Does cost equal tone?

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ejecta

ejecta

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I was wanting to get some feedback from you guys on this question. Do you guys feel that the more something cost have anything to do with the tone? Does it have to do more with build quality than tone or vice versa?
 
I think that I can make virtually anything work for me if needed. the part of me thats me? still sounds like me no matter what I'm playing through...

However, the better built products seem to work better and sound better, are more reliable. You end up paying more for that reliability and quality. Is the tone better? YMMV, but my experience has lead me to realize I'm going to need to spend a few more bucks to get to where I want it to be for me. Also, it's hard to go back to the .99 menu after eating prime rib for awhile. There is a difference.
 
I think cost does not equal tone, personally. I have been in many amp shootouts (ampfests etc.) where lower cost amps destroy very expensive amps. Those opinions were held by the majority of folks there.

I think in many cases cost equals build quality but not all the time. In many cases cost equals build quality and tone, too. Diezel, Fortin, and others exemplify that, for instance.

There is my $.02. :)
 
* velcro-fly *":2x2217u6 said:
I think that I can make virtually anything work for me if needed. the part of me thats me? still sounds like me no matter what I'm playing through...

However, the better built products seem to work better and sound better, are more reliable. You end up paying more for that reliability and quality. Is the tone better? YMMV, but my experience has lead me to realize I'm going to need to spend a few more bucks to get to where I want it to be for me. Also, it's hard to go back to the .99 menu after eating prime rib for awhile. There is a difference.
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Well said. And as I'm sure everyone realizes, there are some cheap guitars that just happen to sound killer, and vice versa. When you're buying something high end, you just have a better chance of getting a solid sounding guitar from my experience.
 
Absolutely not. Good quality materials and craftsmanship mean tone. You can find cheap examples of that. You can also find expensive examples.
 
i owned a $3,000 ibanez jem for almost a year.

hated the tone from it since day one, i never really clicked with that guitar.

the $500 charvel that i did neck work too, rewired, and put a new pup in sounds 20x better than the $3,000 Ibanez.

even my prestige has the playability of the Jem, but the tone of the cheap guitar with decent parts walks both of the mentioned guitars.

its a mix of 50/50 - tone and hands. throwing money at the problem is probably the worst thing to do. throwing inovation and finding out what fits you best and your playing style is what is key. if that means spending $15,000 in rack effects then thats what you have to do. if that means spending $60 on a certain pedal then so be it. but as long as the end goal is achieved and it allows you to express who you are more effeciently while also being dependable and reliable.
 
i think there's some truth in tone costs $$$...but i also believe theres a point of diminishing returns.


as of today i am happier with my $600 peavey than i was with my $2000 marshall..i would be even happier with a $2400 uber!...i think any way?
 
I have no idea how some of you guys can definitely answer yes or no. I don't think it's possible to say either way. I look at it this way, if you were to try out 20 different Anderson guitars and 20 different Squier guitars...how many of each would you guess are going to sound great?
 
I've played lots of expensive gear that I thought was crap. I've also played lots of cheap stuff that I thought was crap. You don't need to spend tons of money to get great-sounding gear, but that said, I think up to a certain point you do get what you pay for and beyond that its the same old case of diminishing returns. There are exceptions where you find a great sounding piece of cheap gear, but that's not the norm, IMO. I think the best bet is to buy quality gear but to get it used if you can (assuming any damage/wear is only cosmetic). Of course as others have said, we all tend to sound a lot more similar than some would like to admit regardless of gear, as IMO, most of your sound (not gonna call it "tone" this time, b/c so many guys get their panties in a twist, lol) comes from your hands.
 
To a certain point it does, then its the law of diminishing if not no returns. After you get to a certain price point its all just individual preference. There are plenty of great guitars and amps for sub $1000, sub $1500, and many more for sub $2000.

I think it depends on what you want and what you are doing. I mean the metal player may have to spend more or less than the blues player. I used to be a little embarrassed of my MIM fender strat, but it plays great and I like it, so I don't worry about it any more. I no longer care that its not a MIA, maybe that is since I have a MIA strat, who knows.

I think many people who gravitate toward the more expensive gear have tried the lower and medium end stuff and have specific needs or just plan have bad GAS....
 
I think it's all personal preference as to what you like. I haven't heard any real expensive amps that make me want to sell any of my current current amps - which are pretty modest. To me what was more important than spending money on expensive stuff, was learning how to mod my own amps to get what I was looking for.
 
'63-Strat":2l5cjlvi said:
I've played lots of expensive gear that I thought was crap. I've also played lots of cheap stuff that I thought was crap. You don't need to spend tons of money to get great-sounding gear, but that said, I think up to a certain point you do get what you pay for and beyond that its the same old case of diminishing returns. There are exceptions where you find a great sounding piece of cheap gear, but that's not the norm, IMO. I think the best bet is to buy quality gear but to get it used if you can (assuming any damage/wear is only cosmetic). Of course as others have said, we all tend to sound a lot more similar than some would like to admit regardless of gear, as IMO, most of your sound (not gonna call it "tone" this time, b/c so many guys get their panties in a twist, lol) comes from your hands.
Click to expand...

+1
 
If you are after a very specific tone, that can only really be had with a very specific piece of gear - then yes, it cost what it cost. But good tone can be had at any price point.
 
depends.

I think there are a few companies that have put out amazing products for affordable price points, Blackstar for one, I would never of guessed paying less then 3 bills for the HT-5 that kills other amps more costly. Egnater puts out high quality stuff for affordable prices. some companies just need to charge more cause production is more costly, others just charge more based on a name. So while mostly I would say you get what you pay for, there have been some very pleasant surprises for me in guitar and guitar amp land.
 
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