mikey383 said:
lespaul123 said:
Yea I agree with everyone a good fret job is key. But as far as cheap verse expensive. I have a hard time with that at what point do you really start to get more quality. You know a 1500 prs is made on the same machine as a 4000 prs and same as an 6000 prs. The care will greater with the cost increase. Also quality of parts etc but you have find a point where how much more qualtiy are you buying. This is the exact reason why I started building my own from scratch. And if you cant do that I would recommend buying from a luthier that hand made one. Not from parts and put it together but chose the woods carved the neck to your hand. carved the body, everything. There are so many starving companies that are willing to fight and care for there customers that most certainly many large companies have forgotten about. 4000 for a piece of wood. come on .I can assure you it doesnt cost that much for them. They dont put that kinda time into there instrument.
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http://wezvenables.co.uk/id33.html
http://www.warriorinstruments.com very nice people awesome instruments not bad cost
I totally agree. Is a $3000 guitar
really that much better, when I can put a few hundred dollars into a mediocre guitar and make it sound nearly as good? Will people at a bar be able to tell the tonal difference between my $400 Epi, and my bandmate's $2000 PRS?
I really don't think so. I can tell, because of my discerning ear, but I don't think most people will be able to.
There's a line to draw when it becomes more of a name brand issue than a tonal issue.
Granted, my bandmate's PRS does sound better than my Epi for certain things, but I don't think it's $1600 worth of difference when I can dial in something close with my setup.
Being new to this forum, and being that this is my first post, the very last thing I have in mind is pissing people off. That being said I find it very hard to understand some of the logic being applied to this thread. But, being a 40+ year professional player and owner of a fairly good sized collection of Gibson and Fender guitars, I can only say that there is a vast difference in the tone and playability of an expensive guitar that no fret dress or pickup replacement can match.
I found this site quite by accident. I own 5 Mesa amps and see this site as a resource. I also note that practically everyone on this site is concerned with the tone of their amp, my concern as well. If that is the case then I would have to ask why I see statements like "good enough", etc. Tone is a never ending quest, and more than a single element makes up the tone of your guitar. Tone is the amp, the tubes, the effects pedals you use, the guitars pickups, and most of all the wood and construction that makes up that guitar.
Consider you own a Lonestar, have your choice of tubes in the beast, love the tone and couldn't be happier. Your budget allows you to spend $1500 for a guitar. Do you buy the best guitar you can for that money, save more, or buy 3 Chinese knockoffs.
The answer should be that you want this fantastic amp to give up the goods, so you should save more or buy the best guitar you can for that $1500 because you WILL be happier. I've read where many people feel that 3,4,5K for a guitar is not reasonable. Let me assure you that in most cases it is, and that you get what you pay for. If I use Gibson as an example, who you either love or hate, I would have to say that Gibsons historic guitars are by far some of the best made guitars on the planet. I own four (4). A 1960 LP, 1958 LP, 62 335, historic SG. So what makes them so good? Not the price, that's for sure, but the craftsmanship and materials that goes into every historic model.
Take this into consideration please. I read where many people complain about an LP that may weigh over 9lbs. I've seen them, I've played them, but I don't own one. The reason I don't own a 9lb LP is because all of mine are from the historic collection and the wood is hand selected, the best of the best, very dry with very open pores much like a pipe organ. My heaviest LP is 8.1lbs, sustains for ever, has harmonics you'll never hear in a production LP, is constructed by hand and when put side by side with a non-historic it becomes very evident that someone built this piece with some love.
So by now you're probably saying why should I have to buy a Gibson Historic if I want that type of quality? Well, you don't have to. Be it the bodies are carved by machine, every Gibson requires huge amounts of hand labor to complete the final assembly. The necks are rolled by hand, the binding is applied by hand, the finish is applied by hand, the frets are installed by hand, polished by hand, and the guitars are tested one at a time. That's what you pay for.
Keep in mind that with few exceptions the cost of a guitar reflects the quality of it's components. A 2K LP does not use the same wood as a Historic, and an Epiphone does not have the same wood as a production LP. The pickups, even the burstbuckers are not the same. Custom shop pickups are hand chosen and wax potted. After market burstbuckers are not. Historic LPs have a solid body and weigh around 8lbs. Non Historics are weight releived for the most part, and weigh more. Epiphones use maple veneers, production models do not, historics have hand selected tops. Historics use nickel hardware, production chrome, Epiphones chinese pot metal plated chrome.
I also own a number of Fender Custom Shop guitars, and the all of the above applies.
Are Gibson and Fender perfect? Absolutely not. Are there better? That depends on your taste and ability. Did Gibson put out some clunkers. Yes, anything from 1970 through 1983, the Norlin years. But the whole point is you get what you pay for, and if you ever have the chance to use a Historic or equal for a night you'll find out why. So why pay this much attention to an amp, and so little to the guitar? Will the crowd notice? Maybe, and that depends on the music being played. You will, the band will, most people will recognize good tone when they hear it.
Thanks for listening.