Don't Buy Cheap Just Save and Get a Good Guitar
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- Опубліковано 31 лип 2024
- I hear it all the time, "Don't buy those cheap guitars, just save your money and get a good one". Well, I did just that...but can you even tell the difference? What makes one guitar "good" and another one...well...not good?
RESULTS of audio examples here: • Did You Spot the Fender?
AUDIO SAMPLES: I played 4 different guitars. One is the Fender MIM Strat. The rest are cheap guitars, around $150 each (Sorry, got carried away with the audio samples!).
00:00 Intro
00:30 Fender Stratocaster MIM Special Edition
01:00 Fender Stratocaster Specs
06:35 Fender Strat vs Firefly ST
10:58 Fender Strat vs Squier Debut
12:45 Why save your money, when you can spend little now?
15:16 Sample 1 - Guitar A - Bridge Pickup - Chords
15:37 Sample 2 - Guitar B - Bridge Pickup - Chords
16:00 Sample 3 - Guitar C - Bridge Pickup - Chords
16:25 Sample 4 - Guitar D - Bridge Pickup - Chords
16:45 Sample 5 - Guitar A - Bridge Pickup - Scales
17:00 Sample 6 - Guitar B - Bridge Pickup - Scales
17:20 Sample 7 - Guitar C - Bridge Pickup - Scales
17:45 Sample 8 - Guitar D - Bridge Pickup - Scales
18:09 Sample 9 - Guitar A - Middle Pickup - Chords
18:25 Sample 10 - Guitar B - Middle Pickup - Chords
18:46 Sample 11 - Guitar C - Middle Pickup - Chords
19:01 Sample 12 - Guitar D - Middle Pickup - Chords
19:25 Sample 13 - Guitar A - Middle Pickup - Scales
19:45 Sample 14 - Guitar B - Middle Pickup - Scales
19:59 Sample 15 - Guitar C - Middle Pickup - Scales
20:20 Sample 16 - Guitar D - Middle Pickup - Scales
20:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
#guitargearreview #cheapguitar #cheapguitars #inexpensiveguitar #inexpensiveguitars #electricguitar #amazonguitar #budgetguitar #guitarreview #guitarreviews
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Cheap guitars are awesome. Expensive guitars are awesome. All guitars are awesome.
True!
you don't have an opinion you like everything.
The only " good " guitar is the one that makes you smile everytime you play it , doesn't matter if it's a beat up old Chinese strat copy or a Custom Shop Strat .
So true!
Well.. actually it is the one that makes you pick it up and play it frequently, the smile is only a bonus ;-)
A good guitar is one that has good setup. Lack of skill in playing might still make it hard to smile every time.
Absolutely, who cares what the headstock says if it makes you want to play
You don’t have to save up for an expensive guitar. You can buy an inexpensive guitar right now and have a collection started in the time it takes to save up for one expensive questionable guitar. Why wait? Most Gibson and Fender guitars and parts come from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, and Mexico anyway. If you go to Amazon reseller right now, most of those guitars returned are Esquiers (Fender) it’s all a gamble anyway, but Fesley, WestCreek, FireFly, Ibanez, and Jackson are selling well made budget guitars under $300; Some under $200. “You get what you pay for.” Is actually a good thing these days. Because you DO. Unless you spend a lot more money on a Gibson or Fender. That’s where you DON’T get what you pay for in most cases.
Some people don't understand that for some, it's either buying a cheap guitar, or not buying one at all. There's a reason why the market for cheap guitar exists. And nowadays you can find such great guitars for very low prices. The low-end guitar industry has come a long way from just a slab of random wood badly finished.
Well said.
And some people prefer to invest that money on amps, pedals or other musical instruments. Most of us can't justify having an expensive everything.
If it sounds and plays good then it's good dont care if it cheap or expensive. Stop chasing names a long time ago.
As a certified guitar technician I can definitely say this.... As far as cheap guitars, we are definitely at the point where inexpensive guitars can be made extremely well, and with some work put into them, they can be exceptional instruments, especially for the money. The fact is that the people who spends the thousands on the high end stuff cant even play 99 percent of the time, and they have to feel justified for making that purchase. You would have no idea how many pro players and studio players play partscasters, or squiers, or even cheaper guitars to get a certain sound. Even at the moment there is a fad, so to speak, with this acoustic sound, from cheap junk guitars with a rubber bridge. At the end of the day, its the sound you get from the instrument and what you can do with it that matters. And if you like playing a cheap guitar like a squier, then just enjoy it, and enjoy playing music.
Was in a shop and overheard a couple of classical guitar snobs looking down on anything less than 10K. I remember this to remind myself to never be like them. As a result I gravitated toward inexpensive instruments finding that I'm enjoying the journey immensely more. To me the coolest thing ever is rocking the hell out of one of my Bullets strats. Cheers!
The most common problem for most cheap guitars or even some more expensive guitars are the set up. If you've got a nice action and good intonation, decent fretwork on the neck, the experience is night and day. Then pickups are subjective. So many people change pickups but forget with electric guitars the amp is the other half of the equation. Infact the amp is probably more important as you can always Tweek the guitar. If anything buy a decent amp.
I bought a Harly Benton 4 years ago modded it and it's the best guitar I've ever owned. I have since bought 2 more. I love all of them and sold all my other big-name guitars. I'm going to buy a jazz box from a local luthier who makes his own guitars for about 350$. affordable guitars are not the guitars of yesterday. a budget guitar from a decent company is better today then more expensive guitars of yesterday.
a good guitar is several things. It one that can be regularly setup correctly for or by the player. This can mean many different things depending on the style and comfort of whoever is playing it. The idea here is that a good guitar should be as effortless to play as possible. If a player is determined to have a particular high end guitar, then they should make some effort to try it out before making any purchase. They may realize it's not what they imagined. After some 40yrs of buying guitars, I would say you can buy all the cheap ones you like, but that won't change your desire to get what you actually want if it's useful to you, and you can rationalize paying for it
the question the host of this Video should be asking comes down to this simple question what do you as a guitar buyer intend to do with the guitar ? Like why does he have so many guitars behind him? & also is it even still feasible to invest a ton of money into a guitar unless we are a professional Gigger? Really are cover bands in high demand? i don't think there's much money in being a Gigger or a cover band or let a long an original artist so the question is what do we intend on doing with that guitar? the same could be said for someone whose an auto mechanic that has to invest 1000's upon 1000's of dollars for his tools so he can work,, most people that buy guitars are hobbyists based on the data..
@@Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow yes, most people who buy lots of guitars are hobbyists, resellers or collectors, not working musicians. During the 20something year period, when I was regularly playing with bands at gigs & in studio, I mostly relied on two good guitars & one amp, because that's all I really needed. With very few exceptions, there is no real money in being a gigger or cover band. Most need other jobs. Here online guitar channels will often adorn their backdrop with a bunch of guitars as a prop. This seems to add some faux credibility to their channels for young viewers, which make up a considerable demographic in comments
Interesting perspective. I mean, the name of my channel is Jayce Allan Guitar, so it would make sense to have some guitars in the shot, plus they look nice. As far as demographics, at least for my channel, the breakdown is thus.
13-17 years 0%
18-24 years 0.7%
25-34 years 3.9%
35-44 years 8.8%
45-54 years 20.0%
55-64 years 33.8%
65+ years 32.8%
So, we all be pretty old here...kids don't want to watch some old dude talk about "boomer bends".
@@JayceAllanGuitar wasn't referring to demographics exclusively to you. Google collects info from users who have/create content, emails you send & receive, comments you make, photos/videos saved docs, etc... The problem is that lots of users have no content, or might just feature playlists of other channels. Demographics can't determine who is actually using what account. Users can also opt out of Google Analytics, & control privacy setting. Just count how many empty user channels there are in your, or any, video comment section.
Yes, you show guitars & have a bunch of guitars behind you as props, practically like every other channel that does the same
@@JayceAllanGuitar Boomer bends 😂 that's great, I'm 35, picking up playing the guitar again I fooled around with a right handed BC Rich Warlock flipped cause I'm wrong handed when I was 15
I'm the Partscasters poster guy. I'm constantly on the lookout for parts 24/7, and I'm never in a hurry. I let the parts accumulate, and when I have enough stuff, I build. I like to barter out labor for repairs and upgrades for salvage on cool old parts, quite often, no actual money changes hands. It's a kind of hillbilly junkyard rat rod approach that usually results in instruments that play and sound way beyond what you'd expect for the total cash outlay required to produce them.
........But most of all, it's FUN!!! Fun to play something that you built yourself, and fun to stretch your creativity and resourcefulness to the degree that it takes to accomplish this. Sometimes people even buy them from me and I make some cash. But that's not the primary goal. It's all about making something righteous without a Bill Gates or Elon Musk bank account.
That’s cool. I enjoy building. Haven’t done too much partscasting. Now that I have all these cheap $100 guitars I’ve got to figure out what to do with them so I’ll probably turn them into project guitars.
I have some very expensive guitars - PRS, Gibson Goldtop L.P., Fender Elite etc... I also have three Eart guitars from China (a strat copy and two teles) that were each less than $300 and they play as good or better than any of my other guitars. Stainless steel frets with rounded ends, roasted maple necks, good tuners, good pickups, steel block tremolo,etc... The days of having to spend $1000+ for a quality guitar are over.
There's also this: Some of the cheap guitars are the future "good" guitars.
I agree. It is good though to have at least one expensive guitar and a couple cheap ones. I was fooling myself for years buying only cheap beginners guitars until I started trying out the more expensive American models and two weeks ago, after saving up for a year - combined with birthday gift money I bought myself an American pro Fender Stratocaster and it has completely improved the quality of my guitar playing and sound- all features that yes, I could have in a cheap guitar modified by hundreds of dollars plus pedals but with my new Strat I don’t need to add anything. Cheap guitars are good to take to gigs where you worry about the more expensive guitar stolen and good for travel, so like I said, it’s good to have both.
Just because it is cheaper doesn't mean it's nowhere near as good as a more expensive one. I remember listening to an interview with Frank Marino, and he said he went into a music shop in MOntreal and tried several kinds of Strats form Squire to Custom shop. He ended up walking out with one of the lower priced Squires, because he said "It felt right to him", and played better than the most expensive Strats. He also recorded an entire album with just that Squire. It's whatever feel right to you.
I pieced together my guitar from several Charvels and ended up with exactly what I wanted and it isn’t any more expensive than a used one. I love it
Sometimes that's the best way to get a custom guitar to your specifications.
3 things:
1) since we are paid monthly we might want to spend a little more over a longer period of time.
2) since we have no idea what qualities we like out of guitar, we might want to buy more cheap guitars with different qualities to see which one we like. You might want a p90, Humbucker, 22 fret, 24 fret, etc...
3) then we can do a little cost/benefit calculus.
4) that calculation can include if we can find a used guitar that still has good frets.
5) Now all we need to do is determine if the cheap guitars have a high enough quality compared to the expensive ones.
I saved for a long time and finally bought a " brand name" guitar. After buying and owning several inexpensive copies over the years.
A legit Gibson Les Paul.
Very underwhelming.
I still play my Squier VM 70's Strat more often.
It just plays so much better.
Good rundown.
Cheers.
Yep, saved $2500 for a gibson and when I got to the store and played it, I was like NOPE not for me.
You never know, I've played Squiers that were a blast to play and one day I played a friends 1962 LP that was among the worst guitar I've ever played, horrible actually.
I feel like a I subliminally run a cheap guitar rescue centre ,so far I've adopted 26 of them. There's nothing more satisfying taking an old neglected guitar off Facebook marketplace and turning into what it should have been. So many options of decent aftermarket parts. It may never be a custom shop guitar, but the improvements are huge especially doing a good set up. I refuse to pay thousands for a guitar when ultimately once a guitar is playable it comes down to how well you play it, especially through a decent amp.
Sounds fun. It’s great that you are giving the guitars a good home.
@@JayceAllanGuitar I like to rotate them around so they all get played and not end up like in the guitars past, and that means recording with them too. I believe every guitar's purpose is to be recorded, that's it's destiny.😂
I like your arguments. In simple economics, if you buy a guitar for 200 bucks, doesn't matter new or used, name or no-name, mint or mangled, the most you can lose financially is 200 bucks. That is a fact that is indisputable! Buying a guitar online is always a risk, you never know what you're going to get without previously having held, played and inspected it. Yes, in most cases it will be buy or return (unless it's a private sale!) but return policies vary hugely and that should be considered prior to ordering. My only point of criticism on the sound comparisons is that you completely omitted the most typical sound associated with an 'S' style guitar . The 'quack' on positions two and four. I'm glad you didn't enter into too much nerdy stuff as it's really irrelevant to most players. If for you it feels good, sounds good and plays well, then it's the right guitar for you. If however you have no comparisons on which to make your choice then it's pot luck. So you can either bargain basement and move it on or visit your local music store (if you can indeed find one) and try out a few guitars before buying. I've owned guitars most of my life (I'm now 69) and still do. I don't own a Gibson, Fender or a PRS and honestly I've never really missed one. Of course I've had the itch many, many times but I've always resisted the temptation. I would never mod an expensive guitar but have no qualms whatsoever about tinkering (sometimes severely) with any budget guitar. I've never bought any guitar that I haven't been able to improve and some were bought for as little as 15 bucks. I don't believe that in today's market there are any really terrible guitars avaiable from manufacturers. In the 1960's and 70's that wasn't the case. Some of these 'instruments' have now become collectable, not due to their qualities as a musical instrument but due to their scarcity. The reason that they are rare however is due to the fact that most of them ended up in the trash. Rare or vintage doesn't necessarily mean good. In some cases it does but if you don't know what you're doing it's a minefield and you're going in blind.
Always great content. I don't understand why you don't have a million subscribers. Give it time and thank you for very honest and unbiased reviews.
Hey thanks. I've only had this new channel since around February. So I'm pretty happy with the growth so far. Just coming up with new ideas for content will be the challenge.
As far as sound goes, they all sound perfectly servicable. The less clean your preferred tone is, the less difference it will make also.
I never understood the mindset of buying musical equipment for the resale value.
Does it sound good? Does it have the features you need? Is it set up right? Then it doesnt matter what brand it is.
Once on a chat i asked kyle bull if certain speakers sounded good and his reply was youll never get your money back on them? Dafuq?
It is the holy grail of the obsessive "gear acquirer" who lives to buy the next thing by selling the previous one.
I spent an entire year a few years ago buying and selling gear and at the end of the year I had netted a whopping $139! But I got to play and review a lot of cool gear, and even kept some of it.
@@JayceAllanGuitarAt one point I bought several budget oriented basses to learn about upgrading/modifying/repairing, after I sold them I definitely lost money, but I did learn alot, and I save money now doing alot of the work I want done myself
It’s like a lot of things we buy.. Buy the best you can realistically afford.
A Fender, Gibson, Martin etc will hold its value. Or if you wait long enough it’ll be worth more than what you paid for. So if you’re ever in a situation where you’re broke you can sell it and make some money back. I think a lot of times people including myself will buy a cheap guitar and spend money on new pickups etc and end up spending almost what a name brand guitar costs. The issue with this is you cannot get your money back out of a cheap guitar that has been modded and upgraded even if it plays and sounds like a high end guitar.
@@wyattsdad8561 People with an own judgement know how much they have to spend. Gullible fools trust the salesman and buy "the most they can afford".
I’ve been playing for 41 years. I have guitars that were cheap, but with a few upgraded parts and a good setup they sound and play awesome. With that being said, there are a couple of guitars that I really want that i just can’t seem to afford.
There are, in my experience, GREAT cheap guitars out there in the wild. I found a Squier Mustang at GC last year that blew me away ($179.00). The neck and fretwork was actually awesome . This is the most important aspect of any guitar to me. If the neck and frets are good I can work with the rest of it. I didn't buy that Mustang though. I wound up getting one from Fender direct for my son. It wasn't quite as nice as the model I had played at GC, but with a little work it's pretty cool. You never know what your going to get in the mail.
I'm old enough to have aquired a modest few USA Fenders including a 1998 Big Apple Strat (HH), a 1988 American Standard Telecaster, and a few other sub $1000-1600 guitars (Gibson Bonamassa LP Studio, Melody Maker, Epiphone Bonamassa Amos Flying V). It took me some years to get them but I have no regrets as far as investing a little more in what I consider high-quality instruments. I've sold my share of Mexican's and Asian's.
I do think cheap guitars have gotten significantly better since I started playing in 1983. But at the end of the day I still think it's worth seeking out the very best you can afford, even if that means saving a little longer.
Some of the guitars I have owned - a 1960 Strat, a 1960 Les Paul double cut, Ibanez, Charvel, Jackson - and the two Censtar guitars I bought for $200+/-can hang with all of them, not to mention the stainless steel frets
I TOTALLY get and I’ve done the same thing, with guitars and amps. I’m a pretty decent player, I’ve done the band thing years ago, I’ve chased “the tone” and all that and I came to the conclusion that I like you love guitars, I love a great feeling guitar first because I can get the sound through technology and I had to ask myself why am I constantly playing this “I’m not gonna name it” when I have two fenders, a PRS, and other expensive guitars? Because it’s a pleasure to play and I got it cheap as hell! Thanks and keep doing you!
Well said. Thanks for watching.
I just got an Indonesian Squier, circa 2019. The neck and body are impeccable. Really cool wavy wood grain on the fretboard. 150 bucks. Nothing wrong with the hardware either, pickups sound great. Only questionable part is the tuners, but they do for the most part stay in tune for a session.
That’s a steal!
I've followed the same pattern as you, pretty much. With regard to Firefly-type budget guitars versus name brand, I agree completely. They are very solid, and tremendous value for the money. I own several. With that said, though, if you blindfolded me and put my Fender Mexican strat in my hands, I would know it right away - even without playing a note - because the neck and body just feel so much smoother than any of my import strat copies and for me, that makes it much more comfortable to play. I'm not sure that the difference is worth $500, though.
About 10 years ago, I was mainly playing bass and replaced my import P-bass instrument with a Mexican Fender P bass. What struck me immediately is that the tone of the strings was the same across the neck with the Fender bass. With cheaper basses, there was a noticeable tone difference when the same note was played on different strings. The Fender is way more consistent, which made it much easier to play consistent bass lines. That was one instance where the name brand really did make a difference.
Fun story that came up with me having small hands, the Epiphone sg standard plays better for me than the Gibson because of the taller frets and slightly thinner more modern neck, went to grab the Gibson version of the one I had at home to test an amp at a local guitar store and that was a pretty wtf moment as I realized how much I didn't like the feel of the Gibson, lol. So that's another reason to buy cheaper that doesn't get mentioned a lot, some budget sub brands won't be as accurate to vintage specs which can be a reason to buy them. Planning to get the cheapest Ibanez s series that has a ln edge trem and hsh configuration because although $600 is a lot for me being disabled I want that specific guitar. So sure there's times where save more gets you a lot nicer instrument, but unless it has shit like a double locking trem that adds easily $200 onto the price, around $300-500 seems to be a good sweetspot most of the time.
I'd really like an SG with a 24-1/2" scale length and 1-3/4" nut. I got fat fingers and a short reach for some reason. I know Angus Young preferred the SQ because he's a little dude. The SG's are light and short scale. Can you imagine Angus hauling around a Les Paul! LOL
Very interesting discussion about expensive vs. inexpensive guitars. I own several Fenders and Gibsons but I also own quite a few inexpensive guitars which I have modified and I don't really see much difference although I do try to modify the inexpensive guitars up to the standards of my Deluxe Fender Strat with the exception of not having the S1 switching. An area that you might consider that I have gotten into recently is the world of cigarbox guitars( I find that they take up less space than my strats).
My very first guitar build was a cigar box 3 stringed. Fun instrument.
Great video. I agree with your conclusions about expensive versus affordable gear - everyone should just play whatever they want.
Thank you. I appreciate the comment.
I honestly couldnt tell the difference in most of those samples. Only 1 of the brodge samples sounded fuller like a humbucker but i wouldnt put money on my ear judgement. Great video.
Thank you I appreciate that.
99% of the audience cant tell the difference either!!
Very true.
Cool guitar! That's one of the older Mexican Standards. I love all my Made in Mexico guitars, and I love my Squiers too.
Yours has ceramic pickups which sound great in my opinion, no need to change them, and it uses the same pots, switch and jack as a US made.
60 year pro player here. I play a Epiphone Les Paul ES (hollow body aka Florentine) I paid $475 for in 1999. I've put more than that into it in parts so maybe not really cheap in the long run. LOL A couple of years ago I bought a Strat Performer (US made) -HORRIBLE fret sprout. I filed the fret ends down 3 separate times and still sprouting. I went to change a pickup and one of the wires was soldered on only ONE TINY STRAND of wire - it's a wonder it was connected at all.
Had 2 Suhr's and both had quality control issues - on one the fingerboard was literally the roughest I've ever seen, no exageration - like they stopped at 60 or 80 grit sandpaper.
I like finding a cheap guitar that resonates really well unplugged. If it starts dead there's often little you can do to make it right. I had an ESP that would just thud - no sustain, no tone at all.
What does "still sprouting" mean?
I used to be a fender fan boy. You can see me holding my pro 2 dark night in my UA-cam pic. Now I don't buy Fenders. I like to buy cheap guitars and mod them. My favourite guitar I own is a Jet Jt 300(telecaster) in lake placid blue £198. I spent less than £200 upgrading it. It has a set of Vanson locking tuners £35, a set of Tonerider alnico 2 blues pickups £65, upgraded pots, cap, switch, jack £55. £155 for parts and £40 to my pal to install everything and set it up. Total cost £393. It looks amazing, plays like a dream and sounds epic and holds tune forever. Modding is the way forward, far cheaper.
I have a Jet off set style guitar. It’s great. Sounds really good.
599 and limited edition color, which is a great shade of green and with a mint pickguard i’m in ,, just bought it online…nice video
Thank you. This one has been modified come to find out. It's got Fender Vintage 59 pickups. Or whatever they're called. Not the stock ceramic pups. Best of luck with yours. They are a great guitar, can't deny that.
My cousin Vinny is the " mint green metalic paint " reference good review.
Hey thanks!
Enjoy your new guitar. What you have there is a MIM Standard, 21 frets, 6 point term and ceramic pickups . The Player series is 22 frets, 2 point trem and Alnico pickups. Good guitar, but the player series is better.
Not correct. This guitar has Alnico pickups. It’s a Special Edition (whatever that means).
I have no preference about glossy or satin necks. It's all the same to me, besides the optics. But I barely touch the back of neck while playing, with the thumb only resting there about half the time. It seems, however that a glossy finish does help with stability while an unfinished one reacts more to humidity changes. I find glossy necks are those I adjust the least often.
Been playing for almost 60 years. With CNC manufacturing, found that the Price Tag does NOT equal a "Better" guitar.
It’s definitely evened the playing field.
I bought an ESP EC256 made in Indonesia for $700 AUD. Great guitar, no issues with the neck or hardware. Tuners not premium, but rock solid tuning stability notheless. Wanting a more premium guitar, so bought a Fender Vintera Telecaster Deluxe on special for $1400 AUD. The neck has multiple issues: sharp fret ends, lacquer over the nut and all fret ends, hump on the neck as well. The guiitar also shipped with some lose neck screws so neck kept shifting. Man, I miss my "cheap" ESP.
Good grief! That’s not cool.
I ❤ my 🇺🇸 strat. I had a Mex strat and liked it. Look at Mex telecaster and fell in ❤️ with a professional 2 telecaster. Going to check out a G & L next week. I tried PRS, Gibson and squire and they suck as far as I'm concerned, didn't fit me. Checked out an Ibanez ASZ prestige and love it. So I won't buy Chinese guitars because of quality and human work condition. There's a difference between good and cheap guitars. Personally I think fender has to get it together, that is why I'm interested in G & L and Japanese guitars.. BUYING LOCAL IS THE WAY TO GO ‼️👍
I really want a G&L.
@@JayceAllanGuitarI played a G&L FULLERTON ASAT CLASSIC the other day and it's much better built than the telecaster and the tone is awesome.
So I know what I need to get 😂🤣
Sadly where I live, not many shops carry G&L because they are made to order ❗
I play a lot. I've gigged a lot. I've been playing for over 30 years. I do have USA Fenders and a LP Custom, Mexi Tele and so on. What do I take to gigs? My Firefly, Harley Benton, Slick, and most recently an Eart. Though I put humbuckers in it and that doubled the price of the guitar. There's a new Soloking in the stable that's going to be pressed into service that was $300. The 1990 Fender Strat Plus I've had since new was a gift from my parents. It was my main guitar for many years. Then the frets started wearing. Now all my gigging guitars have SS frets. My main recording guitars are some Kiesels and a Sun Valley Super Shredder exotic from Schecter. But I'm not taking $1000+ guitars to some of the gigs I've played. Being in bands though the 90s and 2010s and then being a hired guy that played many gigs with many types of bands, I've been in everything from the seedy bar to a festival stage. Yes the high profile gigs I will take my nicer gear to. Most of the gigs are bars and that's where these "budget" guitars shine in my opinion. My Firefly makes all the sounds I need and if a drunk spills a beer on me, eh. (Some of these bars don't even have a proper stage) If someone spilled something on a custom kiesel I would be livid. Even back in the 90s when budget guitars were pretty bad, I built partscasters to gig with because you could build a decent guitar for around $300. The guitar in my proile pic is a Squier body, Carvin neck and bridge pu. All told, I built two of those for $250 a pop. So yeah, for the working musician there's absolutely a place for inexpensive gear. Am I taking a Mesa to gigs? Nope. Bought a Katana used for $170. Sounds fine. Other guitarists might snicker but there's nobody in that audience that cares what brand you're using.
Simple common sense.
I've been there as well and can relate 100 percent. This comment is the absolute truth.
Nobody cares except "maybe" another guitarist. Bragging rights only.
You got it right...I got everything from a vintage rickenbacker to a current-production squier, and I really think that's the way to go, having something for every occasion, because sometimes you will want to "dress to impress" so to speak, other times a hundred dollar beater with some choice upgrades will do the trick without risking more than you stand to gain
Amen. A drunk knocked over my cherished Les Paul at a gig, took a big chunk of wood out of the headstock. No effect on playability, but not good. From now on, that thing stays home. Cheap guitar + great pickups is the formula for me.
I bought a Jet JS-400, installed a Dimarzio super distortion on the bridge and my USA Stratocaster has been hanging on the wall ever since.
Just wood and wires.l have a couple of Squier strats, made a few upgrades, pickups, tuners, bridge. They play and sound as good or better than my Fenders. And I don't worry about them as much if l play out.✌️
where do you buy new firefly guitars
Guitarsgarden.com
@@JayceAllanGuitar thanks
I kinda agree with just saving and buying a good name brand guitar. (Which would include a MIM Fender) It will hold its value. But after getting that name brand dream guitar, by all means buy a couple cheap ones and do some mods and have fun with it. Then you’ll be happy. If you just buy a cheap guitar you’ll always still be wanting the name brand guitar.
I just bought a player series Tele two weeks ago. Love everything about it. Now I still have my modded Harley Benton Tele but I like the weight and feel of the neck better on my Fender Telecaster.
I was able to get a Schecter Van nuys for 500 for my first guitar in 20 years, I couldn't be happier with it
Schecter is the guitar world's best kept secret.
The last 1:30 is gold. Had me dying laughing.
Rick Beato's stuff is on sale for $89 on his website. 8 year UA-cam anniversary. In fact, this reminded me and I'm going to check it out today. Cheers, bud.
Wow! He marked his training program down from almost $500!
@@JayceAllanGuitar Yes, he did! And I bought it :)
I bought a new Fender strat and it didn't have a personality, I couldn't bond with it, it was boring, I play Squier affinity now. I sold the Fender. ♥️🎸.
Can you reveal which guitar was which? I guessed the even numbers were the actual fender.
I was going to wait til Wednesday. I have the day off to work on UA-cam. I’ll definitely post the results.
Reveal video has been uploaded.
Over the years some of my cheap guitars have become more valuable to me than some of my not so cheap guitars!
Me too. If I ever need money for something I sell the high value gear and keep the cheap stuff!😎
I’ve owned expensive Fenders etc and found all sorts of things I wasn’t keen on. I’ve also had plenty of cheaper versions, many of which had good features.
Taken overall, and however appealing they often can be, the cheaper ones will probably let you down, or frustrate you more often, in terms of tuning, intonation, feel, construction, hardware etc, especially when performing live.
No hard and fast rules with this kind of thing.
The sounds are often indistinguishable.
I do like your MIM Strat.❤ And I really like the Squier Debut Strat.... It's an excellent guitar for the money. Let's not forget, Eddie Van Halen made history with a $150 homemade Frankenstein Strat. Mic Drop....lol.
It’s a great guitar but the Firefly is just as good. I’d say the Debut is my least favorite. Even with the upgrades.
$50. Body and $75. Neck from Wayne Charvel. Absolutely changed the entire guitar game and even to this day, no one has come even close. All on an instrument that would be considered a piece of junk
If a pot breaks when pulling out the knob, you do have an explicit quality issue. This is the "barely acceptable" line of the cheap toaster that works for 2 weeks. It's a cheap fix for someone with basic abilities but not everyone has a soldering iron or the wish to learn how to replace a pot in something.
Another common flaw is the metal of the bridge plate: if the bar eats into it and becomes lose after being screwed in a few times, you have another broken part.
you have to throw away the toaster you can replace the knob for couple bucks lol
@@thehappyheretic2136 The pot broke, not the knob. My mother could replace a knob but wouldn't know how to solder a pot.
I agree that some, "some", brands of expensive guitars are worth saving up for. I just now, finally purchased my first Martin HD-28V guitar, and couldn't be happier. But there are cheaper alternatives out there that are very close in both quality build and sound, for @1/3 the cost of a Martin. I'm getting ready to compare my Martin against my Recording King soon.
But, when getting the more expensive, name brand (American made) guitar, you start to notice why the price difference is so big (and worth the extra cost).
I was gonna say Recording King, and Eastman D-8's are very comparable. I think I had the HD-28V model. Great guitar, but I flipped it and make a decent about of money.
@@JayceAllanGuitar
Good for you. It's hard to flip a quality guitar these days, because of the way the economy is right now.
I'll be keeping my Martin though. It was my #1 Bucket List item, to finally own a Martin HD-28, and I decided that it's now or probably never. But I will be selling both my Recording King RD-328 and my Alvarez MD60BG, after making a few comparison videos. Lol.. got to recoup some of the money I spent on my Martin, or I would never sell them. I will miss those 2 guitars.
@HayesTech let me know what you’re asking for the Recording King!
One thing about expensive guitars is they really hit you with the sunk cost fallacy where you can't quit guitar if you spent so much on it. I have a few expensive guitars and while I'm not great but if I don't play every day then why did I spend so much on them? I also have had some cheaper guitars that were great, never any of the really cheap harley bentons or amazon ones but a squier (which is in parts because it's gonna get some upgrades.) a lp jr. that came with rocksmith in 2012 and an ibanez (which I sold to upgrade to one with a floyd rose style bridge.)
Guitars are still pretty good compared to bowed instruments. The one viola which I had appraised came out in 60k Euro range. Insane.
Good gravy! That's a lot of dough.
@@JayceAllanGuitar Especially for someone who plays guitar daily, ha ha. I paid maybe 1500, but the restoration and appraisal were consicerably more, in tens of thousands, strings alone were 1000. It was dripping in one thing at a time, and I didn't slam the brakes when I should have. It is still with the appraiser for a dendro, and I haven't even played it yet.
Have you tried any Eart guitars? I had the Debut and Tease guitar but couldnt get into them. I bought an Eart ymx-sg3 from a seller on FB market for $160. The seller is sales artist for a music company that sends him guitars to sell. Its a pretty sweet guitar.
I have not yet. They look nice. I have the Debut and a Tease. The Tease is a really great guitar. I was jamming with the other day in the garage really loud. Plays great.
My Eart was in satin sunburst. I got some polishing compound and polished the body. Looks pretty slick. Its brighter and has a nice shine. Has a warm vintage look now. Makes me wonder what the Debut would look like polished. Umm!!! hint hint, your next video maybe! Lol!
Supro, Danelectro, was the cheap beginner gear of the past and now highly desirable. People scoffed at the Ibanez TS-10 as being the crappy one until John Mayer started using one. Then people started gushing over how “classy” it sounds. A used one used to go for $40. Now you can get well over $400. for one in good shape.
And aren’t Danelectros made from MDF or some sort of composite?
I have three guitars for less than the MIM Fender. All play and sound great.
Right. Why buy one guitar for $600 when you can three for $200 each?!
@@JayceAllanGuitar 100%
This video pushed me over the edge..I want to be like Brian May and make my own guitar to my specs so i can get rid of my other guitars and focus on progressing as a better guitar player..im stuck at wanting only 1 guitar i love looking at and having it feel like its part of myself somehow.if that makes any sense.
Makes perfect sense.
Before I watch the video, this is always true: "don't get the cheapest stuff you can find, get something that performs properly".
In any free market, there is a lower fringe that moves around the barely acceptable limit.
A couple of years ago, Glarry was that: their guitars had thick necks of shortly dried wood that would evolve on you and very light bodies that would make for an unbalanced instrument. You could replace everything else and still have to put up with these "qualities".
playing manly bass; after visiting a bluesrock gig I decided to have some fun with a Strat again; bought a Squier CV - what a mess....... needed a luthier to make the fretboard playable; got some used Fender Yosemite Pickups and electronic; used vintage tuners and a tremolo; so after spending a lot of money I have very nice guitar for the price of a MIM - but with all the upgrades and work I put in its far better and also gained so kind of soul; not saying this is the best way - was just my way;
Had a Donner dst-400, in my opinion it felt and played better than a entry Fender Player Strat and Telecaster. Had to skip the $170-$900 range to actually get a guitar worth an upgrade to the Donner.
I’ve owned a couple DST-400’s. Great guitars.
I have played for over 35 years! The only thing I hate about cheap guitars is the fact that if you buy one you have to buy new hardware to make it stay in tune then you need pickups that isn't noisy as can be! Then replace the wiring then volume nob and tone nobs new switch because the cheap ones fall apart. and then you have to do fret job!!! Honestly, I have never "enjoyed" a guitar under a grand all except for one... Amazingly hahahah I took my first guitar a Peavey wood grain guitar that was cheap as hell! I did a fret job and put pickups in it new tone nob, new switch all that stuff and it was amazing!
However!!!!!!!! I still spent a grand ....so I don't agree totally with the idea that buying a cheap guitar is a better option... I don't want to waste time setting up cheap guitars so they work! If you add my labor to it, it is well over a grand to do all that stuff up to my standards... I went through a NICE Jackson King V several Ibanez guitars as well as a really NICE Jackson Strat like guitar.... I even own a CHEAP Samick guitar that I can't play anymore it's a long story why I even bought it!!! Now I own a CORE PRS and I aint never looking back!!! All that work you have to put into a "Cheap" Guitar? Is it really worth it when you can buy one professionally set up for around a grand or more... My new project requires a metal tone as well as an old school blues tone, so I am looking for an "AMERICAN Strat!!!" Every video everyone I know that has one every American Strat sounds better to my ears because of all the stuff I mentioned has already been done to it!
I bought lots of cheap guitars and a bunch of diy kits and a chinese banjo. I also bought 3 really good Chinese and beautifull guitars and one them is Les Paul Replica one of the best I ever played. I own a Fender Telecaster and Gibson something model and a bunch of old Levin acoustic guitars. I even own a guitar made in Finland a Peders guitar. I also own two Zuzuki acoustic guitars I will never sell. So I like owning a lot of guitars I just do. Oh I forgot I started buying Cigar Box guitars too I love them. I mostly play 3/4 walz on them and almost no Blues slide stuff at all. Yup
The first guitar I ever built was a cigar box 3 string guitar. They’re lot of fun to play.
When I bought my MIM Stratocaster, the salesperson told me the difference between the MIM and the US made ones is about 100 miles. Basically, the guitars are so similar in quality, there's really no point to get a Made in the USA one. When I compared it to my $200 Xaviere strat, the finish is better, but that was about it. They both play great, feel almost identical, and sound good. So the extra $600ish (for me) is all fit and finish. And not worth it, IMO.
Also, that was the color of the 1964 Buick Skylark convertible and the 1963 Pontiac Tempest with Positrac in My Cousin Vinny.
🤘🏻👍🏻
I would buy the Firefly. It has all the features I want a strat to have. For me a good neck pickup is key. I never use the bridge unless I have a strat with a humbucker :)
They all sounded similar but I thought A was a bit harsh in one or two clips. Hope it was not the Firefly
"People who gig have a back-up" - yes, it's a bit of an obsession we see from everyone on discussion forums. Funny how drummers don't carry a backup drum kit in a box. Maybe that's why people say they just like to hang out with musicians. Ever seen a concert pianist with a 2nd piano on the side, just in case? Ok, they're percussionists too. There seems to be a pattern here.
But more seriously, my cheap-ish guitars (all cheaper than a Fender Player) never broke. What does age is the electronics: pots can crackle, switches become unreliable (they just need cleaning) and soldering joints or active circuits may eventually fail. It will happen at all price points, though.
I bought a guitar with an amp and stand and capo picks etc all for 80 quid off amazon 😂😂 its a very low quality guitar (and amp lmao) but i just cant stop using it. Its my first guitar so ive just about developed the tough finger tips after having blisters for a while and still playing. The strings are very far away from the neck especially towards the bottom, and the 8th fret pokes out a bit on the left so if i play the low e on the 7th string it sounds like sh-t and i keep applying pressure to it with the side of my pick to push it as far in as i can.. and you know what.. i f-cking love it 😆
Just about sussed out barre chord techniques and caged shapes that dont feel like im gonna break my wrist any more, if i dont squeeze the strings tight especially towards the bottom then the notes wont ring right so i feel like if i learn on this piece of sh-t and continue to enjoy it like i am now in say.. 6-8 months.. i'll probably commit to a really good one. But to anyone out there who is unsure if they will stick with it or not, just buy a cheap piece of sh-t and see if it takes over your life 😂 if it does then its time to get shopping for nice guitars 😁
Well said. The best guitar is the one you play constantly.
Below is what seems nice to me but I don't know which brand is which here.
Strum
Bridge - Clean - Sample 1
Solo Bridge
Sample 5
Middle Strum
Sample 9
Middle Solo
Sample 13
#1 is Squier Debut, #5 also Squier Debut. #9 ALSO Squier Debut! #13...man...4 for 4. Squier Debut!
@@JayceAllanGuitar This is just interesting., talk about the merit of blind test!
@@yamaoctave3928 I thought so too. Glad you found it useful
Today's guitars have stepped up their playability, looks, sound and tone. For example I have a monoprice tele style guitar that I paid 109 dollars with free shipping. The fretboard has rolled frets, great tuners and pickups and I am just as happy as a Fender. Squire could not stand up to. I was asked to name a price. I could've bought two of the same kind but they may not get one as
Nice. I don't have the money you have but so what.
I like guitars $200 and under. I love it when I get a great guitar for around $100. That Fender MIM was a hard pill to swallow, but I'll probably sell it. I tend to buy and sell gear so I have the funds to get gear to review. My income from UA-cam is too inconsistent.
I have a chwp Dean florintine acoustic and one day i went to guitar center and played all of the expensive taylors and what not and walked away thinking my dean looked better and played just as well and sounded just as good to me
Beware of the man who owns one gun he knows how to use it. Beware of the working guitarist who owns one guitar he knows how to play it.
Sorry but that seems irrational.
I don’t know any guitar players that only own one guitar. Interesting that you bring up guns because everyone I know into guns also owns way more than one.
@JayceAllanGuitar it's a figure of speech. Dont be concrete minded. Do I need to explain what the idiom means l??? Ps I'm old enough to remember people of my fathers generation who played all over the place to make a buck. and only owned one guitar according horn and they took care of it. Money was tough, and feeding the family was serious business. The wild excess of Western civilians is crashing. Can't eat that guitar in an apocalypse crssh.
@@AlanThomas-hp3fn If you say something easy to challenge, don’t be surprised when it happens. I caught the meaning, and still found it nonsensical. It has limited applicability even “in its time”. Back then, the fact of it was “Beware of the man who owns one, he can’t afford another, so he might steal yours.” Like I say, it just makes no sense.
@@wasteddude9387 So sorry about your mental health problems.
Set-up out of the box is used as a sales argument to beginners and ignorants.
It is good for beginners because it promises the instrument will be playable as it comes but anyone else should know that the set-up will be obsolete the moment one replaces the first set of strings and especially if one goes up or down a gauge.
Besides, strings are always set higher than they could be so as to minimise the risk of fret buzz out of the box. Whatever set-up you get is suboptimal by design (and when you lower the strings, you undo intonation).
I think every guitar player should learn to do basic setup.
i've been playing for 50 years. i have a harley benton that was $274. new. it's as good as any fender. don't care where it was made. don't pay for a logo.
Hey there...did you actually watch the video? Because it's pretty much all about how cheap guitars are just as good as expensive ones...cheers.
Getting a cheap guitar while I save up for an expensive guitar means that I have a guitar to play and learn on and figure out what I want out of an expensive guitar.
Exactly!
These days most people are aware that CNC manufacturing has created a situation where an inexpensive guitar's wooden parts, nut and frets are every bit as well finished as they used to exclusively be on expensive guitars and it's normally only the pots, switches and tuners which separate a cheap guitar from an expensive one these days. Whereas years ago, this was only part of what set expensive guitars apart from cheap ones, whereby you could swap the hardware and electrics on a copy for good bits and it would improve it a lot, but a cheap copy would still not be as good as the guitar of which it was a copy because it hadn't had as much hand finishing done and so the pattern cutting tolerances are what would continue to let such copies down. It was possible to improve some of that stuff yourself to a copy and fancy it up it further, but it would probably still not be quite as good as an expensive guitar. That's no longer true and is what has changed these days thanks to CNC manufacturing. This is why I usually don't refer to such guitars as 'cheap', but rather as 'inexpensive' and capable of being made just as good by throwing about a hundred quid's worth of improved bits at one of them.
So I have several Gibsons and Fenders etc, but I also have Fazleys, Harley Bentons etc, and with Grovers and decent pickups on those less expensive models, they are as good and sometimes much better than those Fenders and Gibsons in my collection. That's just a fact. There simply is no good reason to pay thousands for an electric guitar these days. You are just paying for a logo, and frankly, most of the audience don't know and don't care what logo is on the end of your guitar, it won't impress them so long as what you are play like is good.
However, the most startling inexpensive guitar I have, is a Silvertone Dark Star acoustic, which I bought after hearing a comparison between it and four other vastly more expensive guitars, which were a Martin, a Taylor, a Takamine, and a custom hand built model which had a multiple thousands price tag. The Silvertone sounded way better than any of the more expensive guitars, which prompted me to go and buy one immediately. I can tell you exactly why it sounds better too; because it was made cheaply using as little material as possible, its wooden parts are paper-thin, especially the top soundboard, allowing it to resonate beautifully.
So whilst this thin wood makes my Silvertone somewhat fragile compared to my other acoustic other guitars which were much more pricey than it, that thin wood is what also makes it sound vastly better. I use it as my main gigging guitar and this is in spite of having numerous more expensive acoustic guitars I could and have occasionally used for gigs, because that Silvertone is unquestionably a much better sounding guitar. So this is a case of a 'cheap' guitar actually being very much better than an expensive one. It frequently gets commented on by guitarists at gigs who hear it and want to know what it is because here in the UK, Silvertone guitars are not very common.
I didn’t know you could get silvertone in acoustic. That’s interesting.
CNC is really not the only story here. The type and quality of the wood is an entirely different matter. An Epiphone might say Mahogany as the wood, but that's a generic label for many different species of wood from China. it's NOT the same mahogany in a real Gibson. That does make a difference. Same with the lacquer.
@@alcovitch Yup that's true sometimes, but then again my Epiphone LP Studio is better than at least one of my Gibson LPs
Thats what what I have been telling students for decades. You can get a USA strat used for cheap. I sold a good one. Ugly,but played and sounded great for $ 700. I see them all the time in my area for $800 or so. They are solid, easily modified, and nearly indestructible.
Man. I’d be thrilled to find a USA made Strat for less than $1000
I have two on craigslist right now.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc what location?
Good video, but what is a "local guitar shop"?
🤓 I know right? They are a relic of the past. Interestingly enough, I live in a small town and our business is in a small-ish town where I grew up (about 200k people). The area where our business is is Saginaw, Bay City, Midland area of Michigan. Saginaw has a Guitar Center of course, but there are a couple small guitar shops, Midland has one, Bay City has one. All these towns are about 15 minutes from one another. Now, where I live is smaller (3000 people) and yet there is a Guitar shop in our town, and one in Harbor Beach which is 30 minutes away, and one in Caro, which is maybe 20 minutes from our house. I think there's one in Port Huron too. And of course the famous Elderly Instruments in Lansing Michigan. So, we have quite a few small, local music stores here in the state of Michigan.
@@JayceAllanGuitar Glad to hear that, the local shops in my area have all gone, sad but online put them under.
It is sad.
@@cantcoact4412The shops in my area get by on lessons and instrument repair, if they make a sale that's gravy
Takamine, Yamaha and Ibanez have built some great acoustic guitars that won't drain your wallet. Some even better than the famous names. I've owned or played about everything.
If you're buying a guitar with the idea of how much you can get for it when you sell it- you're not getting a guitar for the right reasons. If a guitar plays good and sounds good then it is good. Chasing name brands is idiotic now days.
Bridge pickup chords
#1 sounds full bodied
#2 sounded a bit muddy
#3 sounds mid scooped to me
#4 I'm pretty sure that's the Firefly because that sounds like a humbucker
Bridge pickup scales
#5 That has the top end of a Strat
#6 That sounds like a Strat with a tone knob on the bridge
#7 That sounds more like a Tele pickup to me, or maybe a P90
#8 Again, I hear a second coil in there, that has to be the Firefly
Mid pickup chords
#9 A little bit of top end, but overall very balanced sound
#10 That one seems to be lower output
#11 That one really rings out
#12 Very similar to 11
Mid pickup scales
#13 The top end is more present this time around
#14 Maybe you dug in a bit more than last time, but the output was fine this time around
#15 Whatever that is, that pickup is a keeper
#16 Maybe this is the quiet one again
The biggest disappointment is that one seems to have a lower output middle pickup
Results are up in a separate video. See how you compare.
@@JayceAllanGuitar I got some right and a shameful amount wrong lol, I'll comment on that video with my opinion on the guitars
Perfect. Thank you.
Just commenting to point out that I brand new MiM strat costs slightly more than your used one and has a 2 point trem. It's a nice looking guitar but if mine is any indication the new MiMs are really nice.
Thanks. I did mention that in the video.
@@JayceAllanGuitar haha! Not surprised I missed it. Maybe I should pay attention to the video instead of comparing spec sheets.
No worries! I know many people skim videos, I do too a lot of times.
IMA buy a Squire Debut Strat, soon 🎉😮🎸 Do you know Sean's channel, Scar My Guitar?
I do. I follow him.
Habitat for Humanity, Cheap Guitars have one thing in common: Sweat Equity Needed
"People get riled up. I don't know why" - because it exposes insecurity and incompetence.
People go for trusted names out of ignorance. Any self-assured person is fine with this. We are born ignorant and a reputation provides some assurance. It is a sensible short cut to learning to evaluate products the hard way by trying them out.
But the insecure cannot afford admitting ignorance, so they ride the high horse of brand names as a defence mechanism.
sounds like religion lolol
@@thehappyheretic2136 There is indeed a similarity. The fearful often prefer a wrong answer shared with others to no answer.
I think I am just going to get a cheap Jackson or Dean or Ibanez, do the neck and fretwork to set up the guitar properly, then upgrade the parts. I think I will have less money in the guitar that way and will still have a great guitar. I have a couple decent guitars but I'd like more, but I'd like to work on them.
Ibanez are great guitars. I don't have much experience with Jackson or Dean.
I have an American Fender Strat, a Mexican Player, a Squier CV Strat, and a Relic Firefly Strat with relic’d fretboard and neck. (Among others).
I pick up the Firefly most, it’s the one that’s still in tune. 🤷♂️
I love my Fenders and my nice expensive (overpriced) guitars, but I play the budget guitars far more often. They’re FAR from junk these days.
I can’t say enough good things about my Firefly Strat. It is definitely an amazing guitar and how they can build something so good for less than $200 is astounding.
@@JayceAllanGuitar My thoughts too, how do they feed themselves on these prices. 🤷♂️.
I have: es335, SG, LP, JM, Nashville Tele, Thinline Tele, Flying V, Explorer, Dobro, HH Strat, the Relic Strat, plus 2 more that I sold for a preferred color of the same models.
Safe to say I’m a fan. 😅
Eastman is a great guitar. Made in China, but boutique level craftsmanship
I own 14 guitars. They're all priced between $500 to $1,500. Every one of them are excellent top notch guitars that feel like they're tailor made for me. I just can't see or justify paying anymore than $1,500 on a guitar. I don't think you're going to get any better quality for a guitar that's $2,000+ in my opinion.
Law of diminishing returns.
I have cheap guitars and expensive ones if I play it I like it and it's a good deal I buy it. By buy it right used I know I'm going to get my bet money back out but I never sell them anyway.
It's about feel more than tone, for me. Cheaper guitars have a different feel, with exceptions on both sides. If I could find a cheaper guitar that looks appealing and feels like my expensive guitars, I'd buy one.
I agree some do. Mainly to me, it's the unfinished necks on some of them and if it's a basswood body it feel awkwardly light weight. I think a guitar should have some heft to it.
When you buy a widely-known brand-name guitar, or any other manufactured product for that matter, roughly half of the price is for advertising and marketing to promote and distribute the brand and its products, and a portion of that is passed through to investors/shareholders and to service the company's debt. Labor, materials and other direct costs of production are factored into the cost of the product itself. In the US, labor is the biggest part of that cost. The easiest way to reduce overall costs and therefore price is to reduce labor expenses. When you buy an Epiphone, a PRS SE or a MIM Fender, you pay less because the parent company is taking advantage of cheaper labor and lower taxes by 'offshoring' or 'outsourcing.' The tools and methods are the same everywhere and good craftsmanship is not limited to the US. Asians have been building great products and poor products for centuries, just like Americans. Not saying anything about the quality of particular instruments or brands, or suggesting how you as a customer should make a buying decision. Just reminding folks how manufacturing and retail business works. Something to consider.
The Fender isn't better......but it's the old G and if you genuinely want a real Fender Strat, then the Player Series is the way to go.... especially used. But in terms of value for the money, there are a plethora of options that basically do the Fender thing for less money. And even within the Squier lineup, you've got options there too with the added bonus of it being a "real" Strat.
The player series neck😂 uses from 2018 on 22 frets and gold logo. Your strat here shows the older Black font Fender logo, and 21 frets leading me to believe this neck was replaced from older MIM?? Look at the serial number. I doubt that's a 2018. I mean I could be wrong. But I e never seen 2018 with that font color. Again I have a 2017 FSR with gold logo and they kept that for the 2018 up line. I'm sure I'm missing something but you have me wondering now. I am probably wrong but idk. Very strange. Put the serial number in the fender que and see what it says. If you would???
I love it. Either way. Killer. I love MIM. Then again. I love any ST style that plays and feels great.
If you lift the guard up and check. The player series uses alnico pups. The standard uses ceramic 2 bar single coils like all the old standards which I don't mind. I am sure you know this. But I'm curious. If they sent out a few black logo standard 21 frets ceramic and called them players. Very strange. I'm hooked to find out now if your pickups are indeed alnico
Okay, so this is a Special Edition Player Strat, not even sure what that means. The serial starts with MX180... The number does not show a result in Fender's database, but that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't really an actual fender. These are Alnico pickups. Inside has all the markings of a true Fender, i.e., date stamps with the word January in Spanish stamped on the neck heel. Date was Jan 27, 2018. So very early 2018. May have bled over from 2017 models to use up stock? I was unsure when I got this thing home because the tuners are stamped with Fender, but the keys (or knobs) themselves are small, almost like the vintage butterbean style, but regular sealed tuners. Also, the trem block is brass. So maybe the previous owner made some mods to it.
Oh yeah, and the pickups have the number 59 written on them, is that the type of pickup? Pure vintage 59 maybe?
Also no F on neck plate
I think your price comparison is a little off. You got ripped off if you paid over $600 for that. They charged you like it was a MIM Players Series model but that’s really just a MIM Standard (2008-2018). You’re comparing two different models if you’re looking at specs & prices for MIM Players Series instead of MIM Standard Series.
A new Players Series Strat might sell for $700+ new but a MIM Standards like that didn’t. MIM Standards sold for under $600 back when they were new & I only paid about $450 for mine back when it was brand new around 2013.
This is a Standard, but it was modified. It has a set of Fender Pure Vintage 59 pickups (Alnico), a brass trem block and different tuner knobs. The loaded pickguard with the Pure Vintage 59's is $300 by itself.
I agree with one of the replies, stop chasing brands. I have vintage guitars, Mexican, Coit, TEMU guitars. If they are able to be set up, have a good set of strings on them, you’re more than half way there, but in the end it’s all in the fingers.
Oh I forgot an expensive guitar will still sound sucky in the wrong hands, I know by experience.
I resemble that remark! 😜🎸