Real Differences Between the Cheap and the Precious

I am extremely fortunate to own a few holy-grail guitars that are so spectacular, one should be enough.  My top-tier guitars are custom shop Fenders and Gibsons; I have no qualms about taking them to jams and open mics.  They really do feel like they play themselves.  I think perhaps that comes from the fact that they don't put up a fight to play in tune, and they always produce tones that are pleasing to my ears.  They are rock solid; I can play one, and a month later pick it up and it's still in tune.  Their only limiting factor is my meager playing ability.

I also have guitars that I built from virtual garage sale junk that are real players and I'd have no second thoughts about taking one to a jam or open mic.  Every so often I give one to someone that wants to learn guitar and is taking lessons because they start to pile up.

These and all the ones in between I take care of equally because they are all tools to me--as well as being functional art pieces to park in a stand or hang on the wall and enjoy.

I mention the functional art aspect because there is something magical about a guitar strictly as an object to observe and not play. I liken it to the feeling I get when walking into a Home Depot, Lowe's, a fine hardwoods dealer, etc.   As an object it is something that portends things that might become reality; it's about the *possibilities* to be achieved with it.  If I were a woman, I might feel the same way walking into a shoe store    

Additionally, there is something magic about a guitar that contains a component that was made by a friend.  I don't know how to precisely describe it, but here goes.  When playing a guitar like this, it's like the difference between having a slice of chocolate cake I got at the grocery store, and a cake that was baked by my grandmother (R.I.P. Grandma Mary).

There is also the very personal aspect of a guitar.  An electric guitar is only half of the tone equation, but most players do not develop relationships with their amps.  I've thought about this a lot.  I think it's because a player hugs their guitar (not the amp) when making music.  It's a very strange and spiritual thing that is difficult to quantify and describe when we're limited to only 26 letters in the alphabet.

Apologies for the philosophical digression.

Notwithstanding all the above, however, there is one difference I began to notice, beginning about 10 years ago: I seem to play better on the mongrels and mutts. It must be something to do with the subconscious knowledge that they are cheap, and thrashing & bashing on them is less risky and no $$ down the drain if I do something stupid.  I don't know exactly why that is, because I have no concerns for resale value on my mucho-dinero guitars. That doesn't ever cross my mind.  I dunno!

But just like you stated--the quality of 'affordable' guitars today is amazingly good, and this is the reason why I believe we are living in the golden age of guitars. 


We have so many choices.  So many GOOD choices in every price range from really affordable to really expensive..

I've had a couple of semi-expensive guitars with which I never really bonded. They're no longer around. The guitars I have now that speak to me are in the $400-$500 range.

I really don't think there's a correlation between great guitars and money. I suspect it's more psychological. IOW, we love the pricey ones because we 'must' to justify the money we spent.

When I was younger I had only cheap guitars that came and went. For the past 20 years I’ve had only the same three guitars. My super cheap Washburn D10 (that was less than $200), a mim HSS Strat (which was a gift so not sure but probably no more than $300-400) and my FDPLE Strat. The LE is the only one that can be considered expensive in any real way, and personally I think it’s worth the money for the neck alone.

My other mistresses are far more costly, both in purchase and maintenance cost, so these guitars are going to have to do for me for some time more.

The last time I bought a guitar in a shop was 1999.

They are making the less-expensive guitars much better than they used to. My first guitar was a $28 Western Auto Truetone archtop acoustic. This was in 1964 (yeah, I know). Within 10 or so years the neck was warping. In 1966 my brother bought a Kingston solid body electric. In two weeks, the vibrato tailpiece just fell right off. It was cheap trash.

In 1999 I got a Squier Affinity Strat, which I still have. $179.99 plus tax. It still plays well and sounds good to my ears. I actually like it. My Gretsch Electromatic 5120 ($599 in 2008) is also still good and probably compares to a "real" 6120. So electric guitars, unlike water heaters, are made much better than they used to make them.

But I would still like a 6120. And a real Fender Strat that sells just under $2,000.

"The Cheap and the Precious" - new soap opera on abc?

I'm a lefty and the last guitar I bought in a store was between 95' and 97'. Yamaha Pacifica it was the first lefthanded guitar I had bought up to that point. Actually was the first playable lefty I had ever seen in person.

I’ve never owned a Pacifica. Lefties pop up in Reverb once in a while. 🤔

I have run the gamut from SX, Agile, Squier, Fender MIM, Gretch, Gibson. I keep the ones that speak to me in that how the play, feel and sound and do I get that "ahh" feeling playing it. I can tell you comparatively "A beautiful woman that is ugly on the inside is just that, ugly!!!" 

The Cheap and the Precious sounds like it should be a soap opera.