Can you tell a cheap guitar blindfolded?

[Geo]

 

[DrewJD82]

There’d have to be more definitions set than just “cheap” or “expensive”; the first ‘54 Strat I played felt like complete shit and what was left of the stock frets were looking like they were going to fall out of the slots. Didn’t deter them from slapping a $35K price tag on it (‘98 money)

Conversely, I picked up a used Sire at a GC a few weeks back and had to laugh at how much better it felt in comparison to almost anything double the price .

 

[BeZo]

I asked this of my last girlfriend. We were laying in bed and I asked her to participate in that experiment. I gave her my USA Spector Forte and my Korean Spector NS2000/4 and asked her which was the expensive one. She got it wrong.

I can feel the difference between North American Maple and foreign Maple necks. It's not about playability, it's wood density and stiffness. She felt bad that she guessed wrong, and it turned into an ordeal. Don't try it with your girl.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

I’ve always associated anything too light weight with feeling cheap. After that, it’s what the neck feels like. Are the frets rough and noisy when you bend? Can you feel sprout? Does the fingerboard feel like there’s just a bit too much friction in the grain? Does it feel like you can cut yourself on the fingerboard edge? If so, it feels cheap. Is the neck set arrow straight with low action and no buzz? If not, it feels cheap.

Then there’s the guitar’s acoustic resonance. If a guitar resonates deeply and still has good snap, it will sound well made to me, regardless of how acoustically loud it is. If it honks and kaws like it’s made of hollow out plastic, it’s going to sound cheap.

 

[Findthetone1]

I asked this of my last girlfriend. We were laying in bed and I asked her to participate in that experiment. I gave her my USA Spector Forte and my Korean Spector NS2000/4 and asked her which was the expensive one. She got it wrong.

I can feel the difference between North American Maple and foreign Maple necks. It's not about playability, it's wood density and stiffness. She felt bad that she guessed wrong, and it turned into an ordeal. Don't try it with your girl.

The wood density and quality are what stands out for me. Even trying to avoid price bias, every "affordable" guitar I pick up, feels like a dried-out piece of cheap furniture. Interestingly enough, the majority of those guitars are made in Indonesia.

 

[Findthetone1]

I’ve always associated anything too light weight with feeling cheap. After that, it’s what the neck feels like. Are the frets rough and noisy when you bend? Can you feel sprout? Does the fingerboard feel like there’s just a bit too much friction in the grain? Does it feel like you can cut yourself on the fingerboard edge? If so, it feels cheap. Is the neck set arrow straight with low action and no buzz? If not, it feels cheap.

Then there’s the guitar’s acoustic resonance. If a guitar resonates deeply and still has good snap, it will sound well made to me, regardless of how acoustically loud it is. If it honks and kaws like it’s made of hollow out plastic, it’s going to sound cheap.

I generally don't even plug electrics in when I'm checking them out. The first thing I do is play an open G and if it resonates the right way, I'm on the right path. Pickups can always be changed.

 

[Geo]

My 76' Stratocaster is the most unrefined piece of shit but it's sounds incredible.

Some guitars just sound good and money doesn't have anything to do with it.