Let's talk abt your recent cheapies that surprised U w more bang 4/buck than expected

[GAS Man]

I'm going to go with my new Epiphone Worn '66 in Aged Cherry

 

Not my pics, but (Aged Cherry)

 

 

 

With some haggling between AMS and ZZ I got this one for $310.

 

Starting off with a very humble Indonesian pedigree, the guitar at first disappoints with some skimpy craftsmanship (my pg could have been cut better around the pickup, the wood has teensy marks like a Cindy Crawford beauty spots, and two of the knobs were misplaced - not to mention that the webshots don't capture the color accurately)

 

You'd have to have flood lights on them to bleed the color out to this

 

but I love the feel and comfort and the Epi NY Mini Hums sound pretty decent. It's a winner for me. A very nice guitar for the comfy chair. Light weight, small body, good action and fairly versatile tonal palette.

 

Add your nominations -

[D Carroll]

Seagull S6.

 

[GAS Man]

Yep, know what you mean about Seagulls. I heard somewhere along the line that the Canadian gov't subsidizes the factory explaining partly why you get more than you might expect. I recently bought a Canadian Godin Richmond Dorchester for $659 from MusiciansBuy and I'd swear (but not on a stack of Bibles) that it is every bit as good as a Rickenbacker 330 for half the price.

 

[fiveoclockhero]

That Wilshire is hella cool, at least in terms of looks. I like that "vintage but slightly offbeat" style. Sorry she had a couple blems but I'm glad you're happy overall.

 

As for the Seagull, they are notoriously the best acoustic for short cash. Great buy but I'm not surprised.

 

Assuming I get an Xaviere offset or a VM Jazzy in the next couple months (and I may or may not) I could be adding to this thread.

[DaleH]

My 06 Highway One tele. Pickup and bridge swap and it's a great player.

[Buttcrust]

Everyone and their mom knows Epiphone's are, well, not a Gibson, but I love these things, can't find anything wrong with them, they stay in tune, pickups sound ... well, they sound fine, no dead spots, buzz. No they aren't Gibson's, but I like them, I guess thats all that really matters.

 

 

Heres another inexpensive Epiphone. I see the Gibson version is more than $1000.00. These guitars suit me just fine, beautiful instruments. I believe Epiphone's quality is getting better. They are releasing some very nice, affordable guitars.

 

 

 

for "cheapies", I think they look quite nice, and they "play like buttah":)

[FoonkySteve]

Got me a squier custom ii tele vintage modernised. Total Steal at

[FarToMany]

Many have said it in the past and I have to agree. This was by far my best bang for the buck. I have under $120 into it between the guitar and the Duncan TB-4 I put in it---but then I changed all the hardware to black---but that was for cosmetic, not for playability. I gave it a real quickie fret level, and its awesome. It gets played alot, I love it.

 

[sxyryan]

I had be on the Fence with doing a tele-> esquire project, and was looking for a good place to start. Having mentioned the CV 50's Tele a lot in conversations, my bandmates (past and current) and girlfriend got together and bought me this:

 

My original plan was to totally gut the wiring, get a new neck, all new hardware. ect.

 

This thing kicked so much butt, I used most of the stock parts. I did rewire it with premium components, but mainly as an experiment to see if I could tell a difference. Removed the neck pickup, kept the stock bridge pickup, and satin-ized the hardware. I love this thing to death.

 

[The Rossness]

My Agile AS-1000 is pretty snazzy. Not as nice as a Gibson Custom Shop ES-335, but for $400 it gets awfully close.

 

 

I've got it loaded with SD P-Rails and it sounds terrific.

[photon9]

My Agile AS-1000 is pretty snazzy. Not as nice as a Gibson Custom Shop ES-335, but for $400 it gets awfully close. I've got it loaded with SD P-Rails and it sounds terrific.

 

Those have tempted me many a time.

 

That one looks very nice.

 

But what is going on with those inlays? Looks like a photoshop catastrophe.

 

EDIT: Looks like I was correct... the AS-1000 does not have inlays on the neck.

 

http://www.rondomusic.com/as1000natlfame.html

[chiro972]

I had be on the Fence with doing a tele-> esquire project, and was looking for a good place to start. Having mentioned the CV 50's Tele a lot in conversations, my bandmates (past and current) and girlfriend got together and bought me this: My original plan was to totally gut the wiring, get a new neck, all new hardware. ect. This thing kicked so much butt, I used most of the stock parts. I did rewire it with premium components, but mainly as an experiment to see if I could tell a difference. Removed the neck pickup, kept the stock bridge pickup, and satin-ized the hardware. I love this thing to death.

 

I have recently started getting rid of my cheapies. I decided I wanted one les paul, one strat and one tele. I wanted each to be the real deal, american made. Instead of having 10 guitars, I wanted three that were just what I wanted. I got a LP Studio Deluxe that I love. I got a great deal on a used '08 american strat that I love. For the Tele, I just cannot find anything I like better than my Squier classic vibe tele. The thing is very close to being my favorite guitar I've ever played. Crazy huh? I dont know why, but this guitar is just perfect in so many ways.

[Buttcrust]

at one point I had a black and white "tuxedo" Squier. That CV sure does look nice. I do want to eventually get a Telecaster and that does look super nice.

[profgalen]

I think this Dobro Hound Dog (the one on the right) was an incredible value for under $300 (I had a $50 coupon). One of the best sounding wood body resos I've ever played. Thanks to some video lesson I'm getting my slide chops together. I like the lace reso pup I put on it, but I have a GFS NYII coming today I'm going to try. I'm also installing volume and tone controls. I found a parlor (000) sized hard case it fits perfectly.

[Stumpy Joe]

Picked up an Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro for $399. Just had it set up, and it plays like a dream. Looks good, too. (although you can't tell by this photo)

 

[Rose Pickups]

This is as cheap as it gets.. Maestro... refinished with rattle cans.. routed neck and new bridge... A4 buckers. Frets were awful, but after some work it really is a player! Got it from a friend..

 

Before:

After:

[Mechanoized]

The SX Tele I picked up about a year ago is still kickin' and getting played regularly. I need to give it a good setup since I've stuck to keeping it in C standard now for all my desert rocking needs. The intonation needs to be reset, nut adjusted for thicker strings, maybe strip the neck of the poly coated over the damn thing and possibly swap the pups. Then again I've not done anything major to it in the year I've had it and still go back to it regularly.

[garthman]

 

 

[fiveoclockhero]

I had be on the Fence with doing a tele-> esquire project, and was looking for a good place to start. Having mentioned the CV 50's Tele a lot in conversations, my bandmates (past and current) and girlfriend got together and bought me this: My original plan was to totally gut the wiring, get a new neck, all new hardware. ect. This thing kicked so much butt, I used most of the stock parts. I did rewire it with premium components, but mainly as an experiment to see if I could tell a difference. Removed the neck pickup, kept the stock bridge pickup, and satin-ized the hardware. I love this thing to death.

 

Yeah, you can't go wrong with that guitar. I love mine and I'm pleasantly surprised by how many people have bought one and THEN decided not to mod it after all. That's one of the big things that differentiates the Squiers of late with the old school Squiers that were used almost exclusively for gutting and putting new parts in. (Other than my current Tele, I've owned two Squiers in my life and they've both been subjected to heavy mods... I learned how to use a soldering iron on my first Squier Strat).

 

Although I do love the Esquire thing you've done with this.

[gorebuc]

I haven't touched my MIM '69 Thinline RI since I got my Xaviere JT-100. Nor have I cranked up the AC15 since I got my Mustang II...nor pulled out the RAT or DMM...just using my EHX Germanium4BigMuff for OD and fuzz. I've been into vintage instrumental rock (Shadows, Ventures, etc) and this rig gets me there in a big way. The pickups on the Xaviere are the real deal (especially the neck) and the Fender models on the Mustang, as we know, are pure aural sex. So much fun. Once I got the trem worked out, it even holds its tuning with some real abuse of the arm.

 

[kayd_mon]

I got this for $300 at a pawn shop. I play it more than my Gibsons. Excellent playability, tone... it's the best guitar I could imagine getting for $300. It's completely worth it at its brand-new price of ~$670.

 

[fiveoclockhero]

I haven't touched my MIM '69 Thinline RI since I got my Xaviere JT-100. Nor have I cranked up the AC15 since I got my Mustang II...nor pulled out the RAT or DMM...just using my EHX Germanium4BigMuff for OD and fuzz. I've been into vintage instrumental rock (Shadows, Ventures, etc) and this rig gets me there in a big way. The pickups on the Xaviere are the real deal (especially the neck) and the Fender models on the Mustang, as we know, are pure aural sex. So much fun. Once I got the trem worked out, it even holds its tuning with some real abuse of the arm.

 

I'm considering an Xaviere offset. That's a beautiful instrument.

[Buttcrust]

:cool:^^^I dig that rig^^^:cool:

[Brian Krashpad]

Most recent cheapie guitar was a MIK Thunderbird bass I picked up for a Benjamin over a year or so ago. It's quite nice although since getting it I'm no longer playing bass in the 2 side bands I had been, so I haven't had much chance to use it.

 

 

 

 

A bit more recent than that, I got a sweet T-40 bass as well, which I have got to play, as it became my main bass in the band in which I was (at the time) solely the bassist for. Whether it qualifies as a "cheapie" at $275 (w/ohsc) I guess is up for dispute, although I'd say that a USA-made bass for $275 w/ohsc should be considered a "cheapie" also. I've been very happy with that T-40.

 

 

 

 

 

Also, last summer when I went to a 3-day jam/party/guitar pull, the T-40 proved popular with my fellow partiers as well:

 

 

On the amp front, I picked up a Super Champ XD a bit over a year ago and have also been very happy with that.

 

I'd expected to use it as my stage monitor in my church praise team, and it is perfect for that. However, also I've found that in my louder rock bands I can use is as a close monitor and then line it out to a bigger tube rig in the backline, and then mic (if necessary) the bigger tube rig, which is a use I had not thought about when I got it. Here's a pic of me using it that way, the SC XD is way over to the right, lined out to the Sunn 200S head with an open back 2x12 behind me in the backline:

 

[roygbiv]

 

I have recently started getting rid of my cheapies. I decided I wanted one les paul, one strat and one tele. I wanted each to be the real deal, american made. Instead of having 10 guitars, I wanted three that were just what I wanted. I got a LP Studio Deluxe that I love. I got a great deal on a used '08 american strat that I love. For the Tele, I just cannot find anything I like better than my Squier classic vibe tele. The thing is very close to being my favorite guitar I've ever played. Crazy huh? I dont know why, but this guitar is just perfect in so many ways.

 

 

 

if i couldn't report that my cv tele is my #2 fave guitar of all time, i'd think you're crazy.

 

but you're not crazy. it's THAT good.