Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

[vinta9e]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

One of the best guitars of about the thousand I have ever played, cost me the equivalent of $35. Before I sold the pickups. I guess dominus would applaud that. It was a janky, rusty, scratched & dented clunker, made in Matsumoku nonetheless.
The guitar laid in parts besides my desk for a year or three until the day I decided to put it together. I dolled it up, stuck a worn DP100 in it and soon this shabby old log unexpectedly tore a shiny JEM7V a brand new cloaca.

 

[heem6]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

I got this Peavey Predator (Made in USA) in a dark alley for $70. I cleaned it up and put a loaded Mighty Mite pickguard and some inexpensive locking tuners and roller saddles on it. For maybe $150 total. Damn if it isn't my best sounding Strat, over others that have Holy Grails and such in them.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

My Slick "tele". Cost about 225 but upon lowering the action it did need a fret dress that set me back 100. So about 325 in total. Joe (the guy who did the fret work work) is a Fender man and he was pretty stoked once the frets were correct.

Sharp looking guitar!

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

im sure most here would consider my guitars "cheap".. most of my guitars are mid line and are excellent guitars but ive owned some expensive guitars in the past that where not as good as these more "cheaper" guitars... all my guitars play well and have been setup,rewired,modded by me.. now some definitely play better than others...especially my stagemaster which easily plays great and one can feel the quality in it..feels much more expensive than it is.. the other would be my #1.the dk-2. out of all of my guitars, the wood truly resonates in that guitar.. ill be playing and i can feel every nuance of the vibration in the wood..an odd but cool feeling..and the neck.. omg.. its a work of art and just feels right.




my dk-2.. this one is still my go-to guitar.. i wouldnt trade it for a jackson cs or sell for any mount of money. she just has real mojo to me..almost a very real personality..a soul if you will

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

My Slick "tele". Cost about 225 but upon lowering the action it did need a fret dress that set me back 100. So about 325 in total. Joe (the guy who did the fret work work) is a Fender man and he was pretty stoked once the frets were correct.

COOL!! Not to side track the thread, but Ive been wondering and watching for feedback on the slick products.. So, its impressing you huh? When they started, I figured with being a "name" that they would have vanity pricing.. Of course, fretwork is kinda a big thing tho, so.. But I was also suprised they had a bunch of pickups too.. So, you're digging it tho huh?


Anyhow, back on topic... Many years ago, I was in a pawn shop and this strat caught my eye. I played it and was very pleased.. Of course, to keep MetalManiac from going off the deep end, Im not going to claim it blows many of the high dollar stratocasters Ive played away, plus, Im not a die hard strat guy. And yes, I know in my heart that it has shortcomings that real strat afficianados may not like... But, I WILL say that this guitar gives me pretty much everything I could need from a strat and I really dont even look at strats anymore..

The strat Im referring to was made in 1988 and it's a Japanese made Squier strat. The neck feels great, the thing plays great (stock pickups were awful, so I replaced the pickguard with a three ply and replaced the pickups with Bill Lawrence Keystones) and it gives me all I need. It has a Fender branded Kahler trem (System 1 I think was the actual name) and I got it for $149.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

Since it's entirely possible to buy a quality brand-name axe from an uninformed seller or crackhead deal, I took the OP to mean "cheap" as in "often considered poor quality" i.e. the $150 retail SX, Agile, and other such brands that do not have "lawsuit era" models that sold for $200 new but now go for $1000+ on Ebay (Aria, Ibanez, etc LP copies).

As for making a 59 LP, there's the "replica" and the "copy". A replica strives for absolute authenticity, so you need 1950s binding, inlay, and all the other tonally inconsequential cosmetics (secret nitro and stain/paint formulae), as well as the key elements like Honduran mahogany and Brazilian rosewood. These are made with the intention of providing a realistic copy of a vintage model. Then you get into how many pieces for the body and neck, what type of joints for the head and neck, tenon length, etc.

The "copy" goes for the base specs: wood species, weight, neck profile and board radius, fret size, bridge angle and tailpiece location as well as bridge/tail type (1-piece wraparound, harmonica bridge, retainer wire, etc), but not necessarily NOS vintage-spec custom-forged bobbins, while integrating more modern features like a 2-way truss rod, scarf joint rather than doevetail or vise-versa, graphite reinforcing rods in the neck, synthetic inlay, binding, and nut materials, etc.

A 59 LP copy can be done easily and less expensively than a replica, and when played side by side you will not know the difference in feel (though the tonal difference will be noticeable due to the woods). When they're blasting through an amp, no one on the planet will give one dead rat if it's Honduran or not. Your audience will not orgasm or learn any great truth or have a religious experience or become inspired in any way because of the materials used, nor their inherent tonal qualities, but rather by the sound the player gets out of it and makes with it.

 

[Swampy]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

Since it's entirely possible to buy a quality brand-name axe from an uninformed seller or crackhead deal,saw I took the OP to mean "cheap" as in "often considered poor quality" .

^
Not necessarily poor, but lower quality, yes.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

While we're talking about Les Paul replica's how about Slash's 59' LP replica. I find myself wondering how much it cost him for that 59 (58) replica. I'm also wondering how many nicer 59 replica's that were made by various luthiers just ended up sounding like crap for some unknown reason. It happens.

Name recognition does tend to jack prices up. Look at the Chicago Iron Octavian, $355 for an Octavia, really?

Back in the Appetite days Slash actually had three '59/'60 LP replicas at different times. The first was the 'Hunterburst'; a '60 replica which was built by Peter 'Max' Baranet, purchased by Steve Hunter, and later sold to Slash by way of Howie Hubberman in Sept 1985. If you've seen the Reckless Road book, this is the LP with double black pickups that Slash is playing pretty much exclusively in late '85 and early '86. It was sold in July 1986 shortly after Appetite pre-production and was probably the primary guitar used on Live Like a Suicide.

After selling the Hunterburst, Slash resumed using his red BC Rich Warlock and later acquired a Jackson Firebird. While recording the Appetite basic tracks Slash wasn't happy with the sound of either, so he asked Guns' manager to find him a new Les Paul. This second guitar is the famous Derrig '59 replica with the Zebra / reverse Zebra Alnico II Pros, and Slash used it for most if not all of the lead tracks on Appetite. The third LP was another Max acquired shortly before the Appetite tour. This is the LP with double-black A2Ps that Slash can be seen with in '87 / '88. I don't know how much was paid back then, but there's a 'Max' Explorer on gbase for $14,000 and one of his Vs sold on reverb for $10,000 in 2013.

Regarding the Chicago Iron Octavia, that price isn't all about name recognition. Those pedals are made by hand from parts that have been out of production since the late 60s so there's some scarcity involved as well.

 

[HTT]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

I have a blacktop strat is phenomenal that I got for $200. It is my Number 1 over more expensive guitars.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

This is the $99 Eko whose pic I couldn't upload yesterday.

View attachment 66457

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

Is there a way to objectively test the wood of a guitar before you buy (besides just being really scrupulous while trying it out) it or is it too late once it has finish on it?

I don't know any way of identifying a good one for sure except by playing it at volume, preferably on a familiar amp. Not much help when you're trying out guitars. I have found over the years that the really musical ones are often (but not always) the ones which sound a bit louder unplugged than others of the same model. And these often tend to be the ones which are a bit lighter in weight too. But not always. Several of my favorite guitars are not lightweight at all.

There is one thing I do, but it's more helpful with set-neck axes than with bolt-ons. Sometimes you can tell a lot about the liveliness of a guitar by lightly tapping the back of the headstock. Certain guitars shiver like they want to fly; others just kind of absorb the tap with a dull thud. The ones which vibrate easily and thoroughly from just that little bit of energy always seem to be the ones that really sing when they're amplified. Might sound kind of silly, and it isn't very scientific. But it works for me.

Of course this helps to gauge only their liveliness, not their tone. For that, ears are the only measure I trust.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

I was wondering when the "knock on wood" thing was going to come into play.

I had a USA Jackson Dinky that sounded great acoustically, but was a complete dud amplified. Beautiful Birdseye maple neck and board, Alder body. Tone was dark and muffled. I put a PG in the bridge, swapped the nut for a new one, swapped the bridge for a new one, swapped the pots for new ones, nothing helped. Sold it to a guy who says it's the best-sounding axe he has, and he's had plenty that sounded good.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

I was wondering when the "knock on wood" thing was going to come into play.

I had a USA Jackson Dinky that sounded great acoustically, but was a complete dud amplified. Beautiful Birdseye maple neck and board, Alder body. Tone was dark and muffled. I put a PG in the bridge, swapped the nut for a new one, swapped the bridge for a new one, swapped the pots for new ones, nothing helped. Sold it to a guy who says it's the best-sounding axe he has, and he's had plenty that sounded good.

Yah, when it comes to tone one man's meat is another man's mud (to mangle a phrase).
I guess for every guitar there may be somebody out there for whom it's perfect.
In a way that's kind of reassuring.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

I've got plenty of mid-level/cheap guitar's & they all play & sound fantastic. Nothing surprising about it lol. Apart from my first, I've yet to sell/trade a guitar in the 25 yrs I've been playing & it's not for sentimental reasons (..I'm not particularly sensitive). It's because they're all ****ing awesome & I'd rather lose an arm or a leg :bigthumb:

99.9% of the time it's not the guitar..it's the player.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

Is there a way to objectively test the wood of a guitar before you buy (besides just being really scrupulous while trying it out) it or is it too late once it has finish on it?

Turns out my ears must be calibrated because every single ax I praised for acoustics, recorded great amplified. No exceptions. Making guitars isn't just science, it is art as well. My official statement regarding the "less well born" ones: those making a dull thud are fit for emergency use only. Bonfire fuel, canoe paddle, snow shovel...

One, two, three more things to keep in mind...
Louder doesn't always mean better.
The right guitar to the right amp. Or something to that effect.
Same as above but regarding the pilot. Your gear is your ship, you are the captain.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

I don't have any pics of it, but I had an Epiphone Masterbilt Advanced Jumbo that sounded amazing! Need some fret leveling but for $250 with a nice hardshell case it was really hard to say anything negative for the price...

 

[Darg1911]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

My "cheapest" guitar is a Dean Evo FT. I've had this one a good while now, bought used, on ebay for $106, if memory serves. It has a small chip in the headstock and a pretty good gouge in the back as well as some smaller dings and scratches. Flat top, "mahogany", with a thin veneer. I remember buying this one because I liked the color and the top and it was cheap. Impulse buy. I replaced the bridge (buzzed) with an small roller bridge. Other than that, the pots and jack were replaced when I replaced the pickups. It's got a pair of Artec 59's. Less than $200 into it, including the guitar itself. Tuning is stable, neck is comfortable, solid feel, plays great and sounds good. Would it be mistaken for a $2500 guitar? Nope. But this one is far better than what it cost. It fits the thread title.

 

[DKSEARS]

Re: Have any "cheap" guitars that surprisingly plays/sounds awesome?

This is one my father in law pulled out of his neighbor's trash. I sanded 90% of the finish off, saving some of the sealer, and painted it in tribute to a rust-o-matic Trussart, replaced the stock pickup with a TV Jones Classic Plus.

It sounds great and plays well. Not as well as some of my more expensive guitars, but well enough that most people who try it end loving it.


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