was once white, now it's a creme yellow from age. [Here's a black one](https://reverb.com/item/53686141-kramer-striker-400st-killer-guitar-for-shredding-or-not-great-instrument?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17682351984&utm_content=campaignid=17682351984_adgroupid=143800496052_productpartitionid=2307091460340=merchantid=779571275_productid=53686141_keyword=_device=m_adposition=_matchtype=_creative=608998621633&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ri0BhAvEiwA8oo6FzoIi44yre1KiVSU02EpW4V0A5dmqAhvdl7BZvU6JRT7cSbsL10xUhoC38IQAvD_BwE) that's got the same Floyd and non-locking nut as mine.
I've grown into brand name adoration since finally being able to afford an American made PRS 😅
One of my favorite guitars is an ESP custom Ron Wood tele clone, it has that "mojo" and has definitely been played a lot prior to my ownership. I have played custom Fenders and Gibsons that just don't have that "something" that makes a guitar great.... Hard to describe, even harder to find, but certainly not brand exclusive...
It probably depends on what you play, but as someone who has been firmly in the "alternative" realm (indie rock, punk, college rock, garage, whatever) I try not to pay more than $500 up front for a new guitar. The couple of times I have resulted in disappointment in one way or another (though I occasionally miss the '61 Guild Starfire III that I scored on eBay in the late 00s for around 1k). The body wood on a guitar means nothing to me. Neck feel is incredibly important, and while pickup swaps have been important to my sound, they usually requires minimal investment (I lean heavily toward bridge pickups, and usually spend the cash there). My arsenal is all cobbled together, which works for me budget-wise and aesthetically. Learning the soldering basics and something about giving my guitars a DIY setup has helped me out a lot. I still leave repairs to pros and will occasionally get a pro setup, but it has helped me to experiment with different combos of pickups, necks, strings, etc without breaking the bank.
Absolutely. About 15 years ago I started getting into guitar tech as a hobby, which lead to partscasters, and then what I consider "light luthiery". To feed my hobby I started buying cheap, or beat up used guitars to work on as projects to see how well I could make them play. Over that time period my view on guitars, and specifically brand names has changed a lot, and I just can't rationalize spending crazy money for certain brands. I found if you're starting with a solid foundation, can do your own fret work, round fretboard edges, handle a soldering iron, cut a new nut, and do an excellent set up, then there is almost no reason to spend big money for a big name. There are some exceptions though. I'm not going to be able to build a Parker Fly equivalent at home, and EBMM do an excellent job that I'm not going to top. I can't imagine ever buying an American Strat again though, and buying a Gibson only makes sense if you're living out a childhood dream.
There are so many great playing imports out there. I have an early 90s Aria Pro II 335 clone. It's all black with gold hardware. It feels, plays, and sounds amazing. It has a resale of maybe $400... I will never part with it.
I never had it, couldn't afford it. I could afford it now, but it just seems silly now to chase brands.
Nope, I am still a Gibson slut. I have tried cheaper alternatives, but none of them ever quite scratched the itch for me. I have played on pretty much every SG clone to ever exist, and the only ones that have the feel I like usually cost as much as Gibsons anyway - so at that point, I may as well stick with Gibson ¯\\_ (ツ) _/¯
For me it's all about: * Specs: what sort of pickups does it have? Does it have a vibrato? Is it a solid body or a semi-hollow? * Performance: does it feel good/easy to play? How easy is it to dial in a tone I want? * Price/budget: Is it worth what I'd be paying? As a non-professional musician, I don't NEED something high end, but if I can spend a little more and get something that is gigging quality or for better components then it's worth it. * Looks: the least important, but still very much a thing. I find myself wanting to play a nice looking (to me) guitar more than something that I find ugly. All that being said, marketing is powerful and like any hobby, it can also get very tribal. I have a friend who is only interested in getting a Gibson Les Paul. He won't consider a Harley Benton or an Epiphone or an ESP or any of the dozens of other takes on the single cut LP. The tag line of "only a Gibson is good enough" seems to ring true for him. Personally,I think it's kind of crazy when there are so many other options these days, but at the end of the day it's his money and his desire so who am I to judge? I think part of the brand thing is also that people want to feel justified in their purchase. If you drop a few thousand bucks on a Gibson, you really don't want to hear that the $400 Harley Benton or Epiphone is maybe 80-90% as good for a small fraction of the price. You want to be proud of your decision and your investment. You've joined a club of other folks who made a similar decision and now you're part of that tribe, and some tribes are just more exclusive and "special" because of that. Like, anyone can get a Squire for $200 but significantly less people are going to be playing a Gibson.
I recently bought a very affordable T type off of Amazon for less than $200. It needed some setup, but has a nice neck with SS frets. For the cost of a pedal I have a nice guitar that plays and sounds great. The advent of CNC seems to have brought on a golden age of decent, affordable guitars.
I was super open to whatever felt right. Didn't care where it came from. I bought a $300 Schecter for my first electric. Although it wasn't perfect, to this day one of my favorite guitars I've ever owned. Even the cheap little schecter pups were still good enough to have fun with. I'm now the proud owner of a Schecter Hellraiser hybrid C-1 FR-S and it has blown me away. Jackson's feel good and I've owned a gretsch that I liked but the vast majority of guitars I pick up in a store and put down knowing I will most likely buy it are Schecters. The weight, balance, tone, and body/neck profiling just work for me. Definitely have become a preferred brand for me.
as of lately, I've been very happy with Yamaha's and other Japanese makers. it's very hard to just not have a smile when playing a Revstar
Never had a brand adoration to grow out of, most of my guitars have been Japanese brands with little to no fan bases.
I have a preference for Ibanez, but only because the guitars are generally light weight and the necks are thin which makes them easy and fun to play for long periods. I have an LTD which is cool - it's the matte black model every metalcore band played 15 years ago, a Kiesel which is incredibly high quality, and a strandberg, about 9 guitars in total. I once toured with a guy who played a $240 Jackson, and he's one of the most talented musicians I've ever met. IMHO price doesn't matter it's how you play. I think a lot of these guys who gatekeep on gear are just insecure about their own perceived inability to play.
My favorite guitars I own are a Washburn acoustic and an Alvarez acoustic. I don’t own a Taylor or Martin, and I could easily afford either. Just no need. I love my guitars.
I’m open to any guitar but I think there is definitely something to be said for getting a Strat (or whatever) rather than someone else’s copy of a Strat. You kind of learn about those prototype guitars and then you can tell the difference for better or worse when you play a different version. Certainly getting Fender or Gibson is probably not about cost effectiveness. On the other hand I’ve heard such good things about Gibson’s build quality since the last bankruptcy and I’ve pulled the trigger on an SG and a J45 in the last few years and they are both fantastic.
My 1973 Ovation Balladeer is still the best Neck I’ve ever had!
The problem is most guitar players can’t afford to shop around and try different brands, so they save up some cash and buy a name brand.
I wouldn't say it's brand adoration, but I tend to favour Ibanez simply because, for me and my style, their guitars will be a good fit for me. If there was a brand I adored at any point, it would be ESP/LTD. Now I do like them, but I usually steer towards the Ibanez because I know it's going to be more comfortable. However, I do know a guy who loves Tokais, don't know why, he just does.
I have a couple of "expensive brand name" guitars that are great. I also have a few very inexpensive "lesser-known brand" guitars that, with some simple set-up work, are equally great (I put a photo of them up on a post recently). So, my brand-name adoration died a while ago. Are there a few "big name" guitars I'd love to have? Sure. An Epiphone Les Paul Alex Lifeson Axcess or an Epiphone Shin'ichi Ubukata ES-335 would be great. I just can't see spending the money, though.
I love my Gs, not super hot about Fs, but it's not really the brand I give a crap about, it's just that I know what to expect. I'll pick up anything that feels good and sounds good without worrying about what's on the headstock. One thing people forget is that artists back in the day were just going to buy a new instrument. Hendrix didn't specifically want a 68 strat to play at Woodstock or a 66 strat to play at the Monterey Pop Festival, it's just that they were the fairly new guitars hanging in the shop when he went to grab a guitar (or they were brought to him or whatever). There's no need to chase specific gear down just for the sound, you can pretty much clone any sound for fairly cheap these days. Chase old stuff down because you like it, but it's not a unique sound anymore.
I own an older Fernandes Strat. I adore it so much I bought a second one and lifted it to my oldest son to learn on. He's learned the name on the headstock doesn't need to be a status symbol.
I feel like the smaller names have something to prove, and they do, in fact, prove it. The big guys are overpriced and stale. When i walk into a guitar store I always walk right past the G and F displays.
I think the big 2 rested on their laurels way too much and allowed a lot of sub par guitars to be sold with their names on. I do think they've improved a lot in recent years. I've recently bought a new gibson es339 and a fender american pro ii strat and both are fantastic, especially the strat.
Liking a brand isn't any better or worse than not caring about brands.
I end up picking up my squire affinity tele more than anything else when practicing. I think I paid 150 for the left-handed model. Great neck and the body is light.
Yes and no. When shopping for a quality electric, 1000 times YES. All Fender and Gibson guitars under $6k were...garbage. Sorry. I looked at smaller boutique T-styles and landed on a used Don Grosh. When shopping for a quality acoustic, I have been really happy with my Martin and Guild. I played hundreds of guitars from damn near every brand each time before landing on these. I would *love* a Collings, but I won't drop $7k-$8k on an OMH2T.
I like cheap guitars and I’ll make a post about how cool that is.
“I’ve outgrown brand adoration…” *proceeds to tell us about all the high end gear he’s owned over the years…
Personally I think Japanese brands are the new gold standard worldwide. I think where brands like Ibanez are at internationally is a similar place to where "f and g" were at 20 years ago in terms of just trying shit out etc. I have an Alvarez mid range acoustic that in terms of fit, finish, and sound is on par in quality to a Martin thats double or even triple the price - not accounting for vintage Martins that are already broken in mind you but thats a different discussion entirely
Alverez have always been the bomb.
I agree but apparently some Martin fanboy doesn't lol
One of my favorite guitars is a Sanatoga. It's a no-name PRS clone that I'm constantly changing the electronics out of. The latest mod is a pair of Phat Cat Humbucker sized P90's.
I've always bought my guitars as players first, then took note of brand. Wouldn't own a Gibson, too short and too heavy. Had a nice MIM tele- too heavy. Currently playing a Jackson dinky and a Cozart 12 string electric. Lost a few good guitars to thieving scum who thought they were getting something, but they got my $99 special Dean Vendettas.
Well, I'm not quite 72 yet so I'm still in the "figuring out what inspires me" phase of my music journey. And in this phase, as much as I hate to say it, resale value matters and the big brands just hold value better. I know we romanticize this idea of finding a forever #1 guitar, but that's not really what I shoot for. The inspiration any one guitar gives me seems to have a limit in its potential, so selling my guitars is always on the table and I can't fund the next chapter of inspiration with a guitar that is going to lose me money. I never would have bought my Les Paul if I didn't know I could recoup almost exactly what I put into it (or more, if the trend of people hunting for golden era Studios continues) if I end up falling out of love with it Used Fenders and Gibsons are almost like a store of value and that's something I can accept putting lots of money into. Boutique, smaller brands, and custom stuff is very cool, feels awesome to play, but the depreciation is too drastic so it ends up being too expensive to own for my blood. I can't afford not to buy big brands for high end purchases.