Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

all my guitars are midpriced. and they all rock. I've tweaked the hell out of them and they all sound and feel perfect. They're players' guitars.

And they are not meant for:
- accumulating monetary value
- looking pretty and attracting lustful stares from people at shows or on forums (though they do look good to me)
- having the approval of obssessive gear heads on the internet who talk incessantly about tone but barely ever actually play/create tone.
- cork sniffery
- tomfoolery
- asshattery
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

I like used guitars... That way you can get a more expensive guitar with a lower price tag. Plus, as long as they have been treated kindly, the wood is a little more broken-in and settled. I have played some new production guitars that go out of tune often; I question if it is because the wood has not settled through expansions/contractions through the seasons.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Don't forget…
- dooshbaggery
- dumbassery
- buttscratchery
- doorstoppery
- monkeyshines
- hijinks
- shenanigans
- paperweight use (either commercial or consumer)

Oh, and I forgot to answer the OP question:

My main guitars are mid-level stuff, and a USA Jackson that's been quite the case queen since purchased new in 2006 but is seeing a lot more use lately. However, I love playing all my guitars, including the Epiphone LP100, the Chinese Squier Strat, the Music Yo! Kramer, and the old Jackson DK2R with the headstock that visibly flexes when I use the trem with the locknut opened but plays and sounds like a monster nonetheless.

In all of my guitars, I've eliminated everything I felt was holding me back from what I wanted to do with them, and now it's just down to me doing my part. That's what all the research, experimentation, and upgrading are all about. No barriers. No speedbumps. No limits. Just tools that are ready for whatever it is you want to do with them.
 
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Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

cheap guitars are fine and obviously no guitar can play the right note at the right time by itself...its just that really nice axes are addictive, so try to avoid (or at least minimize) playing them if you want to stay happy with your squier.
 
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Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

I've got a MIM Tele that I bought used for $300 back in 1998 and it's still one of my #1 players. I've swapped out and upgraded all the hardware and pickups over the years and it's absolutely wicked sounding.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

My main bass is a '76 Musicmaster, which was Fender's cheapest bass at the time. Aside from that, I have several Japanese Fenders (and one Mexican Fender) that I love, as well as two Squier short scale basses and a no-name short-scale bass that are also great instruments. But they aren't "main" axes. They could be, and I do gig with them, but due to other axes in their ways, they are not the "main" ones.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

gibson175 said:
its just that really nice axes are addictive, so try to avoid (or at least minimize) playing them if you want to stay happy with your squier.
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Thats what happened when I was playing a CS Tele in a local store. I understand the hype, but I'm still happy with my #1, a Squier Tele. I could buy that CS Tele if I sell all my cheap guitars to fund it. However finding used/cheap good guitar (below $400), modding and playing it is more addictive to me.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

All three of my guitars are mid-range guitars. An MIM Strat with upgraded pickups, an Electromatic G5120 w/ locking tuners and an Epiphone Masterbilt AJ-500R. I really enjoy all of them, though, I do want to swap the Gretsch Buckers in the 5120 for some T.V. Jones Filtertrons.

From my perspective, a working musician really doesn't need much more than mid-range guitars unless s/he has additional substantial income. I work a crummy job and play music, so I don't have much extra money to spend on nice stuff, and these days guitars that cost $500 used are more than adequate for playing small clubs and bars.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Well, my axes are low-mid range. The black one was $150, and sounds like a beast. Changed neck pu all that was necessary.
IMG_2879.jpg


uOpt said:
Before I discovered Burny Les Pauls I was playing Ibanez blazers mostly.

(and might change back)

(not that my main burny is expensive)
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Blazers ftw.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

tubecrunch said:
And more: there isn't a single amp in my local GC that I would want. If I had to pick one it would need an immediate speaker upgrade, and not one of them have a properly broken in speaker anyway! Even if you were comparing a stock squire to anything under $3k, its highly likely you're not hearing an honest representation of the sound, and I would be stunned if many people could hear the difference in quality.
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Wait what? Did you just complain that amps at GC dont come with broken in speakers?
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

My number one is my G&L Legacy that I bought for £450 in 2005, although the one I'm mainly using in my current gig is the Fret King Esprit 5 that I bought last year for £170! I also have my home-built Tele that was put together for less than £200. All of them have had replacement pickups, and the tuners on the Legacy were replaced by locking ones, and the G&L ones ended up on my Tele... :D

I'd like to own higher end guitars, but that's just not realistic at the moment.

Besides, I could sound equally as crap on expensive high-end instruments as I do currently on my cheapies! ;)
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

My guitar sells for about $800 these days... some consider that "cheap" or "middle of the road" but the truth is that my particular guitar is really great, the fretwork was done nicely and I have no trouble getting great action, it's very resonant and the finish is well done.

I have sold other guitars priced under $800 because they failed to deliver in any of these areas. Some cheap guitars are great for the price but it's good to keep in mind that if you're used to playing a Japanese Fender, picking up something like an Ibanez Gio is going to feel really different.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

^^ What's this? Closet Ibanez fan?

I've been eyeballing a candy apple red Blazer with brass trem on flea bay but can't swing.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Define "cheap". My current go to guitars only cost me 600$ and 150$ and are worth (approx.) 3k$ and 6-800$, respectively.... My USA jacksons all cost me 1000$ or less each, but are all top notch and worth more....

So if cheap is solely used to describe the purchase price, then Yes, I play cheap guitars.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Zerberus said:
Define "cheap". My current go to guitars only cost me 600$ and 150$ and are worth (approx.) 3k$ and 6-800$, respectively.... My USA jacksons all cost me 1000$ or less each, but are all top notch and worth more....

So if cheap is solely used to describe the purchase price, then Yes, I play cheap guitars.
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I don't don't think you can count deals on used high-end guitars because they vary by situation. Some go for a fraction of what they're worth. The only measurement that's halfway consistent is current new retail price.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Just about all of my guitars are "cheap." I usually buy my instruments used, mainly because I like the older designs, partly because (as with cars) I am a cheap SOB who will let someone else eat the massive depreciation of buying "new."

My least expensive guitar is a Yamaha RGZ superstrat that I picked up for $70 at a flea market. It plays like a mutha - for many years it was my primary practice guitar. Most of my guitars cost me $200 - $300 (used) and these are some of the best guitars I've ever played. I have never paid over $1K for a guitar (not even close).

Believe me, I have tried to fall in love with high end guitars, but have never experienced an expensive guitar that spoke to me the way a well-worn $300 Ibanez will do. I love the sound of an LP, but have never gotten on with the feel of them. I've also played the CS Fenders, and haven't had a strat call to me either. I have drooled over the occasional MIA Tele, but have not pulled the trigger. Somehow, I can't see myself paying 5X - 8X as much for one of these as I did for the beaters that I already love. Even the Ibanez Prestige and Premier lines, snazzy as they are, don't seem to add any playability over their less glamorous cousins. I actually find them to be a step down from the mid-level stuff in some cases.

It might be cool to treat myself to a really nice guitar someday, but I don't feel that my current stable of cheap whores is holding me back.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Matt42 said:
From my perspective, a working musician really doesn't need much more than mid-range guitars unless s/he has additional substantial income. I work a crummy job and play music, so I don't have much extra money to spend on nice stuff, and these days guitars that cost $500 used are more than adequate for playing small clubs and bars.
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+1. Many guys playing local gigs have mid-price guitars. A lot of them don't have the disposable income for high-end gear (at least not for long). Let's face it, the average working musician isn't the target market for high-end gear. With the lingering economic situation, competition has gotten tighter and manufacturers are offering better guitars, often for less money, making models in the mid-price range a better value than ever. A lot of them are coming stock with American-made or other high-quality PU's, even in the $400-$500 range (new retail price). In the blues world, there are a number of guys in national touring bands that have Korean/Chinese-made guitars (Epi's, Deans, etc).

In the real world, there's many factors determining how much you can spend on gear (your job, wife's job, kid's needs, rent payment, the car you drive, medical bills, taxes, etc) and most of those have nothing to do with tone quality. In spite of heartfelt advice from other players, you don't need to get in a financial bind or cause marital problems in your musical quest. It should make sense for your situation. Pick your gear, whatever it costs, and show people what you can do with it. If you don't play very well, no one's impressed by how much you spent or how much you saved.
 
Re: Anyone here rocking cheap guitars as main players?

Edgecrusher said:
Wait what? Did you just complain that amps at GC dont come with broken in speakers?
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Haha. Yes I did. My point was, as long as a salesman is busting your chops over the differences btw a $400 guitar vs $900, lets lay out all the facts. It's like going to a wine tasting in a bus terminal.
 
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