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What $400 will get you...


Old Guy

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I had about an hour to kill waiting to pick up my daughter so I hit the local Guitar Center to noodle around.

My goal was to see how I could fair with low cost gear. For real. I rarely have time to do this, so I went for it.

I picked up an Ibanez G10, tuned it up and found a used Line 6 Spider Mark IV 75 W amp to plug into and played for about an hour.

I was thoroughly impressed. That Ibanez felt great, had a real variety of sounds at the different pick up positions and felt a lot more expensive in my hands than the $200 sticker price. The tone was good, the electronics were solid with no scratchy pots or crackling with pick up changes.

The amp was decent sounding and went from sparkling clean to "insane" and the tones were usable. The on board effects sounded okay, and did in fact complement the settings for the amps. I was impressed.

Basically, for less than $400, including tax, you can get a really killer beginner/intermediate rig that can actually grow on you. Wish that was the case 30 years ago when I first started, LOL.

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6 hours ago, Old Guy said:

I had about an hour to kill waiting to pick up my daughter so I hit the local Guitar Center to noodle around.

My goal was to see how I could fair with low cost gear. For real. I rarely have time to do this, so I went for it.

I picked up an Ibanez G10, tuned it up and found a used Line 6 Spider Mark IV 75 W amp to plug into and played for about an hour.

I was thoroughly impressed. That Ibanez felt great, had a real variety of sounds at the different pick up positions and felt a lot more expensive in my hands than the $200 sticker price. The tone was good, the electronics were solid with no scratchy pots or crackling with pick up changes.

The amp was decent sounding and went from sparkling clean to "insane" and the tones were usable. The on board effects sounded okay, and did in fact complement the settings for the amps. I was impressed.

Basically, for less than $400, including tax, you can get a really killer beginner/intermediate rig that can actually grow on you. Wish that was the case 30 years ago when I first started, LOL.

@Old GuyId have to agree...  As long as you stick to a relatively well know brand there isnt a lot of really "bad " gear out there today. You can, as you say, get some pretty decent guitars for not a lot of money vs. when I was a kid, the choice was excellent and expensive or cheap and garbage.

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and don't forget deals and b stock . basically just some wear from being on the floor at Sweetwater. I have picked up some great buys very cheap and could not see the blemish if at all. Saved 100's . 

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Even though I'm not looking to add a new guitar I've made a point of checking out some of the "pointy" guitars like Schecter, Jackson and Ibanez over the past year. (Work travel had me hanging out in Guitar Center to get some play time in)  I've mainly looked at entry level to mid level products from these companies and have to say they put out some products with quality equal to a Mexican Fender or similar.  Maybe not quite the quality of a PRS SE, but also not quite as expensive either.  

Long story short, there are way too many good guitars and way too little time and the common web recommendations are really just reflections of what a lot of people do and there may well be a better choice for the same money for some players. I know its harder and take longer to find your axe but the old, "go play a lot of them" advice is still the best, but I'd add that it may pay to have an open mind and look beyond the popular recommendations online while you are doing it and look beyond Fender, Epi, and PRS for that first guitar

Edited by Six String
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I have to agree with everyone that the entry level gear today has improved. There are also many used and demo pieces of gear which still perform as new for a great reduction in price. I have a PRS SE Santana and often think that with a better guitar my playing could improve along with a different sound. Upon reflection, I think, with a multi effects pedal I can make my guitar sound like any guitar sold. The most important issue with a guitar should be how it feels when you play it. Is it comfortable, is it too heavy, is the neck too thin, does it look good. In the end I suppose the need for a new guitar is only to serve a hidden want to own something nicer. I'm happy with my setup knowing that I have never paid full price for any of it.

Henk

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9 hours ago, Oldjock said:

I have to agree with everyone that the entry level gear today has improved. There are also many used and demo pieces of gear which still perform as new for a great reduction in price. I have a PRS SE Santana and often think that with a better guitar my playing could improve along with a different sound. Upon reflection, I think, with a multi effects pedal I can make my guitar sound like any guitar sold. The most important issue with a guitar should be how it feels when you play it. Is it comfortable, is it too heavy, is the neck too thin, does it look good. In the end I suppose the need for a new guitar is only to serve a hidden want to own something nicer. I'm happy with my setup knowing that I have never paid full price for any of it.

Henk

I'll admit to having more than one guitar I bought with the full intent of hanging on the wall because I liked they way they looked.  I too have as many used guitars as new ones and none of the new ones that weren't on sale. Some turned out to be guitars I really enjoy playing, and some I thought I'd play are wall hangars.  I'm one of those that takes a while to decide if I really like a guitar but if you like the way they look, they can be art in their own right IMHO.

Edited by Six String
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10 hours ago, Oldjock said:

I have to agree with everyone that the entry level gear today has improved. There are also many used and demo pieces of gear which still perform as new for a great reduction in price. I have a PRS SE Santana and often think that with a better guitar my playing could improve along with a different sound. Upon reflection, I think, with a multi effects pedal I can make my guitar sound like any guitar sold. The most important issue with a guitar should be how it feels when you play it. Is it comfortable, is it too heavy, is the neck too thin, does it look good. In the end I suppose the need for a new guitar is only to serve a hidden want to own something nicer. I'm happy with my setup knowing that I have never paid full price for any of it.

Henk

I definitely second this! Even though I've been playing for 30 years and have had  every guitar under the sun at a certain point, none of my current guitars cost me over $800. For me, they play as good or better than guitars I've had and played that were 3 times that price. It's truly a great time to be a guitar player!

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