Quality gear... who knew?

[Snake Aces]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

Ironically enough, Drex reminds me a lot of guys like... ...Securb (which itself is ironic because they can't stand Drex). Securb took advice of mine to be "snobbish" and launched a coordinated attack, etc...

I don't think any of them even play guitar... or at best, noodle on the weekends.

Did you just internet trash talk a Berklee alumn about music?

Also, even though I have never heard Edgecrusher play, one thing I can tell you is he knows his gear. I imagine somebody who is that knowledgeable about mags, pups, amps and tone in general does more than noodle on the weekends.

As far as DreX is concerned, he is rude and stubborn with/about his opinions on cheap guitars. That being said, I also have not heard him play so I cannot say anything about his playing skills. I just am not a fan of his forum behavior in general.

[LLL]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

Did you just internet trash talk a Berklee alumn about music?

Berklee schmerklee. This guy has never posted a single clip of his work here.

He apparently would rather post his "clips" elsewhere:

I just posted a clip an hour ago on another forum for my forum bros.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?282741-Marshall-gurus-give-me-some-guidance/page5

I'm the King of France, y'know. Yeah, they went back to the monarchy style of things.

And... I'm married to the Queen of France... Morgan Fairchild.

Yeah, dat's da ticket.

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

At the end of the day, for many folks, owning guitars is not about the music as the thrill of the chase. For some it's finding the super-obscure instrument or booteek treasure. For others, it's about maxing out the potential of a particular instrument. I try not to worry about what other people do with their money but after about 15 years on various guitar discussion boards I know that different people are searching for different things. Oftentimes, the search is for e-cred as much as for a great tool to perform a given task.

Whatev.

I love those super obscure guitars. I remembe seeing something in a pawn shop with no strings, pickups, or pots, a bolt on maple neck and a trem for like $50 and I still kick myself for not snatching it up when I could and turning it into something really quirky.

[Securb]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

For others, it's about maxing out the potential of a particular instrument. .

My mechanic asked me to see what I could do with his Oscar Schmidt HSS N4 knockoff. They guy has been good to me so I set it up as good as possible for a $99 guitar. I put in some leftover MIM Fender singles in it and got a VEH "brown sound" pickup from GuitarFetish.com . After adding a few more bits and pieces here and there it sounds great and plays ok. I did get a huge felling of satisfaction turning that potential firewood into a player. I doubt Nuno will be picking the thing up anytime soon but my mechanic will love it.

[DreX]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

And when you're able to afford a good guitar, that becomes the trade off. Would you rather spend $300-500 on something plus another $500 in parts or would you like to buy a guitar with everything in it already. If you enjoy modding, then I guess buying the Squier or Epiphone would be more enjoyable because you get to mod the guitar to what you want.

Even then, the case that you have to upgrade a $500 guitar at all is rather weak. People talk about swapping out the electronics harness for no particular reason, swapping zinc metal for steel parts, again for now particular reason. This day in age stock pickups tend not to be bad, buying Seymour Duncans is really more about personal preference than replacing and sub-par stock pickup. The last few Epis I bought had a decent enough pickups with smooth, clear tone. Really the only reason pickups were ever bad is not because making good pickups is difficult or costly, but because they didn't care or know enough about them to manufacture them well. Someone was saying not long ago that the difference was that imported cheapos were drowning in wax, well I uncovered an Air Classic to find a candle inside. I honestly can't tell the difference between the TV Jones I have in one guitar and the Fender Fideli'trons I have in another, just to give a couple examples.

[Snake Aces]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

I honestly can't tell the difference between the TV Jones I have in one guitar and the Fender Fideli'trons I have in another, just to give a couple examples.

Maybe these could help you with that:

[DreX]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

Maybe these could help you with that:

Do you know for a fact that their tone varies widely, or is this a completely baseless insult?

[Snake Aces]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

Do you know for a fact that their tone varies widely, or is this a completely baseless insult?

I was just trying to give you a tip for better hearing since you said you were having trouble hearing. No insult intended.

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

I have some inexpensive-to mid-price guitars that I cherish--my Ibanez Artstar 335-clone, Artwood acoustic, Artist banjo, Ghostriders; my Fender Precision "Lyte" bass; my Takamine 12-string acoustics and the DanElectro 12-string electrics. And I have many really EXPENSIVE, jaw-dropping, beautiful instruments from Taylor, Martin, Gibson and G&L. Some are just exquisite musical instruments.

I started playing back in 1965, and my first guitar was a Stella Tenor guitar with strings about 3/4" above the fretboard. My second, third and fourth guitars were better, but they weren't pro quality, either. But by the time I was 26, I had been playing professionally and supporting myself solely with music income for five years, and I owned several professional quality guitars and amps--what would now be vintage gear. This would include: a Fender BF Band Master, Acoustic 156 and SUNN amps; a Fender Telecaster Thinline and a 1960 Strat; a Gibson ES-150DCN, an ES-330 and a '75 LP Special Reissue; and Martin D-18 and D-28 acoustics. Money was tight, so I had to buy wisely, and so I bought the best gear I could afford.

And I have NEVER regretted buying quality gear--not for one second.

Nor have I ever stood on a stage with one of my $2500 Les Pauls and thought, "Gee, I shoulda bought an Epiphone!"

And I do understand that not everyone can afford to buy expensive gear--or needs to. I think there is a fallacy in thinking that buying an inexpensive guitar and modding it is somehow better than buying a good guitar to begin with--it's a false economy, throwing good money after bad. (It's one of the things I love about my G&L guitars; they have exactly the mods I would choose to do on a regular Fender Strat, and they come that way from the factory...saves me time, and money.) Not everyone is trying to make a living playing guitar, so they might not need "The Best". And that's okay. I'd rather see you provide for your wife and kids and play a modest guitar than see them hungry and in rags--but I've known some guys that will buy stuff and leave their families wanting. Makes no sense to me.

So, I learned pretty early that I like good guitars. I can certainly tell the difference between a $300 Epi and a $2500 Gibson. And as a GENERALIZATION--yep, the $2500 Gibson is worth it--to me. But my situation is different, and I am very blessed at this point in my life to have such nice guitars.

To me it's not about, "Is this $2000 guitar worth it?" The real issue is that I'M WORTH IT; my career is WORTH IT. You may not feel the same way I do, and that's fine.

My name is Bill...and I AM a guitar snob.

(Proud of it, too!)

Bill

[DreX]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

I was just trying to give you a tip for better hearing since you said you were having trouble hearing. No insult intended.

I never said any such thing. Insult fully intended.

[kramersteen]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

[Snake Aces]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

I never said any such thing. Insult fully intended.

So you didn't say this:

I honestly can't tell the difference between the TV Jones I have in one guitar and the Fender Fideli'trons I have in another, just to give a couple examples.

My bad, I thought you did say that. Either way, I am sorry you felt my suggestion was an insult. It was only a suggestion trying to help you hear the difference between a TV Jones and a Fender Fideli'tron.

[DreX]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

I have some inexpensive-to mid-price guitars that I cherish--my Ibanez Artstar 335-clone, Artwood acoustic, Artist banjo, Ghostriders; my Fender Precision "Lyte" bass; my Takamine 12-string acoustics and the DanElectro 12-string electrics. And I have many really EXPENSIVE, jaw-dropping, beautiful instruments from Taylor, Martin, Gibson and G&L. Some are just exquisite musical instruments.

I started playing back in 1965, and my first guitar was a Stella Tenor guitar with strings about 3/4" above the fretboard. My second, third and fourth guitars were better, but they weren't pro quality, either. But by the time I was 26, I had been playing professionally and supporting myself solely with music income for five years, and I owned several professional quality guitars and amps--what would now be vintage gear. This would include: a Fender BF Band Master, Acoustic 156 and SUNN amps; a Fender Telecaster Thinline and a 1960 Strat; a Gibson ES-150DCN, an ES-330 and a '75 LP Special Reissue; and Martin D-18 and D-28 acoustics. Money was tight, so I had to buy wisely, and so I bought the best gear I could afford.

And I have NEVER regretted buying quality gear--not for one second.

Nor have I ever stood on a stage with one of my $2500 Les Pauls and thought, "Gee, I shoulda bought an Epiphone!"

And I do understand that not everyone can afford to buy expensive gear--or needs to. I think there is a fallacy in thinking that buying an inexpensive guitar and modding it is somehow better than buying a good guitar to begin with--it's a false economy, throwing good money after bad. (It's one of the things I love about my G&L guitars; they have exactly the mods I would choose to do on a regular Fender Strat, and they come that way from the factory...saves me time, and money.) Not everyone is trying to make a living playing guitar, so they might not need "The Best". And that's okay. I'd rather see you provide for your wife and kids and play a modest guitar than see them hungry and in rags--but I've known some guys that will buy stuff and leave their families wanting. Makes no sense to me.

So, I learned pretty early that I like good guitars. I can certainly tell the difference between a $300 Epi and a $2500 Gibson. And as a GENERALIZATION--yep, the $2500 Gibson is worth it--to me. But my situation is different, and I am very blessed at this point in my life to have such nice guitars.

To me it's not about, "Is this $2000 guitar worth it?" The real issue is that I'M WORTH IT; my career is WORTH IT. You may not feel the same way I do, and that's fine.

My name is Bill...and I AM a guitar snob.

(Proud of it, too!)

Bill

Some things to consider:

- you're comparing premium guitars to the budget guitars of many decades ago

- your opinion of a guitar probably shouldn't vary depending on whether or not you happen to be standing on a stage

- it's not safe to assume that people purchase lower priced guitars due to budgetary limitations

- not everyone buys a $500 guitar with a desire to make it like a $1000 guitar

- you're associating the cost of a guitar with a sense of self-worth. Ideally, those concepts should ideally be separate

[voggin]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

Some things to consider:

- you're comparing premium guitars to the budget guitars of many decades ago

No, he isn't. Re-read his post. He was just telling us some personal history at the beginning of the post.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Quality gear... who knew?

JB from hell... Glad you found a guitar that spoke to you! I jumped around for a little while trying to figure out what I really wanted out of a guitar. I eventually figured out that I loved strat style guitars. I saved up some money and played a ton until I found one I loved. It was a 2006 MIJ. I got it more than 2 years ago and I still play it every day. Every single time I pick it up it's a pleasure and I feel lucky to have it. It's not going anywhere. Enjoy it brother.