What, In your opinion, makes a guitar “great”?

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

For me a great guitar has to do 3 things:
1. Look cool, or I won't pick it up to begin with.
2. Play well, hang well, neck and fretboard have to feel right.
3. Sound good under heavy gain.

I've found that I prefer the sound of set neck or neck thru, string thru, mahogany and ebony. But I can make most things work with a proper setup and the right hot pickups.

 

[GuitarStv]

What makes a guitar great? Well . . . the music that's made on it.

Certain things make it easier for me to make great music on a guitar though. Comfort (for me that's big frets, rolled fretboard edges, easy access over the whole neck, action not to high with no buzzing, comfortable seated and standing) and sound when plugged in (mostly looking for good clean and slightly overdriven sounds . . . high gain tends to make all guitars sound the same).

Looks aren't important while I'm playing . . . but a cool looking guitar on the wall makes me want to pick it up more often . . . so I guess they're important too.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

To be good for me, a guitar has to play well, have personality, and feel reasonably comfortable. Those are the minimum requirements.
I'm fairly flexible as far as neck profiles go, though I don't like them too thin or too narrow. As long as the frets are good.
I do love a fat neck, but a guitar doesn't need that to be special to me.

For me, what makes a guitar truly great is that you can feel it come alive when you play it.
Certain extraordinary guitars just want to sing; that makes for an inspiring interaction every time.
And the ones that are lively unplugged are almost always the ones that really take off and fly at volume.

 

[JamesPaul]

What makes a great guitar for me is

1. I have to like how it feels; neck, fretboard, how it hangs on my body, how my arm rests on the top and where my hand is to pick/strum.
2. It has to have, at minimum, a good tone. Bonus points if it has a unique tone among my current guitars; my Custom/Jazz LP vs '59/'59 LP vs EMG 81/60 LP vs Rail/P-Rail LP vs X-1/X-1 Lead II vs Seth/Seth Dot vs P90/P90 Wildkat vs ...
3. I do like mine to resonate when played unplugged.
4. It just sounds like the ultimate guitar for some songs/band/genre/etc I play.
5. Some kind of character; story, history, look, etc.

 

[Demanic]

If I can find it in a pawn shop for something like 15 to 20% of original MSRP, or less.

 

[d1dsj]

Lots of great replies, but I’m a simple man…. If it makes me smile and I don’t want to put it down then it’s great, to me at least.

 

[Open lane]

I'd say sound. I'm not too picky about feel. Just so the action is low and no buzzing

 

[Mr. B]

A great guitar feels like an organic whole, not a collection of parts. A great guitar resonates well, sustains well, and does not impede your tonal expression. A great guitar balances well, and fits your hand and body structure.

 

[PFDarkside]

So many have said the guitar “resonates”. I have one guitar that truly does sound better in Eb. I’ve got another that when I changed the neck it just all came together. I wonder if it’s like a complex math function where the nodes and antinodes combine to push or dampen the frequencies we want.

I guess base level it needs to be able to be setup to the player’s preference (technical level) then the other emotional factors take over.

When you find a truly great one and let someone else play it, have they felt the same way?

 

[Securb]

I get what everyone is saying about resonance, intonation, frets, and other amenities a great guitar will have. For me, if a guitar doesn't have these things it is out of the conversation. That is my jumping-off point for any guitar I own. So for me, as I have said the next thing for me is how comfortable I am with the body. Are the controls laid out in a user-friendly manner? I don't want to be fumbling around on a dark stage looking for switches. Or accidentally roll back the volume because of the placement of the volume knob.

 

[PFDarkside]

I get what everyone is saying about resonance, intonation, frets, and other amenities a great guitar will have. For me, if a guitar doesn't have these things it is out of the conversation. That is my jumping-off point for any guitar I own. So for me, as I have said the next thing for me is how comfortable I am with the body. Are the controls laid out in a user-friendly manner? I don't want to be fumbling around on a dark stage looking for switches. Or accidentally roll back the volume because of the placement of the volume knob.

I guess for me that kind of stuff is base level. Super Strat ergonomics work for me, the scale, the belly and forearm contours, then a relocated volume works well. I don’t really need a contoured heel, but they are nice. I also like a stiffer pot, the ones that I bump and they move are not good for me.

If you are into the Les Paul or SG style, I’m wondering what separates a a good one from a great one. Or is that all just mythology and setup/electronics is 90% of it? I do think that everyone should tweak pots, caps and wiring styles as much as they swap pickups.

 

[Erlend_G]

Do you guys tend to prefer guitars with similar neck thickness, width and profile?

As my playing style as moved to nearly all thumb-over the thinner profiles aren’t nearly as comfortable as I used to find them. Also there’s something about the shoulder of the profile that I think is critical for me. Who has sanded a neck to make it “perfect” for them? A raw wood neck, sanded then oiled/waxed seems ideal
now.

I like a thick, "c" shaped neck. From my experience, - neck thickness affects tone and other factors, - just not how it feels.

The Yamaha SA-5 1966' i owned, had a HUGE neck by many standards. But small frets, and played beautifully....
...my Peavey Predator Plus, on the other hand, is a "mongrel"; the neck is a really thin "c", flat radius and large frets. . Feels like a strat and a RG had a baby, with special needs. lol \m/

 

[Securb]

I like a thick, "c" shaped neck. From my experience, - neck thickness affects tone and other factors, - just not how it feels.

When I got my first Les Paul with a 50's neck I was blown away by the sustain and note bloom. Getting accustomed to the thicker neck did not take much time at all.

 

[Juanhanglo]

To me, a great guitar is one i can't wait to pick up and start playing.

price has absolutely nothing to do with it.


During a potential purchase, obviously aesthetics matter. I check out what appeals to me

When i grab a guitar, I check neck shape first, then unplugged tone.

if these two do not pass, i move on.

fretwork is next. Is it good? Do i have to do anything to them? I always expect nut work.

my biggest thing is response while playing. This is the x factor for me. Its gotta react the way i like.

i check electronics while playing, but do not worry much about them, since they are easily changeable.

 

[Masta' C]

I'd say beyond "sounding good", 3 things make a guitar great to me physically, in this order:

1) Neck (feel, playability)

2) Body (balance, weight, contouring)

3) Hardware layout (switch/knob locations)

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Neck profile/texture, ergonomics, tone, stability

 

[Wattage]

I've owned and played so many guitars over the years you think I would have this dialed in but alas no I do not

As a general rule it has to be visually appealing to me in some way for me to be inspired to play it, if I am not inspired to play it well why own it.

It has to sound well balanced and resonant unplugged, then I'll plug it in but as has been said I can and usually do swap pickups.

The neck could be near anything but I don't as a rule end up liking thin or narrow neck and I prefer Gibson scale.

Ideally it doesn't weigh much over 9lbs, tuneomatics and tailpieces prefered but stoptails are good too

It has to sit right on my lap comfortably and it definitely needs to hang well, if the 12th fret hangs too far left or right I find them awkward to play, especially when singing.

I kind of prefer mahogany things with rosewood but I have some wiggle room if all the above are met

And then I go and buy a guitar that is far from the better part of this checklist and it kills so.......

Mostly I like Les Pauls or similar vibe guitars :banana:


Bit to be truly great well I guess I wouldn't have to change a thing - I played a '68 LP recently that was absolutely amazing and perfect, stock but the goldtop had been sanded off ages ago.

 

[philtheguitar]

A guitar is great if it's left-handed.

Any guitar that is not left-handed simply sucks.

Agreed!

 

[LowBudgetViking]

It's a weird thing to quantify...there's something about the way it feels and sounds unplugged. You know when you pick up a guitar and it just feels "mushy?" And sometimes it's just about needing some new strings or the action set right but nine times out of ten when that happens with me I know it's a dud....no matter how much time I spend wrenching on it I'm not going to get what I'm looking for out of it. I can clean it up and make it look pretty and give it all the hardware with the big names that'll add value....but if that mush is there....no good.

 

[Erlend_G]

I had a white MIJ strat; that was just "stiff" in every aspect... :/

...and sounded stiff, aswell. Not thin, but... kinda like a very clinical piano. I sold it, and was surprised to see it back for sale just 2 weeks later .