quantity vs quality??

[sleewell]

obviously we all would like to have a studio packed with the most expensive guitars imaginable but in reality say that you already had your #1 guitar that you were happy with but had 1500 bucks and were just looking to add to your colection.... would you buy one awesome guitar or 2-3 less expenisve guitars?? for me i think a lot goes into the brand name and usually they are quality instruments but you pay a lot for whats written on the headstock.

 

right now i am deciding between either a prs singlecut or les paul for around 1500 OR 2-3 agiles (lp copy, hollow body w/ bigsby, jazz master copy). i'm torn.... one super sweet guitar that i would be freaked out to take places or 2-3 lesser quality but having 3 different guitars to play could be more fun and less stressful to take them out of the house.

[Elias Graves]

Quality. And if you can get something you love and have money left over, go amp shopping.

 

 

EG

[BG76]

I would keep saving and buy something really, really nice.

 

Every time I buy something cheap I end up losing money on it because I should have waited and bought what I really wanted.

 

You'll notice there are a lot of 'flavor of the month' items around here that are all the rage then a few months later you can get one used for peanuts once the hype dies down.

 

I also buy 99% of what I buy used - so that $1500 would go a lot further.

[underivy]

For me it would depend on how they felt when I played them. I've never played an Agile, so it'd be hard for me to make a blind purchase. In general, I do tend to favor quality over quantity.....but I also believe that it's not necessary to spend huge amounts of money for acceptable quality.

 

Then again, since I'm still super happy with what I already have, if I had $1500 lying around, I might just try to resist the temptation and save it instead (add it to the vacation fund or something, maybe). That, or I'd give half to my partner to spend on whatever she wants and take half for myself. I'm not very exciting, am I?

[Prages]

If you want different flavors, then get a few cheaper guitars with vastly different construction/tones. I do a lot of recording, so I like to have some variety. It's not just about tone. Some styles of guitars actually make you play differently.

 

However, if you have a particular guitar that you really want, then by all means, spend the money on a good example of that guitar.

 

The guitars that I enjoy playing the most are all fairly expensive, high quality guitars. The guitars that I just pull out occasionally when recording are generally cheaper guitars. No need for me to drop $1500 on a guitar that I'm only going to use once or twice a month.

 

All that said, if I had $1500, I'd probably be looking for a nice acoustic. I've got a few acoustics, but nothing that one would call 'nice'.

[Mechanoized]

I'd go with the Agiles and upgrade some of the hardware. But that depends on the kind of feel you like in a guitar. The Agiles I've played have a good feel to me, enough so that I've no problem buying up a couple and swapping out a couple parts rather than dropping an extra $400 on a different name brand.

 

The best analogy I can think of for this is clothing. You can buy something expensive that will last longer and look like money, or you can buy many things that don't have the same flash but still feel great and suite their function well.

 

But I've always been a function over fashion kind of guy.

[k tone]

I just sold two Chinese built guitars to finance a USACG Tele build. Well worth it. The Tele turned out great.

[GCDEF]

I've found the price point for quality has come down a lot lately with some very nice import guitars available. With $1500, you could easily get two really nice instruments.

 

I'm actually in the process of selling off some of my more expensive guitars because my cheaper ones are just as good.

[BlackCat]

 

... You'll notice there are a lot of 'flavor of the month' items around here that are all the rage then a few months later you can get one used for peanuts once the hype dies down...

 

 

When I first started hanging around here I jumped on that "flavor of the month" bandwagon several times. None of them has stood the test of time.

[MrChitlins]

 

When I first started hanging around here I jumped on that "flavor of the month" bandwagon several times. None of them has stood the test of time.

 

 

Opposite here.

I still have most of them and have improved them to the point it would be expensive to replace them with something 'better', plus I wouldn't want to.

But I didn't jump in to the super-cheap/novelty stuff. Just grabbed some good deals on low priced guitars.

[Doctor Morbius]

Quality, even though my price point is well below the $1500 mark. I also own the most expensive amps I've ever owned too. That's where the real tone comes from.

[Jkater]

All my guitars except the Parts-o-tele are over $1000. I suppose I could go cheap to add a style that is missing in the arsenal but that I would play less often (ex: a floydRose shredder for fun). But I probably won't as it would be kind of silly.

[Dances w/carp]

Quality all the way.

 

I already have several cheaper guitars, not junk, more like middle of the road-type stuff, and they're certainly playable, but 95% of the time, I play the best I got. Some of them others haven't been touched in over a year. I should probably sell em and buy something I'd like to play.

[sleewell]

good responses all around. I think the fun with the 3 agiles would be upgrading them and having completely different guitar options besides my current two strats. i have wanted a hollow body for a while now but if they arent up to my standards and i dont play them it would be a huge waste. on the flipside, having a PRS or LP would be amazing and complement my strats pretty well.

[DaleH]

Amp shopping.

[Guitar Heel]

Amp shopping.

 

yep.

[Elias Graves]

 

yep.

 

 

That's hard to dispute. Man, a good amp makes such a difference.

 

EG

[thelemac]

I don't post much but I read alot. In reading and lurking around this site I have bought many flavors of the month, the most recent being a Silver Creek T-170 Acoustic that was supposed to sound as good as a high end Martin. I always bite because with my financial situation I can afford a $1000 means that I have to save for a couple of months. I have been side tracked from getting the guitars I really want because I bite on the "cheaper" equivalent only to find that a month down the road that the Silver Creek sound dead and lifeless and that the crazy amount of finish on it puts an end to any form of resonance wishing that I would have just saved up and bought the Martin.

 

In a nutshell If you want a Gibson save up for a Gibson and don't let yourself get side tracked.

['s mel gibson]

Quality is the way to go.

 

You'll look back, 20 or more years from now and will be glad, (if you still have the quality guitars) that you made the investment.

 

Quality guitars are like pieces of art. At this time, they do seem to catch up to the brand new prices of the day after 20 or 30 years.

 

But if you want a quick fix, don't spend too much.

[lefchr]

I'd go quality, you will be much happier in the long run.

[Rekel]

 

obviously we all would like to have a studio packed with the most expensive guitars imaginable

 

 

Nope. Not for me.

 

 

but in reality say that you already had your #1 guitar that you were happy with but had 1500 bucks and were just looking to add to your colection.... would you buy one awesome guitar or 2-3 less expenisve guitars??

 

 

Save yourself some money and just get a nice second hand Variax. I'm serious.

[Wyatt]

By what you want, but buy quality.

 

Quality isn't exactly independent of price, but it doesn't mean it has to be an expensive guitar.

 

The fretwork on my old PRS was some of the best I had ever seen, a work of art (PRS, Tyler and Anderson still stand heads and shoulders above most with fretwork, IMHO). Neither Fender nor Gibson even came close to the same quality. You know what did? Schecter Diamond Series. I don't know if they still do or not, but when the Diamond series was first introduced, the California shop, the same one that built all the high-end US Schecters, would do the fretwork and final setup on each Diamond series guitar before it shipped out. These days Schecter has completely refocused itself to placing the Diamond series in the fore-front and they sell a lot more guitars, so I have no idea if they still have the same attention to detail they did 10 years ago.

 

I'm not endorsing any brand, but if you buy something, really look it over and compare to all types of guitars out there and see the differences in construction across brands. Play everything on the wall at your local stores and see what reals right to you.

 

But ultimately, if you want the brand name, buy the brand name and satisfy your desire.

 

I will add this. If you buy Gibson or Fender and ever want or need to sell, they are easier to resell...everything else, including PRS is harder to move. The buying public knows Fender and Gibson and is more inclined to consider them, everything else requires a little more educated consumer.

[Special J]

Quality for sure. But if you're patient, you can probably find two great guitars for that much by cherry picking some imports or buying used, off-brand US guitars. I have a small but versatile collection of high quality US and MIJ guitars. I didn't spend over $1k for any of em.

[Guitar Heel]

 

By what you want, but buy quality. Quality isn't exactly independent of price, but it doesn't mean it has to be an expensive guitar. The fretwork on my old PRS was some of the best I had ever seen, a work of art (PRS, Tyler and Anderson still stand heads and shoulders above most with fretwork, IMHO). Neither Fender nor Gibson even came close to the same quality. You know what did? Schecter Diamond Series. I don't know if they still do or not, but when the Diamond series was first introduced, the California shop, the same one that built all the high-end US Schecters, would do the fretwork and final setup on each Diamond series guitar before it shipped out. These days Schecter has completely refocused itself to placing the Diamond series in the fore-front and they sell a lot more guitars, so I have no idea if they still have the same attention to detail they did 10 years ago. I'm not endorsing any brand, but if you buy something, really look it over and compare to all types of guitars out there and see the differences in construction across brands. Play everything on the wall at your local stores and see what reals right to you. But ultimately, if you want the brand name, buy the brand name and satisfy your desire. I will add this. If you buy Gibson or Fender and ever want or need to sell, they are easier to resell...everything else, including PRS is harder to move. The buying public knows Fender and Gibson and is more inclined to consider them, everything else requires a little more educated consumer.

 

 

Well-said, as always. If you've already got a guitar that you love, and you have the cash to spend, then I'd get something that you'll want to keep for a really long time. It's nice to have a bunch of guitars (I have a collection of nice ones and cheapos alike), but if I could have only one, it'd be my PRS. I won't ever let that one go.

[Hozze]

I just went "quantity" and bought 2 Squiers and an Epi. Good guitars though, but not exactly high-end.

 

Now I think I'm getting another Gibson though. Cherry Flying V, mod it with black hardware, pickguard and pickup covers. It'll be sweet.

 

So, mix and match is the way for me. I have Squiers and Epis but also more expensive guitars and they each get their fair share of playing time. After all, a good guitar isn't all in the price tag.