Guitarophile.com

Tag: buying

  • Does Buying a Gibson Guitar Make Me a Hypocrite?

    Does Buying a Gibson Guitar Make Me a Hypocrite?

    I have espoused the virtues of $500 guitars for years.

    I’ve talked about how incredibly good they’ve gotten. How you could play guitar your whole life with one and not be missing out. How even pro musicians often leave their pricey guitars at home, preferring to tour with Mexican Strats.

    And then, in July of 2024, I went and bought this:

    Oh my.

    A Gibson SG Special with a list price of $1,599.

    Now it’s definitely not the top of the line when it comes to expensive guitars; there are, in fact, few cheaper Gibsons in their current lineup. But it is four times the price of the Epiphone I had been playing up to that point.

    Looking back over the last several decades of purchasing, playing, and promoting inexpensive guitars, I had to wrestle with one question: Does upgrading to a Gibson make me a hypocrite?

    What I learned from decades of owning inexpensive guitars

    The truth is, if it weren’t for my decades of buying and playing inexpensive guitars, I would never have even considered buying a Gibson.

    Over my life, I have owned close to two dozen guitars (or maybe more—I’ve kind of lost count). All through that time, without even realizing it, I’ve been trying out all manner of styles, options, and configurations:

    • Different scale lengths
    • Different fretboard radii
    • Different pickups and electronics
    • Different body shapes

    In doing so, I have naturally gravitated toward certain guitars and away from others.

    If it weren’t for my decades of buying and playing inexpensive guitars, I would never have even considered buying a Gibson.

    For instance, I started out playing Stratocaster-type guitars with Fender specs. But as I progressed, I found that I enjoyed Epiphones with their shorter scale length and flatter fretboards more.

    I also owned guitars with every kind of pickup style and configuration. I eventually realized that, to my ears, a good set of P90s sounded “right” to me in a way that humbuckers and single coils couldn’t quite match.

    Additionally, I discovered that I don’t like heavy guitars. For example, I had a perfect-quality Godin Progression (a Strat-style guitar from one of my favorite brands) that I just didn’t bond with — in part because it weighed a ton.

    And when I purchased my Epiphone SG a few years ago, I connected with the body shape and the feeling of the pseudo-extended neck. (The scale length is still 24.75”, like all Gibson-style guitars, but the bridge is much more forward on SGs, shifting the neck higher up. The first time you play one, you’re constantly two frets off!)

    All that hands-on knowledge was made possible by spending decades sticking to playing less expensive guitars.

    Speaking of necks, it dawned on me one day that the guitars in my collection that had “mojo” all shared something in common: their neck profiles. My best-playing instruments, in other words, had D-shaped necks and a 12” fretboard radius.

    If you’re keeping score at home, that means over the course of the last 20+ years, I had unintentionally found my ideal guitar specs:

    • 24.75” scale length
    • A D-shaped neck and 12” radius
    • Equipped with P90s
    • SG body style
    • Lightweight

    All that hands-on knowledge was made possible by spending decades sticking to playing less expensive guitars.

    Had I spent my money on 3–4 expensive guitars instead of two dozen inexpensive ones, my ability to find what works best for me would have been severely compromised. I would have ended up with several nice American-made Stratocasters because that’s what 16-year-old me wanted, all the while never knowing that SGs were the better fit.

    Making the jump from Epiphone to Gibson

    Speaking of SGs, the turning point in this story was when I acquired my Epiphone SG PRO. It quickly became my number one guitar, replacing my PRS SE Custom 24. The more I played it, the more I loved everything about it. The only downside? It had humbuckers instead of P90s.

    Regardless, as I continued to play it, I started to wonder, if this Epiphone is so good, how much better would a Gibson actually be?

    The question started to gnaw at me, and I realized…if I sold off a few guitars and some gear I wasn’t using, a Gibson would, for the first time in my life, be within my means.

    I started to wonder, if this Epiphone is so good, how much better would a Gibson actually be?

    And then I found it: The Gibson SG Special. Seven pounds of P90-growl-inducing, devil-horned rock and roll.

    It literally had every spec on my wishlist. It was beautiful. It even came with a hard-shell case. And when my Sweetwater rep did me a solid and knocked a couple hundred dollars off the price (I’d had some issues with a gift card), it was a no-brainer.

    Why a Gibson was the right choice for me

    Now that I’ve owned it for around eight months or so, I can tell you that quality-wise, my Gibson is not four times better than my Epiphone — but it is better.

    The Gibson has better wood selection, better electronics, and better hardware. It has a thinner, sleeker body. The nitro finish looks nicer than the typical polyurethane finish on cheaper guitars. The headstock is even more proportional (to my eye) than an Epiphone.

    I could go on, but the point is this: everything is a step up, making the cumulative quality difference noticeable.

    And I’ll admit, it is more fun — and inspiring — to play, even if only because of the “Gibson” screenprint on the headstock.

    Cheaper gear has made me a more informed consumer.

    Does that make it worth the extra $1,200 over the almost identical Epiphone version? I suppose that depends on whose wallet is under assault.

    For me, it has been 100 percent worth the money.

    Having owned and played so many low- and mid-tier instruments for so long, I can discern and appreciate the small improvements in quality and sound. To put it bluntly, cheaper gear has made me a more informed consumer. When I’m guitar shopping, I know what I’m looking at. I notice the details, and I know which ones matter. I understand the value proposition. And most importantly, I know what I want.

    As much as I still love my affordable guitars and amps, they’ve always lacked that certain something.

    And what I want is a certain feel and a certain sound.

    As much as I still love my affordable guitars and amps, they’ve always lacked that certain something. They could take me 95 percent of the way there.

    But now, with my Marshall amp and Gibson guitar, I’m at the mountaintop. It just feels like I’m playing a professional setup. And I can finally start dialing in what I would consider “good” tones — the kind of tones you’d hear from an actual musician on an actual record.

    It is incredibly hard to put a price on such things.

    I might be foolish, and that’s okay

    Expensive guitars are still expensive. Low- and mid-tier guitars still offer amazing levels of quality for a fraction of the price. You’d have to be a fool to buy a $1,600 Gibson when a $499 Epiphone exists.

    But sometimes you just have to be a fool. If that makes me a hypocrite, too, so be it.

    At least I’m a happy one.

  • 5 Things That Make an Expensive Guitar “Worth” the Price

    5 Things That Make an Expensive Guitar “Worth” the Price

    I’m a big fan of buying guitars in the $500 price range.

    Why? Because to me, that’s where the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Up to $500 or so, it’s easy to see the quality improvements in guitars. A $500 guitar is almost always vastly superior to a $100 guitar.

    After that threshold, however, the differences start to get smaller and smaller. A $2,000 guitar is virtually never four times better than a $500 guitar, for example.

    And as a rule, I like to get the most out of my money. So for me, focusing on the nexus of price and quality makes sense.

    But that’s not the only way to approach buying a guitar (and it may not even be the way I approach things in the future). There is a market for expensive guitars — lots of people own them.

    But why?

    What makes an expensive guitar “worth” the money? Why would anyone willingly pay thousands of dollars for a guitar when a very close approximation of it is available for hundreds?

    The truth is there are as many reasons as there are guitarists, but today I want to highlight five of the most common ones.

    Country of origin

    Some people equate quality with country of origin. Other people want to buy American to support their fellow citizens or keep their money in their local economy.

    Still others may feel that factories in other countries don’t treat or pay their employees well enough. A few even have political views that influence their purchasing decisions.

    I’m not here to say whether any of these reasons are right or wrong — only that they exist. Whatever the reason, some buyers make it a priority to buy American-made, and those goods almost always cost much more than international alternatives.

    Level of quality control

    When it comes to quality, buying a guitar is a bit like playing the lottery.

    There are insanely good cheap guitars, and there are expensive duds. But the more money you fork over for an instrument, the better your odds are of getting a good one.

    In other words, if you lined up 10 inexpensive ($150) guitars and played them all, you’d likely find six instruments that need a lot of work, three pretty good ones, and one great one.

    If you repeated the process with 10 expensive ($1,000+) guitars, you’d likely find six pretty good instruments, three great ones, and one that needed work.

    The reason? Quality control is expensive, and reducing QC is an easy way to bring down the price of a guitar. The result is more bad instruments slip through at lower price points.

    Since now we live in the internet age where most of us are buying guitars sight unseen, it could be worth your while to pay a little more to tip the odds in your favor.

    Level of hand time spent

    Similar to the above, the more money a guitar costs, the more time an actual person likely spent on it.

    Guitar manufacturing at scale uses CNC machines; this is true for every manufacturer in the world. But CNC machines can only get you close — they do not spit out a finished product. A person must do the fine detail work required to finish a guitar.

    Except people are expensive.

    So whereas a cheap Epiphone might get an hour of hands-on time in the factory, its Gibson cousin might receive ten hours of a tech’s time (I’m guessing on the actual amounts, but you get the idea).

    You can expect, then, that an expensive guitar should have a better fret job. The finish should be of a higher caliber. The overall setup and playability should be better out of the box. And for some buyers, this is worth the investment.

    Quality of components and materials

    More expensive instruments generally have better components and materials.

    This includes everything from the tuners to the frets, pickups, pots and switches, bridge, and even the output jack. It also generally means you’re getting nicer woods that have been handled (e.g., more focus on the drying process) and finished better, leading to fewer issues (like fret sprout) over time.

    Most really cheap guitars use cheap components and materials that end up hampering the player’s abilities, sounding terrible, and breaking or wearing out over time.

    The further up in price you get, however, the nicer components and wood you are likely to see. And these can add up to a big difference in your playing experience. The guitar will just feel, play, and sound better.

    If modding is your thing or you like playing cheap gear a la Jack White, a $100 guitar could be the way to go. But if you want quality components, it will cost you.

    Brand value

    This last reason has more to do with human psychology than the actual guitar, but it’s true nonetheless: a Fender or Gibson will retain its value more than a Squier or Epiphone.

    Why? Because people (including you and me) are irrational.

    I don’t get it either, but the name on the headstock matters. Even Gibsons with their famously shoddy quality issues still command top dollar for both new and used sales. (And of course, beyond all rationality, I still want one!)

    So if you are at all concerned with resell value, spending money on an expensive guitar is probably the way to go. It’s hard to imagine making your money back on a $150 guitar. And in the end, there are worse places to park your cash than in a Les Paul.

    Beyond right and wrong

    At the end of the day, purchasing a guitar is, I hate to say it, an emotional decision. As rational as we all try to be with our spending, a guitar is more than just a tool to make music with. It becomes a part of our soul.

    Ultimately, the reason some guitars are so expensive is because we are willing to pay for them. We just want what we want. And all the argumentation in the world won’t change that.

  • Guitar Buying on a Budget: How to Find Hidden Gems

    Guitar Buying on a Budget: How to Find Hidden Gems

    I dream of someday having the money to walk into a guitar store, point at a guitar high up on the wall (you know the ones), and hand over my debit card without breaking a sweat.

    Until that day happens, the price tag matters.

    If you’re like me and still not independently wealthy (despite wishing really hard), you’ll be guitar shopping on a budget for the foreseeable future too.

    And that means you want your dollar to stretch as far as it can.

    The good news is that you can find good deals on quality gear. But how do you do it? What are the tips and tricks? How can you get solid, playable gear while on a tight budget?

    Here are five strategies to get you there.

    Sleep on it

    It’s important to remind ourselves often that guitars are a luxury. We don’t really need them; as strange as it sounds, billions of people have lived fulfilling lives without them (I know — I don’t get it either).

    That truth, as uncomfortable as it is, can help us. Even though we might feel an incredible urge to buy a specific guitar after watching a YouTube demo (or 10…okay, 50), we don’t ever need to make a purchase right away.

    This can help us avoid overpaying because of our emotions. At the very least, if you plan on buying a guitar, sleep on it. Maybe even put it in the back of your mind for a week or a month.

    I’ve found that for most guitars, my interest level waned considerably after sitting on the idea for a few days.

    In fact, I’ve probably saved more money not impulse buying guitars than by any of the other strategies below — combined.

    Research, research, research

    But say you’ve got a guitar living rent free in your head. You’ve slept on it, considered it, and you still really, really want it. (Don’t feel bad; I’ve got two of ’em right now.)

    At this point, it’s time to research.

    What exactly is it about this guitar that piques your interest? Is it the color? The pickups? The carve of the neck?

    Moreover, are you in love with just the style or look of the guitar, or does it matter what brand it is? Is there a certain production year or years you’re looking for? Do you want to mod the guitar in any way? Are there any defects you are willing to live with or that won’t bother you (or that you can easily fix)?

    Additionally, what do other guitarists who own the guitar say about it? What are its pros and cons? Are there mods that everyone seems to do, and if so, why might that be the case?

    Furthermore, how much does it cost? What are similar models selling for on the open market? Are you in a buyer’s or seller’s market, and might things change in a few months?

    The more information you can gather, the better. The more you can dial in exactly what you’re looking for, what the consensus about the guitar is, and what prices the market will bear, the better you are setting yourself up to find and pounce on the right deal at the right time.

    Consider lesser-known or less expensive brands

    Even if you do have your heart set on a very particular guitar, if you’re open to it, you can find some great deals for lesser-known brands.

    If you are dying for a Stratocaster, it’s worth checking out the Godin Progression, for example. Or you just might find a comparable G&L on Reverb that could be just as good as a Fender.

    Likewise, if you have your eyes set on a Gibson SG, you can do yourself a favor by trying out a similar Epiphone model. You could end up walking out of Guitar Center with a $400 guitar that you liked better than the $2,000 one you thought you wanted. (Or maybe not, but the point is it’s free to try, so what’s there to lose?)

    The downside here is the resale value. The reality is Fender, Gibson, and PRS are going to hold their value better over time than other, less common or less expensive brands. It’s just the nature of the beast.

    So if resale value is important to you, this may not be the best route to take. But if you’re willing to potentially lose a little on the back end, it’s a great strategy to spend less.

    Buy used

    This is the no-brainer tip. Buying used is almost always cheaper than buying new.

    I have had a great deal of luck buying used over the years. I’ve bought multiple “used” guitars — at used prices — that, for all intents and purposes, were new. Some of them still even had the original plastic covering the pickguard, tuners, etc.

    There are also some real clunkers on the market, of course. But if you have a discerning eye and are willing to be patient, you can find amazing used guitars at amazing prices.

    Ask for a discount

    YouTuber Phillip McKnight (if you don’t subscribe to his channel, seriously — just do it) recommends that anytime you buy a guitar, ask for a discount. It doesn’t hurt, and as long as you are respectful about it, the seller just might say yes.

    In fact, a lot of sellers are willing to cover sales tax or give you a 10 percent discount just to get the guitar out the door.

    Obviously, you don’t want to be silly about it — no one is going to knock 50 percent off their advertised price. But it is possible to save a little scratch just by asking. And even if it’s only $50, that’s still $50 in your pocket!

    There are always deals to be had

    Buying guitars on a budget is doable. And there is always another deal. If you know how to look, you can amass a very nice collection without breaking the bank. But it does require patience, knowing your stuff, being willing to expand your options, and a bit of boldness.

    What are your tips for guitar buying on a budget? What have you found that works that I didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments.

  • My Five Favorite Low-Cost Pieces of Guitar Gear

    My Five Favorite Low-Cost Pieces of Guitar Gear

    I love to nerd out on guitars. (No, really, Jon? We couldn’t tell.)

    I spend a lot of time learning about the industry, guitars, and gear, but the honest reality is I have a very limited budget. That means most of the cool gear I see out there will remain out of my reach — but thankfully, not quite all of it.

    Over the years, I’ve amassed a decent collection of mostly low- and mid-priced gear. And it turns out you can still find quality at this level.

    Here are my five favorite pieces of quality, low-cost gear that I’ve found. My hope is that this list gets your creative juices flowing and on the hunt for yourself.

    My TC Electronic looper pedal

    Arguably the most useful tool in my arsenal is my looper pedal. I’ve written about this before, but the gist of it is it’s a great tool that helps me practice and grow as a musician.

    If you don’t know, a looper is basically a device that automatically plays back whatever you record with it on infinite repeat. I have one of the most basic loopers out there, the Ditto by TC Electronic. But with just one button and one knob, it does everything I need it do to.

    It allows me to practice soloing by laying down a chord progression. It allows me to practice my composition skills by giving me a platform to create songs with multiple parts on the fly. It even helps me work on playing in time.

    It’s a great practice tool, especially when you are by yourself, and if I were a better player, I could do some amazing live stuff, like this:

    I’m not a huge Ed Sheeran fan, but you can’t deny his talent.

    My Epiphone SG Pro

    As of July 2022, I have a new favorite guitar: my Epiphone SG Pro.

    I’d actually never owned an SG before, but the more I play it, the more I like it. It’s lightweight, and while it does suffer from neck dive (like most SGs), it’s not terrible and it doesn’t affect me while playing. It also has a Slim Taper neck, which is basically a very skinny D shape, and I find it to be very comfortable to play.

    And it just has the “mojo,” you know? I feel like I can play everything better on that guitar.

    I love it so much, in fact, that I’m thinking about how I might get my hands on a Gibson version. And for a guy who sticks to the ~$500 range when buying instruments, I think that’s saying something.

    Plus, I get to pretend I’m Angus Young (minus the schoolboy outfit) whenever I pick it up. (Hey, I might be in my 40s, but I still try to be a kid at heart.)

    This review features an Epiphone SG that’s 99% identical to mine.

    My Joyo wireless transmitter system

    This is the newest entrant on my list of favorite gear, but it’s already a game-changer.

    For my entire musical life, I’ve used a cable. For most of that time, it was the only option. Only touring bands used a wireless setup; there simply was no option for a wireless signal chain for the at-home player.

    And then a year or two ago, I noticed a few people at church using Xvive wireless transmitters to run their signal from their guitar to their pedalboard. This was a new thing to me, so I decided to investigate.

    That’s when I learned that Xvive is very proud of their product — the set of dongles was close to $150! That was way above my comfort level for an optional product like this.

    But about a month ago, I decided to check out a cheaper alternative. I spent ~$35 on a transmitter system from Joyo. It works great, and it is amazing. I never realized how tethered I was to a certain spot — how my cable was in effect a ten-foot leash.

    As soon as I started going wireless, I felt a sense of freedom. I can now go wherever I want. I can move my feet and legs freely without tripping on a cord. I can sit on the couch and play at home or walk off the stage at practice to go get my phone if I need to, and there’s no cumbersome cable holding me back.

    I’m never going back!

    A fairly short but thorough review of the Joyo JW-03

    My Shubb capos

    Capos are a wonderful tool (and most definitely not a crutch as some players think), but the traditional spring-tensioned ones have a common problem: They tend to pull your guitar sharp when in use. This is due to the spring being overly strong.

    Shubb fixed this problem by using a different method. Their capos are more like a clamp with a screw that allows you to adjust the tension to just the right amount. And it’s not a one-and-done thing; you can change the tension based on the individual guitar you are using.

    I have several, including a partial capo, and they are wonderful. My Kysers are long gone — good riddance!

    Okay, it’s an ad, but at least you can see how these capos work.

    My Ibanez Mikro bass

    I’m a guitar player through and through. But I have the occasional need for a bass guitar.

    Enter the Ibanez Mikro bass guitar.

    The beauty of this bass is it is a super short-scale model at just 28.6″. This makes it very comfortable for guitarists like me. There’s no having to stretch for miles to get to different notes. (Seriously, I don’t know how bass players do it.) It just feels like you’re playing the guitar, but the sound coming out is a bass.

    I have one for a few reasons. The primary reason is so I can lay down simple bass lines when recording. But I also just like to play the bass every once in a while. There’s just something about the bass line on “I Can’t Tell You Why” that I love.

    (Additionally, I’m the self-proclaimed emergency secondary backup bass player at my church — someday I should let the worship pastor know — so as the Boy Scouts say, be prepared!)

    The best part? They retail for $200. How can you go wrong?

    A demo by someone who actually knows what they’re doing (unlike me).

    These are the five pieces of gear that would probably make my “deserted island” list — the things I wouldn’t want to live without. They bring that extra level of enjoyment to playing the guitar, and best of all, they don’t break the bank.

    So what about you? What are your must-have pieces of gear? I’d love for you to share them with us in the comments so we can all learn and be inspired together.

  • Should You Buy an Expensive Electric Guitar?

    Should You Buy an Expensive Electric Guitar?

    I’ve been on Team Cheap Guitar for a long time.

    I own a veritable mom-and-pop shop’s worth of $200-$500 guitars — enough that I’m not entirely sure of the exact count (it’s somewhere north of a dozen). In fact, to this day, I’ve never paid more than $600 for a single guitar, amp, or pedal.

    And I can tell you with certainty that everything I own plays and sounds just fine.

    Furthermore, in close to 30 years of playing, I’ve never had even a single person give me a hard time for playing an Epiphone instead of a Gibson or a Squier instead of a Fender.

    (Side note: I do have a Fender — an acoustic guitar, their budget parlor model, which comes in at under $200 and is great to take camping. But I digress…)

    The truth is, there are so many great affordable guitars now that there seems to be no reason to spend thousands of dollars on a top-of-the-line instrument.

    But then last year, I bought an Epiphone SG that really amazed me. And I began thinking, how different would a Gibson SG be? The Epiphone is amazing — would a Gibson be better than amazing?

    I also started to realize that there were realistic scenarios whereby I could, for the first time in my life, afford an American-made guitar if I so chose.

    But what about those great-playing-yet-easy-on-the-budget imports that I love and cherish? Wouldn’t I be wasting my money to buy one guitar worth four or five others that in all honestly played just fine? Or was I starting the transition to Team Expensive Guitar?

    This got me thinking about the reasoning behind the choice to buy (or not buy) an expensive guitar. I’ve almost always stuck within a self-imposed $500-per-instrument limit, but that was more a factor of my disposable income than anything.

    So are there any valid reasons to purchase a US-made guitar when a cheaper import version exists?

    To that end, I’ve come up with a list of pros and cons when it comes to buying a high-end guitar, along with some commentary on each one. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject, too, so feel free to leave a comment!

    Reasons not to buy an expensive guitar

    It will make you a better player. 

    True, a better guitar will help you play better…to a point.

    A $75 Glarry is probably going to hamper your ability to play with extremely high action, terrible intonation and fretwork, and so on.

    A $200 Squier will likely play decently but will need work to get it up to par (unless playing on gritty frets and cheap tuners is your thing, in which case, good for you!).

    A $500 Epiphone or PRS SE will almost certainly play well out of the box.

    But once you go above that $500 mark, the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in. You end up paying for accouterments and flourishes that look cool but provide little benefit in the actual playing of the instrument.

    There is just no real-world scenario where a $2,000 Gibson is four times better than a $500 Epiphone. Realistically, it might be 5–10 percent better when it comes to playability, and slightly more when it comes to components.

    But past a certain point, you’re paying for a decal. If becoming a better player is your main goal, it’s probably good to stick with that $500 axe and just practice more.

    Everyone will know if you play an inexpensive guitar and will laugh at you behind your back. 

    Unless you are talking with a fellow guitar nerd, absolutely no one knows or cares about guitar brands.

    Ninety-nine percent of people on Planet Earth couldn’t tell a Les Paul from a Danelectro, much less a Squier from a Fender. And the only people who would judge or laugh at you for such a faux pas are guitar snobs, and who the hell cares what they think?

    Virtually no one cares what the name on your guitar’s headstock is. You could rock a Harley Benton and the audience would be oblivious. (Heck, everybody thought Slash played a Gibson for years.)

    So if looking cool in front of other people is your bag, there are better ways to accomplish it than forking over a couple grand for a gold-top Les Paul.

    Expensive guitars are the only quality guitars on the market. 

    This was probably true in 1985. It’s demonstrably false in 2023.

    Factories in China and Indonesia have gotten very good at making guitars. And with the advent of CNC machines, the same exact neck or body can be made anywhere in the world. You can find $200 guitars that will blow your mind (I’m looking at you, Harley Benton).

    The main difference in quality at different price points is how much hands-on time and QC work the company is willing to pay for. But all that does is reduce the odds of flaws or mistakes getting through. You can still find amazing guitars for cheap and expensive guitars with obvious quality defects.

    We’re getting to the point that even budget guitars often have extremely good quality, which means spending a ton is no longer necessary to get a good-playing instrument.

    Reasons to buy an expensive electric guitar

    You are a professional musician. 

    Okay, I admit it — if making music were my day job, I would purchase the absolute best gear I could possibly afford. I’d probably even make payments. It’s my livelihood, after all, and I would want the best tools for the job.

    But even then, I would still probably use less expensive guitars on tour and leave the primo ones for home and studio use.

    You look at your guitar collection with resale value in mind. 

    If you are an actual guitar collector, it makes sense to stick with the big brands (e.g., Gibson, Fender) because they tend to hold their value over time. From an investment standpoint, expensive guitars are absolutely the way to go.

    You’ll never make your money back on a Squier Bullet, but a 1990s Ibanez JEM? That’s not a bad spot to park your cash.

    You just want one. 

    At the end of the day, this is the trump card. Buying a guitar is always an emotional decision, not a rational one.

    No one needs a guitar. We can all live without them. Rather, we buy guitars because we like them and they bring us joy. And because of that, no justification is required (except maybe to your spouse).

    This is where I’m at in my journey. I love all my cheap and mid-range guitars, but I would also like to own a more expensive guitar at some point — just because I want to.

    But here’s the thing — that’s okay. I’m learning that for many decisions, “I want to” (and its corollary, “I don’t want to”) can be its own justification.

    Focus on what you want, and to heck with other people

    The bottom line is, if you have the money and can afford a high-end guitar, then great — buy it and enjoy it!

    And if you’d rather spend less, get a more affordable instrument that you can still enjoy, and pocket the difference, then great — do that!

    But don’t think 1) that your choice is somehow better (or worse) than the next person’s or 2) that you need to justify your choice of guitar to anyone (or they to you).

    Instead, the better approach is to enjoy the guitar you have, buy what you want, and don’t worry about what anyone else does or says. I promise you will at least be a happier player as a result. 🙂

  • How to Choose the Best Guitar for Your Needs and Budget

    How to Choose the Best Guitar for Your Needs and Budget

    In many ways, we are living in guitar heaven today.

    There are countless brands and styles of guitars, almost all of which you can purchase with the click of a button. And these guitars come in all shapes, sizes, and, importantly, prices.

    In one sense, this is great: you can get literally whatever you want whenever you want it. In another sense, it’s not so great: with so many options, it can be easy to feel paralyzed. How can I make a good choice? How can I know I’m buying the best guitar when there are so many out there and I can’t try them all?

    This is a big question that deserves a longer answer than I can provide in this article, but I do want to tackle one portion of the answer today.

    I want to give some advice on how to choose the best guitar for you based on your needs and budget. And instead of suggesting various brands, which is always going to be subjective, I’m going to stick with price ranges.

    But first, it’s important to consider a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself if you are in this predicament.

    How much do you want to spend?

    This is the biggie. There is no right answer to this question; it’s all about your comfort level. Some people adopt a “go big or go home” approach and buy a Gibson Les Paul straight out of the gate. I have a friend who did this. He decided he wanted to learn to play the guitar, and he wanted a Les Paul. So he dropped over a grand on a nice, new Gibson.

    Other people have a harder time justifying spending that kind of cash. Maybe their discretionary funds are more limited, or maybe they just can’t bear to spend four figures on one guitar. I’ve been playing for decades, and I don’t own a guitar I spent more than $600 on.

    Price is all about comfort level: how much are you willing to pay for an instrument? With price points ranging from just a few hundred dollars to upward of $10,000, it’s wise to give this some thought before pulling the trigger on a new guitar. And remember, if it feels uncomfortable, it’s probably too much.

    How much (and where) do you plan on playing?

    I’m primarily a living-room guitarist. While I am good enough to be in a band (and it’s something I’d like to do when my kids are out of the house), it’s just not a big priority for me now. I do play in church once a month, though. I need an instrument that is good enough to work in that setting. That’s why I play Epiphone, PRS SE, and Danelectro guitars, to name a few. They do the job and I enjoy playing them. They are quite literally “good enough.”

    Now, if I were a professional musician, you can bet your bottom dollar I would acquire the absolute nicest, most expensive guitar I could possibly afford. That’s because now it’s no longer about simply enjoying playing or volunteering for the occasional worship service. Now my guitar is a necessary tool to make my living.

    In my actual job, I’m an editor and writer, and when I started I bought a very nice MacBook. Yes, a lower-priced Windows-based system would have done the job, but I didn’t want to take any chances with my livelihood — I wanted the best tool for the job.

    How good do you want to get?

    I suppose this is similar to the last question, but it’s worth asking yourself how good you plan on becoming. Are you happy with strumming cowboy chords in your bedroom? If so, there are plenty of very inexpensive guitars that would suit you perfectly. Do you want to become talented enough to start a band or record albums? In that case, you are going to want nicer gear. Is your sole aim in life to become a professional musician? If that’s you, it probably makes sense to up your budget considerably if you can.

    Do you care about resale value?

    High-end guitars tend to retain value over time better than cheaper guitars. It’s entirely possible to purchase a four-figure guitar, play on it for several years, and then sell it for a profit. I can honestly say I’ve never had that experience with a lower-end guitar. I have made most of my money back, but I’ve never personally come out ahead. But that’s okay, because I’m not purchasing guitars as an investment — but that may be an important consideration for you.

    Finding the best bang for your buck

    Another way to look at the monetary aspect of how to choose a guitar is to consider the optimal return on investment. This strategy takes the above questions and tries to boil the answers down into a single overriding value or expectation.

    In fact, you can sum up this idea pretty easily as follows:

    • If affordability is your top concern, look for a guitar in the $200-$300 range.
    • If getting the best value for your money is your top concern, look for a guitar in the $500-$600 range.
    • If the brand name or resale value is your top concern, look for a guitar selling for $1,500 and up.

    Possible purchasing scenarios

    Let’s finish by looking at a couple of scenarios to see how we can apply these ideas.

    Josh, a new guitarist

    Our first guitar buyer, Josh, is a teenager who’s just getting into the guitar. He’s been playing his older brother’s Mexican Strat but wants one of his own. He’s managed to save up $400 but doesn’t want to spend it all. Although he wants to get much better and be in a band someday, right now he decides price is the most important factor. He looks around and finds a used Squier Classic Vibe Strat in good condition for $300.

    Amy, an intermediate player

    Our next buyer, Amy, has been playing the guitar for a few years and wants a better instrument. However, as a young 20-something, she doesn’t have a lot of discretionary income. She decides to take her time and save up enough money to purchase a slightly used PRS SE Custom 24 at $600. She knows it’s a very serviceable, quality instrument that she can use for many years.

    Ron, who wants a “lifetime” guitar

    Our last buyer, Ron, is in his 30s. He recently received a very nice bonus at work for selling over his quota. Not needing the cash for anything pressing, he decides to treat himself to a nice new guitar. (Importantly, his wife is on board with the idea!) He decides that he wants to buy an American-made instrument. After looking at his options, he orders a brand-new Gibson ES-335 from a local dealer. He also manages to get a discount by talking to the owner and ends up paying just under $3,000. He knows it will be a joy to play and a reminder of his past success, and should he ever have to sell it, he will likely make his money back.

    A game where everyone can win

    In each of the above scenarios, the person thought about their situation and bought the right guitar for them and their budget. The surprising part is, everyone was happy with their purchase — but this is because they considered their budget and values before pulling the trigger. They knew what they were willing to spend and why, and as a result, they were able to narrow their search and find the right guitar.

  • Five Ways to Improve Your Inexpensive Guitar without Breaking the Bank

    Five Ways to Improve Your Inexpensive Guitar without Breaking the Bank

    When I was just getting started on the guitar back in the 1990s, cheap guitars were just that — cheap. One of my first guitars was a Squier Stratocaster, and it was not a good guitar. To be honest, that guitar has tainted my view of the brand — admittedly unfairly — to this day.

    As the decades have progressed, however, this is often no longer the case. You can now buy an inexpensive guitar for a few hundred dollars that is anything but cheap. I have a Rondo SX that cost me less than $200 that plays great. I bought a new Ibanez semi-hollow-body guitar for $300 that hasn’t needed anything more than a string change. The fact is, overseas guitar factories have exponentially upped their game, which is great news for us as consumers.

    As good as they are, though, cheap guitars are still cheap for a reason. They might be solidly constructed and play well out of the box, but they also still have less expensive components, they probably aren’t set up very well at the factory, and there may be lingering issues here and there. But the good news is there are a lot of easy and cost-effective modifications you can make to an inexpensive guitar to make it even more playable. Today I want to discuss five of them.

    Use those knobs and dials

    Those knobs, dials, and switches on your guitar and amplifier are not just for show! You can actually use them to dial in your tone. For several years I played on a $100 Epiphone Les Paul and a $50 Behringer amp. You would think that playing on this kind of rig would result in a nightmarish tone. And it’s true, I was never going to sound like John Mayer with that setup, but I did manage to develop a good enough tone to do what I needed to do.

    Take the time to explore your rig’s tonal palette. See what the guitar sounds like with the tone or volume dialed back. Adjust the settings on your amp. If you have an EQ pedal, take the time to adjust it in different ways. You just might be surprised at how good of a sound you can actually get out of inexpensive gear.

    Replace the nut

    Inexpensive guitars almost always come with a plastic nut. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, it’s a simple and cheap upgrade to switch it out with a better-quality nut. Graph Tech or bone nuts can be had for as little as $10, and swapping out the plastic one is a pretty straightforward affair requiring minimal ability and tools (I mean, even I can do it). And if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself, you can always take it to a guitar tech.

    I find that installing a synthetic or bone nut actually does affect the sound and playability of a guitar. To my ears, it opens up the way the guitar sounds (especially when playing open chords) because it increases the harmonics (at least that’s what I perceive). It also enhances the feel of the strings and the neck when I play. It just feels more solid and professional than a plastic nut.

    A video tutorial explaining how to install a guitar nut.

    Upgrade the tuners

    One of the cost-cutting measures overseas manufacturers engage in is using cheap tuners. While you can find cheap tuners that are just fine, sometimes they will have problems keeping the guitar in tune. They can also be difficult to adjust and hard to turn, which can make tuning and restringing not a ton of fun. And the last thing you want is to play a massive bend only to find your guitar wildly out of tune as a result.

    I’m not going to do the standard “guitar guy advice” thing and tell you that you need to put locking tuners on all your instruments. I do have locking tuners on one of my guitars, and they are nice, but there is a myth that they will help your guitar stay more in tune. This is 100 percent untrue. Any set of quality tuners will keep your guitar in tune. Locking tuners’ sole advantage is making string changes quicker and easier. They were first used in live settings because guitar techs needed a way to change out broken strings quickly during shows.

    By all means, get a set of locking tuners if you want, but the reality is installing a quality set of any kind of tuners will make you appreciate your inexpensive guitar all the more. The beauty of this mod is if you decide to sell the guitar later, you can take the quality tuners off and reinstall the factory ones, thus allowing you to swap them out on the next guitar you purchase.

    Change the pickups

    There’s just no getting around it: cheap guitars have cheap electronics. Again, this is not necessarily a problem. You may find a cheap set of pickups that you think sounds great. But it’s just as likely that the cheap pickups will not sound as good as a more expensive set.

    This upgrade option requires a bit more involvement and know-how, but if you’re handy and can read wiring diagrams, upgrading your cheap guitar’s factory pickups can be an amazing way to step up your guitar’s overall quality and sound. I struggle with soldering and reading diagrams, but even I have successfully swapped out electronic components in guitars. And if you really don’t want to mess with it, you can go to a site like Guitarfetish and pick up a complete replacement kit that requires no soldering at all (look for their Kwikplug line).

    Do a proper setup

    This is the number one thing you should do with any guitar you purchase, regardless of price. Doing a thorough setup on a new guitar can make a world of difference in playability. A setup involves adjusting neck relief, checking for uneven frets, raising or lowering the action, and dialing in the intonation, among other things. And while it may seem scary at first, you absolutely can learn the skills and knowledge needed to do the job yourself.

    I’ve seen amazing results by simply adjusting the truss rod and lowering the action on a guitar. The truth is, when it comes to playability, a good setup can make a bad guitar passable, a passable guitar good, and a good guitar great. It is worth the time, effort, and minimal investment to learn the skills and buy the tools to do this yourself.

    Setting up an electric guitar is not that hard, I promise.

    When it comes to inexpensive guitars, we are living in the golden era. No longer are they terrible playing or terrible sounding. A few hundred dollars can get you a “good enough” guitar. And doing the things I mentioned above can take that guitar and turn it into something special.

    What other tips do you have for making improvements to a guitar? Leave them in the comments, and thanks for reading!

  • Why You Shouldn’t Buy a 12-String Guitar

    Why You Shouldn’t Buy a 12-String Guitar

    I had to change out my car’s battery the other day. The normally simple procedure was made more complicated because there was a bracket securing the battery to the car. I could not quite reach the bolt to unscrew the bracket with my wrench.

    I found out via a YouTube video that you needed an extra-long fixture to easily reach it — something any auto shop or gearhead would have, but not me. I eventually found a way to get the job done, but it would have been much easier with that specialized tool.

    Too Many Guitars? You Mean Not Enough Guitars

    There is a certain point for many of us where we start getting more than a few guitars — enough to unironically refer to them as a “stable.” At that point, we usually start branching out. We ask questions like, “Which guitars are missing from this collection?”

    So we start buying the “new and different.” As for me, I started my current collection with a cheap Epiphone Les Paul Special. After a few years and a lot of saving up money, I expanded my collection to a PRS SE Custom 24 and a Godin Strat-style guitar. A little more time and savings netted me a replacement for my stolen Seagull acoustic, a Deering banjo, a Danelectro, an Ibanez semi-hollow…you get the picture.

    But there is one guitar type that I no longer have. It was special, it was different, and it filled in a hole in my collection. Yet it just didn’t stick.

    The 12-String Question

    The guitar in question was a 12-string acoustic by my favorite guitar brand, Seagull. It was well constructed and had a cedar top, which I prefer over spruce because of the darker, richer tones. Quality was not an issue; neither was the full, chimey sound.

    And yet, it didn’t last. I had it for maybe a year before I sold it to acquire other gear. But why?

    A Specialized Tool

    In my experience, just like the extra-long socket wrench I needed to change my car battery, an acoustic 12-string is a specialized tool. There are certain songs it really works well for, but many others not so much.

    In my case, I was finally able to play “Life By the Drop” by SRV the right way. And I could pick along with that one part in “More Than a Feeling” by Boston.

    But honestly, once I discovered the few songs I knew that really were written with a 12-string in mind, there wasn’t much else I could do with it.

    For everything else I tried, it was nothing but a bulkier, thicker-necked, harder-to-play instrument that didn’t sound “right” on most songs written for a six-stringed guitar.

    To Buy or Not to Buy

    In the end, for me personally, it didn’t make sense to keep the guitar. I had several hundred dollars tied up in an instrument that was so specialized that I rarely used it. When I did break it out, it was harder to play, and when I wasn’t playing it, the instrument was taking up valuable space in my closet.

    As for my advice, if you already have several guitars and are looking to round out your collection, a 12-string might be a good idea if you like or prefer the sound, or if you are specifically writing songs with it in mind. But outside of a few specific contexts, it’s very likely that your regular six-string is going to sound and perform better.

    If you have a different take on why a 12-string guitar is a valuable addition to your stable of instruments, let us know in the comments!

  • 4 Reasons Why I Buy Budget Guitars

    4 Reasons Why I Buy Budget Guitars

    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!

  • How to Get the Best Bang for Your Buck When Buying a Guitar

    How to Get the Best Bang for Your Buck When Buying a Guitar

    My friends are always amazed at my wife’s and my ability to find deals.

    One of our favorite activities is to drive over to Value Village and look for deals. Then later, something will come up in a conversation and we’ll say, “Oh, yeah, I got [that thing worth $50 new] from the thrift store for $5.”

    People think we’re just lucky. It is true that luck may play a part in our ability to find bargains, but I would argue the truth is we put ourselves in a position to take advantage of luck when it happens.

    The same goes for my ability to score deals on guitars. Today, I’d like to share with you some of my secrets, in the hopes that one or more of these tips can save you a little extra cash the next time you are in the market for more gear.

    Research, research, research

    There is simply no substitute for research.

    Only once in my life have I gone to a guitar store with the intent to make a purchase without having a good idea of what I was looking for. That was special — it was my fortieth birthday. (I ended up with a very nice Ibanez semi-hollow body, by the way.)

    In every other instance, I spend a lot of time researching before getting serious about buying. What kind of guitars are out there? Which type of guitars would complement my collection, rather than duplicating an instrument I already own? What are the quality brands that fly under the radar?

    I spend a lot of time researching before getting serious about buying.

    When I bought my SX earlier in the year, I knew exactly what I was looking for: a Strat-style guitar with a natural finish and a maple fretboard. I’d been on the lookout for months, and so when I stumbled across the SX — a brand I knew was good despite the low price — that matched my specs exactly, it was an absolute no-brainer.

    Understand the law of diminishing returns

    Based on years of experience, I am firmly convinced that you can buy an incredible electric guitar without breaking the bank.

    In fact, I’ve found over the years that the sweet spot is between $400–600. Up to that amount, you are generally paying for higher quality as the price goes up in a nice, linear fashion. In other words, it’s reasonable to assume my $400 used Epiphone SG is “twice as good” as my Epiphone Les Paul Special — and this bears out in playing the instruments.

    I am firmly convinced that you can buy an incredible electric guitar without breaking the bank.

    Once you start inching your way towards four figures, however, the relationship between quality and price significantly diminishes. I recently tried out a US-made PRS Custom 24 at a guitar shop. To my fingers, it felt and played identically to my import SE Custom 24. It was in no way “worth” paying an extra grand — or more — from a quality standpoint. (That’s not to say it isn’t worth the extra money for other reasons, by the way. But I personally don’t value those reasons as much as the quality factor.)

    Look for “new” used guitars

    In my current collection of around a dozen instruments, I only purchased two of them brand-new. The rest were used. In almost every instance, however, those “used” guitars had almost no wear and tear. Several of them, in fact, still had the clear plastic protective wrap on the pickguard. And for the last two guitars I purchased, I had to double-check with a store employee that they were in fact used — because they were flawless.

    For the last two guitars I purchased, I had to double-check with a store employee that they were in fact used — because they were flawless.

    The fact is, people buy guitars with the intent to learn to play all the time, but instead they end up leaving the instruments in their closet for years. Eventually, those guitars end up in a place like Guitar Center, which legally must sell them as “used” even though it’s likely they’ve never encountered so much as a guitar pick.

    And, of course, being used, they are cheaper. It’s these kinds of deals where you can get a whole lot of guitar for $500 or less.

    Be patient

    Once you’ve dialed in the kind of guitar you want and your price range, and you have the mindset of buying a “new” used instrument, it’s time to wait.

    Being patient is by far the most important aspect of finding any deal.

    Ultimately, being patient is by far the most important aspect of finding any deal. You’ve lived your entire life without whichever guitar it is you’re dreaming about at the moment— you can wait a few more months (or a decade, in my case). If you patiently search online sites and local guitar stores, one of two things will happen:

    • You will find a deal on the guitar you are looking for.
    • You will realize you didn’t want the guitar as much as you think you did.

    In the first case, you’ll be happy because you scored a good deal on something you wanted. In the second instance, you’ll be happy because you didn’t spend a bunch of money on a guitar that wasn’t right for you.

    Either way, you’ve won.

    I hope these four tips will help you the next time you are in the market for a new guitar. What additional tips would you give someone looking for gear? Let us know in the comments!