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

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

aleclee said:
I had trouble switching guitars back in the day. I sold a Strat partly because I couldn't get on with its string spacing.Over the past 5 years, I've been playing a goodly bit with a very narrow range of guitars. Over the last 18 months, I've played my Parker Fly almost exclusively. When I broke out my EBMM to prep for an event where I had concerns about the Parker being ill-received, I had no issues adjusting to the different nut, fretboard, and neck.

While I have had issues in the past, at this point, playing an unfamiliar guitar is like driving an unfamiliar car. I might have to search for the switch is to turn on the headlights and the seat might not adjust the way I'd like but I can drive safely to my destination. At the end of the day, I get back to my familiar car and I'm more comfortable.
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I'm betting it depends heavily on what and how people play. Like if you do speed shredding, or just some fast licks, there are some dexterity feats you can pull off on the condition that you can get your fingers from fretting one note to fretting another in a a matter of milliseconds. If you have high action, then the amount of distance your finger has to travel up to clear the string and then go back on onto another to fret it becomes greater and makes it harder get the job done in the same short amount of time. Yes, it's possible to speed shred on a Tele with high action, but I'd submit that's a skill unto itself, a skill people like Danny Gatton had/have, because if you take the path of least resistance and get a short scale, fast neck, you will never have a compelling reason to practice pulling off fast maneuvers with high action. OTOH, there are a lot of riffs and music styles that are not overly affected by action one way or the other, so a guitarist might never perceive this as a problem.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

vinta9e said:
But they are bad for the industry who's now more than ever interested in making toys.
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I've become a guitar whore in part due to the increasing quality in low end offerings since the 90's. More demand in the low end means more competition, more competition means more pressure to create appealing products at that price point.

This is how I've also come to conclude that multiple guitars, especially varying scale lengths and string gauges is helpful, because if I play Strats and Teles for a month and then pickup a Les Paul or 335 type body, the scale length feels cramped, the weight and the way the guitar hangs with a strap feel awkward, the lack of a gut cut means the neck is facing more outward instead of slightly at an upwards angle. If I don't wait a month before switching it up, then when I do switch, it's harder to actively notice the differences.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

DreX said:
I'm betting it depends heavily on what and how people play. Like if you do speed shredding, or just some fast licks, there are some dexterity feats you can pull off on the condition that you can get your fingers from fretting one note to fretting another in a a matter of milliseconds. If you have high action, then the amount of distance your finger has to travel up to clear the string and then go back on onto another to fret it becomes greater and makes it harder get the job done in the same short amount of time. Yes, it's possible to speed shred on a Tele with high action, but I'd submit that's a skill unto itself, a skill people like Danny Gatton had/have, because if you take the path of least resistance and get a short scale, fast neck, you will never have a compelling reason to practice pulling off fast maneuvers with high action. OTOH, there are a lot of riffs and music styles that are not overly affected by action one way or the other, so a guitarist might never perceive this as a problem.
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Actually, many fast players like Yngwie Malmsteen and Marty Friedman have their string action set pretty damn high... for us who keep pushing them as low as they will go. And they will go really low on a straight neck with a wide radius board and good, even frets.

What I can tell you from my own experience is that "lowriding" feels easier but it doesn't really make me any faster or more articulate. That's because I am too sloppy to actually move my fingers along paths as short as a couple of millimeters. It's several times more. With a string hanging a hair above the frets, I can't properly mute its neighbors, nor grab it tight and shake the hell out of it hoping to pull off that world-class wide vibrato. But I keep 'em low because it feels easy and I am lazy. :D

DreX said:
I've become a guitar whore in part due to the increasing quality in low end offerings since the 90's. More demand in the low end means more competition, more competition means more pressure to create appealing products at that price point.
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You're right. Budget models perhaps have never been as well made as they are now. But go above that and the law of diminishing returns kicks in real fast. Today's mid-level guitars don't deliver the quality I'm after. Because it's bad business, because people buy toys. Where I see competition is advertising and cost cutting, not value.
 
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Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

vinta9e said:
Actually, many fast players like Yngwie Malmsteen and Marty Friedman prefer their string action pretty damn high... for us who keep pushing them as low as they will go. And they will go really low on a straight neck with good frets.
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Right, but I think that's a skill all by itself. Same with SRV and his 13 gauge strings. If you or I picked up his guitar we'd probably have a hard time wailing with the 13's.

vinta9e said:
What I can tell you from my own experience is that "lowriding" feels easier but it doesn't really make me any faster or more articulate. That's because I am too sloppy to actually move my fingers along paths as short as, say, 3 millimeters. With a string hanging a hair above the frets, I can't properly mute its neighbors, nor grab it tight and shake the hell out of it hoping to pull off that world-class wide vibrato. But I keep 'em low because it feels easy and I am lazy.
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I used to think it's lazy to, but then again a lot of respected players use light gauge strings, and chances are you can't tell what gauge of string a guitar has by listening to it in a recording. I could see how for some people, not having to spend a lot of effort fighting their guitar is actually a requirement of their particular creative process, as in they want to think about what they're playing and put less emphasis on the mechanicals.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Well, my hat's off to anyone who pulls off that wailing, wide vibrato with their strings as low as 1.2mm above the twelfth fret.
Actually, it's off to anyone who does pull it off at all. I'm trying to say lowlowlow are unfavorable conditions for wide bends.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I tried to sell a '75 hardtail sunburst Strat but everyone on the buying side is a tightwad (and I am very often on the buying side). So I have a nice Strat plus 16 other electrics (including a Godin and a PRS) and 1 acoustic.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

vinta9e said:
Well, my hat's off to anyone who pulls off that wailing, wide vibrato with their strings as low as 1.2mm above the twelfth fret.
Actually, it's off to anyone who does pull it off at all. I'm trying to say lowlowlow are unfavorable conditions for wide bends.
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I never measure the height, I just go by feel, but nevertheless you'd have to factor in radius as to how far you get before fretting out with a given action, and of course a shorter scale length will it easier to actually bend the strings.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

You're right but I'm not talking about fretting out. I'm telling you that low action makes it more difficult to perform the Paul Gilbert kind of vibrato without sounding sloppy.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

vinta9e said:
But they are bad for the industry who's now more than ever interested in making toys.
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What, it's a problem that they're making better quality and lower-priced imports for people who don't have a lot of money? Yes, that is a problem. Besides all these consumers being able to play instruments they otherwise couldn't afford, I can also see how the additional sales would put those companies into higher tax brackets. It's ruining the industry on all sides!
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Well, perhaps I haven't made my point clear enough. What I'm trying to say is that I am not thrilled with the bang for the buck in most contemporary mid-tier instruments. The stuff between the bottom of the barrel and fancy customs feels "hobby grade" rather than "built to last". If you agree with my opinion, it's understandable why you'd start a thread like this, isn't it?
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

I consider 25 my bare minimum these days. Only 5 have ever left, and at least one I'd like to have back...
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

vinta9e said:
Well, perhaps I haven't made my point clear enough. What I'm trying to say is that I am not thrilled with the bang for the buck in most contemporary mid-tier instruments. The stuff between the bottom of the barrel and fancy customs feels "hobby grade" rather than "built to last". If you agree with my opinion, it's understandable why you'd start a thread like this, isn't it?
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+1

I want instruments that inspire me when I pick them up instead of instruments that are just tools.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Agileguy_101 said:
+1

I want instruments that inspire me when I pick them up instead of instruments that are just tools.
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It's nice to pick up an instrument and know that the only compromise is you. I feel that way about any of my Soloists, the JEM, and the Kramer Focus 1000 I paid $199 for.
 
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Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Chris of Arabia said:
I'm not convinced that was what was being said - at least that's not the way I understood it.
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Some people are personally offended whenever someone else admits to liking an expensive guitar, and they feel the need to belittle that person and whatever instrument for which they've expressed a fondness. Now, I don't think we have anyone like that here on this forum, but if we did, I think at times it could get perhaps a bit tedious. It's no better than the person who constantly bashes budget guitars or specific brands of something. I mean, when that kind of person is around, you never know when they're going to unload and pontificate about how wrong and stupid and not-something-they-would-do it is.
 
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Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

Little Pigbacon said:
Some people are personally offended whenever someone else admits to liking an expensive guitar...
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And it's a good thing no one on this thread put down mid-price guitars, but then, that's almost unheard of on this forum.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

It seems that people are talking about tossing $200 agiles for $1000+ MIA without any regard for the in between, nor mention of specific shortcomings they're looking to get away from. It does seem price tag inspired when you consider what has not been said.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

blueman335 said:
And it's a good thing no one on this thread put down mid-price guitars, but then, that's almost unheard of on this forum.
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That works better when you bring up something I've actually done.
 
Re: Every been tempted to just settle for one high-end guitar?

DreX said:
It seems that people are talking about tossing $200 agiles for $1000+ MIA without any regard for the in between, nor mention of specific shortcomings they're looking to get away from. It does seem price tag inspired when you consider what has not been said.
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The best guitars I've played have had better fretwork than lower-priced models, no dead spots on the fretboard, and a consistency in sound and feel from fret to fret and from string to string that is certainly possible down the food chain but is much less common. Also, when I play certain higher-end rock/metal guitars, there's a specific complexity in, say, chunking out an A power chord through a Marshall that seems just a little flatter and less multi-dimensional on most guitars. That little bit of extra crunch and resonance is very, very satisfying to me as a player.

There are many fine guitars at entry-level and mid-level price points. I've owned some of them and will likely own more. But sometimes, when you take a great guitar design and build it according to that design, instead of stripping things off to fit into a price category without stepping on this or that toe, you can do some cool stuff.
 
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