I don't get any of these. Sorry! I just find real USA Gibsons and Fenders to use usually better woods, and have better tone and more character. And I know full well that sometimes they aren't actually as well-made or finished. I *prefer* some of the Mexican Fenders to USA Standards, but that isn't the same thing as thinking they're better - it's just that I don't like some of the design features of the USA ones. The sole exception to this would be the period in the mid to late 90s when USA Standards were made out of veneered blocks and were basically junk. I would admit the Yamaha SGs are better-built than many Gibsons too, but not that they sound better.
(Also discounting some of the ludicrously overpriced "vintage" Fenders and Gibsons from the dark days of the 1970s - but even then, there are occasional good or great examples.)
It's not snobbery either, I like my Japanese (Matsumoku) Aria RS 'Strat' - but I wouldn't say it's *better* than a proper USA Fender vintage reissue or higher, it's actually lower quality and not quite as good-sounding, even with upgraded pickups. I just like it because it's a more comfortable shape and more functional layout, for me.
It's perfectly fine to like a cheap guitar for any reason you want, and there are certainly a lot of good cheap guitars and a lot of expensive guitars that are dogs too... but in my experience there are no great cheap guitars, only good ones. I've never come across one cheap guitar that has outperformed a *great* expensive one. Ever. And I've played literally thousands.
Just my opinion of course!
Last edited by ICBM; 9th November 2012 at 09:15 PM.
"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand" - Homer Simpson
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There seems to be a forum obsession with claiming that a Vintage Modified Squire is better that a Custom Shop Fender. IMO, cheap guitars are better than they have ever been, but not (unless compared to say, a particularly bad late 70s Fender) genuinely better than an expensive one. Most manufacturers (with the exception of Gibson) produce instruments of remarkable consistency these days.
Perhaps not, and I wouldn't stretch that far, but like I said in my first post, you expect CS Fenders to be good but depending on how they're set up in the shop, or whether or not you like the neck or pickups or whatever else, you might come away disappointed and start to perceive CS Fenders as a rip-off. I can't remember the last Gibson LP that really wowed me. That Burny I talked about wasn't even set up exactly the way I'd have it or anything else, but it blew my face off.Originally Posted by richardhomer
Those VM Squiers punch well above their price tag, which might be why people start taking the inverse snobbery to such ridiculous levels. They pick them up expecting them to be a bit rubbish or average, but they're IMO easily as good as the cheapish Mexican Fenders but for less, which is why people start talking them up. Not Custom Shop material though.
My name is Connor and I have a GAS problem.
I also have some videos of myself playing guitar. Here they are.
Fair enough, but something really clicked when I played that Burny, and I didn't get that same feeling playing any of the Gibsons I mentioned. To me that's the most important thing. No matter what type of guitar it is, if I pick it up and want to keep playing it for absolutely ages, to the point where I lose track of time, that's a good guitar to me.
My Gibson Flying V isn't really the kind of guitar I'd normally go for - given my love of fast, flat necks, 24 frets and stupidly high-output pickups, something like my Jackson would seem a far more obvious choice. I'd never even been particularly into Vs before I played one, but when I did it "clicked" - it was light, comfortable, the neck was amazing and it sounded great, and I wanted one more than anything from then on. I've played a few duff Vs that I didn't get on with too, but when I had the money and found mine, I got that same "click" and it didn't matter a jot to me that it wasn't a 24-fret widdle stick with a neck like a skateboard. If it feels good, that's a good guitar.
That Burny felt good. Most Gibson LPs I've played didn't feel as good. I realise YMMV, but that Burny was fun, when those LPs felt like a struggle.
My name is Connor and I have a GAS problem.
I also have some videos of myself playing guitar. Here they are.
I'm currently watching 'Songs Of Sandy Denny - live at the Barbican' on BBC4. Jerry Donahue is playing a Vintage strat copy and it sounds amazing. £250 guitar in the right hands - it sounds full of character.
I sense this will be another highly opinionated thread.
My 2 pence worth.
Best strat I have played - Fender American Custom
I am including all Ibanez, Jackson, Suhr etc... Anything Strat/Super strat. There is just something magic about those premium Fenders.
Best Tele - Fender American Custom
Best Lester - 1960s Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (Dont know exact year)
I have to admit I am not a fan of these guitars generally. I hate the epiphones and I currently have a Vintage V100 here as well. I give the Vintage a huge thumbs up for its aesthetics, in Iced Tea it truly is stunning but that neck...
Finishing on the binding is a bit meh and it feels clumsy to me. Damn good bit of wood though. A reprofile on the neck, refret and a overhaul on the electrics it would be a lot better. But after all this work would it really be worth it?
Dont know what you would class it as but I will throw in a Jazzmaster here
Semi Hollow - Gibson 335 (I think it was a 1965)
Hollowbody - Anything Ibanez at the moment for me.
Best pointy shaped Guitar - Ibanez Destroyer mk2. I haven't played loads though.
Acoustic - Martin or Taylor both are damn fine in the silly money range
I think IBCM summed it up. The squiers of this world are damn fine guitars for the money but they dont beat their premium priced brothers.
Honourable mentions to Godin and Parker for doing great guitars on the whole but they aren't really conventional copies of the standards.
Nasty, brutish and slightly above average height
Just caught a glimpse of the headstock at close quarters, and while it's vintage shaped, it ain't no Vintage - apologies, as you were!
Decal looked like 'L______", maybe Levinson?
I think he has a fret-king endorsement deal - I think the JHS association plus the headstock shape was skewing my perceptions.....
Jerry Donahue has had more endorsement deals than I've had cheese sandwiches and, as anybody who knows me will testify, that's quite a lot.
I would be wary of the whole "he's playing a XXXXXXX so it shows how great these XXXXXXXs must be, so much better than the more expensive YYYYYYYs and ZZZZZZZs" thing.
I'd imagine that the guitars an endorsee gets are, at best, hand picked and then given a thorough going over by a skilled tech. At worst, they may be completely hand-made with better timbers and components with only the headstock common to the models that appear in the shops.
(That's not to say that Jerry D is anything less than a stunning player who could sound great with almost any old piece of junk!)
It is the most shattering experience of a young man's life, when one morning he awakes, and quite reasonably says to himself: "I will never play the Dane"
Great video.
As I expected I marginally preferred the sound of the CV to the mex (probably due to the better pickups), but I was shocked how much better the US guitars sounded than the first two.
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