Members revive Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 I went to a local music shop yesterday, and tried out some really nice (and relatively inexpensive) guitars, such as Guild and Yamaha L-series. They are all in the $500-$700 and sound really really nice. The Guilds were all-solids. Needless to say, I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimmy Chaos Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 In my experience when you get over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffmeister Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 If you're getting great satisfaction on the cheap, then all is well with the world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revive Posted July 8, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 If you're getting great satisfaction on the cheap, then all is well with the world! Again, this comes back to an individual's subjective taste. I'm just wondering if there is any objective qualities that I'm missing or that I'm not understanding at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffmeister Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 A fully developed technique might leave you wanting more in terms of available timbral variations and dynamic range. Also, many expensive guitars have desireable aesthetic qualities in terms of woods, fit & finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Melodeous Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 Subjective qualities? AKA opinions? No, you're not missing any. You seem to have them all working pretty well for you at the moment. What isn't factored into your perspective may not seem missing or noteworthy at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members martinipm Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 I've played $300 guitars that sound better than $3000 guitars. Obviously, you're going to pay a premium for a "name brand" guitar. Gibson, Martin, and Taylor know they can get more money because their name is on the headstock. I would say try as many guitars as you can and pick the one that speaks to you in the price range you can afford. Consider tone, playablity, asthetics, or anything else that is important to YOU! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revive Posted July 8, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 How about you guys... do you think expensive guitars are really worth the money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dthraco Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 Yes and no. I have a Gibson Songwriter Deluxe. It was the best of the three they had. It spoke to me. As it has been broken in, it has only gotten better. Personally, I think that when you reach a certain level of playing, those subtle differences are not so subtle any more. And you do notice a difference between an $800 guitar and a $1,600 guitar. But overall, it's all about how it plays and feels. The right guitar will speak to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 Subjective qualities? AKA opinions? No, you're not missing any. You seem to have them all working pretty well for you at the moment. What isn't factored into your perspective may not seem missing or noteworthy at the moment.Actualy, that makes a lot of sense. The more and more you play them, the more you know what to listen for. But even that's a matter of preference. I think players who stay below the 5th fret do so when trying a guitar at a shop. Myself, I compare relative volumes up and down, same with sustain. The one's that flip my lid have an all around even volume, any loud or soft notes won't be too loud or too soft. Any guitar can be a winner, IMO. I'd own Collings if I could, but I'm stuck with Standard Series Martins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 How about you guys... do you think expensive guitars are really worth the money? Them is fightin' words, my friend :poke:. Threads like this can get nasty, so I'm just warning you... That being said, I think you've already answered your own question: guitars are very subjective. Someone may think that a $2000 Taylor sounds better than, say, a $200 Yamaha. Someone else may think that the same Yamaha blows the same Taylor out of the water. For the first person, yes---the expensive guitar is worth the money. For the second person, no. The skill of the guitarist would also come into play, I think. If all you're doing is strumming some basic cowboy chords, the difference between a $200 guitar and a $2000 guitar will be relatively small. If you're a skilled guitarist and regularly play intricate fingerpicking riffs and more complex chords, the difference will likely be more pronounced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoloArtist Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 How about you guys... do you think expensive guitars are really worth the money? Well, I had a bad experience with my first guitar that was REALLY cheap. I purchased it when I was 11 and it fell apart before I even finished college. Now I'm thinking if I had saved up and asked my parents to forego Christmas & birthday presents for a year, this story might have had a better ending. Now I know better, (I hope), and have invested in two Martins. They are both simple, solid body guitars that sound incredible. They go everywhere although I just ordered a 3/4 scale "Little Martin" to take on vacation. The history of the Martins and Gibsons show that they generally improve with age. They also have shown to appreciate greatly which is good if I ever want to sell them. That wasn't an option with my cheap guitar that fell apart and never sounded / played well in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 There are truly great expensive guitars and there are OK expensive guitars, so the question can't really be answered with a Y/N. I don't think you can match the sound of a GREAT guitar that's > $2000 with a $500 guitar that sounds pretty good, but the skill of the player is a big factor in extracting the "extra goodness" that is available. An average or below average guitarist is not likely to notice that much of a difference and may in fact prefer something about the cheaper guitar (besides the sticker price). Beyond that, it's a matter of how much the difference between really good and outstanding is worth to any individual. I buy the best guitars that I can afford because the way I look at it my guitar time is precious, so it doesn't make sense to get cheap on it. I had cheap but very good guitars for 20 years, so I paid my dues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Galabar Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 I've got a Larrivee SD-50 (bought new as a closeout for about $1250), which is definitely my "best" guitar in terms of volume, tone, projection, fit & finish, etc.. However, I also get a lot of enjoyment out of my cheaper Seagull as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I went to a local music shop yesterday, and tried out some really nice (and relatively inexpensive) guitars, such as Guild and Yamaha L-series. They are all in the $500-$700 and sound really really nice. The Guilds were all-solids. Needless to say, I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Some are and some aren't ... to the player and to the audience. It's really up to you to decide. The best guitar is the one you have right now (after it's been given a proper set-up by a qualified tech or luthier). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Galabar Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Another thing to note is that your ear becomes much more aware of the differences in guitars as you gain experience. I've been playing for about 1 1/2 years and I notice things now that I might not have noticed before. It took my a while to appreciate the Martin sound, but I "get it" now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I've played $300 guitars that sound better than $3000 guitars. Obviously, you're going to pay a premium for a "name brand" guitar. Gibson, Martin, and Taylor know they can get more money because their name is on the headstock. I would say try as many guitars as you can and pick the one that speaks to you in the price range you can afford. Consider tone, playablity, asthetics, or anything else that is important to YOU! Good luck! Do you pay a premium when you buy a Rolls Royce? No,you pay for quality. The same applies with fine guitars; you might pay more for the name at entry level, with Martin's Formica guitars for example, but once you get into the solid wood instruments it's a different matter altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Galabar Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 ... If you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Okieslims Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Here's an idea Bring a friend to guitar center with you. Sit down and put on a blindfold, then have your friend bring you a bunch of different guitars.. rate each one on feel and sound.. buy the winner.. you might be surprised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tennisplayer Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Dear revive, your thread is very well-read, beautiful writting, are you from GB? Sir James II Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Galabar Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Dear revive,your thread is very well-read, beautiful writting, are you from GB?Sir James II Hmm? It looks like the grammatical structure and punctuation of the OP were a bit off (at least in terms of U.S. English). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pschaafs Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 keep in mind that people may value the dollars differently too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bridgepin Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Hi reviveUsing GC as your choice to look for a high end guitar is not the way to go, they just don't look after there guitars enough, old strings, bad set ups, try to locate a quality high end guitar shop such as this http://www.mandoweb.com/ in your area. This is were you will truly find your answer ......But here's the thing, find what sounds good to you and enjoy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 You see: A $2,000 piece of art that produces magnificent sound! Wife sees: Overpriced firewood that won't burn for more than 10 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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