I never played a Squire that I liked, but maybe the new ones are better, idk.

imo ESP LTD are the best for 500$~ priced electric guitars, there are many professional guitarists in famous bands who play them and they have a really great sound. I bought my Eclipse five years ago and I enjoy playing it every time.

 

You mean you play a "world musical Instrument co. Ltd korea" with LTD Branded headstock?
All theese Brands (maybe there are more, theese are all i know) are made in the same factory. Qulaity wise they are interchangeable - The actual guitar specs are a preference.
B.C. Rich
Line6
PRS SE
Schecter
Dean
Gretsch
LTD
Chapman

Don`t get me wrong Korean world music makes great instruments, I have an LTD M 400 nice guitar!

 

Last edited by a moderator: May 16, 2018

I knew there is a youtube video - check the headstock shapes, maybe you recognize some more brands

 

I don't know much about that aspect of guitar manufacturing. I do know that the LTD's I played all sounded better than most brands you listed (PRS SE might be a contender, haven't played Chapmans or Gretschs). I'm sure the specs ESP give them have an effect on it.

By the way, my LTD's weren't made in Korea. One was made in Indonesia and the other in Vietnam. The Vietnamese bass is good and the Indonesian electric is amazing.

 

I know people are mainly thinking electric but check these guys out.

FWIW I still enjoy playing my first guitar, a Squire Tele. Same pickups ect. Sounds great. Fun to play ect.

 

I myself am a big Yammy fan. I've got a 6 that I got for $150 new, and a 12 that I got for $150 used. They both sound and play great (the 12 is the best 12 string I've ever played). The electronics sound really good as well.
But then I made the mistake of sitting next to a friend while he was playing his Martin (I think he paid around $2,500) and that was when I realized the difference in tone.
Still love my Yamahas, they are definitely the ones I'd use to take to gigs and such. But I am in the market for a Taylor now for recording purposes. I love the deep bottom ended tone I've heard from them when test driving in the guitar stores.

 

HI All.....
wanted to buy Ibanez Artcore....quality....had no luck....bei Thomann.....
after 4 trys...tested
Harley Benton SC-550 Paradise Amber Flame

couldn't be happier !!! (249 EUROS)

 

I bought a Hagstrom Viking Deluxe for around £300.00 and am delighted with it. Looks gorgeous (imo) and plays beautifully. Good jack-of-all-trades that handles most genres very well. Great jazz tones, sounds lovely and clean through a fuzz pedal. I'm no expert on pick-ups etc, but went for this instead of an Epiphone ES-339 after doing a bit of research and reading a lot of reviews. Very happy with it's sound, versatility and playability. I listen to anything from Jazz to 60's Psychedelic Punk, Funkadelic, Beefheart etc and needed something to replace my old '63 Eko 500 3v which is now a bit long in the tooth. To add, in reviews, many said the performance was almost on par with Gibson semi's, which pretty much sold it to me.

 

Last edited: May 16, 2018

I just got back home after seeing the new Avengers: Infinity War...cool flick with an ending that begs the next episode....

Yea, so many good inexpensive, relatively speaking, guitars that we all have the good graces to be afforded these last bunch of years. I also think those Epiphone Les Pauls recently are great bangs for the buck. Since we are talking wood here, there are going to good ones, a few great players and of course the errant dog at this price quotient slipping through the cracks, so as is with any guitar, it pays off to play at least a few of them to insure that you get one that satisfies your sensibilities. And like Jaymz and maybe others have said, a well set up instrument makes a great difference in both how it of course feels to play as well as can affect the way it sounds.

And digitaldragon mentioned something that makes a whole lot of sense, that buying an instrument used can be a way to get a fine guitar for just a fraction of the price. It pays to look around for a previously owned instrument as sometimes people dump stuff when they have a cash shortage and need some quick money, and other times a seller might not know the real worth of what they are off loading.

Generally speaking of course, I think that it is a little more difficult to pay, say a 1/4 the price of a quality acoustic guitar and expect the sound and playability of an instrument 4X the price...unless it is a used deal. I personally haven't come across anything that comes remotely close to my two high quality dreadnoughts. The almost 40 year old Ibanez jumbo that I have does have a nice sound and is a dream to play, and for the CHF 400 I got it for would be hard pressed to replace it new for under a 1000.

 

I have a few good acoustics by Taylor,Martin and one from Gibson a J45... Most cheap lower end Yamaha's have laminated tops the bracing isnt scalloped ... makes for a lifeless sounding guitar dead... but see with these new Yamaha's lower end they have solid sitka spruce top's and scalloped bracing...make worlds of difference in tone they sound really good... i wont go as far as saying they sound as good as My high end guitars but the one i purchased like in this video is very close in comparison... i put a tusq nut and saddle on my Yamaha FS 800 and it improved the tone even more... The Yamaha i got is a Folk style smaller body but it sound really good for what it is... if you wana know if your guitars have Real Spruce top look at the sound hole.. if you see the grain of the spruce run down from top to bottom of the hole its real...my guess is yours could be laminated ply's of spuce and you will see the layers looking at the sound hole cut ;) I love my high end acoustics but for $200 dollars my yamaha is not far behind its a good one ;) The deap bass sound you're after comes with a dreadnought style guitar ;) my Yamaha is a Folk syle better for projection when picking...but it still has loads of bass... Taylor guitars like mine have a crisper sound than most Martin dreadnought guitars... my Taylor has more pronounced mid and highs where my Martin has more Bass ... The body style of the guitar and the way its made what wood was used the way it was braced and all is where the sound comes from not the name ;) EDIT haha >>> The finish on the top will have a huge inpact on tone aswell... the less it has the better it will project tone... My Martin,Taylor,and Gibson all three have very thin finish and sound amazing... the yamaha has a thicker finish but i know if it didnt it would sound even better ;)

 

Last edited: May 16, 2018

LMFAO I am actually currently using a Hana Montana Guitar with a Telecaster single coil pickup and I just stripped out the paint and repainted it. $100 package at Walmart LOL and no guitar I have comes close to nailing that old Telecaster sound as the Hana Montana guitar LOL . You need to listen to the instrument not what colour or logo in on it.

 

This is a tough one for me as I'm not interested in "cheap" guitars anymore. I only keep my Peavey Predator+ 7-string due to sentimental value (and I plan to mod the hell out of it). Truth is that it sounds awesome with the Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz set I put on it. Almost like a Strat.

However, I was really blown away by the Paul Reed Smith SE series. They are made in Korea and usually under 1000$, but they can be found dirt cheap used. You can get an absolute bargain once you swap the tuners and the pickups (if you feel like you have to).

Best deal you can probably get are the "Pro" Japanese Jacksons. They go around 300€ used and that is a fucking steal. Hell, a friend paid 800€ for his!

 

Last edited: May 16, 2018

Brazilian Design, Made in China. Wilkinson Pick-Ups. I find it very very very confortable. Killer tone AND Stays in tune. Also, I paid less then 300 dollars (in my native currency). This is, by far, my favorite guitar.

 

Last edited: May 16, 2018

Sounds like a blind test in the making lol... Ill get back here with it soon ;) acoustical...Yamaha $200 vs Martin $4,000 ? Whaya think ? Ill use one of my favorite lil mics a vintage 60's AKG c451e ;)

 

​

 

Tomorrow ill give them both a fresh set of wires...same brand and gauge an get to it ;)

 

My brother has terribly abused my red label 1970's Yamaha FG-350 left in his care for the last 30 trips around the sun so he could play the chords to Smoke On The Water when he needed to . He, for a few years, even left it in an unconditioned house in central Florida and now his two under six year olds sometimes do what under six year olds do to guitars...nothing good. But when I last visited him I put some new strings on it, and although it by now seriously needs and for obvious reasons a neck reset (as well as new machines and nut/saddle) it's sound blew me away when I played it last summer. It had a mellow, balanced sound and the overtones rang out beautifully. One day I'll take it back and give it the TLC it deserves, it really sounds heavenly.

 

I always operate in the pre-owned market, as it's the best way to try out different guitars and flip existing ones without incurring heavy losses. It is also a prudent strategy if you ever need to have a quick fire sale at short notice

Regarding guitar models, I am seriously addicted to Fender & Gibson. My next guitar is going to be a J45, and you can find mint condition models at 50-60% of retail price if you are patient enough, which would leave some cash leftover for a nice Jaguar I still want a 335, but that is going to be a major purchase, even at pre-owned prices!

 

A Jaguar would be cool to have and it is one of those guitars that I always wanted but never pulled the trigger on. Elvis Costello made that happen for me when he used his on his amazing early albums. Actually I think his stuff all great, but those earliest songs were gems to me. We saw him with the Attractions a few times and they always blew me away, even translating to a big venue like Madison Square Garden the last I saw them, by now a really long time ago.

It is such a personal thing, guitars really must resonate with me. For some reason a Taylor just doesn't. I know that they are made really well and I have played some of them that cost many, many thousands of dollars, but they always feel heavy in my hand and the tone just doesn't match the last hole in the puzzle of my satisfaction. I think that I know why...all if not most of the acoustic music that I was weaned on were primarily Martin guitars. CSN & Young played them as well as soooo many others. I did buy an Ovation in the 80's to try and emulate the sound of Cat Stevens, but other than that...guitars need to sound like Martins.

 

Yes, I am a pawn shop lurker. Of course in the town I'm in, the deals are few and far between. But I'm after specific things. I really almost fell on the ground when I ran across the 12 string. It was black (been wanting a black acoustic for some time now) acoustic-electric, and even missing the 5 or so strings it was missing, I tell the neck was true, and it played damn amazing. I'm currently stalking for a '86 Charvel Model 4 (the one with the Kahler) to replace my long lost sweetheart that was stolen in the early 90's. But if I ran across a Taylor...

I absolutely get that! With me, I suppose what did me in was when I first heard the intro to "Monster" by Pop Evil. I love that tone so I suppose I'm chasing it in real life now. Ovation used to be my favored acoustic tone. Not saying that I couldn't deal with a Martin or nice J45 if I ran across one for a steal...