Best Bang For Your Buck Ever?

[Chistopher]

I was sitting playing my '09 MIM Standard Strat and was just thinking about how when I bought it 2017 it only cost $250 used and came with some active EMG circuit that I later traded for a $200 guitar pedal. So roughly $50 for the guitar. Now it's got Antiquity Surfers.

Even if you bought one of the cleaner mint MIMs you were only out $350-$400. Now they are going for quite a bit more than that. They've since been replaced with the Fender Player 2 series which is about $600 used, and I don't like the specs of as much, except for the rolled fretboard.


Anyway, I feel that silver logo MIM Standard Fenders (2006 - 2017) were the best bang for your buck up until round about 2019. Anyone else remember any crazy good buys that are now overpriced? Bad Monkey is another one. Well worth the $30 I paid for it, not so much the triple digit prices you will sometimes see nowadays.

 

[esandes]

G&L used to make custom guitars to every detail for the $1000 range. American-made, custom, PLEK'd for about $1000.

Who else can provide that level of quality for the price? I wouldn't even take a free Mexican or asian guitar.

The real question is quality and value vs just cheap guitars. Play a $6000+ guitar and it will change your outlook. When a $1000 custom made G&L can keep up with that level...

 

[Chistopher]

Oh yeah, I remember that. Never bought one because it wasn't in the cards at the time and I wasn't quite into the Fender companies back then. If you ever come across that free Mexican guitar, pick it up for me and I can cover shipping plus a little extra for your time

 

[Seashore]

Good tube amps could be had for a song on the used market in the 90s and even early 2000s. SS amps and early modelers were popular and tubes were outdated and unreliable. I got my first Traynor head for $50 and a Sovtek Mig100 for about $200.

 

[Aceman]

I'm sticking with my Jackson JS32. Any model for $299 is a great playing/sounding guitar, with a shredderiffic neck.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

My Line 6 Dt50...tone for days & such a fun effortless amp to play...

And all for just $240 brand new in 2024 ..damn ..that's hard to beat :bigthumb:

 

[Phantasmagoria]

As for guitars...these are just the best you can buy if you like 80's stuff and shred.. for just over $150 new.

 

[larryguitar]

Any of the 12 MIJ Jackson's I picked up for under $200 a decade ago because they weren't in fashion anymore (only have four left, though.)

Shred-sticks aren't my personal cup of tea, but those were some of the best guitars ever made, IMHO, and could be gotten stupid-cheap before folks caught on to the quality of 80's and 90's MIJ guitars.

Larry

 

[Phantasmagoria]

$200 for an MIJ Jackson is obviously a killer deal. I got my 2003 MIJ Dk2S (minus the Sustainiac cuz the seller had pulled it, but in otherwise great condition) dinky for about $400...not bad since it was an awesome playing/sounding guitar, but not an insanely good deal either.

And then my MIJ Charvel Traditional Pro clownburst up there in the first vid = new/mint for $350 (w/ three Duncans in it) which absolutely was a crazy good deal :bigthumb:

But yeah in 2024 ..if I want a cheap shredder that plays excellent out of the box & sounds totally great stock...The Kramer Baretta Special is that guitar!

 

[GuitarStv]

I found a red Jazz III pick in the parking lot outside of a music store a couple decades ago. Honestly, going from 0.73 nylon picks to that was the most life changing gear experience I've ever had . . . and it was free.

 

['59]

I think EBMM Sterling is going to be the diamond in the rough for this decade. I got an American SUB bass for less than 300 back around the turn of the century. For now though, I think the 200 dollar cutlass is just about the best strat type you can get for the money.

 

['59]

I found a red Jazz III pick in the parking lot outside of a music store a couple decades ago. Honestly, going from 0.73 nylon picks to that was the most life changing gear experience I've ever had . . . and it was free.

I have a similar story. I got tired of picks bending in my hands after a few weeks, so I tried the variety pack and the Jazz was an aha moment

 

[Phantasmagoria]

I like Jazz III's ..but the big revelation for me was the Dunlop Big Stubby (3mm)....

I'd already been using Jazz III's for ages & I still do (cuz they're better for getting "out of the way" quickly when I tap. They fit/slip into the crook of my second/third fingers way more comfortably than Stubby's do 'cause of their smaller size) but I prefer the way Stubby's feel ..especially for fast/alternate picking. The control they give you & their thick ballsy tone/perfect attack ..not too sharp or too dull.

 

[Mincer]

I like the Jazz III shape, but I get them made out of Tortex.

 

[Artie]

Probably my Yamaha MagicStomp. When they first came out, there was a Guitar, Bass, and Acoustic version. This is the one that combined all three into one. Got it at GC, brand new, for $69.99. They sell, used, for 2 and 3 times that now.

Maybe not quite on topic: My rare Champagne Sparkle Daisy Rock (Schecter). Snagged it at a guitar store for $100. They threw in a sweet TKL case, which now sells for over a hundred. Got it home, and realized that someone had installed Duncan Slash A2 Pro's in it. Sold the pups for more than I paid, making the whole deal virtually free. I put the original Duncan Designed 59's in it and she's now one of my fav's.

 

[jeremy]

ive gotten two nice amps for free, a 69 dual showman reverb from a friend, and a later model musicmaster bass amp from someone at a music store i was working at. he brought it in to trade, but it didnt work. i hooked him up with a good discount on what he wanted. at the end of the transaction, i gave him back the amp and he said "why do i want that thing, it doesnt work" you keep it. so i did. took me all of five minutes to fix it once i opened it up. he was happy and i had a new fun amp. i used it a lot as my small club amp with a reverb unit. still have em both but the guitar i loved with that setup was stolen so dont use it as much these days. i use the dual showman reverb through a 4x10 as a bass amp more than i use it as a guitar amp

 

[ErikH]

The Sterling SUB RAY4 bass I had a few years ago was amazing for $299 (bought it new in 2018). Solid bass all around. Played a bunch of others in the same price range and even double the price but that SUB RAY4 played better than all of them for me. I sold it to a friend and still have my Jazz Player Series.

Guitar-wise, I would have to say best bang for the buck would be the 1992 USA Made Peavey Predator I got off Marketplace for $100. It needed some serious TLC but now it plays great and lives at a rehearsal space.

 

[RanchManSandy]

best bang for my buck was def in Amsterdam in 2002 but they don't call their currency 'bucks'

for guitars, RG470 is the sweet spot in terms of value and always has been and may always will be

 

[Cynical]

I bought a 1997 Jackson KE3R for $300 back in early 2010. Jackson MIJ pro series stuff sure goes for a lot more nowadays...

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I like the Jazz III shape, but I get them made out of Tortex.

Same. Well, I don't get mine made custom, but I do use 0.88mm Jazz III Tortex.

I honestly just play Jazz III's because at one point, I was digging the smoother attack of the Jazz III's. That must have been like 15-20 years ago. From some time and on, I'm all about attack and that THWAP that Tortex has. But at this point, I'm just too used to the feel of smaller Jazz III's. So the Tortex Jazz III's are kind of a good compromise for me.