One expensive guitar or several inexpensive ones?

BBN said:
Anderson - action was way too high. Even after my (honestly, amazing) luthier set it up. Something wasn't right with the way the next was set. This was a newer 2 bolt version. It seemed that the only way to remedy would have been to shim the neck, which is really not easy to do on a 2 bolt Anderson and would certainly kill the resale value. So, I sold it.

PRS - had obnoxiously large frets that had an awful dressing on them (sharp ends). It felt like your fingers were getting chewed up when you played it. Tone was also VERY thin and brash. I can't remember the model (maybe I can find a pic) but it was one where they are a slightly smaller humbucker. So to replace the electronics, I would have had to go to PRS for a new set. I traded the guitar for something else. The new owner had the frets filed down (because he also agreed they were just too-jumbo). So, he spent the coin to have them filed/reduced....he didn't like the tone either, so he ended up selling it too. This PRS had a KILLER top on it, so it was a shame to sell.

As a contrast, my friend at that same time had a black PRS single cut....it cost $1k less than the one I just got rid of.....and it played/sounded amazing.

And Anderson's are my favorite guitars out there (well, maybe second to my vintage LPs), and I was shocked to find a dud.

Guitars are not consistent in my experience. I've got 40+ 'keepers' at the moment, many are vintage Gibson. Every one of my LPs plays a little different.
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I would have loved to have a go fixing these.
I have never seen these issue on these specific guitars in 30+ years.
Have you any pictures?
Was the PRS a DGT as this is the only production guitar with 6100 size frets?
I would also presume the Anderson was a Classic with way too much relief? They all leave the factory at 1/16" at the last fret.
 
Andy Eagle said:
I would have loved to have a go fixing these.
I have never seen these issue on these specific guitars in 30+ years.
Have you any pictures?
Was the PRS a DGT as this is the only production guitar with 6100 size frets?
I would also presume the Anderson was a Classic with way too much relief? They all leave the factory at 1/16" at the last fret.
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It was the first Anderson I thought was 'meh'. And believe me - my current Andy Classic and Angel are 2 of the most amazing guitars I've ever had my hands on. The 'meh' one was a Cobra S. Trans black top, dual humbuckers.....otherwise the perfect guitar for me. I was super bummed when I got it.

I'll search for some pics when I'm home later.
 
Well I would go with one expensive one..namely the Huber Bernie Marsden , think this just might be the most beautiful guitar I ever looked at. Lets not forget like anything , guitars can be works of art as well as tools...
The tool side is obv important if you play in a varied music style band, but having said that, I do think with the likes of the Axe & all the possible sound conitations it brings, then you dont really need several guitars, one and & an axe fx can pretty much do anything pub band wise.
Its always nice having nice things, and most of us continually like to try differant things/tastes change etc..holy grails only exist for a period of time before a new holy grail attracts the eye, as the old 'tone chaser' thing goes music is a constant varible, as indeed your ears are, so spend your cash as you like & enjoy the journey...I have found the most boring people in the world to talk too are the ones that like the cheapest tool to do a job & revel in how they have managed to save a few ££ etc etc ...yawn
Eddie can play a home made thrown together plank & sound awesome, at the other end is an orginal 59 LP coveted by many rock gods...so cleary whatever works for you
But I just love lovely things fullstop...and here is a work of art, loving the bound fret board & inlays etc, even the case is cool as...now where did i put that 15k...15 x 1k guitar or this one?...this one for me I reckon


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chris5150 said:
Well I would go with one expensive one..namely the Huber Bernie Marsden , think this just might be the most beautiful guitar I ever looked at. Lets not forget like anything , guitars can be works of art as well as tools...
The tool side is obv important if you play in a varied music style band, but having said that, I do think with the likes of the Axe & all the possible sound conitations it brings, then you dont really need several guitars, one and & an axe fx can pretty much do anything pub band wise.
Its always nice having nice things, and most of us continually like to try differant things/tastes change etc..holy grails only exist for a period of time before a new holy grail attracts the eye, as the old 'tone chaser' thing goes music is a constant varible, as indeed your ears are, so spend your cash as you like & enjoy the journey...I have found the most boring people in the world to talk too are the ones that like the cheapest tool to do a job & revel in how they have managed to save a few ££ etc etc ...yawn
Eddie can play a home made thrown together plank & sound awesome, at the other end is an orginal 59 LP coveted by many rock gods...so cleary whatever works for you
But I just love lovely things fullstop...and here is a work of art, loving the bound fret board & inlays etc, even the case is cool as...now where did i put that 15k...15 x 1k guitar or this one?...this one for me I reckon


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Beautiful Chris.
 
If money were no object I'd have a wall of guitars just because I could. But for now I'm finding just having a handful of 4-5 is about right. Mainly for practical reasons of upkeep/maintenance. If I had 20 guitars I know most of them would just sit in cases as I'd put off setting it up after long period of neglect. That is factor #1 for me. Factor #2 is cost right now. I actually let go of one of my 'high end' guitars (JP15) in favor of keeping 3 guitars. Had a momentary financial need to take care of. Quick thought on this; Up until now I've leaned towards having that 'one' perfect guitar to cover all ground. HH guitar that could also do some convincing strat like cleans with coilsplitting etc. Now I'd just rather pick up my Strat when I want that. I"m no longer looking for the jackknife guitar. I was planning to buy another higher end/costly guitar (Suhr , Anderson or PRS) in the next year or two. Side note- I've been intrigued by trying a PRS DGT model but now see they are coming out with an SE version.

My balance right now are basically two classic/vintagey type guitars - a Gibson LP and a Fender Strat and two modern players - my EBMM axis (which has sort of always been my favorite) and a MIM Charvel Pro Mod with a few upgrades I'm making elevates it to those higher price point models. The practical part of me says I'm satiated but I admit I also want a really high end/high price point guitar that is just beautiful to look at. With prices these days though...I'm not eager to drop $5-6K. I will remain Galadriel...I have passed the test....for now.
 
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Sixstring said:
Man you have had some great luck with LP guitars! Quite a few years ago I wanted a LP so bad I could taste it. I played no less than 5 that were in the store at the time and none of them felt or played right for me.

I ran the gamut from $1,800 to 6k they were all just horrible. Then the Sales guy put a PRS singlecut 10 top in my hands and I ran out the door with it!
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I've kind of had similar experiences. But, kind of with everything. I really have no idea why some guitars "do it" for me and others don't.

There are some styles of guitars that I just don't like. But for the ones that I at least would consider....the "bad ones" are pretty few and far between...but so are the good ones. The vast majority are "fine", which isn't enough to get me excited enough to pull out my wallet.

Chewie5150 said:
The practical part of me says I'm satiated but I admit I also want a really high end/high price point guitar that is just beautiful to look at. With prices these days though...I'm not eager to drop $5-6K. I will remain Galadriel...I have passed the test....for now.
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Same.

I do occasionally go to guitar shops to just try stuff....and both artists that I like and YT seem to make me want things. But, fortunately or not, almost every time I've found one to try...it winds up in that "fine" category. Maybe I just want to be able to convince myself that my guitars are somehow special, and most of them aren't. Or maybe my brain is trying to save me money. Who knows?
 
chris5150 said:
Well I would go with one expensive one..namely the Huber Bernie Marsden , think this just might be the most beautiful guitar I ever looked at. Lets not forget like anything , guitars can be works of art as well as tools...
The tool side is obv important if you play in a varied music style band, but having said that, I do think with the likes of the Axe & all the possible sound conitations it brings, then you dont really need several guitars, one and & an axe fx can pretty much do anything pub band wise.
Its always nice having nice things, and most of us continually like to try differant things/tastes change etc..holy grails only exist for a period of time before a new holy grail attracts the eye, as the old 'tone chaser' thing goes music is a constant varible, as indeed your ears are, so spend your cash as you like & enjoy the journey...I have found the most boring people in the world to talk too are the ones that like the cheapest tool to do a job & revel in how they have managed to save a few ££ etc etc ...yawn
Eddie can play a home made thrown together plank & sound awesome, at the other end is an orginal 59 LP coveted by many rock gods...so cleary whatever works for you
But I just love lovely things fullstop...and here is a work of art, loving the bound fret board & inlays etc, even the case is cool as...now where did i put that 15k...15 x 1k guitar or this one?...this one for me I reckon


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Man that guitar is sweet! At 15k it's way out of my reach, that's about what I have wrapped up in all of my music gear.
 
Sixstring said:
Trying to get a feel for how most here on the board like to build their stock of guitars! Are you of the camp where you would rather have just one great guitar that can do a few tones well or have several inexpensive ones to round out a selection of different tones and sacrifice quality in the process or a little of both?
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Given the stated choice I'd opt for one really great guitar (expensive or not). After way too many years with the instrument I just prefer something that feels great / dynamic as there are tons of great tones in Fractal's products already. That said the more expensive guitars I own tend to be the ones I prefer playing (but then I'm one of those guys who swears that my car is faster after I wax it so ....)
 
The thing for me re: needing a strat tone or a tele tone or whatever is this:

I dont have to own that guitar to find one to use. I can ask friends or rent from a store. Owning one of each because you need the tone is not always true, depending on who you know.

So why dont I just own les pauls? If you were to look at my play time jan-dec, I do.
 
Sixstring said:
As of late I have added two guitars to the one guitar I have had for well over 9 years! The Carvin CT624 in my avatar pic (that's a record for me). The previous one was a PRS CU24 2007 Experience that I had bought new in 2007 and owned for 6 years. Prior to that I was flipping a guitar every 3-6 months.

Trying to get a feel for how most here on the board like to build their stock of guitars! Are you of the camp where you would rather have just one great guitar that can do a few tones well or have several inexpensive ones to round out a selection of different tones and sacrifice quality in the process or a little of both?

EDIT : I have changed the title of this thread because the wording used is not really the best way to describe the comparison. It has been pointed out that an inexpensive guitar can be a great player so in the spirit of keeping the thread civil and on topic I have changed it!

Sorry for the inconvenience guys!
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It really depends on what your needs are. Does one instrument authentically cover all the styles of music you play? I have a friend who plays a Strat and can make it sound like a hollow body or virtually any other type of guitar with the tone knob and pickup selector. How important is your tone to you? Can a lower-priced instrument, as-is, deliver the results you want? If so, more power to to ya! For me, I play several different instruments for different purposes. My main electric axe is a '92 Pensa-Suhr. I replaced the stock Van Zandt pickups with Suhr Michael Landau single coils in the neck and middle positions and a Thornbucker in the bridge position. Completely changed the character of the instrument - for the better. I tend to buy instruments you don't ordinarily find new in most music shops and if necessary, I make changes over time. One exception to that "rule" is for a high-strung, or Nashville tuned guitar. You can get a banger made of mahogany and convert it - it'll do just fine. Best of luck to you.
 
I enjoy my S series Ibanez’s, premium series, certainly not the top line, but after following some guidance here, they are now great players. My $200 premium score has been played, n played n played, bridge work, stainless frets and some pickup replacement due to failure. I’m in Costa Rica, on the beach and the ocean, humidity, sweat n sand plays havoc on my gear. So I keep the nice $ ones at home AC and abuse the cheaper awesome player’s. My feeling is my American Strat, Taylor KOA 224, Ibanez 1080 and precision bass would deteriorate just as quickly as my live guitars. For me it’s about feel and sound. I have experts come to my jam expecting name brand $$ gear. I have to laugh.
 
Sixstring said:
Had a Mini S with all of the JCW stuff on it, ran like a top until it got heat soaked, it was a fun car for sure! Hated working on it.
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Mine has the Harrop TVS900 supercharger upgrade kit with the smallest pulley, and a Thumper TPR2 head with 405 cam and 8000rpm valve springs. It scoots a bit. Did some mods to the bonnet about 10 years ago to help with heat soak....
 
Budda said:
I think its a car thread now. Question still stands:

3 project cars or 1 dream ride?
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For me....

1 project car (my favorite was a friend's 30s Mercedes roadster kit car...I think it was on a super-beetle chassis)
1 pickup (probably a taco)
1 fuel efficient whatever

YetAnotherOne said:
(but then I'm one of those guys who swears that my car is faster after I wax it so ....)
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There's almost a reason that could theoretically make a difference. A rougher surface can create more drag.

Whether you'll notice it....well....no. It's just placebo.
 
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