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Do you buy from big or small guitar builders?


Visconti

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Big guitar builders are Fender, Gibson and PRS.

Small builders are Thorn, Echopark and Kauer.

For the past 15 years everyone of my guitars were from a small builder. They were custom built for me. I gave them the specs and I chose the wood, hardware and pickups. IMO, sine they are small they can take time building their guitars and all of them are great guitars.

I don't know if you know this, but many small builders started off working for one of the big builders and then moved on to start their own companies. Gabe from Echopark Guitars used to work with Leo Fender and George Fullerton at Fender Guitars. Joe Knaggs from Knaggs guitars worked for PRS as the Director of R&D and Private Stock. Ron Thorn does a lot of work for Fender and Gretch they can't do like head stock plates and fingerboards for highend guitars.

Do you buy from big or small guitar builders?

Also, I don't want to read about cork sniffing crap. What does it have to do with guitars?

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Right now I've got my Johnson by AXL strat in my hands.  It quacks like a strat should with the 5-way selector switch in positions 2 and 4.  I bought it for $20.  It had a ding in the body and the whammy bar is busted off in the hole but I lock down the bridge anyway.

Not sure if AXL is a big builder or not.  I think they are not too big but they are definitley a boutique builder.

 

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kayd_mon wrote:

No, no, no. What Visconti is really asking is if you pay big money for big names, or huge money for little names. But no corksniffing jokes aloud. It's in the OP. His rules, then.

I generally pay hardly any money for no-names.  Sometimes I even sand off the no-names because I am ashamed.

I sanded the name off my Rogue acoustic.  If people ask I say "Well, I bought it from a guy.  He said he bought it from another guy who said he thought it was a company that began with a G or something...not sure...but it sounds good don't you think?" :smiley-music021:

 

 

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Virgman wrote:

 

 

Right now I've got my Johnson by AXL strat in my hands.  It quacks like a strat should with the 5-way selector switch in positions 2 and 4.  I bought it for $20.  It had a ding in the body and the whammy bar is busted off in the hole but I lock down the bridge anyway.

 

Not sure if AXL is a big builder or not.  I think they are not too big but they are definitley a boutique builder.

 

 

 

Have you ever played a really really killer Strat?

AXL have inexpensive American made guitars and really inexpensive Chinese made guitars. They're not sweating over the details.

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kayd_mon wrote:

 

 

No, no, no. What Visconti is really asking is if you pay big money for big names, or huge money for little names. But no corksniffing jokes allowed. It's in the OP. His rules, then.

 

Yes. You can buy a Fender or Gibson for $5,000, but I'd rather buy a small builder guitar and it will be less money with better quality.

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Most of my stuff is Gibson/Fender but on the smaller scale (but still = affordable value) would be my interest in DiPinto.   The Galaxie 4 and Mach IV are both pretty dern good guitars.  Plus they bring something a bit akin to their own flavor to the table.

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