Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

Re: Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

The number one thing I look for in a guitar is FEEL. I useally don't even plug in. The next thing is to listen to the un-plugged sound. A nice sounding un-plugged axe is almost always great amplified.

But I think the #1 thing you can do for sound is the pups. My guitars run the range from 150 to 1500 dollars. My epi sounded better than my 79 Paul when the 79 had stock pups. The Kaman sounds great (all be it one sound!) too. But they all feel good. I can tweek the tone with pups, pedals, eq, etc...Only a true turkey won't get better with new pups. And it should at least get decent. What I can't change is the neck profile, the radius, the scale, and the body weight/shape.

The real key to the killer tone upgrade is to listen to the guitar and figure out what pup will compliment it most. Is it already ultra bright? Maybe a pup that cools the highs. Does it have a gnarly mid that you want to play down or emphasize. Remember - You can't add something that's not there in the first place. And to figure that out, you listen when it's NOT plugged in.
 
Re: Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

Aceman said:
What I can't change is the neck profile, the radius, the scale, and the body weight/shape.
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You can change the shape
peavey.jpg

I didn't say it was a good idea, but you can....

BTW this guitar has EXCELLENT single coil tone!!!
with a stock bridge position peavey single coil pick-up in the middle position!
:13: Rock On :smoker:
 
Re: Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

I have an" inexpensive" Schecter Ultra. I don't consider it cheap. I put a JB in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck, And I'll put it up against any LP specials and a lot of the higher end LPs I've tried. This is an amazing sounding and playing guitar and the build quality is great. The new pups added just what it needed to be a very gigworthy and recordable guitar. This pickup package is great for a variety of styles and tones. Played through a Fender Pro Jr, I couldn't be happier.
1178_p44138.jpeg
 
Re: Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

Kac said:
You can change the shape
peavey.jpg

I didn't say it was a good idea, but you can....

BTW this guitar has EXCELLENT single coil tone!!!
with a stock bridge position peavey single coil pick-up in the middle position!
:13: Rock On :smoker:
Click to expand...

LOL. It's all about the Gremlin isn't it??
Maybe I shoould do this to my yamaha pacifica. I'll call it - the Pacifist
 
Re: Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

gosh the gremlin is quite something

I can only afford cheap guitars, but have played expensive ones, which were only slightly better. I have a MiM strat from the mid 90's, after some duncans it's really nice. Cost me (equivalent) 190US$ used. I went to a big guitar shop and sat and played a Clapton Strat (custom shop) about 3000 US$. And it certainly was a better sounding, playing, built guitar. But not 15 times better than my cheap strat.

Same with my Epi sheraton used, compared to the real lucille 335 gibson. Better but not thaaaaaaaaat much better.

yay for cheapies. But i will say NAY for those "dressed-up" ornate junkers. Full of gold hardware and fake-binding and fake pearly abalone inlays, and stuck on fake carved tops (silkscreened decal under the gloss) and painted-black fretboards. Rubbish. If it's trying to look expensive then its no-good
 
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Re: Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

There's a distinction to be made between an inexpensive guitar and a cheapo guitar. Many value-priced guitars offer quite a bit in terms of playability and tone, though they often are less than perfect in terms of materials.

That said, IMO the inherent quality of a guitar is in the wood and craftsmanship. Either it's there or its not, whether it's a $400 Korean import or a $X,000 custom shop special. You can tweak pickups, hardware, and electronics all you want but at the end of the day such upgrades are either the icing on the cake or lipstick on a pig. You can't upgrade a good guitar to be a great guitar. The best you can do is upgrade the guitar to be as good as its potential.

More-Gear-Than-Skill said:
I went to a big guitar and sat and played a Clapton Strat (custom shop) about 3000 US$. And it certainly was a better sounding, playing, built guitar. But not 15 times better than my cheap strat.
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It may or may not be worth it. In economic terms, there's no such thing as absolute value. Ultimately, a guitar is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Such questions of value depend as much on an individual's willingness to pay as on the "quality" of the item. For a long time, my music gear was worth more than my car and that's long before figuring in my piano. It boils down to how much money you can put together and how you decide to spend it.

My most expensive guitar cost me 43 times the price of my cheapest guitar. Each was worth every penny I paid (and I've since replaced the pickups in the expensive guitar, not included in the "43" calculation) but I easily play the Driskill a hundred times more than I play the Squier so where am I really getting my money's worth?

My $0.02, IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.
 
Re: Cheaper guitar + SD's = Good guitar?

This has been pretty well beat to death, but from my experience (assuming a decent rig, of course):

Cheap guitar (ie. plywood like a Peavey Raptor) + good pickups = passable sound - a great guitar player can make it sound good.

Well constructed, quality material, instrument (but not necessarily high priced ie. some of the Epi Les Pauls in thee past few years) + good pickups = Great sound.

Some of the pickups in the Epis (Gibson USA pickup models) are actually quite good, so it's possible to get a better instrument with great sound for less than the cheaper guitar + replacement pickups.

My Fender Lite Ash Strat is a case in point. Comes stock with Duncan Anico II Pros, a solid ash body and a brass tremolo block. It has amazing tone and sustain for less money than the cost of a Raptor + the same pickups.

I don't believe you have to pay a lot of mony for a great guitar these days, so it's not worth buying the cheaply made stuff to me (been there; done that).
 
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