karmakarmakarma
Experienced
Interesting topic. For me it's all about the feel and tone of the guitar. I am 100% NOT into "Lawyer Guitars" and own a bunch of different instruments (20+) only because each one spoke to me. My #1 loved guitar of all time is a mid-priced Brian Moore that was made in Korea. I like to tweak many of my guitars, and in this one I changed the pups and shimmed the tilt of the neck a little. For some reason, this particular guitar is a miracle after these changes and just has the perfect voice and feel for me. It's priceless to me but would go for cheap if I tried to sell it.
I also recently played a $6000 custom instrument that was basically a carved top Tele at a guitar show. I liked the way the component parts (body wood, neck wood, pups, etc.) worked together, but it was not worth that much money IMO. So, I ordered the same body and neck parts from Warmoth, put in the same pups and nice hardware, and got something like 95% of the same tone and feel.
I own a Heritage 535 that feels and sounds way better than any recent 335 I've played...
etc. etc.
Karma
I also recently played a $6000 custom instrument that was basically a carved top Tele at a guitar show. I liked the way the component parts (body wood, neck wood, pups, etc.) worked together, but it was not worth that much money IMO. So, I ordered the same body and neck parts from Warmoth, put in the same pups and nice hardware, and got something like 95% of the same tone and feel.
I own a Heritage 535 that feels and sounds way better than any recent 335 I've played...
etc. etc.
Karma