Gruhn nails it. I’m only in my 40s but I remember some of those Kays, Danos, and Tiescos that were still floating around in the late 80s. They’re the reason I still have to get past my snobbery, now and then. There are plenty of guys out there sounding great at gigs with cheap guitars, nowadays.
Entry level quality
- Thread starter formula73
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NegativeEase
New member
Agree totally.
Today, a 350 dollar Gretsch Streamliner series guitar made in Indonesia plays, looks, and sounds better than any USA made 60s student/economy level guitar.
Today, a 350 dollar Gretsch Streamliner series guitar made in Indonesia plays, looks, and sounds better than any USA made 60s student/economy level guitar.
i was pretty lucky, my first guitar was a squier ii contemporary strat which didnt totally suck. didnt have an amp for a while but when i did get one, it was a grey stripe peavey bandit 112. guitar was like $200 brand new, amp was about the same used maybe? dunno, been a looong time. but i agree with the premise, even cheap shit these days is pretty damn good
PS412
New member
I wish I could have found a guitar back in the day as good as an Ivy for $170. I played a coworker's Ivy the thing played and sounded great.
I have one of these, it is an absolute steal of a deal. I put a roller bridge and a set of black winters in mine.
I used to have a couple Teiscos 40-50 years ago...they were pretty bad but the only thing I could really afford. Compared to the IYV (not "Ivy")...well let's just say they don't compare at all. Last month I bought a Iyv thin Jazz Box for about $180 that just blows me away...great looking!! Great playing. Great sounding. And amazing quality for the price.
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
I still surf for those natural Hondo LP copies with maple fretboards just for nostalgia.
I play a couple of Chinese Jackson imports live all the time. $299 - The Floyds work, the necks are fantastic, the pickups are Duncan Distortion like. If there is a problem, it's me, not the guitar.
Wound_Up
New member
I'd bet no one would ever guess I only paid $200 for my gold top. As well as it plays and as well as it's made, it would never be obvious to anyone, IMO. Solid, full thickness mahogany body, 17.5mm maple cap, mahogany set neck, rosewood fretboard, carved top, bound body & neck, alnico 5's, bone nut, etc... When I got it, it was absolutely perfect. In 16 months, I've done zero repairs. All I've done is put strings on it and play it.
The frets were leveled and crowned, ends were rounded and polished, action was exactly where I'd have put it, relief was at 0 with no buzzing anywhere. I honestly couldn't believe it.
There did end up being a couple of cosmetic issues that I didn't notice until 6+ months later. The first being that the bridge pickup was about 0.5mm off center and the second being that the lower strap button was also installed right of center by maybe 1/8"(3mm?) or less. Neither bothered me enough to care.
That one came from Monoprice.com and they just, released 2 more. Another gold top with P90s and a burst with humbuckers. I'll be ordering the burst soon. I'm kinda worried it won't meet my expectations, though. That gold top is phenomenal and set some really high expectations. The P90 gold below looks incredible, though. I wouldn't mind having it, either. Tbh, I can't really decide whether I want a different guitar with humbuckers like my current gold top has. Or whether I want a 2nd gold top with P90s for a different sound. Different guitar with the same pickups or same/similar guitar with different pickups. Hmmm
It's an Indio 66 DLX Plus from Monoprice. They've got a damn good looking 335 clone, too. It's actually closer to a 339 as far as I can tell since it has a smaller body than a standard 335. Much like a 339. I don't know how their specs Compare though.
Edit: OK so you STILL can't edit posts to add pics?
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For sure, a unique voice that always has a use.
NegativeEase
New member
Man, I played an Indonesian Epiphone Hummingbird Acoustic yesterday that was pretty incredible. and 1/8th the price of a USA
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
And since you still can't edit posts to add pics
Monoprice is sending one of these Goldtops to my blog to review. Maple top and mahogany body for $250 seems too good to be true. I plan on playing it in the office but it will also get a workout with the band. I will definitely post a link to the review when I am done.
Please do. I sold my best P90 geet to Devin and the close 2nd to a guy I have a hard time calling a guitarist.
PFDarkside
of the Forum
I wish I could have found a guitar back in the day as good as an Ivy for $170. I played a coworker's Ivy the thing played and sounded great.
Imagine that with inflation! It would have been an $80 guitar for me!
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
I just used the inflation calculator and if I bought that guitar in '79 when I bought my $99 Kent Les Paul the IVY Les Paul would have cost me $43.50. That is amazing seeing the IVY blows my old Kent away.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
Phantasmagoria
watch where you point that sabre
Entry Level axes are at least 70% of what I got,,,no complaints. There are a lot of real gems out there that don't break the bank... :bigthumb:
I'm contemplating my 3rd Kramer Baretta Special as I type this
I'm contemplating my 3rd Kramer Baretta Special as I type this
ErikH
Well-known member
I wish inexpensive guitars were as good when I started playing as they are now. My cheapest one is a Squire Classic Vibe 60's Strat. It's got great bones. I changed the bridge, tuners and pots on it though. The pickups, switch, and jack are fine, though the jack may be next. But as an out-of-the box instrument, an incredible value.
