Members coyote-1 Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 For a number of years, Iva been getting really well made guitars for just a couple hundred bucks. Squier Standard Stratocasters, Jay Turser LPs and Ric-alikes, a Robelli jazzbox, a Rogue Sitar-guitar with symp strings, etc.... all of 'em very good quality, with pfect frets right out of the box. But a couple days ago I went to my local Guitar Center. Every instrument I picked up had fret edges that protruded from the edge of the fretboard, ready to slice your hands to ribbons. Sad to see they have either made a conscious choice to forego quality control, or they simply can't wait for the wood to age correctly before making a guitar from. It. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Why do people seem to think that guitars in Guitar Center should exhibit any sort of indication of quality? They're beaten and poorly maintained in a warehouse like building that has no humidity control outside of the acoustic room, which barely has that itself. I've picked up PRS's and Custom Shop Fenders in GC that had the same issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peskypesky Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Dry winter air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarville Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Not here: http://www.musicland.co.jp/There quality probably is like Guitar Center in the States, which is mostly good most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Cheap? My idea of a cheap guitar would be forty bucks right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ninjaaron Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 assertion in the thread title is false. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Blanket statement deserves blanket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brandass Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Dry winter air. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted March 14, 2014 Moderators Share Posted March 14, 2014 Dry winter air. GC should open a warehouse in the UK, we can sort out "dry winter air".....ain't never feckin heard o that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kherman Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Dry winter air. Agreed, this winter has really been dry here in the midwest. I had a few guitars boards shrink. Even with us running humidifiers in the house. So, I need to get a small fret file. Once we start getting warmer more humid weather, they should improve some. But, I'm still going to touch them up. As for great cheap guitars. I love my newly acquired Squier CV. Awesome guitar. Excellent build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Cheap? My idea of a cheap guitar would be forty bucks right now. Darn right. Anything over $100 is boutique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Agreed, this winter has really been dry here in the midwest. I had a few guitars boards shrink. Even with us running humidifiers in the house. So, I need to get a small fret file. Once we start getting warmer more humid weather, they should improve some. But, I'm still going to touch them up. As for great cheap guitars. I love my newly acquired Squier CV. Awesome guitar. Excellent build. Yup, still killer. Though that little snowman/clown in the background is kinda freakin' me out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 "Dry winter air" is no explanation. Because it's a sure bet that those prior instruments would have experienced such conditions, or are experiencing them right now in my basement. But I pulled out a stored Squier Standard Stratocaster for the first time in three years, and the frets are perfect. A little twist of the trussrod and the guitar is great again. All the instruments in my basement are subject to dry winter air, and not one of 'em has a fret problem. Think about the "dry winter air" assertion. If a guitar cannot withstand that without the neck shrinking such that the frets become hazardous, then guess what? The wood used to build that guitar was not aged long enough prior to cutting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 The wood used to build that guitar was not aged long enough prior to cutting. It's certainly possible. I just read a post on another forum and the guy bought an Fender American Standard and the frets are not finished correctly. So that's a $1k+ guitar that is not made with care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 meh....I guess we all have different definitions of what constitutes "quality" then. Cause I wouldn't call any of the guitars you mentioned "quality" compared to a real high quality guitar. Playable...sure...decent...sure...but quality? Not in my opinion. You gotta go WAY farther than just having decent fret ends and a cheap poly finish to be quality in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 meh....I guess we all have different definitions of what constitutes "quality" then. Cause I wouldn't call any of the guitars you mentioned "quality" compared to a real high quality guitar. Playable...sure...decent...sure...but quality? Not in my opinion. You gotta go WAY farther than just having decent fret ends and a cheap poly finish to be quality in my book. Then what constitutes quality in your book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovezilla Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 Good, Fast, Cheap... pick two because the other one is where they make their money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovezilla Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 meh....I guess we all have different definitions of what constitutes "quality" then. Cause I wouldn't call any of the guitars you mentioned "quality" compared to a real high quality guitar. Playable...sure...decent...sure...but quality? Not in my opinion. You gotta go WAY farther than just having decent fret ends and a cheap poly finish to be quality in my book. This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 @Virgman - yeah, exactly. It's common to pull a LesPaul Standard off the rack or out of the box, and find that it needs a full fret job right away. Wouldn't surprise me with other guitars either.I'm glad I got the guitars I listed above when I did. @soundcreation: all I care about with guitars is that they sount great, play great and look good. And stay pretty much in tune.Swamp ash vs regular ash? Nitrocellulose vs lacquer vs poly? Schallers vs Grovers vs something else?None of that matters, IMO none of it dictates quality. Good frets out of the box? IMO that is, indeed, a mark of quality. But enough people buy Gibsons at $1600 each, just to have the name on the headstock, and then put 'em in the shop on day one for a fretjob to tell me that 'quality' certainly means different things to different people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danhedonia Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 I agree - you have to go further than smooth fret ends and a poly finish. However, I have some very inexpensive guitars that are terrific. Solid, good wood, good necks. Lets not drag things in the wrong direction by debating hardware - cheap guitars seldom have good bridges / tuners / pickups / etc. But they certainly have improved enormously. I'm with the OP -- I saw some terrific affordable guitars from 2009-2011 and lately just haven't been the same. The QC (esp. on Squiers) just seems worse. It's like they sold a lot and now want to hurry more to market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 For someone who has been a member of this forum for 15 years you display a remarkable level of ignorance. Protruding fret ends dictating the quality of a guitar over and above all other factors? No, you fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 SX strats are still around $100 new. Can you beat that? These have always needed some work. Squiers are indeed up in price but I think this is just marketing to a certain crowd who is lame enough to believe Squiers are somehow magical Asian guitars worth paying more for because of the headstock shape. With a piece of tape over the name Squier who will know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FormerlyBassred Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 So here's a question for you guys. I'm on the 'Quality' is a guitar that plays well and sounds good (regardless of other people's perception of its quality) - so many beginners don't know how to tell the difference, and a lot of parents go to 'cheapest' just in case their kids don't stick with it, then the kids don't stick with it because they are stuck with a crap guitar.... So, would you think that there would be a market for a 'curated' (to use hipster-speak) beginners guitar store (or Ebay store) where each inexpensive guitar is bought to be a very good starter, is adjusted/set up and tweaked to make the experience of learning better? I'm looking at what I want to do if we move East (and leave my career) and was thinking that if I could make the beginners experience better, more kids would enjoy and stick with learning to play. With that in mind, I went to GC in Seattle (was there on bidness) and found the cheapest guitar on the wall - a Red Starcaster. For $70, I almost bought it. It was solid as heck, wouldn't only needed a couple of minor tweaks to the setup, and the pickups weren't bad. But I'd like to know if you think it would be a good idea or not. flame or discuss away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted March 14, 2014 Members Share Posted March 14, 2014 So here's a question for you guys. I'm on the 'Quality' is a guitar that plays well and sounds good (regardless of other people's perception of its quality) - so many beginners don't know how to tell the difference, and a lot of parents go to 'cheapest' just in case their kids don't stick with it, then the kids don't stick with it because they are stuck with a crap guitar.... So, would you think that there would be a market for a 'curated' (to use hipster-speak) beginners guitar store (or Ebay store) where each inexpensive guitar is bought to be a very good starter, is adjusted/set up and tweaked to make the experience of learning better? I'm looking at what I want to do if we move East (and leave my career) and was thinking that if I could make the beginners experience better, more kids would enjoy and stick with learning to play. With that in mind, I went to GC in Seattle (was there on bidness) and found the cheapest guitar on the wall - a Red Starcaster. For $70, I almost bought it. It was solid as heck, wouldn't only needed a couple of minor tweaks to the setup, and the pickups weren't bad. But I'd like to know if you think it would be a good idea or not. flame or discuss away! I don't think it would be profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted March 15, 2014 Members Share Posted March 15, 2014 We're using "quality" a bit broadly. I would say a guitar with nice frets and a solid foundation (no weak necks *Cough* Gibson *Cough*) is a quality instrument, but traditionally, "quality" is a noun. You modify it with an adjective like "high" or "low." I would not call any of the many Squiers I owned "high" quality guitars, but I've never had a bad Squier. ...but, around the three hundred to five hundred range, you will find guitars with "high" quality. For less than $400, I got an Ibanez AS73, made from Maple, with good pickups and no fret problems. Is it a Gibson 335? I wouldn't know as I've never played one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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