Awesome but crappy guitars

piofusco

Inspired
I have been really close to spend 3-4 grand on a custom PRS/Suhr/Gibson a number of times. Looking back, I am glad I haven't. Sometimes I see poorly made guitars in shops for less than 600 bucks and think, "Maybe this guitar has songs in it." I always hold back for a number of reasons

1) horrible action
2) bad parts
3) bad build
4) couldn't stay in tune
5) hard to play

All that being said, most of the guitars sound amazing. I feel any guitar in combination with an Axe FX II has the potential to be awesome with a knowledgeable user. Ever been in this situation? Ever bought one? Do anything cool with it?
 
Wish I didn't own my PRS. No I have no excuses. I cannot believe how much better it is than my Fender Custom Shop.
Sometimes you try to get something that's really good and you find it was a waste of money.
Other times, I done good. Love it, will never sell it. It will be my son's some day.
 
Those points (1) to (5) describe my PRS :eek:

Wow! I have owned 4 PRS guitars CU22, CU24 and 2 SC's, one was new off the wall and the others were used and all of them played great. I have to say that PRS guitar prices have gone up to the point where it doesn't make any sense same with Suhr guitars.
 
I have guitars at both ends of the scale, I have a PRS custom 22 and an Ibanez Universe at the high end, and on the opposite end I have this, a 1983 Squirer Bullet I bought for £70 when it came in on trade-in in a music store I worked in. The frets were completely worn out but I fancied having a guitar with really high action, set up solely for playing slide. I like to think it sounds pretty good for that, here's a quick test of it through my Axe :)

 
I buy nearly all my guitars used. That gets me 30% or more off the new price, expanding my bang for the buck. Looking into less popular but high-quality brands (e.g., EBMM, Hamer) is another way. Those tactics, plus a little patience can score you a top shelf guitar for about the price of a fixer upper plus upgrade costs.
 
I have owned and played enough crappy low end guitars to know I don't want to anymore. I hear there are some awesome playing / sounding low end guitars out there, but personally I have never run into one. However, I have run into some crappy high end guitars
 
Wow! I have owned 4 PRS guitars CU22, CU24 and 2 SC's, one was new off the wall and the others were used and all of them played great. I have to say that PRS guitar prices have gone up to the point where it doesn't make any sense same with Suhr guitars.

I have a 25th anniversary swamp ash special, and I like the tones I've get from it. But it has a bolt on neck with widely reported problems that I can only agree with. Top and bottom E saddles are hard down against the body for a barely acceptable action. Tuning is unstable, so I've given up using it live. Very disappointed, but that's my awesome but crappy guitar!
 
I like crappy guitars.
Only my last two main guitar purchases were of useful value (A white Jem w/sustainer and a rare rare rare prestige 7 strings- one of only 18 ever made)

Although its nice being in tune compared to my ibanez edge guitars

Anyway-

I'll first say- I wanted a nice acoustic- I wanted a Taylor 514CE - figured if i had to spend $3k i would-
tried every guitar at guitar center blindfolded- and probably totaled 300 guitars by the time i was done with all my testing at multiple locations.

A gibson or martin didn't make the top 10 (but a $129 mitchell did)

The top 3 were the three cheapest taylors- 110 210 114ce-
I got a 110 no cutaway no electronics- it was the best
Picked one out of dozens- I even bought a USA 110 to compare.

Anyway- while many guitars sounded good- when brand/price/image is out of the question you'd be shocked what you hear...
I played some of the worst sounding guitars- felt the headstock out of curiousity- GIBSON
Most Gibson acoustics sounded AS BAD as the Luna acoustics- which were by far the worst.

Anyway...
About electrics because they're funner...

I've seen more poorly made $3000 guitars than $300 guitars
And your checklist- i have a problem with..

1) horrible action- A $3000 PRS out of the box or fender custom shop needs a set up... every guitar needs a set up out of the box- shockingly when you're spending good money you'd think that would be done-
Check out an EVH guitar today- worst fretwork on earth- $900 Made In Mexico guitars- fretwork of a china strat copy... you'll slash yourself like an emo kid on the side of the frets.

2) bad parts
- most of the usa guitars use cheap import parts - i don't think fender makes bridges in the USA
and I've seen Gibson parts on knockoff guitars- so I wonder where they're getting some from...

3) bad build
- there are very few good values in guitars today- I think Ibanez RG's and PRS SE's (i've never owned a prs) are probably the best values-
I've seen new gretches (after fender took over) come in 2 pieces out of the box at music stores. Just because you're spending $1000-10,000 doesn't mean you're getting a good build.
Fuck- on some Gibsons and Martins you're spending $1000-2000 and not even getting wood- meanwhile the $150 knockoffs have ebony

4) couldn't stay in tune
My ibanez problems were solved by a few things- a good setup and fretdress- a genuine floyd rose nut- and first I was using black fender american strat springs- and then later/now- i use genuine floyd rose springs. Much better. Problems solved. a neck shim/nut shim- good dimarzio pickups and i have a better guitar than most people spending thousands more

5) hard to play
every guitar needs a set up- i hate on craigslist when people try to sell a guitar with the words 'new strings just set up' - there is ZERO change you or anyone else like a guitar set up the way i do. I'm not like most people- and everyones different.
I literally have a guitar with 7 guage strings on it. and all the others have 8's.

I had a Squier Standard I bought for $60- put $200 in pickups in it and $130 into a set up/fretdress.etc- it blew away a custom shop in many ways
I handed my guitar guy a box of thinline tele parts- thing blows away anything you can buy under $3500 - and it was probably $350 in parts.

I have Ibanez guitars all over the place-

It's also a buyers market- You can buy a $2800 universe used for $700 a $2400 JS1000 for $600
Or you could buy an ibanez S new for $600 and get a guitar that you couldn't sell for more than 250 the next day...

its weird but-
I look at it this way- an american strat 900-1200 bucks- comes with JUNK pickups
MIM strat- 400-500 new- junk pickups

Most electric guitars are solid body- i don't think the guitar or the make makes much of a difference- to me- amps and pickups do.

Blindfold yourself- i double you'd be able to tell a $100 squier from a $2500 custom shop with the same pickups. through a great amp.

I don't understand people plugging in $2000 guitars though $50 amps either
I"d rather have a $50 guitar with a $2000 amp

And i've plugged in many times $200 guitars with good pickups through $2000 amps.
 
Ive got a 25th anniversary modern eagle, 2 prs CU22's, 3 JEM's, a 77 lp standard, peavey wolfgang std, sg std and probably a few more im forgetting about....but usually i reach for my $299 Ibanez RG321. I put a evo2 and a air norton in it but then went crazy and installed an evertune bridge in it. So not only is it the perfect recording guitar with a good tone, but it also is on the cheap end of the spectrum so for writing and just getting ideas into my computer, i dont have to worry about dinging it up.

Love that friggen thing.
 
I have a Charvel Desolation that I replaced the pickups, wiring, and put flush mount strap locks on. It cost me less than $1k after mods and I used it as my main guitar for a year, which paid for itself many times over. It's a great guitar, but it's certainly not my best guitar. With the axe fx, I can get any tone I want out of it and I frequently use this guitar as an example of how cheap guitars can be great. Also, I emailed them feedback about some finish quality that needed to happen like fret ends and burst finishes and the production manager actually emailed me back thanking me for feedback. This year, they upped the quality and even made a purple finish that I requested!

I go round after round with this struggle. If I am using my expensive guitars, in my head I am thinking "why am I taking a $4k guitar to a dive bar in nowheresville?!" But when I am using my much cheaper Charvel Desolation I think, "why do I have these expensive guitars at home being unplayed?!"

Currently, I use my custom ESP for my main guitar, the Charvel as a backup. I have another custom coming and I think I will leave the Charvel at home or sell it after that one gets here.
 
My collection runs the gamut from a $99 Squier Mini Strat to Gibson Custom Shop. My opinion is that 90% of guitars out there, given some TLC and a good setup, can be perfectly fine, serviceable instruments. There are the 5% of guitars that are absolute junk, such as the First Act Garagemaster that I played at Guitar Center one day. Good lord, that thing would be better off as firewood. Then, there are the 5% of instruments that are truly something special. These would include the Anderson S-style guitar I played in Austin a while back, the Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton Strat I played a few years ago, and the Gibson Custom Shop SG Standard that I am lucky enough to have in my personal collection.

Guitars aren't like computers. Generally, if you pay more for a computer it has a faster processor, more memory, better video capabilities, etc......stuff that can be measured quantitatively. One of my Strats is a mutt of a Mexi-Strat that I've modified to the point where the only thing original on it is the body, knobs and pick guard. I'd say its a fine instrument, more than able to hang with my American Vintage Strat. Out of the box, my American Vintage, which cost much more, had better electronics, bridge materials, fit and finish. As far as the wood itself, I'm not sure there's a massive difference. The Mexi-Strat may be composed of more pieces of wood, but whether that translates into the final tone I can't positively say. The Mexican Strat has a Callaham Bridge assembly, new neck, Klein Epic 55 pickups, etc. I'm very happy with how it turned out, and would say its a professional instrument through and through.

I've done a similar upgrade to a generic Korean single-cutaway guitar and ultimately no pickup or bridge upgrade could overcome the fact that its made of plywood. I spent way too much time and money on it, and next to my Custom Shop Gibson, it just feels lifeless.

Sometimes a guitar can be expensive, well-made and a fine instrument, but not be right for what you're looking for. I had an Ibanez like that. Spent way too much on it, and later on decided that the style of music it was suited for was not what I wanted.

Ultimately, I think the end player is who decides whether a guitar is great or not. I've played a $7000 Gibson CS Les Paul that had me scratching my head on how such a pricey instrument could have such bad fretwork and feel lifeless whereas I've played an under $1000 Mexican Fender that I fell in love with instantly. Cost does not equate to necessarily "better". That said, I don't think I'll ever go down the road of buying a cheapo instrument, upgrading it to the gills and then taking my chances that I'll like it, because that's really a crapshoot....you can end up with an awesome instrument or you can end up pouring money down a hole. Probably a more expensive guitar you have a greater chance of it being "the one".
 
I'd say this is some way true...

My opinion is that 90% of guitars out there, given some TLC and a good setup, can be perfectly fine, serviceable instruments

Whereas this:

There are the 5% of guitars that are absolute junk

is absolutely bang on
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In the end, I think this topic - like so many things - becomes very subjective. The same guitar will feel awesome or alien in the hands of two different players... and neither of one of those players is 'right' or 'wrong'.

With so many tales of high end guitars being hugely disappointing (ok, I believe that the majority will be great), it does make you think twice
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I had an EBMM JP6. Awesome guitar and I'd readily say that it's the best instrument I've ever owned... yet that got sold and I now play an Epi.

Yep, the same Epi that many would call 'crappy'. It's not stock and has had plenty of attention in the right areas, but for the life of me, I cannot see how a Gibbo at 10x the cost can possibly be 10x the guitar... I'm not suggesting it wouldn't be 'better' of course, but then we're back to the original point of subjectivity
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Hence the 'Unsung Hero' bit of what I do! That's certainly not referring to me - it's a play on both a factory name and the fact that you can get awesome instruments for not a lot of money these days
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Yep, the same Epi that many would call 'crappy'. It's not stock and has had plenty of attention in the right areas, but for the life of me, I cannot see how a Gibbo at 10x the cost can possibly be 10x the guitar... I'm not suggesting it wouldn't be 'better' of course, but then we're back to the original point of subjectivity
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The Gibson is probably not 10X the guitar as your Epi. Some people might perceive the Gibson to be 10-15% more guitar (whatever that means) than the Epi, and are willing to pay out the nose for that small percentage.

As much as I think a great Gibson guitar is a thing of wonder, you're paying a lot for the name Gibson (or PRS or Fender CS or whatever). Not that they aren't good instruments, but lesser-known builders like Godin, Carvin, Reverend, etc. make fine instruments that offer great quality for very low prices.
 
The Gibson is probably not 10X the guitar as your Epi. Some people might perceive the Gibson to be 10-15% more guitar (whatever that means) than the Epi, and are willing to pay out the nose for that small percentage.
Kind of like the way an AxeFx is several times the cost of a Hot Rod Deluxe.
 
I have several expensive gibsons and Jems but one of my best playing and sounding guitars is a fretlight tele with fralin pickups. Fingerboard is not even wood but otherwise very solid guitar. Very comfy sitting or standing.
I have a nice Flying V that sounds good and looks terrific but is awkward to play standing and you can't play it sitting down,I'm getting old I know. I am building my own super strat at present and it is going to cost me more than a American standard fender.
 
The other day I gigged my Axe Fx for the first time... My newest, most expensive rig that I've ever owned... Yet I brought to the gig my cheapest guitar! An Aslin Dane that I found in a garbage pile on the curb on a rainy night while I was walking home. $40 in parts and about 8 hrs work on it and she plays decent.

My #1 is a 2007 MIM that cost me $400 and I've sunk about $600 in upgrades on it! LOL The only thing left original is the frets, wood and finish. I love it and wouldn't sell it for less than $2000!!! My Gibson Les Paul takes second seat.
 
I go round after round with this struggle. If I am using my expensive guitars, in my head I am thinking "why am I taking a $4k guitar to a dive bar in nowheresville?!" But when I am using my much cheaper Charvel Desolation I think, "why do I have these expensive guitars at home being unplayed?!"

Well said. For me, this also applies to the many features of the Axe FX. However, I never look back. It is difficult to say I am using the Axe for all it's worth though.

I like to think it sounds pretty good for that


Dude, yes. See, this is exactly what I was getting at. My first guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul junior. I put really heavy gaged strings on it and raised the action so I could play it like a lap steel.
 
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