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[fatboy]

within the subject of buying cheaper made guitars thread that john w started,

Do you think a well made instrument makes you better player? A cheaper one would require more effort to sound good, does that make you a better player by making the cheapo sound good (im not talking about the tone of the guitar or the amp or anything just the person playing)

buying a cheap guitar to learn on would obviously inhibit the users progress compared to buying a well made one, which i think puts alot of learners off when playing these cheap guitars as it takes more work to make it sound good.

[John W]

From experience i've always found that guitars around £500 mark seem to be the best for me. When i played the japanese Jazzmaster i have right now i found it better than the USA one, which is double the price, don;t know why but thats just one example and i've found it applies to most guitars.

[Original Spies]

Unless a guitar is made out of a combination of hollowed out polystyrene and sawdust, a playable budget guitar with a good set up, a good replacement bridge, nut and set of tuners (if stock peripherals are bad), and high end pick ups - all through a decent amp - will sound very usable, if you can actually play the thing.

Intonation can often be a bit of an unavoidable factor with cheap guitars, especially on cheap bolt-on neck copies of high end models, like Epiphones for example. But if you find a guitar that feels nice to play unplugged, stays in tune and frets comfortably up and down the board, then a few upgrades will have it completely gig worthy.

I'm certainly no guitar expert, but I get a very adequate tone out of my Squier Custom Tele after months of fiddling about with it, as it came in poor shape (Factory set up was horrendous). I feel a little more comfortable playing a £200 Tele. I know if I drop it, or chipped it or scratched it, I wouldn't really care, where as if I bought a £1000 guitar, I'd be treating it like an ornament, and that's no fun for me

Besides. If Squiers are good enough for Prince. They're good enough for me.

[fatboy]

but could you make a £50 guitar sound as good as a £500 guitar?

[fatboy]

Originally Posted by Original Spies

Unless a guitar is made out of a combination of hollowed out polystyrene and sawdust, a playable budget guitar with a good set up, a good replacement bridge, nut and set of tuners (if stock peripherals are bad), and high end pick ups - all through a decent amp - will sound very usable, if you can actually play the thing.

I see what your saying. the cheaper guitars can be fixed to sound better like changing the hardware and pups etc.

but without having to modding it, are you better player if you use all your skill to make that cheap shite thing wail! rather than easier to play well made robust guitar

[Bigsby]

Originally Posted by fatboy

but could you make a £50 guitar sound as good as a £500 guitar?

It's not going to sound the same, but whether or not it sounds as good is entirely subjective. Depends what you are going for. I mean, look at Jimmy Page, he was playing the most evpensive guitars (1959 Gibson Les Pauls) along with some of the cheapest (Danelectros), both sounded awesome because they were both doing different things.

Gary Moore playing a £50 guitar would sound better than me playing a £500 guitar. Does that answer your question?

[Original Spies]

I would say so. Finger technique is important. The chap from Shield Your Eyes uses some of the worst gear imaginable, but his tone absolutely canes. Everything from the sound he produces to the ridiculous riffs he manages to play.

[Ron Cocker]

My two six strings cost almost £160 a piece and my effects pedal was about £45 (all new) and I still sound shite. What gives?

[Chris]

Tone starts in your fingers. If your technique is shite it's not going to improve because you spent £800 on a guitar instead of £300.

But that's not to say you shouldn't buy an expensive guitar. Better build quality and components certainly wouldn't hurt, but it's all down to personal preference reallly and the individual guitar in question.

[Jan]

I have a Mexican/US hybrid Telecaster that I bought for around £200 about 10 years ago. It is a great guitar, tone wise and playability. I also own a US 52' reissue Telecaster which beats it in every single department. You really get what you pay for in my opinion. A better guitar wont make you a better player, but it will help you a little bit along the way in improving yr tone. Obviously playing through a nice amp will help too.

Upgrading a cheapo guitar by modding may be a good idea in theory, but I just don't think you will get the same end result as spending that little bit extra on a high quality instrument.