Can you tell a cheap guitar blindfolded?

[Music&Chaos]

I am glad I am not the only one who plays an electric guitar unplugged to decide if I like it or not. IMO a lot of amps around at my local shop don't sound good anyway, even if I knew I had a guitar I liked the sound of, the amps would ruin it.

I can modify wiring and pickups to bring out the proper voice of the guitar - I just need a solid base that I like to work off of.

 

[RaceU4her]

I have a great set up guy who gets every guitar playing amazing regardless of price, it’s usually the tuners and pots though that feel cheaper

 

[Geo]

I am glad I am not the only one who plays an electric guitar unplugged to decide if I like it or not. IMO a lot of amps around at my local shop don't sound good anyway, even if I knew I had a guitar I liked the sound of, the amps would ruin it.

I can modify wiring and pickups to bring out the proper voice of the guitar - I just need a solid base that I like to work off of.

To be fair, plugged and unplugged are both important. I like to hear if notes fret out went doing heavy bends.

 

[Music&Chaos]

To be fair, plugged and unplugged are both important. I like to hear if notes fret out went doing heavy bends.

I mean, that is a setup thing. I dont buy guitars based off of their current setup, I can do all that work.

Unless you mean you are checking to see if the radius is too small/vintage for your bends, causing the notes to fret out.

 

[Geo]

I mean, that is a setup thing. I dont buy guitars based off of their current setup, I can do all that work.

Unless you mean you are checking to see if the radius is too small/vintage for your bends, causing the notes to fret out.

Yes, it could be setup, could be fret leveling or other neck problems.

I get what you are saying about playing unplugged as to whether a guitar is resonant or not but, there are other things that would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[Music&Chaos]

Yes, it could be setup, could be fret leveling or other neck problems.

I get what you are saying about playing unplugged as to whether a guitar is resonant or not but, there are other things that would be a deal breaker for me.

I mean, yeah, I don't thnk there is a disagreement there, but you don't have to plug a guitar into an amp to determine if it has setup issues.

I am stating that I do not have to plug a guitar into an amp to decide if I want to buy it or not - it is not relevant to the guitar itself what it sounds like in whatever amp happens to be around.

Setup, critical issues, etc are all apart of the equation, plugging into an amp is not neccessarily - for me.

 

[Geo]

I mean, yeah, I don't thnk there is a disagreement there, but you don't have to plug a guitar into an amp to determine if it has setup issues.

I am stating that I do not have to plug a guitar into an amp to decide if I want to buy it or not - it is not relevant to the guitar itself what it sounds like in whatever amp happens to be around.

Setup, critical issues, etc are all apart of the equation, plugging into an amp is not neccessarily - for me.

I think it's a matter of price as well. If I am looking at a 3k guitar, it better be setup correctly.

 

[Music&Chaos]

I think it's a matter of price as well. If I am looking at a 3k guitar, it better be setup correctly.

I get that thought 100% but also.... if a guitar has been sitting for awhile, things shift and change. There are many guitars that are not set up to my preference in general so as long as nothing is wrong with the guitar, I can just do all of that myself, as I am going to have to do it anyway to feel and play to my specific tastes.

 

[BeZo]

I think it's a matter of price as well. If I am looking at a 3k guitar, it better be setup correctly.

True, but setup for what? For me, I put 11-56 strings on my guitars and tune them down to standard C. Being so used to that, it's weird playing a guitar setup in standard tuning with 9s on it, even of the setup was perfect. I take a lot of that with a grain of salt. I'm feeling out neck profile, scale length, and wood resonance when I test guitars. Everything else can change.

Hell, outside of the 3k guitars, it's rare to find a guitar that has the net slots cut correctly. Most production guitars are cut to be playable, not perfect. A good and proper setup can get anything to play great.

 

[311boogieman]

True, but setup for what? For me, I put 11-56 strings on my guitars and tune them down to standard C. Being so used to that, it's weird playing a guitar setup in standard tuning with 9s on it, even of the setup was perfect.

So true. Same.

The .9s that are on most guitars at the shop do not help make a decision at all.

 

[Geo]

True, but setup for what? For me, I put 11-56 strings on my guitars and tune them down to standard C. Being so used to that, it's weird playing a guitar setup in standard tuning with 9s on it, even of the setup was perfect. I take a lot of that with a grain of salt. I'm feeling out neck profile, scale length, and wood resonance when I test guitars. Everything else can change.

Hell, outside of the 3k guitars, it's rare to find a guitar that has the net slots cut correctly. Most production guitars are cut to be playable, not perfect. A good and proper setup can get anything to play great.

You must have banana hands, 10's are what I put on most of my guitars but it depends on which guitar, 9's just sound tighter with gobs of distortion.

Plus, I never have and probably never will spend 3k on a guitar.

 

[BeZo]

You must have banana hands, 10's are what I put on most of my guitars but it depends on which guitar, 9's just sound tighter with gobs of distortion.

Plus, I never have and probably never will spend 3k on a guitar.

Bassist fingers

 

[phillybhatesme]

Been thinking about this a lot and I don't think I could. Outside of something egregious like fret sprout, I don't think I could tell based on sound, feel, bridge, neck profile, etc.
I have some 200 dollar guitars and some 4k guitars. I think they all play pretty similarly, but maybe I'm just stupid.

 

[Geo]

Been thinking about this a lot and I don't think I could. Outside of something egregious like fret sprout, I don't think I could tell based on sound, feel, bridge, neck profile, etc.
I have some 200 dollar guitars and some 4k guitars. I think they all play pretty similarly, but maybe I'm just stupid.

Not stupid, honest.

 

[rsm]

cheap or expensive doesn't matter. I could tell if I like it or not blindfolded...then, if I like it, do I like it enough for the price and the looks. The higher the price the higher my expectations and requirements for the guitar.


the cheapest guitar I like and own is $300; the most expensive is $8K; most of my guitars are in the $1K (Jackson X series) or $4K (EBMM, Ibanez Prestige) ranges