Jaaakkkeee Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 I played a crash cymbal with holes in it. Apparently it's a new design but it sounds it sounds amazing. A lot brighter. And for lack of a better word - crashier. Like if you played a normal cymbal but broke a bottle against a wall at the same time. Stone Cold would love it. And it's LOUD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Taylor Hawkins from the Foo's uses one as his main right hand crash, they are ace. Expensive tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 I have never polished my cymbals. Not once. Even when I sell them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Christie is the same as you, i offered to help polish his once, he looked at me like i had just spat at him!! haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Taylor Hawkins from the Foo's uses one as his main right hand crash, they are ace. Expensive tho.My pal tomas has one. It's great fun. That must have been the most boring 10 minutes of his life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fertuiee Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Jan's right. You'd hardly argue that a 300 quid Yamaha acoustic was anywhere near as big a pleasure to play as say a Martin D-40. It's not really different for electrics.I think acoustic guitars is where it varies a little bit, not to split hairs too much but for £300, which is roughly what a vintage Yamaha FG-180 would cost, you could compare that to say a Martin / Taylor of £1000, and then give me the Yamaha everyday of the week. I agree with Jan on USA Fenders but anyone that tells me the build quality of USA Gibson is consistent is actually having a laugh, and that goes for the high end stuff too. Not that anyone has haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Gold Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Yeah, Yamaha were probably a very poor example. You won't get a lot more consistent and better value for money than a Yammy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 I've only ever played one proper high end guitar, a vintage Gibson which cost waaaaaaaaaay more than I could ever afford to spend on a guitar. For someone used to cheap gear you could feel the build quality, the quality materials, the weight difference as soon as you picked it up, it was like holding sex. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kybosh Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 I've only ever played one proper high end guitar, a vintage Gibson which cost waaaaaaaaaay more than I could ever afford to spend on a guitar. For someone used to cheap gear you could feel the build quality, the quality materials, the weight difference as soon as you picked it up, it was like holding sex.I was lucky enough to buy a Gibson CJ 165 non cutaway acoustic (small body J200) before they stopped making them , it gets better every time I play it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyboy Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 100% incorrect. My problem is playing one of my 'nice' guitars for a while then going to a cheaper one. Regardless of sound (which for me is 50% of the credentials) it - comparatively - feels shit and is uninspiring, making me want to put it down and revert back to the nicer guitar.It is all relative. If I had never played custom shop stuff, I may not have disregarded lower end stuff. It isn't about being a brand whore or a snob, it is preference. Unfortunately for me, my preference GENERALLY comes at a greater price. There have been occasions where I've played ultra high end Fenders and they've been no better than old Squiers. Just the nature of the beast...What do you mean by "my preference GENERALLY comes at a greater price"? You mean you have an unusual preference in terms of specs? Or that good superstrats cost more (as opposed to good strats)? I just picked up my now spare cheap strat copy, and sort of feel the same way, but I think it may be just that the size of the body and shape of the neck is now not what I generally use; I was happy with those aspects of the guitar when it was my main axe (and on the other hand, having found something that I like more is the main reason I'd pay a lot more for a guitar: to get the exact shapes and sizes I want and which differ from at least the more common factory guitars).I also noted Chris talking about a higher end amp "masking" a poor guitar, but I feel the opposite is true: the more one amplifies different two different guitars, the more likely one is to hear a difference (though OK, perhaps more in a studio rather than live setting), if there is any difference. Through a Roland Micro-Cube these two guitars sound damn-near exactly the same, but running through decent amp-modelling software there's an appreciable difference (not least in hum). Using two completely different guitars and amps I used to own: both sounded pretty bad through a practice amp, but really good through a JCM800 (in that case there was really almost nothing between the two in terms of tone, and I actually preferred the cheaper one for playability and versatility; the difference was the cheaper one buzzed like hell and fell apart; the pricier one didn't).For me, the whole package of playability, build quality, versatility and maybe a tad more tone is worth it, considering the countless hours I've put into learning guitar and intend to put in further. But still we're talking 15-20 times the price between my cheapest and priciest guitars, and the "playability" and "versatility" essentially comes from the specifications - which I think I'd struggle to find on an off-the-wall Fender, Gibson, Ibanez etc - rather than how or where it was made. If you like Strats, Teles, SGs, LPs etc. with the archetypal specs, and you're looking at mid-priced vs. custom shop stuff, I'm not sure I'd bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 I've only ever played one proper high end guitar, a vintage Gibson which cost waaaaaaaaaay more than I could ever afford to spend on a guitar. For someone used to cheap gear you could feel the build quality, the quality materials, the weight difference as soon as you picked it up, it was like holding sex.See, I feel theopposite. Most of my guitars have cost less than £400-£500 usually, but when I had a go on Rickenbacker 330, it didn't feel like I was holding £1500 worth of guitar. It sounded nice and was great to play, but not something I'd spend a months wages on. Same with Les Pauls, which I borrowed for a couple of gigs many years ago. It was great, but £1000+ great? I didn't get anything out of it that I wasn't getting out of my current guitar, which I think was a Viper 400 at the time.The difference between an expensive guitar and a cheap guitar is nowhere near as apparent as the difference between a great amp and a shit amp, to my hands and ears anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam 45 Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 My Gibson 335 came from the factory and it was pretty shoddy to be honest. Had to send it in to have the frets re-done because they were all over the shop. Spending big doesn't always get you good quality apparently!What i would advise to anyone spending a lot of money on a guitar/amp is never buy anything that is mass produced. For the price of say an Orange Rockerverb 100 (£1400 new) you could use a more boutique company and get way more for your money. You'll get a purpose built piece of equipment, built to your spec, mainly by hand and have a lot greater control over where your money is going for the same price. Go for a Matamp/Verellen/Green or something if you were planning on buying an amp, or maybe if you were planning on spending 1800 on a les paul, look into companies like EGC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaneur Posted October 13, 2012 Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 If you want Champagne on a beer income, second hand is the way to go. The internet is a great way to learn any new skills you might require- like how to replace tired wiring or pots (not an expensive upgrade). Guitar setup really isn't the Black Art it's made out to be, so long as you can follow instructions and take your time. Cheap guitars are better value than they've ever been- which makes buying top end stuff more of a vanity project, for most of us. The depreciation on £2k guitars can be extreme- which, for my purposes, is a good thing.The only time I ever paid four figures for a guitar was for a used National- a true lifetime purchase, acquired for just over half retail. My rare, vintage Tele cost less than a new Mexican copy and my three gigging valve amps cost £600 in total. I've spent three years looking for the perfect acoustic guitar - but I still can't find one worthy of the price tag. My two favourites cost £200 each, second hand and sound/play great.I don't consider myself particularly skilled and certainly not ruthless, in the Used market- but I'm patient. I could probably afford to spend a little more- but I don't see the need.If a guy wants to drop two grand on a Martin to play in his music room..... more power to him. There's nothing to justify or rationalise there. Problems occur when inexperienced players start thinking that you can't gig or record without expensive, branded everything.......... it's just not true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted October 13, 2012 Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 Contrary to my reasonably expensive taste, I just finished rebuilding a poor old abused Yamaha BB450. Cost me about £50 all in all (not counting my time). It's pretty decent sounding and decent playing too.I have a soft spot for Yamaha BBs, me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted October 13, 2012 Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 The reason the Gibsons are more expensive is because of the lacquer finish. ThE glossy nitro finish is MUCH more labour intensive and therefore expensive to make, hence the reason why the faded models are way cheaper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted October 13, 2012 Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 Watching some The Chariot videos. They all seem to have really nice gear. Beyond me as to why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 I always come back to the fact that the vast majority of the audience for any gig won't be musicians, and would be hard pressed to tell you the difference between a Strat and a Les Paul, let alone being able to hear the tonal difference between a stock Epiphone humbucker and the fancy new Seymour Duncan you installed... Anyone who can actually hear the difference will inevitably be standing grumpily commenting about how their own rig sounds far better anyway As for what is worth it, I would have to agree with the previous comments on the amp being a far bigger part of the tone than the guitar - The amp (and indeed pedals) has far more power over the signal and how it is processed, so will have much more of a bearing on the end result than the guitar. A cheap guitar through a great amp is always going to sound better than a great guitar through a cheap amp (though obviously neither will sound quite as good as a great guitar through a great amp).The fact is though that while the amp may have more of an effect on the 'sound' you have, the guitar is your physical contact to the music, so how it feels in hand will have far more of an emotional response and change the way you approach and play music. So that high end LP may be lost on most of the audience and nowhere living up its potential through a wee amp, but if the guy playing it thinks it feels and sounds better, then his playing will be better than when playing the naff strat knockoff that you have to fight to play well and are always questioning whether it has slipped out of tune yet again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 A cheap guitar through a great amp is always going to sound better than a great guitar through a cheap amp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaneur Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 A friend of mine took a beautiful vintage amp to the Oxjam last friday- but ended up playing through a Fender Mustang, with no complaints about his tone.I A/B'd a CV Squier Tele with a Partscaster full of boutique pickups, on sunday. The pickups would cost as much as the Squier, if you bought them new. Both guitars sounded great and work well in a live mix.Most posters here could think of similar examples, I'm sure. The incremental differences we obsess about- and pay for- are near-indiscernable to the audience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 It was a Line 6 rather than a Mustang, but you are right, it still sounded good. The only caveat I would add is that I play clean, so I don't have to worry about the amp's distortion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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