What are the most overhyped guitars?

[Thrashman]

Strandbergs. Awful QC and mediocre quality. In no way or form is the design worth paying 2-3x what the quality actually reflects.

Oh and fundamental design flaws making them insanely prone to wolf tones and dead spots.

 

[narad]

Underhyped around these parts...

View attachment 96399 View attachment 96400

An elegant instrument for a more civilized age

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

Any signature guitar. I don't understand the sometimes huge threads you see on any forum when one is released, versus any almost exactly the same standard model.
I mean, buy it if you actually like the guitar, but i don't understand the clamouring for a guitar just because another human being has one.

Especially ESP sigs. I love ESP as a company but goddamn if they don't release an artist signature and all it is, is the production line shit in a different color or something stupid.

At least ESP America, that is. ESP Japan is off the damn chain.

 

[Vyn]

Fishmans. They're good, but they're just... good. Everybody and their mother has a signature Fishman set now, and they're all just good. They're just pickups, and the whole "2 voices thing" is fun for like 5 minutes and then you set it up to the tone you want and that's it, just like with every other guitar. They're solid pickups and decently priced but I still feel they have been hyped up beyond belief because of the dual voices thing that has very limited practical application.

EDIT: I realize the OP was asking for guitars but everybody's already said Gibson lmao so I'm throwing guitar accessories into the mix

This is an interesting one to bring up. The other guitarist in our band has Moderns in his E-II and we were taking turns using it for tracking. He comes from an EMG/active background and I come from a passive background. I couldn't get the 'active' voice to work however he couldn't get the 'passive' voice to work either. It was amusing because the whole point of Fishmans is to have the best of both worlds however neither of us could actually play in the other world so there's no point to them

 

[gunch]

Legators and Chapmans
There's been a thread about it but like other companies biting Suhr

And I don't think anyone who owns a Sterling actually likes it

 

[The Mirror]

Any signature guitar. I don't understand the sometimes huge threads you see on any forum when one is released, versus any almost exactly the same standard model.
I mean, buy it if you actually like the guitar, but i don't understand the clamouring for a guitar just because another human being has one.

That depends I'd say. if it is just a cashgrab with the name of the artist (and a higher price tag) put on it but the guitar being almost the same as others then it is stupid.

If it actually has specs or features that differ from the standards of the company I absolutely understand that.

I always wanted a PRS with a flat fretboard radius, a longer scale and modern sounding high output passives as I like the general design of PRS but mostly play metal in Open-C tuning and come from classical guitar, originally.

The Holcomb does exactly that and I never heard of Mark before as I never listened to Periphery.

It is like the dude built my own custom guitar that I can grab now for a totally decent price instead of paying shitloads for ordering a Private Stock.

 

[mmr007]

I am not entirely sure I have witnessed any any overhyped reaction to Gibson. They have their passionate fans and certainly their detractors and you can complain about price but welcome to MADE IN AMERICA....as in more fucking expensive labor than Indonesia. You can't compare quality and price when one guitar is made where labor is like 20 cents to the dollar. Also, Gibson has a built in premium because of the fact they increase in value like almost no other guitar.

But there is not an over-reaction to the brand because they've been pumping out the same basic stuff for 60+ years and the only time anyone talks about them is when they fuck up and make a stupid authentic video or reinvent the tuner.

If you wanna talk overhyped then let's talk PRS...not an indictment of quality but the John Mayer sigs and other special tops and caps and what not make it the most overhyped brand in my book (I didn't say bad...over hyped)

Oh and fuck headless guitars

 

[eggy in a bready]

You can't compare quality and price when one guitar is made where labor is like 20 cents to the dollar.

i've played MII guitars that blow recent Gibsons out of the water in every way possible. y'all need to look past the stigma of imports and realize that MIA means very little in the way of guitars these days.

 

[mmr007]

I'm not saying imports can't be better. Never implied that. Almost all my guitars are made in Korea, Japan or Mexico and they fucking rule....but labor is cheaper there. It's a fact. Indonesia waaaay cheaper still. So quality can be the same or better than a Gibson...no reason it can't but then we can't bitch that Gibsons are overpriced. They are not. They are priced for the cost of labor that made them. You want Gibson quality at a lower price...get an epiphone like me.

 

[eggy in a bready]

ok. do you think that american labor is inherently more valuable than overseas labor?

because if i can get an import that's just as good (if not better) than a modern day Gibson for a fraction of the price, then yes, i can absolutely say that Gibson guitars are overhyped.

just because you pay more for the MIA label does not mean that the cost is justified.

 

[Addie5150]

The overpriced jacksons
Kiesel

 

[mmr007]

American specifically? Because this is not USA versus overseas argument only. If you told someone they have a blind choice between an LTD made in Japan, one made in Korea, one made in Indonesia or one made in Vietnam....all things being equal, people would choose the Japanese made one probably without even test driving the guitar.

I feel that I have overseas guitars that are as good or better than a Gibson. I stated elsewhere on this site I have an early 2000 epiphone explorer that is just as good as my old 1984 gibson explorer I had..... but the Gibson is worth 10X as much. It started more expensive (adjusting for inflation based on when each guitar was bought) and it increased in value because Gibson has a viable market but they are not overhyped. The only "hype" I saw was for the Adam Jones sig and that's because Tool fans are unhinged in general not Gibson fans.

But back to cost...it IS justified in the eyes of the purchaser. Some people pay a premium at Trader Joe's for free range organic chicken...I could care less if my chickens were tortured and feed a steady diet of M&M before they made it to the deep fryer...still tastes good to me.

Gibsons are not overpriced...I imagine their profit margins are comparable to other manufacturers.... but their labor costs are high but that high input has paid dividends in the long run because their perceived value makes them a sought after commodity

 

[eggy in a bready]

ignoring the blatant assumptions and downright weird things you said in that post...

the Gibson name as a commodity still, strangely, holds a lot of value in people's eyes. why? who knows. decades of marketing? boomer nostalgia? it doesn't seem to mean much in terms of tangible product. when you're paying for a new Gibby, you're paying for the name and not necessarily a quality product. some people, like myself, would think you're a fucking fool to pay the premium for a new Gibson in 2021, considering the import alternative is on, and above, par.

that being said, i've played some new Gibby's that actually rock. still, $5k? fuck no.

 

[High Plains Drifter]

Taylor

 

[Wucan]

Any signature guitar. I don't understand the sometimes huge threads you see on any forum when one is released, versus any almost exactly the same standard model.
I mean, buy it if you actually like the guitar, but i don't understand the clamouring for a guitar just because another human being has one.

I feel the opposite way - I love signature guitars because they're a way for manufacturers to deviate from standard specs while getting sales to support the decision. For instance, JP's were a real life saver for me - the necks are very thin, but they also aren't shaped flat like nearly every other shredder. I also dig into the guitar body a lot, and the deeper scoop only JP's have is super comfortable for me.

I also owned a Wes Hauch signature guitar which was sweet because of the very thin but still comfortable neck, while having a telecaster body with comfort cuts. Unfortunately the "signature' aspect got in the way because the strings were spaced extra wide, and it was too much of a pain to switch between the Wes Hauch and 6-strings

 

[Hoss632]

Gibson's. Although I do like the SG's over all they are over priced and really over hyped to me.

 

[works0fheart]

Ibanez and Gibson for me. Never picked one up that's done anything for me. Gibson moreso. Super thick necks, too heavy, weird balance. Not a fan at all. At least with Ibanez they have a few models I think are decent, but Gibson literally feels like the quality doesn't increase much with the price point from model to model.

That's pretty much it though. Almost every other brand I've found something that I like at some point. I used to dislike BC Rich but I've found some great stuff from them over the years.

 

[j3ps3]

Oh and fundamental design flaws making them insanely prone to wolf tones and dead spots.

Such as? Genuinely interested

 

[narad]

Some very loud, very bad takes on Gibson in this thread. Would you pick up a banjo and be like... "huh, heavy, 4 strings, high action. Used prestige was better in all respects"?

Wake me up when an import is better than a Gibson _at things people use Gibsons for_. Like some import LP. Because epiphone isn't comparable. Hell, Navigator isn't as good. Even many PRS or Huber and instruments that are made phenomenally well are often not better at achieving those sounds.

 

[Fenriswolf]

Some very loud, very bad takes on Gibson in this thread. Would you pick up a banjo and be like... "huh, heavy, 4 strings, high action. Used prestige was better in all respects"?

Wake me up when an import is better than a Gibson _at things people use Gibsons for_. Like some import LP. Because epiphone isn't comparable. Hell, Navigator isn't as good. Even many PRS or Huber and instruments that are made phenomenally well are often not better at achieving those sounds.

I'm a Gibson fanboy, but I get it. Your average Gibson fan is worse than some of the people on here that won't buy a guitar unless it meets this very specific esoteric set of specs.

Guitar started to be a lot more fun after I quit caring about specs and just started buying cool shit. Plays good, sounds rad, looks rad and it's a good guitar. The only specs I know on my guitars are Gibsons are made out of mahogany and are Gibson scale and Fenders are made out of alder or ash or something and are Fender scale.