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

[Swampy]

I got this Yamaha Pacifica for free. Some guy was giving it away on Craig's list. It was all apart. Missing the nut, pots, switch and tuners. When I got it home, I took the pots and some wire off of a cheap RR1 copy thing I had laying around. I bought some tuners. Those off the V copy were the worst. You turn a little before the gears actually started turning. I also bought a Tele 3 way switch and a bone blank for the nut. The pickups the guy gave me went in. He wasn't even sure what they were originally out of. They were in a box of parts.

Anyway, after reshaping and painting the headstock, I put it together and plugged it in. I was blown away! This thing sounded gooooood. I was so suprised. Very full and warm sounding with rich note definition. I ended up setting the action a little high as its set up as an open G/slide guitar.

 

[MetalManiac]

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

Not possible IMHO. Not that they cannot sound 'aweful-good'. They CAN be tweaked to play very good, but just never do play as good as a first rate instrument, thats not possible.Many of those professing a budget isntrument can play as well or sound as good as a top flight instrument, well, that is simply because they have no experience with the best expensive instruments, or even if they do..cannot discern the difference because of lack of expertice, or you use cheap guitars and pickups with solid state amps maxxed out with really grainy edgy griity and shrill gain like Dominus, then who could tell the difference anyhow?..

Premium is premium, budget is budget, and never the twain shall meet.

 

[Swampy]

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

I'd think some guy named Edward might disagree.

 

[MetalManiac]

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

I'd think some guy named Edward might disagree.

lolz, that MIGHTbe true if you have a few oldlate 60's G12m-20 Marhsall cabinets and Plexi heads loaded with origianl Mullards you melt down just cause you want to, and they cost nothing much..

 

[Jeffblue]

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

I got this and put SD DynaSonic pickups in it. Sounds exquisite and I no longer want or need a Gibson 335 or a Gretsch.
Here's my 'lawsuit era' Aria Pro II that someone bastardized before I got hold of it and then I added SD PRails and changed the control positions.

 

[MetalManiac]

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

I got this and put SD DynaSonic pickups in it. Sounds exquisite and I no longer want or need a Gibson 335 or a Gretsch.
Here's my 'lawsuit era' Aria Pro II that someone bastardized before I got hold of it and then I added SD PRails and changed the control positions.

I'm not being confrontational, but if you think that guitar, as good is it is, and I'm sure its good, can any way measure up to a real 335, than you have a rude awakening my freind.

 

[Swampy]

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

I'm sure his Frankenstrat would sound pretty tasty through a Haze 40.

 

[Lampy H]

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

All of my guitars fit this criteria. I'll snap some pics in the morning.

Not possible IMHO. Not that they cannot sound 'aweful-good'. They CAN be tweaked to play very good, but just never do play as good as a first rate instrument, thats not possible.Many of those professing a budget isntrument can play as well or sound as good as a top flight instrument, well, that is simply because they have no experience with the best expensive instruments, or even if they do..cannot discern the difference because of lack of expertice, or you use cheap guitars and pickups with solid state amps maxxed out with really grainy edgy griity and shrill gain like Dominus, then who could tell the difference anyhow?..

Premium is premium, budget is budget, and never the twain shall meet.

I have yet to play a top shelf Gibson or Fender that made me fall in love. They just don't play the way I like.

 

[ItsaBass]

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

My G&L Tribute Rampage. It cost me $330 total (used, with a G&L gig bag). The guitar is a monster!

 

[MetalManiac]

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

I'm sure his Frankenstrat would sound pretty tasty through a Haze 40.

It was a good body, deecnt peickups, good neck.haze is a budget amp, sounds good, but not really as good as a Marshall 60's cabinst g12-m20/Altec speaker through a old late 60's Pexi head with old Brtitish Mullards and a Variac- you guys just don't want to concede antything do you? Okay, I get it.I'm done here.

 

[MetalManiac]

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

My G&L Tribute Rampage. It cost me $330 total (used, with a G&L gig bag). The guitar is a monster!

I'm so sure..don't you have an old Lester. IIRC, you do. You mean to say you put it in that same league?? Soory people. I DO like cheapies, but hey...I won't go on , thanks for your consideration.

 

[Jeffblue]

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

I'm not being confrontational, but if you think that guitar, as good is it is, and I'm sure its good, can any way measure up to a real 335, than you have a rude awakening my freind.

Actually I had once owned a late sixties era Gibson 345 and it sounded incredible. I had done a set-up on a friends Gibson ES335 that really did sound great.......but believe it or not........ my semi hollow body guitar smokes a 335 and I am not the only one who thinks so. Not sure why aside of the DynaSonic pickups.......this guitar is b@d@$$.

 

[Swampy]

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

It was a good body, deecnt peickups, good neck.haze is a budget amp, sounds good, but not really as good as a Marshall 60's cabinst g12-m20/Altec speaker through a old late 60's Pexi head with old Brtitish Mullards and a Variac- you guys just don't want to concede antything do you? Okay, I get it.I'm done here.

Of course a Haze 40 could never compare to his rig. The point was, as is the topic of the thread....a cheap guitar the sounds suprisingly good/awesome.

 

[El Dunco]

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

Not possible IMHO. Not that they cannot sound 'aweful-good'. They CAN be tweaked to play very good, but just never do play as good as a first rate instrument, thats not possible.Many of those professing a budget isntrument can play as well or sound as good as a top flight instrument, well, that is simply because they have no experience with the best expensive instruments, or even if they do..cannot discern the difference because of lack of expertice, or you use cheap guitars and pickups with solid state amps maxxed out with really grainy edgy griity and shrill gain like Dominus, then who could tell the difference anyhow?..
Premium is premium, budget is budget, and never the twain shall meet.

Sometimes you get lucky or there's some kind of "voodoo" in instruments that honestly are kind of crap like James Hetfield's Elektra Fibson. Tom Morello eventually stopped battling his "Arm The Homeless" mongrel guitar to get the best sound and just used the sounds it was capable of to create a sound that you can pick as him from the first couple of notes. You will find many examples in music of musicians getting the most out of a little and the best thing any musician can do is use what they have to make the best music they can instead of thinking that they will be able to write good music once they have the best gear because that just isn't true. I don't disagree with you that premium is premium but there are guitars out there that don't cost thousands of dollars and are more than acceptable. I have some great, US built guitars in my collection that will continue to hold their value over time. The least expensive guitars are my Agiles, keeping in mind that least expensive doesn't mean bottom tier cheap. There is a limit to how little you can spend on a guitar and expect any kind of quality (not including used guitars where the seller doesn't know what they had).

I bought them to have some cool looking guitars to play on stage but they are amazingly comfortable to play (not quite as comfortable as the US Strat which is god-tier in that regard but very comfortable nonetheless) and do a good handful of particular sounds very well. They wouldn't be my first choice for really warm, soulful sounds but otherwise they are workhorses. Not to mention they are as durable as hell. My 6 string Agile V has been loved, gigged, toured, bashed, chipped and swung violently at other musicians in a fit of rage for years upon years and has never let me down once. If I'm in the studio and I need to lay down a meaty riff or a ball tearing lead (and not with shrill, grainy distortion) and I'm not quite getting the right sound out of my other gear, usually when I go for the Agiles. They get the job done. The 7 string Agile V with EMTY blackouts sounds like it wants to jump out of the speakers.

 

[MetalManiac]

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

^ that sounds like a really pragmatic approach to the whole situation, and I defer to you!

 

[DrNewcenstein]

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

Wasn't Morello's "Arm the Homeless" a Jackson USA Soloist? Or was that his other one?


Vantage FV575 Flying V. Not a bad guitar at all, and yes, I have directly compared it to vintage 80s USA Gibson Vs as well as recent USA Gibson Vs, as well as a Jackson USA KV2, a 1990 Jackson KV Mustaine Pro, and a USA Jackson KV2T.

You'll note the USA Gibbos are now gone, as are the USA KV2 and Mustaine Pro, but the Vantage is still here, along with my USA KV2T and more recent KVMG.

The USA WR-1 is gone (wish I still had the 1990 USA and Pro Warriors, however), but the WRMGs and WRXTs are still here, though mostly because I put DK2M necks on them (and Jackson seems averse to putting maple boards on the Warrior).

The USA Floyded Strat and older EVH "tribute" model are long gone but the Charvel Pro Mod (USA body with Japanese neck) is still here. The Fenders sucked, plain and simple.

The USA Gibson Les Paul Standard I had for 10 years is long gone, and the Agile 2500GT played just as well.

And all those imports live happily right next to my top-of-the-line USA Jackson Custom Shop models.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

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

There is a limit to how little you can spend on a guitar and expect any kind of quality (not including used guitars where the seller doesn't know what they had).

...that would be $150 for me. (MY AXL Badwater 1216...what a player!)





I need to find something 150 < to beat that :laugh2:

 

[EDX]

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

one more time, price doesn't equal quality, you can see pricetags higher but find them lower quality, the only thing the pricetag express is how much money the thing retails for, not manufacturing price or profit porcent

a good luthier (not necesary top mojo 100 years tradition luthier) can build a 59 les paul from just raw materials, even making pickups and plastic parts (bobbins included) for way less than a R9 and that would't mean the R9 is a better guitar, just that the profit gibson gets is higher than the one the luthier makes

 

[El Dunco]

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

^ that sounds like a really pragmatic approach to the whole situation, and I defer to you!

Pragmatist is my middle name.

Wasn't Morello's "Arm the Homeless" a Jackson USA Soloist? Or was that his other one?

Nah, I forget where the body came from but he changed the necks over and over again and ended up with a Kramer copy with the banana headstock. The hippos happened to be the only thing he could draw ^_^

...that would be $150 for me. (MY AXL Badwater 1216...what a player!)

Those newer AXLs look pretty nice. The 'metal' style ones they used to make always looked pretty cheap to me.

 

[firebirdguy72]

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

Guitars are like prostitutes... sometimes you're lucky enough to find a good, cheap one, but most of the time a good cheap one just can't match the high dollar ones... Yeah I know... Don't let the door hit me on the way out... :flush: :butkick: