Your gonna hate me, maybe even ban me...

[Vaipunk]

Best guitar I owned was my ESP Mirage. It was beat to hell when I bought it for $400. The worst guitar I owned was my Gibson Les Paul Standard that I paid waaaaaaaaaay to much for. Live and learn.

[noses]

Very true. But it is also true that a good guitar will sound much better when played by a bad player, and it's probably going to be a much nicer , and more fun experience to play. But, I think it's exponential, you get a lot for each 100 you add early on, but after about 600, you start to get increasingly less for each hundred, and most of the time just a name or a gimmick.

It's much like a computer, or a bike, or a tv, or anything, really

[Hikey Mikey]

Originally Posted by noses

Very true. But it is also true that a good guitar will sound much better when played by a bad player, and it's probably going to be a much nicer , and more fun experience to play. But, I think it's exponential, you get a lot for each 100 you add early on, but after about 600, you start to get increasingly less for each hundred, and most of the time just a name or a gimmick.

It's much like a computer, or a bike, or a tv, or anything, really

Yep, it's called the law of diminishing returns.

[Orochimaru]

I think I have to say something in here.

First and for most there are different necks. The neck may have a different radius or different thickness. Depending on your hands you might need a thicker or a thiner neck. Most people feel way more confortable when playing a guitar with a thiner neck. A guitar with a thin neck like the new Ibanez RG3550 comes for a good price.

Then there are the pups. There are pups that sound really muddy. Also there are some capacitors that are put one the VOLUME in the expensive guitars. I mean on the volume pot.

There are many guitars that are xpensive and they are not worth the money but you shouldn't generalize.
I have an example where you are offered the same guitar with different cosmetics.

When I bought my guitar I studied many guitars. In the end I came to the S series guitars.
If you read about the S series guitars you will see that ALL the S series guitars are the same except for the S5470. S320, S470, S520, S670, they all have 22 frets, 400 mm radius, thickness 19-21mm and jumbo frets. They all have mahogany body, INF pups, ZR tremolo. They are the same.

The only higher level S series Iby is S5470. If you think The S470 can compete with S5470 there is something wrong with you.

The conclusion is you should buy the cheap S320 or the real Prestige S5470.

You should not think it is the same for all guitars. You should not think your Squier is as good as a RG3550. You are wrong.

Then there are a lot of crazy guys running for extremly low action. Action doesn't matters.

I seen Malmsteen's guitars have high action. I tried to play with a bit higher action and it did not influence my speed. I could play the same fast.

Then if you speak about pups there are pups that sound clearer. It depends what you play if you play only chords the INF pups should be fine, if you play Satriani or Vai you need some really good pups. When you speed up the notes might sound like a chord. There is a lot about technique but the pups have their role in this.
Many people call themself professional players after 4 years of playing. They know nothing. If you are able to play chords by ear and read scores it doesn't mean you are a profesional player.
When you reach a high level in your playing you will see the guitar matters a lot. Only the beginers think all the guitars are the same. If you play fast phrases and use tremolo a lot and if you have a good technique the guitar makes the difference.

An expensive guitar is not a substitute for skills and knowledge. If you want to play better go practice more.

You should not forget about set-up. Some guitars come with a bad set-up from the factory. If you don't know a thing about set-upgo to a professional and pay for a good set-up. It can make the difference. If you find in a shop a expensive guitar with a bad set-up it doesn't mean it is a bad guitar.

There are expensive guitar that are overpriced. There are expensive guitars that sound and play worser than cheap guitars.

Atention:

Not all the expensive guitars are overpriced.

Read the labels before starting a smart thread. OK?

[EvoGiant]

Originally Posted by Orochimaru

Read the labels before starting a smart thread. OK?

that would have been good advice two months ago. ha ha

[Orochimaru]

I forgot to mention one thing. If you cannot feel the difference between a Gio and a Prestige it's obvious you are a beginer. I doesn't matter how many years you played "professionaly". You are just an amateur and a beginner.

People who play basic chords and slopy rythm will never know the difference. They can play a guitar made out of beer cans and they feel it sounds just like a prestige Ibanez.

I play guitars for 14 years. As the skill level grew up I changed picks, strings, pickups, amps, pedals and guitars.

I really felt a huge difference when I first played Paganini Caprices and Satriani songs. I bought a better guitar and changed pups. There are many parts in Paganini 5th Caprice where I feel like I could play easier with a thiner neck. I want to scallop the last frets because I tried a JEM and the last frets feel way better when scalloped.

The Gio guitars are very fine for 2-3 years then they fade away. Usually they are put in the shops with the best set-up but nothing more. They want to sell ALL their guitars. Remembmer, they have a better set-up, they are not better.

No Prestige Ibanez is overpriced, the GIO player is overpriced. This where the problem is.

If you want to know a brand that sell only overpriced guitars see Gibson. ALL their guitars are overpriced.

I am no Ibanez endorser. I just don't want the people on jemsite get fooled by appearance.

I appologize if I offended anyone.

[Rodney James]

This is a great thread, So many great points in here. Don't know how much I can add, but here are a few things I have learned through my experiences with electric guitars.

Some of the reasons higher end guitars have allot to offer:

Better woods that are properly conditioned, better neck builds that bring much more longevity, as well as respond to the truss adjustments much better, especially as the neck expands and contracts over time.

A test that helps, strum the open strings, then try pushing on the back of a neck, if it's soft like many cheaper guitars can be, it will effect the pitch, even some high end ones have softer necks, it depends on the wood itself and how the grain is run, this is one of the things I check for. Makes a big difference when standing up moving around, especially if articulate tone is being used.

I have an early 70's Epiphone with a 3 piece neck that is so soft, sitting down holding a bar chord, the pitch is all over the place. Yet I still love it for the element it has to offer. The weakness makes us approach it different, play different and as a result we can come up with things we normally wouldn't.

The electronics and pickups make a huge difference being the engine of the guitar.

Many of the cheaper guitars don't have real metal hardware, just coated plastic, and when they are real metal, cheaper mixes and types used.

Tone, the foundation is key I think, the woods of the body, neck & fretboard, how the wood is cut, crafted together and how the grains are run effects the vibration/resonation, I believe anyone can build a guitar, yet the art of building instrument is in the foundation.

Another thing, when recording, or playing load live, how the instrument cuts in the mix, both inexpensive and expensive guitars can be good or bad in certain situations, however overall from what I have found, odds lean to the well crafter, better materials, mid-high end instrument, they look to meet the needs of the most particular critiques from the pros. I don't mean pro because they get paid, pro as in, understand what they need and desire from the instrument today and over time in demanding situations.

I don't see 4k, 5k, 6k, guitars, etc...Being any better that a 2k well made machine, yet like mention many times in here, if it inspires us, that's the main thing sometimes, yet as we grow, it's the balance of all perspectives that help us find what’s right for us individually.

Which is why this thread is awesome, I have leaned from so many perspectives in here. Very cool.

At the end of the day, I personally prefer one extremely good , inspiring, well crafted, tone monster instrument, over 10 good guitars.

[Orochimaru]

Originally Posted by Rodney James

Better woods that are properly conditioned, better neck builds that bring much more longevity, as well as respond to the truss adjustments much better, especially as the neck expands and contracts over time.

Very well said.

I suggest visiting this link too:

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm.

It might help.

[-Rhaab]

Originally Posted by HeavyMetal4Ever

I would like to see some sort of test where a bunch of guitarists are blindfolded and given a range of guitars that differ in brand and price point. I would really like to see how a Squire fares against a Fender, or a Gibson vs. Epiphone when the players don't know which is which.

I wonder how brands like Vigier (sp?), Suhr or even PRS would hold up against the more affordable brands?

Rock on!

back when i didnt know a lot about guitars, i tried a epiphone les paul custom and thought it had almost the same feel as a gibson les paul in terms of quality. Never got to play the gibson through and amp though, but if I tried hard and the guitars had the same pickups maybe i'd be able to spot some differences. I'd like to see a blind test also.
Or do something like cover the headstock of a epiphone les paul, put some aftermarket pickups in, and give it to a gibson lover and tell him what he thinks about its tone and build, and tell him you just covered the headstock so he doesnt know the model until after he tests it. Maybe he'd say a lot of great things about it.

[Rodney James]

Originally Posted by Orochimaru

Very well said.

I suggest visiting this link too:

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm.

It might help.

Thanks.

Thanks for the link as well, has great descriptions.