Are there any guitars that can genuinely be said to be superior to costlier guitars?

[RocknRollDave]

The question arises as to how much that 'better' quality is worth. My mate's R9 is undoubtedly 'better' than my Greco, but how much better ? 10% (IMHO) or 'all the difference in the world' (his view) ? Whatever, it cost 6x the price ! It may hold its value better - I doubt that. Mine will always be good value for the working guitarist and I don't expect to drop anything at all on it when I come to sell. But maybe I'm wrong to prefer to spend the difference on 4/5 other guitars!

Very true.

If we say a MiM model is roughly half the price of a US model (depends entirely on which models we're talking about, so as I say this is just a very rough example), is the US model TWICE as good?
That's a matter of opinion, but let's say it was only 25% better, if you could quantify such a thing. You still have that choice when you purchase the guitar of spending twice as much for thet extra 25%. Some would say it was worth it, others wouldn't. Either way, the more expensive guitar is still the "better" guitar.

[Adam_MD]

I wasn't gutted, I simply realised that I wouldn't ever buy a new PRS. There are plenty of old ones going at silly low prices that it shouldn't be an issue even if I did want another (I don't at the moment anyway). I suspect Fender and Gibson fans thought the same in the 1970s .

So maybe one day the old 22s will be worth pre-CBS and pre-Norlin money? I don't know. So far only the very early original Custom 24s are. (But which I don't like!)

I'm not even keen on the DGT - I know why he/they added the extra volume control, but it just looks wrong and the knob spacing is too close together, for me.

I agree that the extra knob looks wrong but god the couple I've played sounded great. I also didn't mind the spacing while playing it. The only other model I really want (well 2) are a McCarty stopbar and a McCarty soapbar. I passed on buying a soapbar around 99 and have regretted it ever since.

[Fusionista]

That's a matter of opinion, but let's say it was only 25% better, if you could quantify such a thing. You still have that choice when you purchase the guitar of spending twice as much for thet extra 25%. Some would say it was worth it, others wouldn't. Either way, the more expensive guitar is still the "better" guitar.

Indeed. A function of personality and disposable income possibly. Speaking personally, I have always had a horror of being the worst guitarist with the best guitar - all too common an occurrence, even if I've grown up enough not to think it pathetic Instead I've gone for 'individuality'. The only guitars which have escaped my customisation are the expensive ones which I've bought to see why/if they are that good and where any fiddling would bring the resale value down.

I will also say that my 'best' (but not most expensive) guitar is actually a Gibson 335 1996 dot-reissue, which came to me set up with 13 flats and virtually unplayable. I own a few strats and teles, mostly heavily customised, but the 'best' strat I ever had was a straight Fender '97 '63 AVRI which had a wonderful 'delicacy' about it. My current working strat is a 2004 Fender US Std with BKP Mother's Milks in - very nearly as good but not quite as perfectly balanced. The best tele I've got is a US body with a JV neck, Seymour Duncan STL-1b bridge, T-top neck - but I'm about to live dangerously by replacing the HB with a Mojo WRP - stand by...

[ICBM]

The question arises as to how much that 'better' quality is worth. My mate's R9 is undoubtedly 'better' than my Greco, but how much better ? 10% (IMHO) or 'all the difference in the world' (his view) ? Whatever, it cost 6x the price ! It may hold its value better - I doubt that. Mine will always be good value for the working guitarist and I don't expect to drop anything at all on it when I come to sell. But maybe I'm wrong to prefer to spend the difference on 4/5 other guitars!

I used to think so too, until I made a mistake just over ten years ago - I had the chance to buy an original 1956 Les Paul Custom, which I was borrowing to do some recording, and the owner of was willing to swap for every guitar I owned (he would have been able to sell them all more easily than one expensive item). I thought about it for quite a while but in the end I passed because I thought I need the "versatility" of my Strat, Tele, Les Paul Deluxe, Rickenbacker etc.

That guitar has haunted me ever since. It's the best electric guitar I've ever played, and I later listened back to the recordings and realised that I sound pretty much the same on any guitar (hence the "versatility" is a moot point)... except the tracks I used the '56 Custom for, which were just better - not in terms of the "tone", ie EQ really, but in the way the guitar almost sounds 'alive', and you can clearly hear it. Unfortunately 50s LP Customs have gone up so much in real terms that I couldn't quite afford to make the same deal now, even if I could find another one as good. (He sold it to someone else.)

So I think that 10% is worth paying for, probably almost anything you can afford to.

I am currently thinking about doing something similar on a smaller scale, and it's only the amount of money I might have to put into the deal that's holding me back. I would happily swap two or three of my very good guitars for this one great one... even though it's still not as good as the '56 Custom.

[Neil.C]

^^^

An interesting bittersweet story and very true ICBM.

As Sir Henry Royce said........

"The quality remains when the price is forgotten"

[evilmags]

I've spent more serious cash on accoustics than electrics and in that arena the materials and craftsmanship make a huge difference. I've A/Bd my Wechter steel string against top end Martins and Gibsons and none manage to even approximate the volume and projection (both more objective measures than the "tone").

[TheGuitarWeasel]

I've spent more serious cash on accoustics than electrics and in that arena the materials and craftsmanship make a huge difference. I've A/Bd my Wechter steel string against top end Martins and Gibsons and none manage to even approximate the volume and projection (both more objective measures than the "tone").

One of the reasons I don't own an acoustic .... I can't afford one that would satisfy me. Most cheap acoustics are no better than a suitcase with a neck!

[HerbieTheRadDorklift]

I've got a Gibson LP which £4500 new and it's better than anything I've ever played...

[HerbieTheRadDorklift]

One of the reasons I don't own an acoustic .... I can't afford one that would satisfy me. Most cheap acoustics are no better than a suitcase with a neck!

...is the wrong answer.

[robinbowes]

Exactly. I've hated every Fotoflame Fender I've ever played, but if it does it for you, then I'm not surprised it's better than the "better" models, to you. I have a friend the same, he likes his one best out of the four (I think) Strats he owns. I think it's by far the worst!

What don't you like? I was going to say "I have one and it's great" but I've replaced literally everything except the neck and body!

R.