Members Alchemist Posted March 25, 2009 Members Share Posted March 25, 2009 I had a lot of knockoff korean guitars (not Epi or big names, but Agile equivalents)..... I had convinced myself that they were easily as good or better than the big name brands and more expensive products. I thought boutique was a bunch of BS and thought people playing PRS, Taylor, Gibson were complete fools for throwing their money away..... I would have argued that point with any of you with full confidence in my beliefs and experiences.... as my experience musically, as well as with equipment grew, my thoughts changed..... and as I was slowly able to afford higher end gear, I began to open my mind and became cognisant of differences in quality, and subtle but very important differences in tone..... not just in more expensive gear, but also in lower end gear, this helps me apprecaite gear from a wider price spectrum... I see a lot of my old negative, defensive mentality in a lot of people here..... just thought I'd share.... most of you will likely grow out of it as I did.... so lighten up, or dont.... at the very least in a few years you will be able to look back and laugh at some of the stupid things you may have said.... I know I do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 211dave112 Posted March 25, 2009 Members Share Posted March 25, 2009 good post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted March 25, 2009 Members Share Posted March 25, 2009 Good post, but for the most part, there will long be a rift between folks that feel they would never spend more than $500 on a guitar and they will try to convince everyone that if you spend more than that, you are a fool and the folks that feel they will not likely own another guitar under $1,000 again because everything in that category is cheap junk and completely useless. Of course, both sides are wrong which I guess is your point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ModernSaloon Posted March 25, 2009 Members Share Posted March 25, 2009 When I was 17 I thought that getting a distortion pedal was going to make me sound like David Gilmour. Now that I'm 40 I know that time spent practicing beats buying gear most of the time. Wish I had known then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metal0822 Posted March 25, 2009 Members Share Posted March 25, 2009 because when you were 14 you were just a kid and probably realized that all you need is something decent and playable to have a good time playing. i know a gibson would be superior to my epi, but my epi is not a bad guitar at all. when i get in the zone and im jamming out a cool new riff, as long as the guitar works and it comfortable i dont give a {censored} about the subtleties./rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted March 25, 2009 Members Share Posted March 25, 2009 I had a lot of knockoff korean guitars (not Epi or big names, but Agile equivalents)..... I had convinced myself that they were easily as good or better than the big name brands and more expensive products. I thought boutique was a bunch of BS and thought people playing PRS, Taylor, Gibson were complete fools for throwing their money away..... I would have argued that point with any of you with full confidence in my beliefs and experiences.... as my experience musically, as well as with equipment grew, my thoughts changed..... and as I was slowly able to afford higher end gear, I began to open my mind and became cognisant of differences in quality, and subtle but very important differences in tone..... not just in more expensive gear, but also in lower end gear, this helps me apprecaite gear from a wider price spectrum... I see a lot of my old negative, defensive mentality in a lot of people here..... just thought I'd share.... most of you will likely grow out of it as I did.... so lighten up, or dont.... at the very least in a few years you will be able to look back and laugh at some of the stupid things you may have said.... I know I do Great post, I completely agree. I have a gone through a big progression since I started playing guitar as well, not only in my gear but in my preferred taste in music and my ability. I wrote a lot of glowing reviews of gear I would no longer give glowing reviews to - chalk a lot of that up to inexperience. Now that I've had a wider range of guitars an amps from different price levels in my possession (rather than just playing them in stores) I feel like I can better assess what is a good piece of gear and what isn't. Until you've had both sides of the spectrum you can't make nearly as good of judgement. And I'm still learning of course...the more you play the more you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ajcoholic Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 When I was 14 I had only one guitar, a Sears Harmony branded Strat copy (from the Christmas wish book). I had a no name 10 watt solid state amp with a volume and tone, and a 2nd hand Ross distortion pedal that my older sister's boyfriend had given me. I didnt know about "good" gear, any more than I knew about bad. My guitar, through that POS amp and pedal sounded AWESOME I jammed to many of my cassette tapes and albums, and with my high shool buddies in our band. Personally, I dont think (even at a young age) I ever turned my nose up at lower priced guitars, nor turned it down to the higher priced stuff. I have always been pretty happy with what I have had to play at the time. I remember wanting a Tele SO bad (I was a huge Police fan back in the 80's) and the only tele in the local shop was one of the MIJ Squire Teles. I remember a friend of mine telling me it wasnt a "real" tele (even though it was still WAY beyond my price range) and I didnt understand what he meant... after all, it looked like a Telecaster and had Fender on it (albeit in smaller letters). Be happy with what you have - play and enjoy it regardless! AJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 I think you're right.....I sometimes wonder if the people making those claims have even played a custom shop level guitar... Having said that I....I don't think you have to buy G or F to get that. I've played high end mainstream brand guitars and I've yet to find one that matches my "boutique" japanese high end "knock offs". But essentially yes...you get what you pay for....and better quality is generally going to cost more money....with some rare exceptions.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members King Loudness Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 When I was 14, I..... oh wait... lol, I am 14. Even in the last couple months, my tastes have really changed. As an example, I built a Strat from parts, and today, I traded one of my superstrat shredders for a tele. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hardtdc Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 It took me years to finally realize that: It's all about the amp. I can make my inexpensive axes sound like boutique quality guitars with the right amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rock-lobster Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 i've found great joys in being to rock my PRS Mira and my Xaviere XV-550 and find them to both be spot on. I do believe that there is something magical about an upper-end piece of gear, but that's never stopped me from loving the inexpensive stuff either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PlinytheWelder Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 There are great $5000 guitars and there are great $500 guitars. The fun is in finding them. That said, when I was around 14 or 15, one of the best players in town (who was a year or two younger than me) had a '57 Gold Top Les Paul. Yeah, the real thing. It was probably the first guitar that I ever strummed and it's been all down hill ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_bleeding Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 i agree with everything you said except the gibson part. They need to fire their entire staff and start working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Inspector 71 Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 This reminds me when I walked down my street with my agile double-cut to jam at my friends house. some kid asked what kind of guitar it was. I explained it was like a gibson double cut les paul. He said nothing beats the real thing. I guess he has one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members halmot Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 I'd never argue that only fools buy expensive guitars. I would argue that, the way I play, I would be a fool to buy an expensive guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newbuilder Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 I really enjoyed reading that. My first guitar was an Epi strat copy and a horible piece of {censored}. I think it was like $125 or $199, red, white, and maple, played alright but had real bad tuning issues. I played through my dad's Peavy bass amp and a DS-1. From that day, I climbed through the $500 fender range and an old Inanez Roadstar SSS maple, sweet axe (wish I had that now), an Acoustic ss half stack and Marshall ss amps. The amps didn't produce the sounds I wanted, but pedals did. Digital Metalizer from Boss and the first Zoom multi distortion. I moved on to a Jem and a JCM 800 with a wah-wah and understood the differences in the equipment and the sounds and what to expect and look for. Don't bash anything, and try as many of all types that you can get your hands on to discover the different tones and feels of all of the different instruments, amps and effects. There is a place for all equipment from cheap to really expensive, and I like them all for what they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 When I was 14 (1967), I had a Magnatone Zephyr guitar and a Magnatone MP1 amp. I loved my gear. I was drawn to Gibson 335's and SG's too. Used SG/Les Pauls and 335's were $200.00. Who could aford that? Remember, I'm 14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 Finally, some rationality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 The funny thing is when I was I was 19 I had a 1960 ES-345, a 1969 Les Paul Custom, a 1969 Strat, a 1967 SG Deluxe, a Twin Reverb and a 1957 tweed Twin Amp. Now I'm 53 and I don't think I have any guitar that cost me more than $600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scoogs Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 Play what you love. Don't judge what other people love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 The funny thing is when I was I was 19 I had a 1960 ES-345, a 1969 Les Paul Custom, a 1969 Strat, a 1967 SG Deluxe, a Twin Reverb and a 1957 tweed Twin Amp. Now I'm 53 and I don't think I have any guitar that cost me more than $600. wow. If I had that at 14, id have been set for life, or so I like to think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orourke Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 When I was 14 (1967), I had a Magnatone Zephyr guitar and a Magnatone MP1 amp. I loved my gear. I was drawn to Gibson 335's and SG's too. Used SG/Les Pauls and 335's were $200.00. Who could aford that? Remember, I'm 14. Yeah, my story goes something like that also. I just played whatever I could get my hands on, first it was a Univox Mosrite copy and a Heathkit amp. Eventually I got an SG and a Plush amp. To tell the truth I never thought too much about gear back then. Chops, songs, clothes, girls and weed seemed so much more important. It wasn't till they invented the internet that I realized I needed some kind of fancy gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metal0822 Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 Play what you love. Don't judge what other people love. this. the cheapies need to stop as do the snobs. i am a cheapie but i dont force it on others. i know my gear is inferior, but i also dont care that much, id rather just play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scoogs Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 In the end for all of us here, it comes down to music. We love music. We love playing that music. Plywood.. 50 year old flamed birdseye maple... Whatever. It all sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D34dBaWx Posted March 26, 2009 Members Share Posted March 26, 2009 some great music, with some really great tones, has been recorded with some terrible gear. thats a fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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