Members Dr. Scottie C Posted February 15, 2016 Members Share Posted February 15, 2016 You have $200 USD, and $200 only for an electric guitar... the guitar has to be new, and you have to play a paying gig with it the day you purchase it.... which make/model do you go with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted February 15, 2016 Members Share Posted February 15, 2016 If you can stretch it to $234, the Jackson JS32Q is a pretty decent guitar. Short of that, you're in Squier country, and I'm not a fan of those even for firewood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sammyreynolds01 Posted February 15, 2016 Members Share Posted February 15, 2016 I don't know about $200. Like Raven said at $200 the Squiers are hit or miss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted February 15, 2016 Members Share Posted February 15, 2016 Yes, from Rondomusic.com . BUT the day after the gig, you will want to upgrade the bridge.http://www.rondomusic.com/furrianhmnsgn1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted February 15, 2016 Members Share Posted February 15, 2016 I don't know if Yamaha still has a guitar in that price range but the Pacifica PAC012 was certainly gig worthy - especially in the hands of a good player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted February 15, 2016 Members Share Posted February 15, 2016 I wouldn't play any guitar out without getting rid of the stock strings and doing a good setup. If the instrument has no major flaws that wouldn't take me very long so it would simply come down to price and trusting the place you buy it from. You can buy clones like this all day long in that range but you will wait several weeks to have it shipped. If you need something same day you have to buy from a local music store. You can easily try out many of them and find the one that's setup the best and many shops will do setups for you. You can buy an Affinity Tele for around $170 plus tax and keep it in that $200 range. The one I have plays as good as any other Squire I've owned. I'm sure a shop will have an Epi in that range too. Those LP JR's are always being sold between $100~200 on sale. I'd simply go to the Guitar Center internet site, Key in the amount you want to spend and do a search. I just did one myself. This ones not only on sale for $99 it has a 15% off sale fro Presidents Day. If you go here you can choose from 800 different new electrics between $100~$200. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Electric-Guitars.gc?N=1084&postalCode=77040&radius=100#narrowSideBar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted February 15, 2016 Members Share Posted February 15, 2016 Playing it at a gig the day of purchase? If you can set it up yourself, sure. I'd take a Squier Affinity Tele. I've own several and they always deliver a solid guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jtr654 Posted February 16, 2016 Members Share Posted February 16, 2016 Maybe, but used you can get a very good guitar that will be fine for any gig. Go to Craigslist there are probably quite a few there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ballhawk Posted February 16, 2016 Members Share Posted February 16, 2016 Borrow a guitar for the gig and then go Rondo, GC (as suggested before), or one of the other budget sites. If you re willing to take another path, and can be patient, the GC used online selection can yield some wonderful bargains. Plus you can return it to any GC for a full refund in 30 days (maybe even more, not sure about the time exactly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Scottie C Posted February 16, 2016 Author Members Share Posted February 16, 2016 Guys, of course used yields more bang for the buck..... heck, in the last year, I bought a 1993 Fender USA standard strat off Ft. Wayne, IN Craigslist for $150 that only needed strings..... the point of this hypothetical exercise is what if used isn't an option..... you got $200 bucks, and about 3 hours before you hit the stage....and new is your only option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted February 16, 2016 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2016 I agree with the Squier Affinity Tele, but if it was me, I'd end up with a Pacifica of some kind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted February 16, 2016 Members Share Posted February 16, 2016 If not on sale, for me, no. You can gig with any guitar but for continuous playing, I need guitars in the 300 dollar plus range to please me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted February 16, 2016 Members Share Posted February 16, 2016 i would go with a squier affinity strat, would need to hendrix it and do a setup, but then i would be ready to rock...i don't know what to expect from it, but at least a bit similarity to my CIJ 68 reissue strat, so i would not play a complete new to me instrument, thats why the choice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Scottie C Posted February 16, 2016 Author Members Share Posted February 16, 2016 i would go with a squier affinity strat, would need to hendrix it and do a setup, but then i would be ready to rock... i don't know what to expect from it, but at least a bit similarity to my CIJ 68 reissue strat, so i would not play a complete new to me instrument, thats why the choice... Cool..... by Hendrix it, do you mean you are a lefty? or you play a lefty, righty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speakerjones Posted February 17, 2016 Members Share Posted February 17, 2016 Depends on your definition of "quality". Browsing the GC website, there are quite a few choices under $200, none of which I'd be very psyched to play on stage. If I had to choose, I would go after an Affinity Tele (fewer moving parts), Yamaha PAC012DLX (known for quality at any price point), or the VM Squier '51 (they look cool, and the VM series tend to be a step above). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted February 17, 2016 Members Share Posted February 17, 2016 Cool..... by Hendrix it, do you mean you are a lefty? or you play a lefty, righty? lefty playing a righty strat up side down, like hendrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 You have $200 USD' date=' and $200 only for an electric guitar... the guitar has to be new, and you have to play a paying gig with it the day you purchase it.... which make/model do you go with? [/quote'] I'd be willing to play a gig with a Squier Jaguar short scale bass... and they're under $200. Sorry for stretching the rules and picking a bass, but it was the first / only sub-$200 instrument that came to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted February 17, 2016 Members Share Posted February 17, 2016 I'm totally amazed that any company can market a guitar for 200 bucks. Normally mark ups and profits account for about 50 percent of the cost of goods, that means its costs the manufacture 100 to make it. Stop and think about that - a hundred bucks for wood, tuners, two or three pickups, pots and caps and all the other wiring, a bridge, fretwire, a truss rod, a few coats of finish. Then we need to amortize the cost of the cnc that's milling the neck and body, not to mention a few highly skilled workers, a cardboard box to ship it in..... oh, yeah, shipping from China or Korea or Mexico, customs duties, shipping to your big box guitar store, then to you. Most of the guitars I build end up with 5 or 6 or 700 dollars in materials - you want a decent guitar for 2? What really blows my mind is that you can get it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted February 17, 2016 Members Share Posted February 17, 2016 I think you would have to mass produce several hundred or thousand guitars in order to get the price per unit down that low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted February 18, 2016 Members Share Posted February 18, 2016 I'm a do it yourselfer, I've assembled and wired some great guitars,that are equal to my 1980's Bolt on Kramer and Charvels.You can assemble some great guitars through sites like GFS, Dragon Fire and Rock Audio. I've had great luck with those companies and never had any issues with the necks ,pickups, pots, caps or bodies they shipped me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted February 18, 2016 Members Share Posted February 18, 2016 I'm a guitar tech with my own shop, and most of my clients are gigging musicians, and there are some that do use sub $200 guitars. My definition of what makes a "gigworthy" guitar is pretty simple, and consists of three things:1. It is playable. That basically has to do with a good set-up, and the absence of gross flaws like uneven frets or a broken truss rod.2. It can hold tune. Again, that is usually more a set-up issue than a hardware issue.3. It won't break while you're playing it. Guitarists spend big bucks upgrading tuners, bridges, pickups, pots/caps, etc... The part that fails most often? The output jack. Epiphones are notorious for their crappy jacks... I won't let an Epi leave my shop without a new Switchcraft jack. I can make ANY guitar gigworthy, but even someone with just a few basic skills should be able to make most any guitar gigworthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 19, 2016 Members Share Posted February 19, 2016 Yeah - scale is what does it. Imagine a company that uses a gigantic amount of wood for a variety of product families. They could divert a lot of selected woods to their guitar factory and only see a blip in their timber cost. Unit cost for pickups and other bits is peanuts and they may manufacture them as well.The IP is all readily available now and CNC is mature and cost effective. The bits that have to be upgraded (eg:Epi output jacks) to make them gig worthy are on purpose to keep them from stealing sales from their high margin siblings. The extra cost to them is tiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 19, 2016 Members Share Posted February 19, 2016 You sure can get a gig worthy guitar for $200 these days. I'd happily use a Squier or SX or Agile, etc as long as I could get it to stay in tune. I prefer less compromise, but I'd never let it ruin a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brucebennett Posted March 9, 2016 Members Share Posted March 9, 2016 IMHO... no... in that price range, I believe your getting "less" than what your paid for. but you can buy a decent "Hot Rod" Platform from which to BUILD yourself a nice Guitar. Though I will caveat that statement with this one. MOST of the newer Asian made guitars, are using some of the worst sounding materials I've ever put my ear to. So, if they sound "Good Enough" for you.... then don't worry about it.. but I've played some of the very best there is on the planet, and I now know that I can't live with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members papaschtroumpf Posted March 12, 2016 Members Share Posted March 12, 2016 I'm a do it yourselfer, I've assembled and wired some great guitars,that are equal to my 1980's Bolt on Kramer and Charvels. You can assemble some great guitars through sites like GFS, Dragon Fire and Rock Audio. I've had great luck with those companies and never had any issues with the necks ,pickups, pots, caps or bodies they shipped me. I find that it's hard to keep it under $200 even as a DYIer, even GFS tuners and pickups add up pretty fast. And even lower prices neck and bodies add up quickly. Even Home Depot rattle cans for finishing add up. O love DYI (I make my own body from scratch), but it's still not exactly cheap. I'm with Freeman, I am amazed at the fact that you can get a decent guitar for $200. And if you get to pick it, many Squiers and Epiphone are decent price enough for gigging. Of course my main guitar still is an Epiphone Dot that I got on clearance for $178. That's brand new but I'll admit that clearnace prices are "cheating" per the OP parameters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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