cheap gear

[Gearjoneser]

Re: cheap gear

What?

Git wit da program. Qwit yer job, sell tha chalenger, and git an old Hondo and a vw bug.

Its about setting lifes trajectory as low as yoo deserve like an crappyexasperating journey. :fest7:

 

[dazedandconfused001]

Re: cheap gear

so i kinda love how i started this as a what to look out for with cheap gear and it ended up so far from that

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: cheap gear

why buy an axe where everything needs replacing?

why not.. sometimes it works out..
did it it my squire strat but that was an experiment and an exercise. that worked out pretty well. Did it with my main guitar but thats a bit different as i changed all the hardware for a color change. all of the old hardware was just fine.. why not get a guitar with the right color hardware? well I guess I could get a post 2006 dk2 but the neck man.. the newer dk2's cant compare to this one... im loving this flat D type of neck profile. just feels right..

so in short.. sometimes the neck/body is right but everything else isnt..

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: cheap gear

Whatever you do, just don't buy a Squier man. It's made of mulitplex (plywood), the cheaper ones like Bullet are actually made of particle board that swells under moisture. I am not kidding. Michael Kelly or Samick are worth considering.

alot of the older squires are nice man

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: cheap gear

im gonna go gainst the grain heer and suggest that $70 is steep for a cheap gitar and that you should shoot fer something that needs mor fixin like somthing thats $30 - $50 which is perfect for replacing hardware pickups strap frets nutz screws wood logos and make heck of a fixer up her you should then commence to playin that bastid for years till you can a ford a 100 dollar guitar that only needs new hardware pickups and straplocks and strapbuttons cuz then you'll be a trained luther who makes money expoxying bridges back onto acoustic guitars and making tremolos.

The sardonicism is strong in this one. No doubt passing under the heads of many. Gotta like the likes, too.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: cheap gear

im gonna go gainst the grain heer and suggest that $70 is steep for a cheap gitar and that you should shoot fer something that needs mor fixin like somthing thats $30 - $50 which is perfect for replacing hardware pickups strap frets nutz screws wood logos and make heck of a fixer up her you should then commence to playin that bastid for years till you can a ford a 100 dollar guitar that only needs new hardware pickups and straplocks and strapbuttons cuz then you'll be a trained luther who makes money expoxying bridges back onto acoustic guitars and making tremolos.

View attachment 70824



EDIT: Fixed the quote for those confused

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: cheap gear

Whatever you do, just don't buy a Squier man. It's made of mulitplex (plywood), the cheaper ones like Bullet are actually made of particle board that swells under moisture. I am not kidding. Michael Kelly or Samick are worth considering.

I'm gonna disagree with ya man, Epiphone and Squier both offer some very nice gear for their price point on the used market...and Fender doesn't have any issues with alternatives to wood

Also, my dad has 2 MIJ Squier Bullets from the 80's that are all solid wood and are just as nice as some Fenders out there I've played. Not saying Squiers and Epiphones are Custom Shop guitars by any means, just saying they aren't pieces of crap either.

 

[dominus]

Re: cheap gear

Whatever you do, just don't buy a Squier man. It's made of mulitplex (plywood), the cheaper ones like Bullet are actually made of particle board that swells under moisture. I am not kidding. Michael Kelly or Samick are worth considering.

Some of the 90s Squier Strats from Korea had plywood bodies, as did most of the super thin hardtail (top loading) Bullets.

The Indonesian and Chinese ones are solid. Currently the Affinities are made from Alder and Bullets are made from Basswood. The Standards are usually either Agathis or Alder.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: cheap gear

Life is too short for cheap gear. :crazy:

If you can get into the $500-$600 range, you can pick up something keeping forever. When I was a kid, even midline guitars were a bit crappy, but now the same price range can net you some very cool stuff. The neck/neck fit and fretwork are fundamental. If you don't have those, you're polishing a turd. If you envision replacing everything on a pawn shop special, why not save up a little longer and build a Warmoth yourself from the ground up?

 

[ant_riv]

Re: cheap gear

I see a discussion that keeps going in circles.

OP, if you want to learn to file nuts, the fret files will cost you more than you want to spend on the guitar.
If you want to refret a guitar, the correct files will cost you as much as you want to spend on the guitar.
If you want to replace electronics, a decent soldering iron will cost at least $20 plus the cost of the solder. A soldering station will cost you more than you want to spend on the guitar.

Do you see a trend developing here?

While you insist you CAN polish a xxxx, you don't have the tools that will ENABLE you to do any polishing. So you will OWN a xxxx, but be unable to achieve your objectives. Unless I'm mistaken and you already own the tools you will need.

What everyone is trying to help you see is that for a few bucks more, you won't need to polish anything, and will be able to enjoy playing.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: cheap gear

I see a discussion that keeps going in circles.

OP, if you want to learn to file nuts, the fret files will cost you more than you want to spend on the guitar.
If you want to refret a guitar, the correct files will cost you as much as you want to spend on the guitar.
If you want to replace electronics, a decent soldering iron will cost at least $20 plus the cost of the solder. A soldering station will cost you more than you want to spend on the guitar.

Do you see a trend developing here?

While you insist you CAN polish a xxxx, you don't have the tools that will ENABLE you to do any polishing. So you will OWN a xxxx, but be unable to achieve your objectives. Unless I'm mistaken and you already own the tools you will need.

What everyone is trying to help you see is that for a few bucks more, you won't need to polish anything, and will be able to enjoy playing.

yes and all that is the start up cost to learn a skill that in the future might save him some money.. i bought an old squire.. did alot of work on it and plays as well as any $800 guitar off a store rack.. spent more than I wanted but some was in tools..tools i still use and am more proficient at using because of this "cheap" guitar. my project was planned out, budgeted,ect.. and in the end went slightly over budget . still happy with the results and when I get enough money, ill put together a new guitar based on this guitar..

Sometimes.. its not about being practical..its about doing it to learn,being bored,or just because you have the spare money/free time and you are in need of an "adventure"

hell if i had to actually pay people to my wiring jobs, that would run into some serious money.. Ive seen how much a shop charges to do what I do to my guitars.. my dk2 would of cost easily $150 to rewire last time I rewired her AND the dude doing it probably wouldn't of done it the way I wanted it

so yes.. buying cheap guitars and fixing them are in some ways a waste of resources that would of been better applied to a higher grade guitar but its not always what its about.. getting satisfaction,confidence and skill from modding the hell out a "cheap" guitar and turning it into more than the guitar would otherwise be.. sometimes that is worth much more than even the most expensive custom shop.. in saying that.. dont be stupid by putting premium parts on cheap guitar..gotta be smart,research, and HAVE A BUDGET and stick to it.. for hardware its called guitarfetish.com.. quality parts w/o the premium price tag.. damn just came up with a catchy slogan for them.For pickups its Iron Gear and for electronics.. ALLPARTS..
in closing.. some of ya are missing the point I think

 

[ant_riv]

Re: cheap gear

Brandenburg, you make great points and I agree with what you are saying about the practical investment in learning.

I apologize, but it seems the OP is simply looking for the cheapest he can currently afford and hasn't considered the total cost.

If I'm wrong, it won't be the first or last time. I would suggest checking out Stewart-McDonald, as they will probably have the most reasonably affordable quality tools available (seeing as how distance to a music store is so far).

Best wishes to all.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: cheap gear

Brandenburg, you make great points and I agree with what you are saying about the practical investment in learning.

I apologize, but it seems the OP is simply looking for the cheapest he can currently afford and hasn't considered the total cost.

If I'm wrong, it won't be the first or last time. I would suggest checking out Stewart-McDonald, as they will probably have the most reasonably affordable quality tools available (seeing as how distance to a music store is so far).

Best wishes to all.

yea.. im sorry got on a rant.. it definitely depends on what his end goals are,and how much he has to invest in decent parts and tools.. If he is going to put cheap quality parts into a cheap guitar, that are no better that what he is taking off.. and not take the time to plan and buy the right tools.. and do the Research.. he will be be pissin away money with little to show for it

i planned my project in stages.. and instead of having all the money to buy all the parts and tools in one go.. i took a portion out of my check each pay period and bought the stuff i needed.. it go to the point i was literally receiving a package every few days.. it worked out for me..

id never just do this project just to turn a cheap guitar into a player.. in the end .. a cheap guitar is just that,,a cheap guitar. I could of bought a nice used MIJ dinky for the amount of cash I spent. In the end, I achieved most of my goals.. fretwork was never started because of the cost of tools and in the end, she played good enough to not need it.. 1 or 2 raised frets perhaps.. never did install another nut either.. i have a nice LSR nut too..but i lacked the tools to pull off that job w/ the desired result...overall my project was a success but could of turned into a waste of time/money too.. lol

 

[blueman335]

Re: cheap gear

I see a discussion that keeps going in circles.

OP, if you want to learn to file nuts, the fret files will cost you more than you want to spend on the guitar.
If you want to refret a guitar, the correct files will cost you as much as you want to spend on the guitar.
If you want to replace electronics, a decent soldering iron will cost at least $20 plus the cost of the solder. A soldering station will cost you more than you want to spend on the guitar.

Do you see a trend developing here?

While you insist you CAN polish a xxxx, you don't have the tools that will ENABLE you to do any polishing. So you will OWN a xxxx, but be unable to achieve your objectives. Unless I'm mistaken and you already own the tools you will need.

What everyone is trying to help you see is that for a few bucks more, you won't need to polish anything, and will be able to enjoy playing.

Excellent points. A low quality guitar/bass that requires a lot of parts and labor is far from a cheap instrument. It's a money pit. I don't know that the OP will appreciate that until he's dumped a lot of money into one. Maybe that's he needs to do, and next year he himself will be trying to talk someone out of taking that path. We learn from our mistakes.

 

[firebirdguy72]

Re: cheap gear

i know it is and thats why i do it myself. no 150 was for pups i got a duncan custom/jazz and wanted em installed and didnt have tools to do it and thought itd be cheaper to pay a tech. i have tools just no solderig iron. and as i said b4 didnt wanna ****up a good guitar. but the duche of a tech charged 75 for pup swap and 75 for a setup i didnt want cuz i can do a setup at home just drop em in and id be fine but he insisted he wouldnt do one withut the other and i had drove over an hour so low and behold i technically paid 300 to put pups in my explorer. oh an he ****ed up the neck volume pot so a week or two later i had to go in an put a new one in so that was the start of my better to do it yourself ness.

You'd have been better off spending some of that $150 on a decent soldering iron setup.

 

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: cheap gear

Whatever you buy, make sure it has a truss rod and no warping anywhere.

All the hardware imaginable can be upgraded.

Happy hunting.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: cheap gear

You'd have been better off spending some of that $150 on a decent soldering iron setup.

a decent soldering station can be had for 50 to 80..