Musicians that buy cheap gear

[Knottyhed]

I recently sent a Squire Silver Series for a refret, new pickups and had some active electronics installed. Spent about

[fuzzball]

Nice.

 

My first axe was a Harmony that I bought for $30 used.

 

Now I have 10 guitars that vary in price from around $150 to $1600.

[Scafeets]

 

I'm seriously thinking about getting one of their jazz bass copies - can't beat the price.

 

 

I own a real ('63) Fender Jazz Bass and an SX copy. There are obviously differences; but if I can be impressed with the SX, you know it's a lot of bass for the money.

[wades_keys]

 

I own a real ('63) Fender Jazz Bass and an SX copy. There are obviously differences; but if I can be impressed with the SX, you know it's a lot of bass for the money.

 

 

Excellent - thanks for the recomendation.

 

See, this is what it's all about man - playability at a good price.

 

Just cuz it says Gibson on the headstock or has a big ticket price means absolutely zero.

 

But hey, I'm not here to convince anyone - but I will speak against materialism in music - that name on the headstock and the price tag mean nothing.

 

If you're that damn worried about it then why not get some plastic surgery first, fix your hairpiece, grab some lipo and a Ferrari.

 

You'll get more benefits out of any of those things as far as ego reinforcement.

 

The rest of us - we'll play what works within our budget.

[ggm1960]

I bought one of those $150 cheapo Ibanez GRX20 guitars because I was practicing with a group that was going to be doing lots of modern down-tuned kind of stuff (Breaking Benjamin, SOAD, etc.) and I didn't want to be screwing around with my more expensive guitars changing the action, trussrod and so forth.

That group didn't materialize and the guitar got put aside but I re-enlisted it recently when I decided I wanted to play Three Days Grace's Animal I've Become in drop C tuning.

[Roy Brooks]

 

Frikkin Jimmy Page took the stage with 250 dollar Danelectro's and made em scream. He knew what they could do - set em up high for slide, and didn't give 2 s**ts about the critics.

 

 

At the time Jimmy Page was playing them Danelectros were alot less than $250.

[6StringSling]

Most of my guitars I've gotten off of Craig's List or ebay. My Delta DLE Gold I got for $59. I had the frets dressed and a setup done for $140 and it kicks ass. I just bought two more guitars today on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170135774579&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=007 and http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250149631212&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=015 for a grand total of $227.31 including shipping.

[godisasniper]

My guitar is an early 70s Harmony Solid Body, which I bought earlier this year for 100 bucks. I play it through a cheap ovedrive pedal and a 30 buck solid state amp. I can afford a much better guitar right now, but I haven't been able to find one which I could set up the way I set up mine. I do a crazy setup with at least quarter inch of action, pickups which are raised all the way up on one end and dropped out of sight at the other, with the bass side of the neck pu and the treble side of the bridge pu raised so I can get an awesome tone with both pickups on. I also do this wierd thing where I bend the string behind the bridge, where on my guitar there's about an inch and a half to where the strings are anchored. Since I got this guitar, I've developed a style based on the features of this thing, and it sounds great. I've tried other guitars, including insanely expensive 50s Strats and some Gibsons, but they don't sound right after I've played my axe.

[tim_7string]

I have cheapo stuff and I have moderately priced stuff. Here's my cheapo stuff and the prices I paid for it:

 

Epiphone Les Paul Junior Special II Guitar (Midnight Black) - $50 plus tax

Epiphone EB-O Bass Guitar (Cherry Red w/black pickguard) - $120 plus tax

Crate BT15 Bass Combo (practice amp, 1x8) - $90 plus tax

DigiTech RP80 Floor Multi-effects Unit - $80 plus tax

Yamaha GE-10MII 7-Band Graphic Equalizer Pedal (used) - $25 plus tax

 

Played with all of it live except for the Crate practice amp and it all still works. Only the Les Paul Junior gave me a bit of trouble one night (tuning issues). Most of the time it works really well, despite its inexpensive cost. I love the way it plays and the way it sounds through my amp.

[arf-boy]

Ovation Tornado, $125; Yamaha Pacifica 302s, $200; Danelectro Baritone, $375; Cort SF-A, $30; Yamaha FG-365sII, $250; Guild SB-202 fretless, $225; Washburn XB-400, $400; Yamaha BB-5000, $400; Kentucky KM-180s mandolin, $200; Conrad banjo, free (for the labor of tuning the engine on a 1980 Datsun.)

 

I'm happy with all this gear. I stands up well against instruments many times more expensive.

 

Edit: Okay, except the Cort. It's kind of a toy. But it's not awful and I won it in a $5 raffle. Cost $25 to ship it to me.)

[Knottyhed]

[fuzzball]

It is nice to hear that it is possible to sound good with cheap ...inexpensive...whatever you want to call it gear!

[Scafeets]

..........was 9,500 posts ago.

 

 

I guess this subject touched a few nerves.

[maverick59]

Personal story: If you're constantly tuning and re-tuning your axe during a gig, then it's too cheap. Fix the problem or leave the band, because you're killing the vibe.

[coyote-1]

Hendrix was constantly tuning on-the-fly, and stopping to re-tune between songs.

 

I guess he shoulda left the band, cos he was killin' the vibe......

 

Personal story: If you're constantly tuning and re-tuning your axe during a gig, then it's too cheap. Fix the problem or leave the band, because you're killing the vibe.

 

[maverick59]

Works for me. I'm not a Hendrix fan.

 

 

Hendrix was constantly tuning on-the-fly, and stopping to re-tune between songs. I guess he shoulda left the band, cos he was killin' the vibe......

 

[Badside]

My bassists plays an Ibanez ATK305 (about 500$) yet has a MM Stingray 5 as a backup...

 

I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard as a backup

Granted my main guitar is a Ibanez "Prestige", but it is still worth half the Gibby

[Small Stone]

Personal story: If you're constantly tuning and re-tuning your axe during a gig, then it's too cheap. Fix the problem or leave the band, because you're killing the vibe.

 

My 100$ Yamaha tele stays more in tune than my 1200$ US Strat... Both great instruments, btw.

 

Also: GET A TUNER FOR GOD'S SAKE! The Korg DT-10 can save your ass in a few seconds, and it's 100$.

[maverick59]

LOL. Remember, I said "too cheap". Cheap is fine as long as it makes you look good. There's a line that shouldn't be crossed. I guess when the audience gets bored, starts leaving, or throwing things at you, you've crossed the line and you're sunk.

 

My 100$ Yamaha tele stays more in tune than my 1200$ US Strat... Both great instruments, btw. Also: GET A TUNER FOR GOD'S SAKE! The Korg DT-10 can save your ass in a few seconds, and it's 100$.

[BlueStrat]

 

Personal story: If you're constantly tuning and re-tuning your axe during a gig, then it's too cheap. Fix the problem or leave the band, because you're killing the vibe.

 

 

There are lots of times guitars go out of tune that have nothing to do with the quality of the instrument, and more to do with the temperature fluctuations at the gig. I've done outdoor gigs where the sun would beat on my guitar and make it go flat, then a cool breeze blow by for a few seconds and make it go sharp. I've done big stage concerts where the same thing happened between hot lights and air conditioning, and bar gigs in the fall and winter months where the stage is too close to the door. It happens, whether I was playing a Strat, a PRS or a handmade Nichols guitar.

[maverick59]

We had a rhythm guitar player who tried to tune by ear. Some players can do this, but it's a rare talent. He didn't have it.

 

(Late edit: I know a steel player who can tune PERFECTLY by ear. Now THAT'S a golden ear!)

 

My synth is tuned up & down by frequency, not by note. Of course it defaults to 440, but I can change it when I'm doing something unusual (the main -- second -- part of Clapton's original "Layla" is tuned to 432.2, or some radio stations tune up or down from 440 for some reason).

 

Not all tuners are the same, however. Every player has to use the same tuner, or they could *still* be out of tune with each other. Oh, the arguments: "I'm at 440!"... "No, *I* am at 440!". It's nuts.

 

 

Also: GET A TUNER FOR GOD'S SAKE! The Korg DT-10 can save your ass in a few seconds, and it's 100$.

[dogtownmax]

 

LOL. Remember, I said "too cheap". Cheap is fine as long as it makes you look good. There's a line that shouldn't be crossed. I guess when the audience gets bored, starts leaving, or throwing things at you, you've crossed the line and you're sunk.

 

 

yeah, well, when that happens to me, i will be lucky if its the guitars fault, hahaha..

 

actually i see what you're saying. i mean, i use both cheap, and moderately priced gear. the stuff that works reliably and does what i want it do is fine. the stuff that isnt or doesnt, i cant use.

 

oddly that doesnt track all that well with price. i have a charlie stringer mold spore wah, that while it cost a fair amount (like $200+ back in 2000), it has some problems. there is a 10db gain that is present even with the volume at the minimum, and the switch under the pedal is prone to having some sort of half-state where the effect isnt on, but the signal is off.

 

i should get around to fixing it by just replacing the switch, but that would still leave the unwanted volume boost. so it sits as a livingroom toy while i use... a low rent dunlop crybaby that i got for ~$70. hey, it works. reliably.

 

my guitars tend to track the price/quality slope a little better but there are still exceptions.

[maverick59]

Sure, that can happen in extreme situations. You and I understand that, but does the audience care? They want to hear the music, not that old Chinese song: "Too-Ning".

 

A warming sun will put a guitar out of tune over time, but I don't believe that a cool breeze (swinging door) will change the tuning in a few seconds. The thermal mass of the instrument has to change for the tuning to go out, and that takes a bit. Like leaving it in a hot or cold car. I know players who won't take their guitar out to the car/truck/van/bus until the motor's been running with the heat on in winter, or the AC in summer. I can't say I blame them. I won't put my keyboards in the back of a pickup EVER, and that has bothered a couple of people. Heh. Tuff.

 

A quickie knob-twist between songs is one thing, but to sit there for a minute or two fighting to get in tune is unbearable for everyone involved.

 

 

 

There are lots of times guitars go out of tune that have nothing to do with the quality of the instrument, and more to do with the temperature fluctuations at the gig. I've done outdoor gigs where the sun would beat on my guitar and make it go flat, then a cool breeze blow by for a few seconds and make it go sharp. I've done big stage concerts where the same thing happened between hot lights and air conditioning, and bar gigs in the fall and winter months where the stage is too close to the door. It happens, whether I was playing a Strat, a PRS or a handmade Nichols guitar.

[wades_keys]

Not all tuners are the same, however. Every player has to use the same tuner, or they could *still* be out of tune with each other. Oh, the arguments: "I'm at 440!"... "No, *I* am at 440!". It's nuts.

 

I've dealt with that too - in particular on the POD 2.0's built-in tuner.

 

That's why I no longer use the POD 2.0's built-in tuner.

 

A 440, really needs to be, A 440.

 

If the tuner cannot do that, then it belongs in the trash.

[BlueStrat]

 

A warming sun will put a guitar out of tune over time, but I don't believe that a cool breeze (swinging door) will change the tuning in a few seconds. The thermal mass of the instrument has to change for the tuning to go out, and that takes a bit.

 

 

Nope. It's the steel in the strings that stretches and contracts almost instantly with temperature changes. I recorded a live CD on a big stage in a civic center that had an air conditioner vent right above me about 10 feet up. Every time it kicked on, I could feel the temp change and my guitar would go immediately sharp about a quarter tone. And then the light guy would hit me with the spotlight, and it would go back down. We couldn't use about half the songs we recorded because the tuning would fluctuate two or three times in one song. I finally found a place I could stand that was in the lights most of the time and farther away from the AC and it helped a lot, though I wasn't able to move around much.

 

Try it sometime in your own house. Tune your guitar, then go stand in front of the AC for 10-20 seconds and see what happens. Then turn a blow dryer on it right after that and watch the fun.