What are the most overhyped guitars?

[Marked Man]

Far too many Gibson Les Pauls......

 

[MikeH]

Les Pauls have been in production since 1952. Obviously there are a lot of fucking Les Pauls out there, guys…

 

[narad]

That's a pretty good answer. I do find it funny that some of those Japanese builders are even more fanatical than Gibson and are priced at an equally obscene level. Those K+T pickups have an obscene price. I think Gibson have pretty strong economy of scale. It's when they price things like those Korina re-issues that make people's head scratch.

Yea, I mean, the thing is that they sell those Korina reissues. Economically it's smart to do those ludicrously-priced limited runs, and of course I can't defend that as a good bang-for-your-buck. They're just cashing in on collectors. But they've also done plenty of reasonably priced explorer/V reissues, too. So I think in that sense, if trying to make comparisons between the countries, the more production-minded runs (like just usual R8s/R9s) are the more meaningful models to look at.

Hey, how do you know someone has a custom guitar?

Don't worry, they'll let you know.

Damn, I thought that was what we were supposed to be doing here. Speaking of, man, I miss the days when every week there were a few new custom builds getting finished up and NAD'd. Enough to support a Guitar-of-the-Month.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Yea, I mean, the thing is that they sell those Korina reissues. Economically it's smart to do those ludicrously-priced limited runs, and of course I can't defend that as a good bang-for-your-buck. They're just cashing in on collectors. But they've also done plenty of reasonably priced explorer/V reissues, too. So I think in that sense, if trying to make comparisons between the countries, the more production-minded runs (like just usual R8s/R9s) are the more meaningful models to look at.



Damn, I thought that was what we were supposed to be doing here. Speaking of, man, I miss the days when every week there were a few new custom builds getting finished up and NAD'd. Enough to support a Guitar-of-the-Month.

I too miss GOTM. But everyone is a shit head and it's not worth the grief. Really, I'm genuinely bummed that everyone was an absolute turd about it. I get enough angry PMs about how the site works (it doesn't) during the week to get a dozen more because someone's Legator with some stickers didn't meet the criteria or that the whole thing is rigged. I lost a lot of faith in this place when I tried to get it up and going last time.

 

[Protestheriphery]

PRS. They earn their reputation for craftsmanship and feel. Their "versatility" is irrelevant to me, however. The 2 and 4 positions on Custom 24s sound tinny, in comparison to an actual strat. I personally dont buy a $4000 carved top, hh, mahogany guitar to get strat tones anyway. The overall tone is pretty bland and neutral compared to everything else I've ever owned. I was actually pretty happy to unload my PRS, it was pretty underwhelming.

 

[nightlight]

On the subject of custom guitars: What about brands like Vik? Or Vandejmeister (is that how it's spelt)? Or what about other boutique builders?

I honestly remember how my knowledge of instruments was limited to Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP and Yamaha. There are just so many choices now and I often get overwhelmed.

The one thread that always comes to mind when I think of buying boutique is the guy over here who was raving about this guitar he had custom built and raving about the builder to everyone. Then he came back a while later and said the guitar could not be intonated because it was a flawed design.

I really am quite wary of going to any company which doesn't have a significant amount of guitars sold to buy a guitar. They cost an arm and a leg quite often. Heck, I even owned a Mayones Custom at one point of time that went "BONG" if you didn't palm mute on the low E. Great guitar, but it drove me crazy.

 

[works0fheart]

I've played a few Vik guitars. They were pretty well made instruments honestly. That was years ago though, I can't speak for their quality now. I haven't actually heard them brought up ever since the owner ousted himself as a bigot idiot.

 

[narad]

On the subject of custom guitars: What about brands like Vik? Or Vandejmeister (is that how it's spelt)? Or what about other boutique builders?

Vik guitars are very good tools but not very good in terms of boutique craftsmanship. If you ever see close up pics or one in person, look where the body meets the neck. The joints are fine but the finish work there is often pretty subpar. Then if it has binding, look at the corners around where the binding meets. Often there's a good amount of filler there. Or when he does fancy inlays on the say pre-2014 stuff, look around the inlays. One of the pickup routes on one of mine was pretty sloppy too -- the route around the tab in the pickup wasn't quite a symmetric shape.

None of this stuff takes away from the guitars in terms of playability and mine were both really good in that regard, good/great sounding, but that's not really what I expect in the high end space.

 

[StevenC]

Vik guitars are very good tools but not very good in terms of boutique craftsmanship. If you ever see close up pics or one in person, look where the body meets the neck. The joints are fine but the finish work there is often pretty subpar. Then if it has binding, look at the corners around where the binding meets. Often there's a good amount of filler there. Or when he does fancy inlays on the say pre-2014 stuff, look around the inlays. One of the pickup routes on one of mine was pretty sloppy too -- the route around the tab in the pickup wasn't quite a symmetric shape.

None of this stuff takes away from the guitars in terms of playability and mine were both really good in that regard, good/great sounding, but that's not really what I expect in the high end space.

One time I picked up a Vik and it literally started falling apart.

 

[Emperoff]

Overpriced? All of them.

Overhyped? Probably none of them. People's opinions on gear are so strong that you can choose your hype of preference (which comes with its own built-in haters).

 

[nightlight]

I've played a few Vik guitars. They were pretty well made instruments honestly. That was years ago though, I can't speak for their quality now. I haven't actually heard them brought up ever since the owner ousted himself as a bigot idiot.

What was this all about? Hadn't heard about it. I follow them on Instagram, and might follow consequently.

 

[Thrashman]

He's just a homophobe and couldn't keep his mouth shut in public.

Shame as he seems to be making top notch guitars, or, he was rumored to until recently as apparently they're not all that good

 

[j3ps3]

What was this all about? Hadn't heard about it. I follow them on Instagram, and might follow consequently.

https://metalinjection.net/news/dra...rks-gets-denounced-by-periphery-scar-symmetry

I still can't understand how someone could possibly be that stupid. Everyone has the right for their own opinion but if you run a business you should know that this is not the way to go

 

[MaxOfMetal]

https://metalinjection.net/news/dra...rks-gets-denounced-by-periphery-scar-symmetry

I still can't understand how someone could possibly be that stupid. Everyone has the right for their own opinion but if you run a business you should know that this is not the way to go

Simple: hubris.

The dude was always a dipshit and his guitars were always suspect. But they were pretty, and rare, and artists liked parading them around, so he got popular.

 

[Lozek]

Any guitar which cost more than £500 and hasn't been used onstage or featured on a recording that is not titled 'Mix_Test_Final_6_Revision2_Final_Final.wav'

 

[dr_game0ver]

Any pre 1985 MIJ stuff. Some are good, but not at that price.

 

[Adieu]

https://metalinjection.net/news/dra...rks-gets-denounced-by-periphery-scar-symmetry

I still can't understand how someone could possibly be that stupid. Everyone has the right for their own opinion but if you run a business you should know that this is not the way to go

Jeez... 2021

The guy owes some people guitars they paid him to build 10 years ago, but it's the grumbling about people's sexual preferences that FINALLY gets him in hot water

 

[narad]

Jeez... 2021

The guy owes some people guitars they paid him to build 10 years ago, but it's the grumbling about people's sexual preferences that FINALLY gets him in hot water

The hot water is from 2014.

 

[StevenC]

Jeez... 2021

The guy owes some people guitars they paid him to build 10 years ago, but it's the grumbling about people's sexual preferences that FINALLY gets him in hot water

He wasn't any later than the expected "small shop custom delay" when he outed himself as a bigot. The Nolly run was a behind the most behind at that point, but he's now almost a decade behind on two 8 string runs. He's a shitty person for a whole bunch of reasons and has no self-awareness of that fact.

Did @elq ever get their guitar?

 

[Lorcan Ward]

Vik already had a bad rep before then. He was late on many builds, taking deposits to go on vacations, building in-stocks to sell at inflated prices.

My Duality played and sounded great but had some issues with needing a setup every month, the neck needed better finish. I would have kept it if it wasn’t such a shitty experience ordering it.

and years later very little has changed. He still fights and fall outs with customers while not completing builds several years overdue.