Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I've had 9 different electric guitars in the 7.5 years I've been playing, from terrible and not so terrible Pacific Rim imports, mid-range American built, high end American production, and even a custom piece from the 70's. I've come to the conclusion that cheaper guitars are just not for me. The only Asian made guitars I've ever enjoyed were Japanese made. All of the Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, and like guitars I've owned or played had a feeling that I would describe as toy-like. They looked like real guitars, but they don't feel/play like them.

It bugs me when people say foreign made guitars aren't good enough for their needs "just because", using vague terms. I haven't seen your guitars, but I have Mexican, Korean, Japanese and Indonesian made Fenders and Epiphones, and based on my stock, I'm willing to bet that if you never touched an American made equivalent, you wouldn't perceive anything wrong with the foreign made versions.

For clarification, how much did those foreign made guitars in question cost? If they're $300, they're going to be cheap no matter where they are made. There are some cheap guitars made in Canada. They are made on this continent and are no better than guitars from Korea or wherever.

But there are differences, even if we're talking foreign made guitars in the $400 - $800 range. The frets usually overhang a little more on foreign made guitars (except the Japanese Fenders, they're usually fine), and you will constantly feel that particular flaw under your fingers. They use poly instead of nitro, and it's applied thick to make for a quicker finish job. They use a veneer instead of cap wood for for the carved tops. They're less picky about the cuts of wood they use, and of course the cheaper electronics and hardware, which are easily replaced. But the thing is that none of that should prevent you from either getting a solid tone out of the guitar, or from being able to play the guitar as well as you'd play any other.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

As far as mid-price imports, I've owned an Agile PRS clone and a Parker import (can't remember which one at the moment, my guitarist has it right now) and my dad owned an Agile AL-3000. I set them up very nicely, but compared to my nicer guitars (USA Parker, USA/MIJ Fender, Music Man) they just straight up felt inferior. The electronics on the AL-3000 were never replaced, and the Parker came stock with Duncans, but the PRS clone sounded much better with P-rails. I could get them to sound nice, and they all played well. But why should I settle for nice and plays well when I can get incredible tone and effortless playability?

You say that if I'd never played an American equivalent of the imports, I'd never know the difference. That's a bit thick - of course I'd never know how a guitar plays compared to something I've never played.

 

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

As far as mid-price imports, I've owned an Agile PRS clone and a Parker import (can't remember which one at the moment, my guitarist has it right now) and my dad owned an Agile AL-3000. I set them up very nicely, but compared to my nicer guitars (USA Parker, USA/MIJ Fender, Music Man) they just straight up felt inferior. The electronics on the AL-3000 were never replaced, and the Parker came stock with Duncans, but the PRS clone sounded much better with P-rails. I could get them to sound nice, and they all played well. But why should I settle for nice and plays well when I can get incredible tone and effortless playability?

Agile is the bottom of the ****ing barrel. You can't equate Agile with all foreign made electrics.

You say that if I'd never played an American equivalent of the imports, I'd never know the difference. That's a bit thick - of course I'd never know how a guitar plays compared to something I've never played.

That's not what I said, I said you wouldn't perceive them as having anything wrong with them. They only seem unacceptable to you because you're aware that a fancier version exists, and not because there's anything specifically wrong with the guitars themselves. But then again I'm talking Fenders and Epis, not $150 cardboard guitars.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Agile isn't bottom of the barrel. Whenever I played a PRS SE, which get praised all over the web as some of the best imports, I thought that they were only marginally better than the Agiles I'd played.

I would say that being mediocre is definitely cause to say there is something wrong with the guitar. We can never say for sure, but I'm pretty damn confident that if I played MIM Strats, Epiphone LPs and PRS SEs for 10 years without playing anything in the higher end spectrum, I would know that better existed because those guitars impose limitations on my playing. I realize now that I have nicer guitars that a great guitar won't limit you, and I really didn't realize that until I had already bought my Music Man.

 

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Agile isn't bottom of the barrel. Whenever I played a PRS SE, which get praised all over the web as some of the best imports, I thought that they were only marginally better than the Agiles I'd played.

I would say that being mediocre is definitely cause to say there is something wrong with the guitar. We can never say for sure, but I'm pretty damn confident that if I played MIM Strats, Epiphone LPs and PRS SEs for 10 years without playing anything in the higher end spectrum, I would know that better existed because those guitars impose limitations on my playing. I realize now that I have nicer guitars that a great guitar won't limit you, and I really didn't realize that until I had already bought my Music Man.

I don't know much about Agile's except their price point, which is about as low as it gets, and that they paint on the binding, which is just tasteless, so to even begin to compare them to MIA guitars is absurd.

How, exactly, do MIM Strats, Epiphone LPs and PRS SEs limit your playing?

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I don't know much about Agile's except their price point

So you're judging something you've never played? I no longer care about anything you have to say.

 

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

So you're judging something you've never played? I no longer care about anything you have to say.

I'm judging that they are in another category, the very, very low budget category. Are you going to argue that point?

Are you going to explain how the Pacific Rim imported guitars limit your playing?

That was actually a trick question. They do not limit your playing.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I'm judging that they are in another category, the very, very low budget category. Are you going to argue that point?

Are you going to explain how the Pacific Rim imported guitars limit your playing?

That was actually a trick question. They do not limit your playing.

Have you played them? Can you make that call based on experience with the product instead of just assumptions and internet hearsay?

I'll keep this succinct - I've never played an import guitar that I didn't have to fight, either in the setup, while playing, or both, to get it to play the way I want.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

That's why I primarily play Hamers. You get a high end guitar made in the USA by hand for a fraction of it's actual value. The Studio Custom I have is equal to a $4000 Gibson and the Monaco Elite I have is just as good as anything that comes out of Gibson's custom shop.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Skipping over the above banter and focusing on the OP's question...

I'm typically happy with 3-4 "main" guitars, each bringing something different to the table. However, with the advent of the MusicMan JP13, despite not really digging its shape or headstock design, I've recently pondered if I could get away with it as my "only" axe. Outside of authentic vintage Strat/Tele sounds, I don't think there's a single tone or style that guitar can't pull off! It has 2 DiMarzio Illuminator humbuckers, each with coil splitting, a piezo that sounds amazing and an onboard boost that really brings out the dynamics across the board. If they ever make it in a sparkle green or turquoise finish, I might actually break down and become a "one guitar" guy. Well, technically 2, since "Darcy", my Jackson Rhoads, will be handed down to my children and my children's children

 

[DreX]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

A forum where people talk about pickups is the last place I'd expect to find any "one guitar" types. If you're here, it's because you know there's no single best pickup, and if you want to use more than one kind of pickup on any sort of regular basis you're going to need more than one guitar. This is like asking if you prefer freedom or being held in a luxurious jail cell.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Lately I've come to think that I should sell my herd of mid-level guitars and just get one high end guitar. As it stands, I own about 6 mid-level guitars that have a range of hardware, pickups and woods.

The benefit of having a variety of guitars is of course, a variety of sounds. But since none of the guitars I have are high end, and since my playing time is split between a variety of scale lengths/radii/neck profiles, none of them quite feel like home. I see all the famous guitarists, and they all tend to settle on one kind of guitar and they just learn how to make it work for them (although I'm sure they own a large variety).

For example, Slash has his Les Paul, Gilmour has his strat, Angus has his SG, Vai and Satriani have been playing roughly the same Ibanez' for years. And so on. I got to thinking that if Gilmour or Satriani can cover the whole of their music catalogues with just one kind of guitar, then why can't I?

Sadly, I can't say there is any guitar out that that has all the things I would want in a guitar, but then there's always luthiers who can build something from scratch.

So then, discuss. One guitar luthier built to you exact specification, or many different mass-production guitars?

After going through 10 electrics and 4 acoustics, I narrowed my acoustic down to an Epiphone Masterbilt AJ (correct spelling and surprisingly I preferred its tone to the Gibson AJ I had) and then custom built the strat below. Complete custom of everything I wanted was by far the best move I ever made involving a guitar. Absolutely the tone and feel I was going for...so that would be my recommendation for you.

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[El Supremo]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

The Japanese Fenders, Jackson and Charvels I've seen, owned and/or played were flawless down to the disturbingly clean wiring job. I've seen USA counterparts that did have some flaws like spilled glue, improper crowning of frets, neck too wide for locking nut, scratches in the fretboard, Floyd not properly alligned.

As far as MIM versus MIA Fenders, I'd say the difference really starts when you get to the reissues like the '52 Tele RI. My girlfriend's MIM Tele sounded/played/felt better than a MIA Tele I had sold on after a few days. If you care enough about the quality of the electronics, you'll probably swap the pickups anyway.

But back on topic: apart from the obvious options in sound and feel you'd get with more guitars, I'd rather have (and do have) a couple of medium high end guitars, than 1 mega high end guitar that I'd be scared to take on the road with me.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

That's why I primarily play Hamers. You get a high end guitar made in the USA by hand for a fraction of it's actual value.

A guitar's 'actual value' is it's market price. Hamers may compare favorably price-wise with other American-made guitars, but people still pay full price for those too.

 

[dominus]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I don't know much about Agile's except their price point, which is about as low as it gets, and that they paint on the binding, which is just tasteless,

??

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I have a ton of guitars. I am equal parts player and collector. So take this with a grain of salt...

I don't *ever* pick up a guitar because of how I think it will make me sound. I change to another guitar because of how it will feel in my hands when I am playing it. I try to coax whatever sound I need for a given song out of whatever guitar I feel like playing at that moment, and it usually works for me - at least to the extent of my (amateur) expectations. I've emulated Clapton's Strat tone with a no-name hollow body, and Santana's PRS tone on an RG - tone really is in the fingers, not the wood.

So I guess I'm trying to say don't expect a high-end guitar to work magic simply because it is expensive and you lavish it with all your attention. If we were talking about women, this would be the recipe for disaster.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

...tone really is in the fingers, not the wood.

No offense, but if tone is "in the fingers" and not the wood, then wouldn't ____ [fill in the blank guitar player's name] sound the same on every guitar (obviously minus other guitar effects)? I'm not saying personal touch has nothing to do with it–it definitely does add an element–but there are so many variables in tone that you can't just make a blanket statement like that. If wood had nothing to do with it, wouldn't we all be playing on some cheap plastic or plywood for everything?

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Bone is in the fingers.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

No offense, but if tone is "in the fingers" and not the wood, then wouldn't ____ [fill in the blank guitar player's name] sound the same on every guitar (obviously minus other guitar effects)? I'm not saying personal touch has nothing to do with it–it definitely does add an element–but there are so many variables in tone that you can't just make a blanket statement like that. If wood had nothing to do with it, wouldn't we all be playing on some cheap plastic or plywood for everything?

Someone on this board recounted a story about Slash having the chance to play EVH's guitar and rig once. His conclusion - "I still sound like Slash."

Sure, the guitar and the wood (and the strings and pickups and air temperature and humidity and color of the stage lighting) all affect your tone. The point is that you won't sound like Slash just because you use the same gear he does. You will sound like yourself trying to sound like Slash.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

This is where I think price point matters. I'd expect to fight a $150 guitar, and I have to fight with my Squier, but I don't care because I think it cost $100. My Fender Aerodynes in particular, feel like sex. They go for about $700. I do not have to fight them, just the opposite, they are amazingly predicable. They feel very precise. I've never once received one MIJ that had any noticeable defect of any kind, but I did receive a MIA Parker with a inoperable truss rod that had to be shipped back. I have a MIA acoustic that had to be sent back for warranty finish repair. I have a MIA Strat whose neck delaminated and had to be refinished.

You have to generalize about things, it's necessary when making decisions with limited information, but the trick is to generalize correctly, and you haven't with respect to import electrics.

There's your problem. You're generalizing. Just like people saying USA is the best, screw the rest.
Did you know that rondo sells sub-150 dollar strats with 2 piece solid wood bodies and rock maple necks? Yea, junk electronics, but this is the SD forum. Many times I've heard those Chinese strats compared favorably to classic vibe squiers or even mims.

coming back to this post...
I'm a Rondo fan for other reasons as well. I can get an LP with an extra wide neck. I can get it with a neck through. I can get it with actual 3x binding around the whole guitar. I can get it with a floyd. I can get it with EMGs. I can get it with Blackouts. I can get it in colors Gibson doesn't make. I can get a double-cutaway LP from them.

Now they do customs for Strats, Teles, archtops, Rickys, and a handful of shredsticks of 6, 7, 8, and 9 string varieties from the factory.

It'd be worth putting what you want in front of a price point. You are not getting many of those custom things on an LP or strat, no matter how hard you search.