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I realized I'm too cheap . . .


sahlomonic

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How old is that? We need to adjust the $800 for inflation.

 

 

There was a thread about max you'd pay for a guitar a couple of months back.

I said anything over $1000 is starting to get a little silly, and I feel that is probably a fair figure for this purpose.

 

to the OP, don't sweat it. Especially in today's market, more $ does not neccesarily mean better quality. Take that statement with a grain of common sense, though.

I own an Epi and a Gibby, and while I feel my Epi is a fantastic guitar for the money, there is no contest between it and my Gibson.

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My first guitar was the 400 and then I moved to the 1000 deluxe and I seriously felt like a moron, back in '07 it was the same construction just with a quilt top and gaudy abalone. ESP guitars are indeed a step above though.

 

 

I've had an EC1000 for 6 years, and finally went out and got an Eclipse II. I ended up taking it back. While the fretwork was a little better on the ESP and the ebony fretboard was nice...the guitar sounded like {censored}. Very thin and tinny. My LTD sounds fatter by a mile. While I'm sure I got a dog with the ESP, don't count out LTD's higher end. There wasn't that much of a difference between the two.

 

My point being is that some cheaper companies make great stuff, and don't be ashamed to rock out the cheaper stuff. I love that LTD and it gets as much play as my American Strat, two handmade BC Riches and Ibanez S Custom.

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I too am a C.O.B.

 

Generally speaking, I don't buy anything major unless:

A) It will make a significant impact on my music and/or ability to play gigs.

B) I intend to keep it a very long time.

 

While I have done some major upgrades to my gear lately, I only spend real $$$ when I'm convinced of the value I'm getting.

 

I was at the SE Guitar & Amp show with a friend (front room player) last fall. When we got to the Reinhardt Amps booth, his chin dropped at the prices. He asked me to explain why someone would pay $3000 for a head. "That's more than I've got in two amps and three guitars and I think my stuff sounds & plays great" he said.

 

First I told him "well, that makes you a lucky man." ;)

 

Sound & feel have a lot to do with it but those aspects are subjective and only an individual player can tell if the price is too high for what he gets.

 

Build quality is another factor. All musical gear exists somewhere between "professional tool" and "consumer product."

If you're playing at home or just a handful of local gigs/jams a year you can probably find something that sounds good from the later camp and be perfectly happy.

If you're getting paid a real salary to play 200 live shows a year, you can bet your ass that having an amp that not only sounds great but will stand up to thousands of miles on the road, harsh conditions, and is not a total PITA to service is worth the extra cash.

 

As with amps, most of us are somewhere in between these two situations. Some folks don't mind paying the upcharge even when the don't need to. I encourage this, partly because having good gear can make your playing experience more enjoyable but mostly because these are the people who sell their used gear to guys like me for half of retail. :)

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I guess being poor and young has been a blessing and a curse.

 

My DSL100/1960AV has been my dream rig for a while. It's simple, it sounds great, and I managed to get everything for just about $900. I don't currently own a guitar that cost more then $400 (even the Charvel body I'm looking at only costs $450). I think the only reason I'd get anything more expensive is if I magically get an endorsement, and my Marshall dies on me.

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I guess being poor and young has been a blessing and a curse.


My DSL100/1960AV has been my dream rig for a while. It's simple, it sounds great, and I managed to get everything for just about $900. I don't currently own a guitar that cost more then $400 (even the Charvel body I'm looking at only costs $450). I think the only reason I'd get anything more expensive is if I magically get an endorsement, and my Marshall dies on me.

 

 

Some of the best live tones I've heard came from a DSL100. Check out some YouTube clips of Satchel's guitar solo (Steel Panther) and you'll know what I'm talking about.

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That big list was pretty sweet. Lot's of nice observations. That's definitely a clip-n-save type post.

 

That said, I'm glad I finally pulled the trigger on the premium stuff I REALLY wanted and paid for that last 10% of quality. I wasted about 15-20 years of my playing time trying to make do with and consequently flipping cheap gear that was never really what I wanted or just didn't have that last 10% covered. If I had actually bought the good stuff earlier I would have gotten off much cheaper when you add it all up.

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I guess i'm the odd ball.

Nothing like a real 1968 Plexi Marshall 12,000 series or a Soldano SLO.

And guitars, well i build my own strats and tele's to my personal specs. But my Gibson LP's i buy.

A chambered wanna-be LP studio can't hold a candle to a 58 Historic Custom Shop Les Paul that's non-weight relieved.

 

"What's good aint cheap , and what's cheap aint good".

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I've had an EC1000 for 6 years, and finally went out and got an Eclipse II. I ended up taking it back. While the fretwork was a little better on the ESP and the ebony fretboard was nice...the guitar sounded like {censored}. Very thin and tinny. My LTD sounds fatter by a mile. While I'm sure I got a dog with the ESP, don't count out LTD's higher end. There wasn't that much of a difference between the two.


My point being is that some cheaper companies make great stuff, and don't be ashamed to rock out the cheaper stuff. I love that LTD and it gets as much play as my American Strat, two handmade BC Riches and Ibanez S Custom.

 

 

I'd most definitely say you got a dog.

That or my Eclipse is one of the best ever made because it makes every comparable LTD I've played feel and sound like a toy (in comparison that is).

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Seriously, I don't care about where its made, how much it costs anymore. I've spent WAY too much money on some guitars/amps and ended up highly disappointed. I've also spent almost nothing and been disappointed.


Now I just PLAY whatever I buy and decide it only on that credential. I don't think about anything else, just how much I enjoy playing the instrument. As a result I have some USA made stuff and some cheap as hell stuff that I EQUALLY love. Wood is wood, metal is metal. All that matters is whether or not the way those are arranged works for you.

 

 

I like your way of thinking.

 

Now I just PLAY whatever I buy and decide it only on that credential. quite true!

 

My favorite guitar right now is a 200$ used Ibanez RG550 I bought a few months ago...

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I play an AX40 too. I have also owned two EBMM Axis' and other than the pickups,I can't tell that big of a difference between the AX40 and the Axis. I play in alot of dive bars so having alot of highend gear doesn't make sense to me. I have a few nice pieces in my collection but they almost never leave the house.

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Guys, that post as brought up that many of you play an AX40... How are those guitars? I like the red finish of this year.

 

 

If you blindfolded me and handed me an AX40 and an Axis with the same pickups in each, I couldn't tell them apart. The Sterlings have the same unfinished neck and it is asymetrical (not sure I spelled that right) just like the Axis. I'm still using the stock pickups in the AX40 only because I can't decide on Seymour Duncan Blackouts or some sort of Bare Knuckle.

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this is all bull{censored}.

 

you cant tell me if you plug in a 70s marshall JMP and a gibson les paul custom with a OCD or a any good OD pedal you wont {censored} your pants.

 

having a great sound and a perfect guitar makes all the difference. you can play your line6 and LP copy, but its nothing even close to a real marshall and LP.

 

also having a good sound and guitar makes you ply better, you'd be more into what your doing.

 

I could give a {censored} less if no one cares what my tone sounds like.. I DO.

 

I cant afford a real vintage les paul, so I play a michael kelly, its not the same.

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this is all bull{censored}.


you cant tell me if you plug in a 70s marshall JMP and a gibson les paul custom with a OCD or a any good OD pedal you wont {censored} your pants.


having a great sound and a perfect guitar makes all the difference. you can play your line6 and LP copy, but its nothing even close to a real marshall and LP.


also having a good sound and guitar makes you ply better, you'd be more into what your doing.


I could give a {censored} less if no one cares what my tone sounds like.. I DO.


I cant afford a real vintage les paul, so I play a michael kelly, its not the same.

 

 

Then spend about $650.00 and get an early 80's Greco or a little more and get a Burny or a Tokai. FRPC will agree with me on the Tokai I'm sure. As far as the JMP and the OCD go I happen to have that exact setup and I can tell you I can get the same sound out of a 5150 combo. I sound like me no matter what gear I use.

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this is all bull{censored}.


you cant tell me if you plug in a 70s marshall JMP and a gibson les paul custom with a OCD or a any good OD pedal you wont {censored} your pants.


having a great sound and a perfect guitar makes all the difference.

 

 

So you're saying that the only guitars that are truly "perfect" are Les Pauls and the only way to get a great sound is to plug a good OD into a '70s JMP?

 

You seriously need to expand your horizons. Nobody is trying to say that cheaper gear is exactly the same as more expensive gear, just that there are plenty of low budget options that sound great and play well. And as a guy who's owned amps that retail for nearly $5k and that I've bought for $200, I can guaran-damn-tee that spending more cash doesn't guarantee that you'll sound better, or even like an amp or guitar more.

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I play epiphones once in a while to remind myself why I don't then I go play something else I'm much more inclined to like. I have only bought one guitar new, though I currently own 5 USA built guitars of varying prices, all above said $800 and I appreciate the tone and feel of all of them more than anything I've yet to play under $800. For those who do find gems in under that range. You're lucky and I won't speak ill of you. I went custom in my amp choices because I had an impossible time finding the tone and amp response I was after in a production amp.

 

I guess what i'm saying is that money, if spent right, will get you gear that is worthwhile to you if you look hard enough. I haven't found the right guitar for less than $1100, for me.

 

The range of high end used gear is really limited here and I've gotten lucky with what I've found used and gotten shipped here.

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So you're saying that the only guitars that are truly "perfect" are Les Pauls and the only way to get a great sound is to plug a good OD into a '70s JMP?


You seriously need to expand your horizons. Nobody is trying to say that cheaper gear is exactly the same as more expensive gear, just that there are plenty of low budget options that sound great and play well. And as a guy who's owned amps that retail for nearly $5k and that I've bought for $200, I can guaran-damn-tee that spending more cash doesn't guarantee that you'll sound better, or even like an amp or guitar more.

 

 

 

you are a dumb ass.

 

the guy below my post said his pv sounds the same a JMP with a OCD.

 

 

The perfect tone to me is a JMP boosted, or modded.

 

yours might be a thousand dollar mesa.

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What the {censored} are you trying to say?

Seriously, I can't really tell exactly what point you're trying to make here.

 

The first time that anyone in this thread said that "X sounds just like Y" was AFTER your post...so unless you can predict the future, it had no bearing on what you posted.

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