***The Official Guitar Thread***

uncle_rufus said:
There's a level somewhere around the £200 mark where actually having a guitar more expensive than that is probably worth it even for a beginner, but anything from there on upwards is such a ridiculous case of diminishing returns in my experience. Nice to have for sure, like a sports car, but it won't really get you from A to B significantly better than a more modest car
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Unless you actually practice and play it the guitar is immaterial.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Get a Strat, the Strat has always been and always will be known as the Swiss Army Knife of guitars.
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easyrider said:
Hes got a strat and doesnt play it
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I just don't know what it is about strats in general but I just don't find them inspiring, they never leap out and say play me where as something about LP's and Tele's speaks to me. I guess like most things guitar wise it's all slightly irrational bias which is why I've been looking at PRS SE 245's in tobacco Sunburst again, always seems like a beautiful guitar and decent value for money!
https://www.thomann.de/gb/prs_se_245_standard_ts.htm
but then I get oddly drawn to over the top road worn Tele's, which is bonkers as I'd never touch a road worn LP (more inconsistency!)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RELIC-ST...890215?hash=item4207dee727:g:pk8AAOSwKF1dapby
What ever it is would get played as I'm not going to have so many guitars some get forgotten, if I get an electric it ill put me up to 4 guitars which should be enough! (I will inevitably want just one more I know)
 
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a1ex2001 said:
I just don't know what it is about strats in general but I just don't find them inspiring, they never leap out and say play me where as something about LP's and Tele's speaks to me.
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I get that feeling and choosing a guitar is like choosing a partner, what turns you on and if a Strat doesn't turn you on then fair enough.
There have been many guitars in this thread that I just find awful, it could be a Les Paul but to me the colour is awful and does nothing for me.
The PRS you have linked to does say "Play me" and looks similar to my James Tyler JTV59.
 
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easyrider said:

All the great guitar players learned on piles of junk...its just another excuse.
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Lol, I play two guitars on a daily basis and while they are not piles of junk they certainly aren't the sort of thing people normally GAS over! I have an Ibanez Parlour that cost me £150 quid last year and a Crafter Dreadnought that I bought 20 years ago for about £200ish (I think), I could go out tomorrow and buy a Taylor or a Martin but I don't because I won't be a better player and I'd be worried every time I banged it or my kids strummed it! Interestingly and annoyingly every single person that picks up my Crafter is shocked by how playable it is which further reduces any excuse I have for being slightly rubbish, I've played much more expensive guitars that didn't have anything like the easy action that mine does. I know I'd be a better player if I played more and structured my practice better but I just enjoy playing and at the minute most of the time I have a guitar in my hand I find myself writing which I find really therapeutic.

My other guitar is a nylon strung vintage Harald Petersen which is a way better guitar than I am guitar player but it was a gift from a relative who no longer needed it which I could hardly say no to.
 
uncle_rufus said:
I agree but like I say there is a limit at the very lowest end.
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My first acoustic was from the Grattan's catalogue in 1981. I stuck with it for 20 years, because I didn't know any better and didn't have enough disposable cash to waste on guitars when I already had one. It was only when I finally played someone else's (I didn't have musical friends or family) that I realised I was nowhere near as un-musical as that guitar had led me to believe.

However these days I think you probably have to try pretty hard to buy a guitar anywhere near as bad. Modern mass manufacturing processes cut out a lot of the basic flaws, but bad action will still ruin your learning experience. Ultimately though, most guitars are ornaments first and musical toys second, so it doesn't matter how they play for 99% of their lives. :->

easyrider said:
The music should turn you on.
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This. I don't actually like guitars, in theory... too posey, too penisy, and too 'oh heck, here comes that bloke with the guitar again' if you ask me; I'd prefer something a bit more niche and a bit less everywhere. But I love solo guitar music and when a guitar's in my lap or round my neck, I don't have to look at me playing it. :)

I do, however, like wooden furniture, and guitars can be beautiful living room furniture (as seen in a billion Zoom/Skype interview in recent months... oh look, you have a carefully posed guitar and are really interesting behind your boring interview subject!) So although I try not to to look at instruments with my interior design specs on, it's easy to fall in lust with something without even knowing what it'll sound like in my hands.

In other news... I've been wasting too much time on slide guitar in recent weeks. I still sound terrible, partly because I won't raise the action on what's normally my fingerstyle preference, and my fingertips have gone a bit over-sensitive because I've been hiding behind a slide too much. Music is a harsh mistress! But also a great companion, especially at times like this, when it feels like social media has pulled the control rods out of civilisation and things are getting rather chaotic, rather quickly.

a1ex2001 said:
I could go out tomorrow and buy a Taylor or a Martin but I don't because I won't be a better player and I'd be worried every time I banged it or my kids strummed it!
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Someone I know has a hand made guitar. It's "just" by a local guy who seems to know his stuff; it sounds wonderfully mellow and is incredibly easy to play. I was very tempted to dig deep and order one. But if I blew £1500 on a guitar (very reasonable for hand made!) I'd never dare take it off the wall, and every ding would make me sad. I don't have the personality type for great kit. :)

Edit: well, talk about putting a jinx on myself! I just picked up my Takamine, the strap was twisted (as usual!) but I didn't notice and it came off. Usually I'm pretty good at catching the guitar before it's gone very far, but not this time and it hit the cupboard handle in front of me at a naughty angle. Nice laquer crack/dint underneath now. Still, it's got 25+ years of abuse evidence already. I guess a bit more 'character' won't kill it. At least it doesn't look like Trigger yet... though it does look as if it's done what Del Boy did while standing next to Trigger.
 
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If I was just spending money for the sake of it I would by about 4 guitars

Gibson L-00
Martin D28
Gibson Les Paul Standard in tobacco burst
Fender Tele in either red or butter scotch

That would see me happy for a while at least but I have no need for guitars of such quality!

mom the other hand I’ve decided to retrieve my retro strat next time I go to my folks and see if I can tweak it a bit and fall in love with it, might save me a few quid and setup and a few mods might be a fun distraction in these weird times! If only it wasn’t black!
 
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