Ready to buy 1st expensive guitar. Advice needed?

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I think the expensive guitars just feel better, the feel of the neck, and how low the action can go, how well it stays in tune what materials are used for the nut, saddle and the hardware. The way is sounds is obviously most important though, expensive guitars usually sound a lot better but not always.

[tekbow]

don't buy the more expensive guitar or the more affordable one. don't buy the one that the salesman pushes you.

Buy the one that sounds the best to your ears and plays the best to you.

Does knowing about a feature you didn't know about before suddenly make a given guitar sound better?

The way is sounds is obviously most important though, expensive guitars usually sound a lot better but not always.

Not being awkward, but empirically quantify "a lot". It's so subjective that no one can. yes there are definite "bad" aspects of a sound, but you can't, for example say "this guitar is 30% more resonant than that cheaper one, where anything above 25% is considered a significant increase in resonant capability".

I own a £2500 PRS, an £1800 Musicman Axis, a £1300 telecaster, and the guitar i play 70% of the time and have the most fun with is a £650 MIJ strat. does that mean that the others are worse? no, does it mean they don't sound or play good? no. doesw it mean i should sell them and forget about them? nope. it just means that when i pick up that strat, something about it clicks the most.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

don't buy the more expensive guitar or the more affordable one. don't buy the one that the salesman pushes you.

Buy the one that sounds the best to your ears and plays the best to you.

Does knowing about a feature you didn't know about before suddenly make a given guitar sound better?

The way is sounds is obviously most important though, expensive guitars usually sound a lot better but not always.

Not being awkward, but empirically quantify "a lot". It's so subjective that no one can. yes there are definite "bad" aspects of a sound, but you can't, for example say "this guitar is 30% more resonant than that cheaper one, where anything above 25% is considered a significant increase in resonant capability".

I own a £2500 PRS, an £1800 Musicman Axis, a £1300 telecaster, and the guitar i play 70% of the time and have the most fun with is a £650 MIJ strat. does that mean that the others are worse? no, does it mean they don't sound or play good? no. doesw it mean i should sell them and forget about them? nope. it just means that when i pick up that strat, something about it clicks the most.

well why don't you start a bonfire, and burn the god damn PRS musicman and telecaster.

[Cam_H]

Thanks for the great responses. I'll keep all of this in mind next time I visit the music shop. Interested in getting a Carvin as they've recently gained my attention.

[Telerocker]

don't buy the more expensive guitar or the more affordable one. don't buy the one that the salesman pushes you.

Buy the one that sounds the best to your ears and plays the best to you.

Does knowing about a feature you didn't know about before suddenly make a given guitar sound better?

The way is sounds is obviously most important though, expensive guitars usually sound a lot better but not always.

Not being awkward, but empirically quantify "a lot". It's so subjective that no one can. yes there are definite "bad" aspects of a sound, but you can't, for example say "this guitar is 30% more resonant than that cheaper one, where anything above 25% is considered a significant increase in resonant capability".

I own a £2500 PRS, an £1800 Musicman Axis, a £1300 telecaster, and the guitar i play 70% of the time and have the most fun with is a £650 MIJ strat. does that mean that the others are worse? no, does it mean they don't sound or play good? no. doesw it mean i should sell them and forget about them? nope. it just means that when i pick up that strat, something about it clicks the most.

This says nothing about the price of the guitars. Doesn't it simply mean that you are first of all a stratman?

[tekbow]

well why don't you start a bonfire, and burn the god damn PRS musicman and telecaster.

well.. if i'm not going to sell them, I'm not going to recreate a hendrix performance either.

but, hypothetically, I try to put things to multiple uses, so i'd want a barbeque going at the same time, but i don't reckon poly smoked steak is gona work. maybe with some tobasco?

This click says nothing about the price of the guitars. Doesn't it simply mean that you are first of all a stratman?

Thats kind of the point though isn't it? Not that i may or not be a strat man, although to be honest, I don't think i generally am, it's just that one little guitar is pretty magical to me. In my head I'm floyd and bucker hard rockin mofo.

the point that it's "kind of" is that the OP presumably wants to get an improvement in sound by paying more. At least  it's how i think a fair portion of the guitar playing public perceive price increases, what I'm saying is if he goes down and tries a lot of guitars in a shop, he may find that the one he likes the best may be the one that isn't upwards of a grand. I'm not a high end hating "a low end chinese guitar is basically the same thing as a PRS really" type player. I'm just saying the odd time you get lucky. And for each individual person different things are perceived as "good". I reckon there's probably no finer guitars than some of the handmade big box jazzers out there, for a certain type of person. But I'm not going to spend 5k upward on one thinking its going to sound better than the, say, 500 quid tokai les'er that i may use to play thin lizzy covers. Or maybe it will.

Basically to the OP, buy with your ears and you maybe suprised.

that may require you to walk into a guitar shop blindfolded. Try not to break anything on your way to finding a sales assistant. They don't like it.

[rotpunkt]

I'm with Tekbow on this one.

My strat I bought despite a) not being a strat guy and b) because out of the 15-20 guitars I tried that day that particular start just 'felt' the best.

Conversely I bought a 52 Vintage Hotrod Tele (by far the most expensive guitar I've bought, like almost 2x). I read the reviews and salivated: this is MY ultimate guitar I told myself: tele - check, neck humbucker - check, butterscotch blonde - check. Whadya know three cherries in a row, jackpot! So customer order I go. Except I've never really 'bonded' with it. I maintain that if I'd actually played it first I wouldn't have bought it.

I've subsequently bought a Tokai Loverock over the Internet (hey it was comparatively cheap, right) based purely on how it looked (chosen from about 30 others on line) and that is my 2nd favourite guitar. No way I'd have taken that risk on a Gibson for either (ironically previously it was the tele or a goldtop).

So by all means have some preconceptions when you walk in the door (but be prepared to leave them there...). Get what sounds, feels and plays best (just hope it's not that 5 figure signature custom shop LP though!)

[Lew]

Alot of it can be about prestige, honestly. What exactly is your budget and what kind of guitar are you looking for? I don't think you can go far wrong with an ESP Eclipse fwiw.

[Telerocker]

well why don't you start a bonfire, and burn the god damn PRS musicman and telecaster.

well.. if i'm not going to sell them, I'm not going to recreate a hendrix performance either.

but, hypothetically, I try to put things to multiple uses, so i'd want a barbeque going at the same time, but i don't reckon poly smoked steak is gona work. maybe with some tobasco?

This click says nothing about the price of the guitars. Doesn't it simply mean that you are first of all a stratman?

Thats kind of the point though isn't it? Not that i may or not be a strat man, although to be honest, I don't think i generally am, it's just that one little guitar is pretty magical to me. In my head I'm floyd and bucker hard rockin mofo.

the point that it's "kind of" is that the OP presumably wants to get an improvement in sound by paying more. At least  it's how i think a fair portion of the guitar playing public perceive price increases, what I'm saying is if he goes down and tries a lot of guitars in a shop, he may find that the one he likes the best may be the one that isn't upwards of a grand. I'm not a high end hating "a low end chinese guitar is basically the same thing as a PRS really" type player. I'm just saying the odd time you get lucky. And for each individual person different things are perceived as "good". I reckon there's probably no finer guitars than some of the handmade big box jazzers out there, for a certain type of person. But I'm not going to spend 5k upward on one thinking its going to sound better than the, say, 500 quid tokai les'er that i may use to play thin lizzy covers. Or maybe it will.

Basically to the OP, buy with your ears and you maybe suprised.

that may require you to walk into a guitar shop blindfolded. Try not to break anything on your way to finding a sales assistant. They don't like it.

Got it. Well, I have more expensive and cheapo's. Some of the cheapo's, like my Saint Blues Mississippi Bluesmaster, sounds expensive. It has Mules though.  :)

[Cam_H]

Well nmy reasoning for the ESP Eclipse was that I love the look of Gibson Les Paul Customs, but don't want to play £2k+. Plus I prefer a thinner neck towards a Gibson. The ESP just seemed to tick all the boxes.

When it comes to custom guitars, I've fancied giving BlacKat Guitars a go. Do custom guitars tend to sound a lot better from guitar to guitar, rather than just getting lucky? They seem to have good prices and always fancied an RG style and their guitars I prefer the look of, as well as better options, and also being similar price to the Ibanez Prestige line.

[Nadz1lla]

Depends on who is making it. A lot of people are happy with their customs from BlacKat and Daemoness, but there are a lot of other custom builders out there who aren't offering a great service, or even a decent instrument. Do your research well, and if possible, visit the Luthier's workshop yourself to have a chat about what you want, check out their process, and make sure you're 100% happy to give them your business.

I always thought I wanted a Daemoness, Dylan's got an awesome reputation, a lot of brilliant players have him build their perfect instruments, and they always sounded great in clips. But for the amount of money I was going to be parting with, I wanted to make sure I was 100% happy with my decision, so I went and visited him at his workshop. I wasn't disappointed at all, and have now put down a deposit. To watch him work is to see an artist creating a masterpiece.

Don't go into customs half-c--ked, be 100% happy with your decision.

[Lew]

hmmmm it depends on the builder - there are alot of cowboys out there. But yea if you find someone legit that's usually the case. You don't seem sure on exactly what you want so I would advice against going on an impulse custom build until you do + you're gonna have to play the waiting game for any legit builder.

Having said that this just popped up on FB that may be of interest to you?  :lol:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.576735735706046.1073741844.165185066861117&type=1

Is this the ESP you were looking at? Not keen on the matt finish they do but the gloss black ones look ace, had gas for one like this for awhile.

[Lew]

haha good advice and great minds think alike ;)

Have you made a thread on your Daemoness build yet? If not, go do it ;-)

[Cam_H]

It's the Gloss black one. I know what I want from my custom guitar (doublecut for this). It's just colouring I'm really undecided about. But I've always been interested in a Carvin or a BlacKat. I'm just weighing up who provides better options for me. I like BlacKat for the slightly cheaper prices, but damn, Carvin make some good finishes.

Check the Jason Becker guitars. Gorgeous.

[Nadz1lla]

haha good advice and great minds think alike ;)

Have you made a thread on your Daemoness build yet? If not, go do it ;-)

Hehe, indeed! Nah he's not started building it yet. When he does, you know a thread is going to be the first thing I do.  :lol: