Me too, and i love it! Would never pay 8k for their topshelf model.
Because HERE i don't hear such a big difference! Tried them both.
But the Fender Strat example is a complete different thing!

 

Is there a difference, yes! Does it sound better, no... every guitar sounds different, not better or worse, and that's the real misconception about instruments generally.
In the end, the real difference comes down to what you like about a specific guitar!

I own a "few" guitars in different price ranges and in the end I really enjoy Harley Benton's stuff as much as my prestige Ibanezes
Is there a difference, yes... does it matter, no.

disclaimer, I do my own setups and I'm doing it for the others, so I know what I'm doing in terms of setting up basses and guitars.

 

Not much, no.
I have a guitar for $160 that sounds and plays great. And I have a guitar worth $25000 that sounds and plays great. And several in between.

 

If we talk acoustic guitars, I own 15 acoustics (and 4 electrics). The cheapest cost me 110€ while the most expensive around 6000€ and my most valued, custom made for me in 1982 is now worth around 9/10.000€ while all the rest of them range between 2/300€ to around 2000€. The most expensive do have the sweetest sound (subjectively) but are not necessarily the best sounding (whatever that means). I bought each guitar I have for a specific reason. Mostly the sound. A guitar might have a sound/tone/feel/dinamic range etc. better suited for blues, or a necks profile and fretboard easier for fingerstyle, perhaps stronger projection for strumming in a band.
A 3000 euro guitar won't ever give you all what a (any) guitar can do. It will have specific features and qualities but also flaws (subjectively, of course).
For example, I would never use my most expensive guitar to play blues with bottleneck (slide). It just has the wrong sound and responsiveness for that sort of music but for gentle sweet fingerstyle it is heaven.

 

It would probably be useful to apply the same question to violins, I think there are videos that compare cheap/mid level violins to Stradivarius ones. There is also information regarding why Stradivariuses are so good.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cheap+vs+very+expensive+violins

 

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2023

Acoustic guitars are very much different from electric guitars. A good acoustic is like good cabinetry, the craftsmanship and materials are very important. They are much more difficult to build in an assembly line manner.

An acoustic will change in tone and playability over time, hence the need for neck resets. so it is good to be careful when purchasing new, and especially when purchasing used.

They are played differently than an electric, but though I can afford a 3k$ accoustic, i've never felt the need.
a guitar, like a house, try to never fall in love with it before buying or the price can become more dear...

I think it is important for anyone wishing to play an electric guitar to also play an acoustic guitar.
it builds finger strength, and teaches the ear melody, as well as numerous methods of picking and muting strings.

the biggest changes in acoustic in the last half century has been materials, exotics ranging from fiberglass to carbon fiber and piezo pickups and transducers have made the instruments more durable and more versatile.

I find by switching between acoustic and electric every other day, my practice continues without boredom creeping in.

no matter the price, the important thing is to play, and to keep on playing. improvement is incremental, you might not notice and then one day you will look at your hands and say, "my goodness, did I just play that?"

 

an acoustic instrument must be light (thin) enough to be resonant as the top is the amplifier, yet it must be strong enough to resist the tension of the strings, and durable enough to be played day after day.

Like an aeroplane or motor car bridge, it is a engineering balancing act, requiring adjustments and skill to produce the best products.

whilst an electric guitar is much simpler to build, the chief criteria is it not being over 10lbs in weight or the owner may get back pain and throw it in the fireplace.

 

I don't know, if I agree. I much prefer to play my newer yamaha aex-500 (paid 250$ - now worth around 700$) to my 1961 les paul, in pristine shape probably worth 5-7k$, mines been hacked a bit, replacement pickups you know, the 70's they were chopping up every old guitar they could find...

we are told there is nothing like late 50's les paul, they are desirable. I paid 250$ for mine in 1975. Its okay but most of it is the collectors market driving up the price and most people never play one and think its magic.

No for me guitars are not a financial investment, they have been an investment in my knowledge and music appreciation.
I have never bought a guitar expecting it to rise in price and have been pleasantly surprized that I will likely get my money back on my collection by selling a few of them.

The guitar market is heavily marketed to. The manufacturer's know the number of buyers is limited, so if they can't sell guitars to more people, they try to sell MORE guitars to the same people. This requires spending lots of money to convince people what they have already is insufficient and only by buying whatever they are selling will our souls finally be perfect.

Most people don't even realize they are constantly being "marketed" to by everything from their phone, to their tv, to their web browser. Its so ubiquitous we think we are immune. ha... Everybody is selling something is a universal truth these days.

Baseball cards, Tulips, fads come and go. Disposable income gets disposed of. Intrinsic value is difficult to determine when you are surrounded by illusions.

Play what you enjoy, enjoy what you play. if you break even you've done well.

 

Sound ?
NO WAY

There are too many variables BEFORE global "quality" come.
Even a simple pickup height can change more than "wood".
Nowadays, you can buy a good base guitar for less than 300 euros new and even less than 200 euros second hand.

I bought my RG second hand that price ...

I seen ppl saying : "whow ! you get roasted maple neck !" ... do you REALLY thing neck wood is going to change "sound" that much ?
MOST pricy guitars come from EVERYTHING ... apart sound itself.

And as a guitarist, the FIRST thing i check is NECK.
Everything else is AFTER.

For now, i use Ibanez RG, Jackson HSS Fusion 24.75 inch and another Jackson because of their NECK.
I can change pickups easily, even swap bridges.
The amazing Jackson Fusion Made in japan 24.75 neck is unique

On the other side, i TOTALLY understand ppl putting big bucks in what they love.

Here is a guitar i could pay some bucks one day: it is around 800 bucks
Jackson Pro DK2Q in Trans Green Burst

 

If you are on a tight budget there are a lot of the newer inexpensive guitars available today are really well made, if the sound isn't great replace the pickups, mod the elecronics and change the tuners you won't regret it, you will have a superior sounding instrument at a fraction of the price of a name brand. If it gets damaged or stolen no big monetary loss.

 

yes it absolutely does. more so in acoustic guitars, but electric ones as well. until you've played the 3K ones you'll probably think you can wing it with the 300 ones. and for the most part you probably can. but regarding your question. absolutely yes yes yes. if you said 300 and 1000 the answer would still be yes and yes. between 300 and 500 mehh.
mind you, this is just the straight answer to "does it make a difference" and yes it does. you're not asking if you can write an "Are you Experienced" on a 100€ indonesian squire. god knows papa Hendrix began with an harmony (or silvertone. can't remember)

 

Yeas there is a difference.
A guitar made in Japan with strict QC or a cheap guitar, bit difference.
A pro player needs a reliable, no compromise guitar that works every time he picks it up.
Can a cheap chinese 200$ guitar with an unreliable QC compare? Moslty no, but here and there you might get lucky, it all depends on what level you are.
A pro might get a great sound out of a cheap guitar but then again might compromise on some level, use more tweaks to get it sound right.

 

Actually, no. That video was based on a bullshit causal connection and he never made the follow-up he promised which would highlight the difference. The only people that post that video in response to this discussion only do it because they are as clueless and he is about the difference.

 

Did the air guitar sound identical to his Anderson yes or no ?

 

Yes, but only, because $300 guitar will have trash pickups. You can change them and make it sound almost equally good, but in my opinion, it's not worth it. The build quality won't be there and the guitar won't be fully comfortable, even if you give it to a luthier for tweaking.

In my opinion, the sweet spot is a bit higher. I would say, get a guitar for $500-800, change hardware, ask your local luthier to give it some love and you'll be 95% there. Above that, you pay mainly for the prestige.

 

100% identical? Not to me, but I would much rather listen to the two in a more controlled environment, not whatever bullshit mic he was using in a work shed. I think it would have given further credence to whatever point he was trying to make as well by putting more effort in how the recording was made, along with spectral analysis. But I'm the type of person that appreciates that sort of thorough examination when making claims. Others are more responsive to surficial comparisons for immediate impact, because perception no matter how misaligned it is to reality, is much more easier to influence than to break down confirmation biases and educate.

 

so the answer is YES...

$300 vs $3000 guitars, does it really make a difference?

yes it does, mostly to the seller of the guitar, also to your wallet..

 

You don't have to. But you are not going to see me mixing the value of what people will pay for any collectible and it's usefulness as an instrument; and that is what you are doing. An old instrument with a serial number that is desirable to a collector does not become a better instrument to play, or listen to. It's still worth whatever someone is willing pay for it, even if that number fluctuates with market conditions.
That has nothing to do with comparing two instruments. You are comparing resale values and that may, or may not; be indicative which is the better instrument. There is no correlation. If you directly compare a $300 guitar with a $3000 guitar, made during the same year, by the same company, in the same building and the same country; do you actually think the difference in price has no basis in reality? Is the $300 instrument actually the better instrument; and the company who makes them both just having some fun joking around with the numbers?

So back in reality, the $3000 instrument will be the nicer instrument of the two. The real question to concern yourself with, is if the $3000 one is worth $2700 more; based on the actual specs and details such as country of origin, component quality of every part on the BOM (bill of material), assembly methods (by hand, by machine/robotic), and any other relevant information. Maybe yes, and maybe no. With "collectible" instruments and going off the resale prices alone, all you are comparing are the prices.