What makes a guitar really expensive.

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
 
Holy shoe that PRS is awesome looking. And that is exactly what it's usually about. Most people don't need that kind of versatility.

Chris@KatsuKuriMedia said:
i too pay a pretty penny for my JP EBMM guitars because it feels exactly right to me and has the electronics i want. for me it's mostly about features, and a bit about look.

some will say it's all psychological, but i definitely have a better experience playing a well-made $1500+ guitar than something under $1000.

that said, i've played guitars over $1500 that were crap because they weren't well-made - they were just expensive because of a certain wood or whatever. those suck :) so it really is about playability and features, and if that is something around $2000 or more, then so be it.

but of course the price alone does not dictate the quality of the guitar - or any product for that matter.
Click to expand...

I happen to be someone who has owned FOUR (4) EBMM JPs and at the moment don't own one of them anymore. Some might get the wrong message here though. The EBMM JP is without a doubt the easiest guitar to play on this planet. Hell I could shred all kinds of sweeps with just one hand because you can set the action so ridiculously low. IMO the last one I had (JPXI) wasn't even nearly as good as the first JP7 that I owned. The unfinished neck and original pickups are where the value is at if you ask me.

That's the kind of guitar I compare to sports cars. They are so fast! But in the end I preferred PRS all the time and I hated the fact that playing that guitar gives the impression that I'm some kind of Petrucci fanboy now that their music is what it is. I actually made a video comparing some expensive guitars at that time. It was so hard to give criticism when all of the guitars are so awesome but I managed to find flaws in all guitars. :D Holy sh*t my playing is doing the guitars no justice in that video.. :D Here's the video:

 
Last edited:
I bought a 1979 Gibson LP custom black beauty for $2k a few years ago
It had slight issues I knew I could fix. First the strings were never grounded
The block in lays were high so I levelled them
The guitar could not be intonated so I swapped the saddles for ones made of tusk
Pickups squealed so I dipped them in hot wax and removed the covers
Output jack and plate were mashed, luckily I had a spare shielded output from a black beauty of this era
Once I buffed it and put it back together it plays like a charm and now has mojo
where it once hadn't

My point is sometimes a guitar just needs to be dialed in to function as it should
There is no comparison between my $2k LPC and my $400 Epiphone LP.
This Gibson destroys the Epi in every way.
 
Last edited:
I'd like to add, when I bought my Fender YJM signature strat I intonated it and did a quick setup and quickly realized why the previous owner sold it, the strings were pinching and pinging at the brass nut, I added a few tiny drops of oil and bingo! Guitar stays in tune with heavy whammy usage.

Point again, sometimes a guitar needs some work done before it gets its Mojo (yes even expensive guitars!)
 
In the past few years I went through some nice guitars but just could not bond with. This included a couple of Gibson LPs, 3 JP6 BRFs, a Suhr classic custom, 2 USA Fenders. They all looked beautiful but I could not get the sound I wanted out of them.

I would have to say my personal experience with more affordable guitars, they do sound and feel different. It could be the pickups too. The sounds comes out "jumbled" for a lack of better word when playing high gain, unlike my other higher end guitars where you can still hear each string even after a power chord.

I currently have a few I like- Mr Crabs - a PRS P24 (My Avetar) that is just beautiful and sounds great. I did pick up recently a used Ibanez J-Custom for 2K+ and in the process of putting the Dimarzio Illuminators in it. But, the one I go to time after time is my ESP Eclipse II with SD Blackouts. For a $1300 guitar it is so resonant and set the bar so high that the other guitars simply could not keep up with.

I am giving Carvin a shot. I am having a custom 7 string built this month with claro walnut top and mahogany body. I may have to swap the pickups with JP Illuminator 7s. For $1400 I could not resist. I am interested to hear any feedback on Carvin guitars.

ESP.jpgprs.jpg
 
hussamd said:
In the past few years I went through some nice guitars but just could not bond with. This included a couple of Gibson LPs, 3 JP6 BRFs, a Suhr classic custom, 2 USA Fenders. They all looked beautiful but I could not get the sound I wanted out of them.

I would have to say my personal experience with more affordable guitars, they do sound and feel different. It could be the pickups too. The sounds comes out "jumbled" for a lack of better word when playing high gain, unlike my other higher end guitars where you can still hear each string even after a power chord.

I currently have a few I like- Mr Crabs - a PRS P24 (My Avetar) that is just beautiful and sounds great. I did pick up recently a used Ibanez J-Custom for 2K+ and in the process of putting the Dimarzio Illuminators in it. But, the one I go to time after time is my ESP Eclipse II with SD Blackouts. For a $1300 guitar it is so resonant and set the bar so high that the other guitars simply could not keep up with.

I am giving Carvin a shot. I am having a custom 7 string built this month with claro walnut top and mahogany body. I may have to swap the pickups with JP Illuminator 7s. For $1400 I could not resist. I am interested to hear any feedback on Carvin guitars.

View attachment 18487View attachment 18488
Click to expand...

+1 on the ESP Eclipse. I've got an ESP Eclipse (version 1 with the 4 knobs) with splittable Seynour Duncan '59 in the Neck and JB in the Bridge (IIRC). The versatility and sounds from that thing put many guitars over £2000 to shame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom