Members Gary Blanchard Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I find it interesting that people say that the longer you play the more aware you become of the sound differences. I have been playing guitar for over 40 years. I recently did some guitar shopping and tried out a number of guitars from Martin, Taylor, and Gibson along with the cheaper guitars. Prices ranged from $99.00 to $2000.00. To my ear, there was not a lot of difference between some of the $300 guitars and the $2000 guitars. This is not to say that there wasn't some difference in quality, nor is it to say that a more discerning ear wouldn't notice the difference. I just find it odd that in 40+ years I have not become more discerning. Oh well, it is better for my wallet that I love my $300 guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I just find it odd that in 40+ years I have not become more discerning. You probably have, and you discerned that the less expensive guitar was more to your liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revive Posted July 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Dear revive,your thread is very well-read, beautiful writting, are you from GB?Sir James II Thanks for the compliment sir. I'm currently living in the U.S. English is my second language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Blanchard Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 You probably have, and you discerned that the less expensive guitar was more to your liking. That's discernment my wife can live with. Thanks for the positive spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revive Posted July 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 You probably have, and you discerned that the less expensive guitar was more to your liking. LOLIt's like saying after 40 years I choose Taco Bell over Morton Steakhouse, any day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knockwood Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I once bought this old Harmony OM for $60 and it was a complete piece of {censored} in every way. So I sold it to JT for $15 with free shipping and a Chunky bar. When I sold it for $15, it got even worse. JT was so horrified by it that he demanded I buy it back, but because he had chipped a tooth on a petrified raisin in the Chunky, which turned out to be several decades beyond its expiration date, he insisted that I pay $4000 for the guitar to make up for his huge dental bills. Naturally I obliged. But when I received the guitar back, it was unequivocally the best sounding and playing guitar I have ever encountered in my entire life. So now I simply will not consider buying any guitar for less than $4k. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a snob. I'd still buy, say, a Yamaha FG730S. It's an excellent guitar. But there is just no way I would pay less than $4,000 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revive Posted July 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Barring future objections, looks like the consensus is... Expensive guitars are worth the money for advanced players, not so much for beginners. Not only expensive guitars are an acquired taste (your perception develops as your playing time accumulates), they also require skills to bring out the best of them. Thanks everyone. It's been an interesting discussion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BROLEX Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I can play, and I can afford the guitars in my preferred price range. I am a happy camper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RizinRico Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 what you say is mostly correct IMHO however if you have the chops to exploit that 5-10% of quality available for 2K+ then anything less just isnt good enuf. if you cant get aor havent yet reached that plateau of tech touch and taste then having a 2K+ git is just guilding the lilly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scottgd Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I'm pretty sure that in 50 years a guitar that has a MSRP of over $4k will still be a very nice guitar. I don't know if I could say the same of let's say a Epi Masterbuilt. (very short answer to a not so simple question) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 As a keyboardist who is just beginning-to-learn guitar, perhaps in a few years I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revive Posted July 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 So let me return the question to you (and let me qualify by saying I am not a keyboardist). Is a Steinway that much better than my wife's little Korg digital piano (which, at $1700 didn't seem all that "inexpensive" to me)? Yes, absolutely. A Steinway is much much better than any digital piano. I've played a couple of $70K Steinway pianos and their sounds were out of this world. But again the comparison is rather easy... 95% of people would agree that a $70K Steinway > $10K Yamaha grand piano. A $3K digital piano > a $1K digital piano. Buying keyboards is actually a lot like buying laptop computers (or any other electronics). You read the specs, see the pictures, try them, and perhaps A/B them to some extent. Then the decision should be pretty clear and relatively easy; AND reasonably objective. Not so with guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 LOLIt's like saying after 40 years I choose Taco Bell over Morton Steakhouse, any day! Try looking at it this way, one can enjoy inexpensive pulled barbecue pork more than fillet mignon. One is tasty and bold but not tender. The other is tender and subtle (which for some palettes can be interpreted as bland). It's a matter of taste. I've got a friend from Thailand who doesn't care for some of the priciest dishes in the West. His problem with them? Not enough spice and not hot enough. He wouldn't care if I spent $70 on a plate at the local five-star steakhouse. He would rather that I drive him 50 miles to a really good but inexpensive Thai restaurant that had the REAL ingredients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Overpriced firewood that won't burn for more than 10 minutes. Ain't that the truth? Seems that way with my whole family with no matter what I buy. I haven't gotten very many new guitars, but the reaction of the folks around here (with the exception of my dad---he's pretty cool) has been something like, "Yeah, it's nice. But did you really need another one?" Pedals, guitars, amps...I'm always met with the same reaction and after a while, it gets to me. I'm always second-guessing myself before I buy something because there's no one to share my joy with. Except the folks around here, of course...but goat pictures only go so far :poke:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guildfire Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I've got a friend from Thailand who doesn't care for some of the priciest dishes in the West. His problem with them? Not enough spice and not hot enough. He talking about steak or women? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revive Posted July 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Try looking at it this way, one can enjoy inexpensive pulled barbecue pork more than fillet mignon. One is tasty and bold but not tender. The other is tender and subtle (which for some palettes can be interpreted as bland). It's a matter of taste. I've got a friend from Thailand who doesn't care for some of the priciest dishes in the West. His problem with them? Not enough spice and not hot enough. I got you... maybe my Taco Bell analogy was a little extreme. And yes, I also prefer cheap spicy Thai food than caviars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 He talking about steak or women? That'd be my buddy from Brazil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members beedlesw Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I think it really depends on the guitar itself, your playing style/skill level and what you expect. I'm a semi-serious casual player(I play all the time, but not in front of anyone), and a few months ago I bought a Martin 000-15. At $900 for an all solid wood, american made guitar it was definitely worth it. I also played a Martin 000X1, which cost $500 and was definitely not worth the price tag. So in the sub $1k guitar market, yea, more expensive is generally(but not always) better, but over that it gets kind of crazy. is a $5k 000-28EC really that much better than a $2k 000-18? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 Barring future objections, looks like the consensus is... Expensive guitars are worth the money for advanced players, not so much for beginners. Not only expensive guitars are an acquired taste (your perception develops as your playing time accumulates), they also require skills to bring out the best of them. Thanks everyone. It's been an interesting discussion!Pretty much, except it's not the ears that make the difference, it's the fingers. The way the strings are fretted and picked (or strummed) makes way more difference to the sound than a lot of people realise. So it's not a perception thing. A golf driver is a good analogy - a pro will be able to take advantage of a great driver, whereas a beginner will be happy to just hit the ball and doesn't need a $500 club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I think it really depends on the guitar itself, your playing style/skill level and what you expect. There was a $1400 Larrivee that a buddy and I came across. There were two of the same model in the store but this particular one was distinctly different. It was, to our ears, the perfect blend of a Martin boom and a Taylor bright. It outplayed everything in that store. Even with my then basic skills the instrument seemed to come to life. We both thought about buying it but we balked at the price-tag. It was our first encounter with Larrivees and we had heard of this model priced for $200 less elsewhere and our original budgets were about $800 max. What we failed to realize then was how exceptional that one guitar was. We toured other Larrivee dealerships in the area and couldn't find another that came close to the same loudness and tone. We couldn't find any other guitar that came close. It was a marvelous manufacturing fluke! We then discovered that the guitar had sold the next day, ... and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Someone was able to recognize the value of that instrument instantly and took it home. Yeah. For that guitar, it WAS worth AT LEAST $1400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 In my experience expensive guitars are worth it only if you take the time to pick out a truly good one. Seems like the quality varies greatly these days even of the same model.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 It was a marvelous manufacturing fluke! Been there... Regretted that... That happens from time to time. Gotta be ready to jump when lightening strikes. Great story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guildfire Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 That'd be my buddy from Brazil. So hot and spicy huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fendouglas Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 I'm a firm believer that it doesn't matter what it says on the headstock (or the price tag), if it's 'comfortable' to play and sounds good - then go for it. In the past I owned a Guild that played nice, but wasn't 'gig-proof' and a Gibson 12 that isn't a patch on my current 2nd hand Ibanez Concord 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 To answer the original question: no (but that's just my opinion). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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