I heard a new term the other day: “case queen.”
It turns out, “case queen” is slang for a guitar in your collection that is so expensive you are almost (or actually) afraid to take it out of its case and play it. The terror of getting fingerprints, scuffing the finish, or — God forbid — buckle rash is so great that you can’t handle the stress of “enjoying” the instrument.
Fortunately, I do not have that issue because I don’t buy expensive guitars.
A caveat — don’t @ me!
Now before I go any further, I want to be clear: I am not judging anyone who owns or prefers to play expensive guitars. Playing the guitar should be above all else fun; otherwise, why on earth would you do it? So if your definition of “fun” includes owning one or more high-end, expensive or rare guitars, then that’s great! I applaud you and wish you the best.
But for me personally, I have learned over the years that I am not that guy.
Now, if someone gifted me a beautiful Private Stock PRS worth ten grand, would I take it? You better believe it! But in the world called “reality” (where I at least try to live most of the time), that just isn’t going to happen (although I do accept tips!). And even if I were independently wealthy, I doubt my tastes would change much. Well, except for probably buying myself a Tesla bot.
My budget-guitar-buying manifesto
This post, then, serves as a bit of a manifesto. It’s a list of the reasons why I personally choose to buy relatively cheap guitars — generally $500 or less. I’d be curious to know which reasons resonate with you.
1. I’m a hobbyist.
The ugly truth about me is I do most of my playing in my living room. The only time I really get in front of people is the one time each month when I’m on my church’s worship team.
If I were a professional musician making a living with my guitar skills, I would buy the absolute best guitar I possibly could. But as it stands, I can play anything I need to play — and have lots of fun doing it — with a PRS SE or an Epiphone.
2. I’m on a budget.
I only have so much money to spend on superfluous things like guitars. I understand that I don’t actually “need” any guitars to have a rich, meaningful life and that any time I purchase a new instrument it is basically a splurge. That makes it exceptionally difficult to justify a $2,000 purchase when I know good and well there’s very likely a $500 purchase that would give me a very similar guitar with 95 percent of the quality of its expensive cousin.
Which brings me to my next point…
3. It’s not 1990 anymore.
In the olden days, it did often make sense to only buy American-made Fenders and Gibsons. I started out on an import Squier back in the ’90s, and let me tell you, that was not a good guitar. That cheapie Squier soured me on the brand for decades, in fact.
Generally speaking, the quality was just not there in cheap guitars 30 or more years ago. Thankfully, that is no longer true today.
Factories in Korea, Indonesia, and even China have significantly upped their game. And with the advent of the CNC machine, it’s only gotten better. It’s possible for any factory anywhere in the world to cheaply and efficiently make guitars with incredibly tight tolerances, leading to many very playable guitars in the under-$500 category.
4. The beauty of the used-guitar market.
The only new guitar I’ve purchased in the last several years was an Ibanez semi-hollow I got for my 40th birthday. Apart from that special occasion, I virtually always buy used guitars. But the amazing thing about used guitars is you can often find them in like-new condition. In fact, I’m looking at six of my instruments right now, and five of them fell into this category. And the last two guitars I bought, I had to actually double-check with the staff that they were used and not new. A couple of them still had the original clear plastic covering on the pickguard and tuners.
The internet has only helped in this regard, as sites like Reverb and Guitar Center’s used marketplace make it possible to shop around the world to find the best deals. Throw in local music shops, and for me, at least, there’s almost no reason to buy a new instrument when I can find the same instrument in the same condition for 30 percent cheaper.
Wrapping it up
This is my rationale for buying so-called “budget” guitars over high-end models. Based on my circumstances, my budget, and the tools and knowledge I have access to, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend big bucks on a guitar. That’s not to say I won’t ever make a big purchase like that, but I can pretty confidently say it’s not going to happen in the near- or even mid-term future.
So how about you? What guiding principles do you use when buying a guitar? What’s your comfort level, and what makes you nervous? Or better yet, what’s your counterargument for purchasing a high-end guitar? Let me know in the comments!
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