Members tjmoto Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Ok. I want a new...rather another strat. I'm getting back into playing after 25 year break. My last 2 strats were a 61 blackie and a 64 sunburst. So I"ve played everthing at 5 guitar stores, all the US stuff as well as custom shop "master built" stuff. Amazing enough, one of the nicest strats I played was a MIJ domestic/non export 62 RI strat for $600. Hell, I just bought it right then and there. It sounded and played as good if not better than the time machine stuff. If I shell out 4-6K for a masterbuilt strat is it really worth the money? I mean, what justifies the cost? Materials? Super resonant body. Awesome neck, etc. Is it the build qulaity: ie, built by Greg Fessler, John Cruz, etc. I just ordered a 3 1/2# alder body and a nice maple/brazillian board from USA custom guitars and will build me a "parts-o-caster" just to see how it sounds. But I'm wondering if these new "high priced" strats are more a result of middle aged guys like me at the peak of their earning power with a soft spot for "the good ol days?" And Fender knows how to stroke their needs!!! So, are they really worth it? Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dukebblovr Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 no is the answer as far as parts and stuff. you can get a strat at 500 dollars that plays and sounds as good. also you could get a 5000 dollar strat that sounds like crap. everything has its worth to the individual and maybe collectors. you have to decide if you are happy playing a reasonable costing instrument or in your head to you need to shell out 5000 to sound good. seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aenemated Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 i really think once you get over 2 grand or so, you're really just paying for bells and whistles and {censored}. but it's not like that's a bad thing. if ya got the money, get what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katintokyo Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tiltsta Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Probably not. I don't play well enough to have a 5K guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 I have a $1300 strat. Very nice, I got exactly what I wanted. I compare played it to a $5000 master built strat at the local music shop. I actually like mine better, although the master built strat was really nice. I've played a couple of the $3000 range time machine strats as well. Maybe I got lucky with my guitar, but if all that extra money just means someone with more seniority at the Fender plant got to toss/kick the guitar around, then I would rather save my money. Hell, you could hand pick all your favorite parts from Warmouth, or some such company, and pay a good tech to put it together/fine tune the thing for under $2000, and it would probably be better than any big name custom shop guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lowendnyc Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 I'd draw the line at $1,500. And I'd only go that high to begin with for something rare, or something U.S. made. My 70s Reissue Strat was $1300 and it's a great guitar. But it's not three times as good as my $500 Toronado or Schecter Ultra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DavidMgT Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Fenders are great guitars, but in my opinion you can get a better guitar for the money. You can get a Grosh, Suhr, G&L, Senn - all better guitars in my opinion for less than many high end strats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solderjunkie Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 A $5000 Strat would have to blow me while I played it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DavidMgT Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 A $5000 Strat would have to blow me while I played it at least that! I would also want it to make me a cheesesteak! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tjmoto Posted December 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 A $5000 Strat would have to blow me while I played it Now that would be a strat worth every penny and then some. I"m just not sure I could bring myself to put it down. And even if I could I'm not sure I could walk straight for at least a week!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bardsley Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 While they're no doubt great guitars (I've got a custom classic which is amazing), you're right about why they exist: tapping into the desires of middle aged guys at the peak of their earning power. Which doesn't make them bad, it's just that you're exactly the target market, it would appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jenksdrummer Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Ok. I want a new...rather another strat. I'm getting back into playing after 25 year break. My last 2 strats were a 61 blackie and a 64 sunburst. So I"ve played everthing at 5 guitar stores, all the US stuff as well as custom shop "master built" stuff. Amazing enough, one of the nicest strats I played was a MIJ domestic/non export 62 RI strat for $600. Hell, I just bought it right then and there. It sounded and played as good if not better than the time machine stuff. If I shell out 4-6K for a masterbuilt strat is it really worth the money? I mean, what justifies the cost? Materials? Super resonant body. Awesome neck, etc. Is it the build qulaity: ie, built by Greg Fessler, John Cruz, etc. I just ordered a 3 1/2# alder body and a nice maple/brazillian board from USA custom guitars and will build me a "parts-o-caster" just to see how it sounds. But I'm wondering if these new "high priced" strats are more a result of middle aged guys like me at the peak of their earning power with a soft spot for "the good ol days?" And Fender knows how to stroke their needs!!! So, are they really worth it? Dennis In terms of materials / product, I went over this debate for a while. $5000 could get a new set of living room furniture and a dining set for 6, and a bedroom set...and... yeah...music gear is a rip-off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sic666 Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 With 5k I could buy two american standard starts, a nice all tube half stack and still have money for {censored} and beer. I won't pay 5k for a guitar even if I was a millionaire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 I'd draw the line at $1,500. And I'd only go that high to begin with for something rare, or something U.S. made. My 70s Reissue Strat was $1300 and it's a great guitar. But it's not three times as good as my $500 Toronado or Schecter Ultra. Exactly! I have a Schecter that I bought second hand for $100. I love it, feels great, sounds great. If I put new volume/tone/switch, and replace the plastic nut with a bone or graphite, it would be every bit as functional as my strat. Don't get me wrong, I think there are more bad cheap guitars than there are bad expensive guitars, but at some point you have to realize that you are buying a piece of wood with some wires inside of it. And, in reference to other threads, you should be spending at least half of that money on an amplifier; the other half of the instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Maybe. I like my friend's $2500 Custom Shop Strat better than my $1100 G&L. And his $$$$ pre-CBS Strat is better than both of them. I like Gibson's ES335, which is $3K. But the Collings I-35 Deluxe is A LOT better, and that's $6200. But I think there's no universal rule of thumb with prices. Diminishing returns set in fairly early with guitars. The $5000 guitar may be 10%, even 5% better than the $1000 one. Some people can't hear that. Some people hear it but won't pay for it. Some hear it and have to have it. And sometimes it's a lot of snake oil and it's not even there at all. Especially when you get into the boutique builders/luthiers. None of these guys are cutting corners, they're using the best wood and parts they can get their hands on, attention to detail is superb by all. At that point, I couldn't tell you why a Tyler is $XXXX and a Suhr is $YYYY - they're both awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members warriorpoet Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Maybe. I like my friend's $2500 Custom Shop Strat better than my $1100 G&L. And his $$$$ pre-CBS Strat is better than both of them. I like Gibson's ES335, which is $3K. But the Collings I-35 Deluxe is A LOT better, and that's $6200. But I think there's no universal rule of thumb with prices. Diminishing returns set in fairly early with guitars. The $5000 guitar may be 10%, even 5% better than the $1000 one. Some people can't hear that. Some people hear it but won't pay for it. Some hear it and have to have it. And sometimes it's a lot of snake oil and it's not even there at all. Especially when you get into the boutique builders/luthiers. None of these guys are cutting corners, they're using the best wood and parts they can get their hands on, attention to detail is superb by all. At that point, I couldn't tell you why a Tyler is $XXXX and a Suhr is $YYYY - they're both awesome. Hammer, meet nail head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Frankly, a lot of your $5k Strat is paying for the name. It's a handmade Fender, made by guys who are considered some of the top names in the industry (who aren't ambitious enough to open their own shop). And the price is going to reflect that fact. Not a great comparison, but a friend of mine costed out a hand-made, Custom Shop G&L bass (left-handed, swamp ash body, transparent orange maple on maple neck, painted headstock, single pickup) for $1300. He's currently saving up the $$$. I'd imagine you could get a completely handmade, built-to-your-specs Grosh, Suhr, Tom Anderson or Tyler guitar for much less than $5000. And it will perform equally well as your Fender, with the only differences coming down to personal taste. Going the Warmoth route is fine if you have good woodworking, electronics and set-up skills. But if you're not handy (or can't ask a friend for assistance), you're not going to save a lot of $$$ if you go that way. One major advantage your $5k Fender Strat will have is that the depreciation is a lot less. Hang onto it for about 20 years, and you'd likely sell it for more than what you paid for it. Unfortunately, the other companies can't quite make that kind of claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mkoris Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 If you're as rich as someone like Bill Gates, Carlos Slim Helu or Mukesh Ambani and had money enough to cure AIDS in Africa and feed that whole continents people for the rest of their lives, then yes, a $5000 guitar is probably worth it no matter if it's a Gibson, Fender or something else. If you're not then maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members book_of_lies777 Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 NO new guitar meant for actual playing is worth that amount of money. the only guitars that are worth big bucks like that(and more!) are ones of historical significance, like Eric Clapton's Blackie, or Hendrix's Strat from Woodstock, or Muddy Water's Tele, or Jimmy Page's double-neck Gibson, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Surfdude Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 The most I have ever paid was $1,100 for a new Fender Fat Strat Texas Special. It totally blew away anything I have ever owned before. I am not saying that the more you spend, the better instrument you will get but the indicators are good. And the only way to know is to buy one and play it for a while because sitting down with one at GC for 20 minutes just will not cut it. OR ask people who have paid 5 grand for an instrument instead of getting the opinions of us cheap bastages with little or no money. Surfy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aenemated Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 OR ask people who have paid 5 grand for an instrument instead of getting the opinions of us cheap bastages with little or no money. my '59 RI was a little less than $4k ... does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6StringSling Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 I'd like to see some kind of blind play test where people play a guitar without knowing who the manufacturer is. My guess is that is a lot of mid-range and sub $200-300 guitars would get a lot of praise for their sound and playability. I think too many people convince themselves beforehand that they're going to like that Gibson Custom Shop better than an Agile or Epiphone just because either consciously or subconsciously they think they're supposed to or that more $$$ automatically means more "better". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 I'd like to see some kind of blind play test where people play a guitar without knowing who the manufacturer is. My guess is that is a lot of mid-range and sub $200-300 guitars would get a lot of praise for their sound and playability. I think too many people convince themselves beforehand that they're going to like that Gibson Custom Shop better than an Agile or Epiphone just because either consciously or subconsciously they think they're supposed to or that more $$$ automatically means more "better". That's a GREAT idea! Problem is, probably no guitar magazine in their right mind would do it, for fear of backlash from the guitar companies when they proclaimed the winner a MIM Fender or a "low-end" Epiphone. I just do not understand buying a guitar over $2500. Even if you are a gigging musician, making a good living, do you really want to take a $5000 guitar on the road with you? No, I think this is the collector market that is fueling these high-priced models. Honestly, I've played a lot of "higher-end" Fenders and Gibsons, and for the money...I'll keep my $500 MIM Fender Strat. I'll use the rest of the $5000 to take my entire family on vacation, repaint my truck, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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