I absolutely agree that those expensive brands you name DO play like butter, and they damn well better for that amount of cash! But there are a lot of cheaper brands that can play just as well with a proper setup and a little customization.

My guess is that high-profile artists don’t even bother with cheapo guitars because they don’t need to! But for us normal people with a mortgage and a regular 9-5, it’s important to shop around and find the best deal you can. And with guitars, the best deal is usually not the expensive name brand.

It’s all a moot point anyway. As long as it stays in tune and doesn’t hurt to play, a good guitarist is going to be able to make any guitar sound good, no matter how cheap.

I do – btw – enjoy your blog, and find it entertaining.

-Butler

More to the point of this article, I bought a Rogue Hofner clone a few years ago that sounds amazing (I put flatwounds on it, of course!). And wouldn’t you know it, once Hofner realized that other companies were getting rich making cheap clones of their basses, they came out with their own cheap version, which was probably sourced at the same Chinese factory but costs $100 more than the Rogue because it says "Hofner" on the headstock. FAIL!

"Father" Ryan

Oooh, those Peavey T60s are so cool! What kind of pickups are those?

But, yeah, you’re right, the motivating factor for buying the knock-offs is definitely "I want an xxx but I can’t afford it." I don’t see anything wrong with that, but if you can find an LP Studio for $100 more than a knock-off, then why not, right? Personally, I’m not a big fan of LPs or Strats or their knock-offs, but I still have one of each around for when we need that particular "sound" in the studio. But they don’t get used enough for me to justify spending more than $150 on them!

I’m also noticing a common theme here where a lot of people aren’t willing to gig with their expensive or "nice" guitars because they don’t want them to get damaged or stolen. So are these mostly getting used in the studio, or are they sitting around in their cases most of the time? No judgement calls here, just curious.

"Father" Ryan

My two main guitars are from the 80s…not old enogh to be ‘vintage’ yet. A USA made Peavey T60 and a MIJ Ibanez Roadstar. Rock solid beater guitars that can be snagged on eBay for under $300. Sounds good, feels good, and quality parts….well except for the junk ‘Pro Rok’r’ bridge on the Roadstar I keep meaning to replace.

Sometimes it’s just fun to play in a guitar store…

~brennan

Your point 1 is well-taken. I guess that’s a personal moral decision, but I still don’t think that because something is Made In America it should justify an extra $1500. I’d buy everything MIA if the price difference wasn’t so huge.

As far as point 2, we get a tone that we like through our cheap guitars, "crappy effects", and "crappy amps", so that’s really a taste issue. Personally, I’m very particular about my tone, to the point of trying out a bunch of different guitars and pickup combinations to suit each song (moreso in the studio than live). I’m pretty happy with what my cheapo guitars are giving me, and I don’t for a second believe that a more expensive guitar could give me a tone that was worth an extra $1K.

But if you like expensive guitars and you think you need them for your tone, then that’s cool. It’s folks like you who keep these big name manufacturers in business, and far be it from me to wish any company to go down the tubes, especially in this economic climate.

1. One of the things you pay for with a lot of expensive guitars is the fact that they are not made by underpaid near slave-wage workers. Maybe it’s idealistic to care about how your axe is made. But if there is any place for such idealism, isn’t it your music?

2. When you pay your guitar through crappy effects, and a crappy amp it really doesn’t matter what guitar you play. Thats fine if thats the sound you’re going for (as it seems to be with your band). Plenty of clubs are not going to have the greatest sound or attentive audience either. But if you care about tone, then not only is a gibson les paul different from a knock off, but every gibson is different from each other, as every piece of wood resonates uniquely.