Buy a cheap guitar or a expensive one?

[Huguitarro]

Hello, i posted a thread some days ago with a "VS" of Schecter ATX 7, or some other guitars. Finally i got to this question:

Should i buy a cheap guitar and mod it to the end and save on "good" specs that i'll mod sometime in the future (paint, knobs, tuners, pickups, bridge, piezzo etc)? OR should i buy a more expensive one with "great" materials and just mod some things?


A have a great luthier to do all the electronic stuff, and im planing to get an ET swirl paintjob. So it's kind of balanced question.

EDIT: Also, i can ask my luthier to make me a guitar, but it takes too damn long and i really need a 7 string guitar since we're already making our new songs.

PS: I read the "VS" tread already, but since this is not a "brand guitar" vs "another one" i think it falls under the "What should i do?" Thanx.

 

[Toxin]

you should buy an expensive one and just play

 

[Scar Symmetry]

A more expensive, higher quality instrument is a wiser investment in the long run.

 

[steve1]

I think a cheap guitar that is modded is still essentially going to be a cheap guitar at heart (build quality, wood quality etc)

I'd say buy the best you can afford, see if you can find a good deal on a secondhand guitar.

 

[MetalDaze]

If you are new to guitars (or even if you are just new to 7's), go for the cheap one. You most likely don't really know what matters most to you and will possibly drop, scratch or otherwise bang up the guitar a little bit.

Once you've figured all that out, then you will feel good about spending alot of money on a guitar that fits you the best, knowing that you'll have it for a long time.

My 2 cents.

 

[GuitaristOfHell]

Go with a higher end. But if you want to do some modding get a mid-level guitar such as an Agile and go to work on it. Such as the bridge, pickups, pots, selector switch, tuners, nuts, are are modifiable ( regardless of the guitar level, low/high).
With that being said get a guitar with good build quality and specs you like but, can't change like body woods ect... and modd from there.

 

[jl-austin]

I'm at a loss on this one. I have a real ESP, and I have played LTD's, and to be honest, I cannot tell you why the ESP plays better. It just doesn't make sense to me.
I know a lot of it has to do with fret work, but I still don't think a LTD with a fret job is going to play like an ESP.
So I would say go middle of the road, because you are more than likely are going to want to change out pickups (what are the odds of a guitar coming with pickups we like?).

 

[GuitaristOfHell]

I'm at a loss on this one. I have a real ESP, and I have played LTD's, and to be honest, I cannot tell you why the ESP plays better. It just doesn't make sense to me.
I know a lot of it has to do with fret work, but I still don't think a LTD with a fret job is going to play like an ESP.
So I would say go middle of the road, because you are more than likely are going to want to change out pickups (what are the odds of a guitar coming with pickups we like?).

. Pretty much what I said in plain English. But yeah to the OP get something mid-range or higher and then mod some hardware.

 

[aslsmm]

whats your deffinition of cheap and good. honestly a squire stage master is pretty damn cheap compared to a 1527 "or anthing really" but a 1527 is a cheap guitar compared to a EBMM JP7 BFR. if your only recognition between good and cheap is pups, paint, bridge, tunners and nut then maybe you should buy a cheap one to mod. however the time will come (it always does) when youll want a real swirl paint UV or a custom shop sig, next thing you know you'll be trying to sell your custom bullseye finished 7620 for over 1000 USD http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/gu...ed/144384-ibanez-rg7620-wylde-7-bullseye.html and it will be very hard to sell cause its still a 7620. even if it has the most bad ass bulls eye paint job you have ever seen (which it does BTW).

point is if you want a guitar with a swirl paint finish and good hard ware then go with a cheap-o.
if you want a good guitar then go with a good foundation at least.

here are my recamendations for good foundation guitars to mod

K7, ol beat up UV, 1527, BJ ATX, loomis sig, RC7. You can find all of those models for around 1000> then you can spend a million dollars getting an ET swirl finish (or you can just have humanfuseben do it for much less and just as good quality. just pm him) and swaping out pups.

remember, you cant polish a turd with out smelling like shit after wards.


ps: in no way am i calling that 7620 a polished turd. i love it.

 

[AcousticMinja]

yeah, I think mid-range would be the best idea.
Unless you'd want to mod it yourself (just to learn how it works or something) then I'd say get a cheap-o one.
Overall, get something that'll last. if you get a mid-range beast and mod it, it'll probably play pretty damn nice. Plus, you can beat it up and not feel guilty. If you get a high end one and do that...well

 

[Huguitarro]

Well, then i guess im buying that schecter BJ ATX or HR C-7, test the pickups, and replace them if i dont like them and mod my way up, btw if someone is selling his, let me know , coz i cheked up the market place and no one is selling one right now

thanks to all for your answers!!

 

[Treeunit212]

You get what you pay for. Plain and simple.

That said, I have a C-7 Hellraiser, and it really doesn't need any mods.

 

[Explorer]

I don't think anyone has come out and said this directly, but you have another option which you're not considering.

Why not just buy a unsed inexpensive guitar as a stop-gap, and *don't* invest any money in modding it.

Save money while playing it.

Spend the money you saved on the better guitar which will do what you want without modding.

Sell the cheap-ass unmodded used guitar for around what you paid for it.

???

Profit!

----

Yes, there are lots of threads about how people swap pickups for something better, or decide that they need different machines or something else. However, there are lots of people who *don't* make discussion about how they just kept things stock. For that reason, it would be easy to get the impression that everyone is modding everything.

 

[fuzznug]

Agile.

 

[revolutionman]

i just traded for a ibanez ax 7 just to make sure i like of coursei will love it, i will mod it lol.but setting my sites on rusty cooley rc7x, or ibanez pretige. i cant remember the model number but it has contours one volume and a 3 way switch.

what mods besides pickups should i go for besides pickups pots and a switch would that get me going oh and this is my firsdt venture into 7 strings i already tune low so i know i will love it.

 

[elmagoo]

So to provide a viewpoint counter to the majority, I would suggest going the mod route depending upon your long-term goals. And what I mean by this is are you planning on selling this guitar to get something else down the line? Or do you want to make something that will be yours for ages and ages?

The main downside to buying a cheaper guitar and modding it will be the resale value, else IMO you'll end up with a guitar every bit as good depending upon what you put into it, and you'll spend a little less. Plus I find I love the guitar more because I made it mine .

Speaking from personal experience, I find that I always mod stuff on every guitar I get because I've never find a guitar in stock form that gives me the sound I'm looking for with that particular guitar (regardless of price point). For example, I got a Les Paul Traditional Pro, which is one of the cheaper American made Pauls you can get (costs $2k). It comes with bad Grover tuners, a bad zinc metal bridge, a terrible nut, and Gibson's lack-luster Burstbucker pickups. The sad thing is there's very little difference on the hardware by going up in price, usually just different pickups and paint finishes. You'd think a $2k guitar should meet the 'get what you pay for' mantra', but it doesn't, especially when it comes to Les Pauls. I had to replace the pickups and pots (put WCR Darkbursts in there and electronics), new Gotoh tuners, new bone nut, and a Callaham Guitars rolled steel bridge (I highly recommend Callaham bridges for Pauls, Strats, and Teles). The thing sings now, stays in tune way better, sustains better, and the actual tone of the wood comes through much better (barky and growly like a Paul should be). I will personally never buy another Paul again after this experience. What was the point of putting $2k into the guitar to have to invest almost another $1k into it?!?

Another example, I had an Ibanez RG 1550M for a bit. It felt and played nice, but I hated the look and the tone wasn't what I wanted (I wanted a guitar for whammy tricks with that older school John Petrucci tone from when he was with Ibanez). Sold it and got a white RG350DX. Solid white with pearloid pickguard, bound rosewood neck with sharktooth inlays, matching color headstock, exactly what I wanted visually. Also the neck plays as good as the prestige did IMO... smooth, thin, fast and fluid. I swapped all of the hardware and pickups on it. New DiMarzio Crunchlab and Liquifire pickups (what Petrucci uses), new Ibanez edge pro trem, new nut, new gotoh tuners, new knobs and electronics, and I added a split coil switch and an always-on switch for the bridge pickup. White pickups with cosmo black hardware, looks absolutely beautiful to me and what I always wanted in an RG!! The only other guitar I've seen from Ibanez that looks close to this is a JEM505, but it only comes with a maple neck with dot inlays, and it costs $1500. In the end the total was $1300 after everything (including installation), which is still cheaper than what the JEM would cost me. It also sounds exactly like what I wanted, and it plays exactly like what I wanted.

So in the end it just depends what you want. You do have to start with a good base, but don't think that the only way to get a good base is by getting something over $1k. Manufacturing processes have come a long way, and as long as the company has good quality control (like Ibanez), you should be able to find a very solid playing lower end guitar that you upgrade.

 

[Mukersman]

I'd just always check craigslist and ebay. I got my 7620 (upper/midrange I think) for 400 bucks with a hard case. for whatever reason they don't seem to hold value despite being great guitars. With the price you also have a lot of cash left for saving or modding, and there are some really badass modded 7620s on this site.

 

[-42-]

If you are going to own it for an extended period of time, you should buy something that is more expensive and better constructed. Features and specs are not everything to a guitar, workmanship is often what you pay for in more expensive guitars, and it really shows.

 

[elmagoo]

I have to disagree about higher priced guitar = better workmanship. My friend used to work out here at West LA Music on Santa Monica blvd. He can regail you with all manor of stories about very high end guitars that were exceptionally bad that would come in all the time! Classic case in point are the master built Fenders. These things cost $3 - $6k each, and a lot of them had to have extra work done on them or be sent back. I got to witness first hand 2 custom shop fenders that a customer ordrered and was picking up. Both had to be sent back. One had obvious and very excessive orange peel, the other had severe flaws in the finish as well as a very bad fret job. Each guitar was $4k, they should have been perfect. Now also consider the fact that not every guitar dealer will pay attention to this kind of stuff and just sell it like they got it with a quick setup job.

My friend has since moved onto the product / manufacturing side of the industry. He's gotten a chance to see the ins and outs of guitar manufacturing and it's a bit of an eye opener. Key take away is don't believe the hype on high end / expensive guitars always equals better quality. In the end if it's a good piece of wood and the quality control is good, it'll last you a very long time, and you have a great base to work with. My $600 Jackson Dinky Reverse is going on 18 years and it's in fantastic shape. I also have a $400 Mexican strat that I've moded, got it in 2003 (one of the splatter strats) and it's also in fantastic shape. Both guitars sound and play amazing are built to last.

 

[littlephil]

^I agree, higher priced doesn't always mean better quality, but generally its a pretty safe rule to follow. And if you're trying before you buy (which you should always do!) it isn't a big issue really.

The best thing to do is to buy a high end guitar for cheap
Save up for an expensive one, but keep your eyes open for used ones going cheap.