What are the most overhyped guitars?

[John]

Buy an SC594 and never want for a les paul again

I, for one, have a singlecut trem in conjuction with my trusty CE and Custom 24's so I'm content.

The only silver lining I've had for the LP is the shape. The vast majority of what they've been offering has otherwise been unimpressive and overhyped to me such as the over 9,000 burst reissues among a variety of other things.

 

[Sermo Lupi]

I feel when guitars start getting into this price range and upwards, it's all overhyped. There's only so good of a playability and sound an instrument is going to reach, and I don't think a guitar needs to be this expensive to do that. Conversely, I feel like most of these super expensive instruments don't always sound that good or play as well as guitars I've spent maybe $700 on.

Not to say I haven't played some great high end guitars, but I don't think anyone needs to buy The Deluxe Reissue Reissue, Limited, One off color, #13 of 150 produced, 1972 Dadblues guitar for the same price as a new car. I also don't get the super gaudy custom guitars made of real Moroccan teak wood, with flamed cocobolo stained tuning machines, with extended scale, fan fret, true temperament, headless, whatever.

The guitar is a tool. It's okay to want nice tools, but I'm not a fan of the obnoxious culture that surrounds them sometimes.

In Rick's case, I don't doubt that the guitars cost a pretty penny to make. The necks and hardware are all precision machined at shops based in the US who work in aerospace manufacture. Like, not buzz-word "aerospace" as in "aircraft-grade aluminum" but actual shops where Rick's guitar parts are competing for CNC time with Lockheed Martin. That's going to be outrageously expensive and was one reason why Rick had a falling out with Townsend Machine. Or at least that's how I remember it--I believe he sought out another machinist to produce his designs to his spec, probably for a cheaper price.

Yet from a bird's eye view none of it is necessary. It's like Swiss watchmakers spending $100k in time, tools and materials to produce a $500k watch. At the end of the day it's an exercise in luxury as well as engineering. Rick is genuinely ingenious, but he's often solving "problems" that result in an artful rather than economical solutions. In other words, his guitars are designed to be these expensive pieces of alien tech. That's his niche. The price point and Rube Goldberg-ing is a feature.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Guys like Parker, Matsuda, Toone, etc. know they exist in a niche, and a lot of that pricing is based around the idea that they're servicing maybe a dozen or so clients a year, so a lot of the pricing has that output in mind. If these guys are only building a handful of unique pieces a year, the price needs to be high. They don't care if what they're making isn't accessible because it would never work at scale.

The fact that djentkids wanted Toones was a complete fluke.

 

[Emperoff]

Guys like Parker, Matsuda, Toone, etc. know they exist in a niche, and a lot of that pricing is based around the idea that they're servicing maybe a dozen or so clients a year, so a lot of the pricing has that output in mind. If these guys are only building a handful of unique pieces a year, the price needs to be high. They don't care if what they're making isn't accessible because it would never work at scale.

The fact that djentkids wanted Toones was a complete fluke.

You just mentioned Parker and I'll probably be dreaming of those red and emerald green 7-strings out there tonight.

 

[michael_bolton]

Depends on the model. A lot of the "signature" Les Pauls are extremely pricey and don't really offer upgrades that come anywhere near justifying the price hike. But something like a Les Paul Studio is pretty difficult to argue is overpriced. ...

sure, but overpriced != overhyped. price might be one of the components through which hype manifests itself lol but it's not just that. if someone is buying an LP primary reason being so they can say they have one so they are cool af (bonus hype - because so and so plays it) - that to me is where hype would be.

there's some of that with any manufacturer out there including Gibson but they are far from the top of the hype list these days. I would go as far as put let's say Kiesel and Aristides - which I own and like both of them as opposed to LPs - higher on that list.

 

[gunch]

PRS earns this distinction.... BY FAR

If this was 2003-4 when I was 14-15 and hated everything on the radio to be an edgy contrarian I would agree with you.
But then I learned lots of cool rad dudes, not just buttrock merchants use them. Ibanez SZ, Early LTDs and Schec, EVERYONE wanted that carved top pie.

Also I learned to appreciate how just absolutely batshit nerdy and committed to improvement PRS himself is.

 

[Ataraxia2320]

For me PRS is in no way overhyped. Maybe a little over expensive if anything but their guitars are all on point.

On a side note I wish more guitar builders would use a 25 inch scale. It's absolutely perfect for me.

 

[Sermo Lupi]

Guys like Parker, Matsuda, Toone, etc. know they exist in a niche, and a lot of that pricing is based around the idea that they're servicing maybe a dozen or so clients a year, so a lot of the pricing has that output in mind. If these guys are only building a handful of unique pieces a year, the price needs to be high. They don't care if what they're making isn't accessible because it would never work at scale.

The fact that djentkids wanted Toones was a complete fluke.

Fluke probably isn't quite accurate. Unless you mean the djentkids were oil for the machine. Rick's first "endorsees" were just regular customers whose ergonomic needs could be used to showcase healthful benefits of his guitars. That was back when he was offering a tailor-made instrument service where every design was unique. Bad back? Tendonitis? Woman with a small frame? Made-to-measure is the solution.

Tosin came into the picture a few years later when Rick was looking for more widespread exposure. I'd have to guess he discovered there was more interest from players looking to remove limitations from traditional instruments rather than from those with ailing bodies. Tosin fit the bill for catering to that crowd as he was a guitarist playing technical, cutting edge music. Testimonials from Steve Blucher and Thomas Nordegg added fuel to that fire, since they could lend credence to the sonic side of things.

Look no further than Steve Sjuggerud's frequent affiliation with Rick Toone's guitars in recent years to see how that endorsement strategy has continued to evolve. Rick's been very calculated about it--not that I mean to imply that's a bad thing.

Yet insofar as its not a fluke, I think Rick put quite a lot of thought into where he can reliably source those dozen or so clients a year you refer to.

 

[profwoot]

Responding to a couple topics:

My #1 is a Mayones Regius Core Gothic 6 with Juggs and I don't see how it could ever be topped. Very comfy, sounds great for chugs, great for leads, great for cleans. Sure I paid almost 3k for it but it turned out to be worth every penny. It has a matte finish so I perhaps I got lucky if their gloss finishes are all sticky. Interestingly, my #2 is a Jackson USA Misha sig 7, so the same pickups as my #1, yet it doesn't sound nearly as good. It's also not nearly as comfy. I dig the juggernaut body shape but it just doesn't seem to hang as well for me.

Regarding headless guitars, it's a shame so many people can't get over how it looks, because near as I can tell it's functionally better in every way -- no neck dive, no strings to ring behind the nut or pull out of tune, no needless extra weight. I play with a strap and often end up twiddling knobs in my DAW or whatever while still wearing my guitar so every g matters, and my headless bass is literally lighter than all of my normal guitars. My next purchase will definitely be a headless 7.

 

[budda]

Jazzmasters dont have neck dive either .

With headless, you cant get that awesome screech of raking the strings past the nut under distortion, so that's a (niche) L.

 

[TheBolivianSniper]

I always see people dropping so much money on USA Jacksons and I do admit the 90s examples I've played have been great, but the Japanese ones are also great and if you can track one down are as good as any USA imo

I was really sad I couldn't find a Rhoads with the configuration I wanted and lo and behold I found my disgusting Hondo which is everything I would've ordered from Jackson, for literally 5% of the price. It actually plays and holds tune as well as the Japanese Jackson and my Ibanez prestige I had. It looks like HELL up close and it probably had electronics just transplanted from a strat copy in the same factory but I don't give a fuck, it feels great and I can hammer on the Kahler for hours before it gets really out of tune on one string. I'm gonna rewire it and add some quality of life parts and I'll end up spending less on it with all customized parts and every feature I like than on a USED Japanese Jackson without most of what I want filled.

I gotta post a thread for the thing but I've got it 0acked up to move right now and I've been playing my Avenger currently since I love drop C atm

 

[DiezelMonster]

What you said @MaxOfMetal

What is overhyped are the people who just want to hate on Gibson it's so boring and predictable.

I feel like folks who say this just don't keep up with the brands and only think of the reissue/VOS stuff vs. the whole product catalog.

Not to mention in Fender's case, they tend to offer certain, more contemporary specs through sub-brands.

I'd say no mainstream guitar company has innovated as much as Gibson or Fender, and not just in the early days but even in the last couple decades.

Have all those ideas been successful? Of course not, but that's how innovation works. You try something novel and with purpose and hope it pans out, it usually doesn't, for a lot of reasons.

Just in the last two decades we've seen multiple attempts at hot swappable pickups, plug and play modular electronics, ethically and sustainably sourced woods, alternative materials, built-in digital and hexaphonic pickup schemes, hardware with greater user adjustability, adjustable scales, continuation of the transposing trem, new types of low impedance pickups, and plenty more. That doesn't even include mainstream application of multi-scale and headless.

 

[Ross82]

Nice man! always cool to have a discussion about this stuff, I appreciate your reply I've got a 2020 Regius Gothic 6 - it's a bloody sick guitar, and maybe I got lucky out of the box, but my 2009 Horizon is equal to it. the neck thing is entirely subjective, I just find the Regius neck slightly too wide from side to side for my hands, so I get a little more strain from it.

What mayo do you play? Also I do still need to add a Regius Core to my arsenal haha, the extra carve on top makes a world of difference so perhaps it's an unfair comparison between the flattop Regius and carved Horizon.

as for BKP, I had some Blackhawks, Warpigs (C) and Nailbombs. I liked the Blackhawks the least, then the Nailbombs. the warpigs were pretty cool, but I've basically uniformly swapped them out for an SD Nazgul/Sentient set in the respective guitars, which is my go to set.

I have a Regius 7 Core V24 with Lundgren M7's, fantastic guitar and plays very well. I have an E-II ST-1 which is no where near the same level as either the Mayones or my Caparison. It had a neck pocket too deep to the point that the Floyd sat so low in the trem cavity it couldn't be properly intonated as the saddles would hit the end of the pickguard. A shim fixed it just fine but the fact it left factory like that amazed me, that and the fact that there's over spray on some frets. Admittedly it's the first E-II I've had but since they're supposed to be exactly the same as previous ESP line I was quite surprised. I had late 90's and early 2000's ESP's that were complete workhorses though and I couldn't fault them, I curse the day I sold them but that's life.

BKP I have are Nailbombs in the Caparison which really work well in that guitar. They were the first BKP I ever played and I was pleasantly surprised since I was sure I'd be doing an EMG drop in, but they're articulate and punchy enough that I dont see the need. The only thing I dont care for in them is split coil tones but I'm really not a fan of that in any pickup. The other set I have are Rebel Yells in a PRS Singlecut and they are superb for rock/blues tones, especially the neck position.

I've had Sentient/Nasgul on my "to try" list for a while now, everything I've heard from them sounds like they fit my pallet so I may well look for a guitar with them for my next acquisition. Maybe a Duvell Elite but I'm also eyeing up Aviators and Skeversen's so we'll see. I'm also very curious to try an ESP USA with the configurator thing but they really dont have much variation within a model for me, you cant take out the inlays, change the headstock etc. so it would have to be a full Custom Shop ESP which I can only imagine would cost a fucking fortune and take a long time to build. I may be wrong but I seem to recall hearing that they're in a 18 month turnaround or something like that.

 

[TheBlackBard]

Jazzmasters dont have neck dive either .

With headless, you cant get that awesome screech of raking the strings past the nut under distortion, so that's a (niche) L.

This. I actually like doing that.

 

[Solomon Monagle]

I've owned two Mayones - one a Regius 6, one a Regius Core 7.

I got to say, I agree to a certain extent. The Regius was a great sounding guitar and played very well, but the Schaller Hannes bridge on it had been set up incorrectly, imho, to the point where the low E string would make this horrible "bong" sound if you every picked it without palm muting. Drove me crazy.

The Regis Core 7, on the other hand, is God's gift to 7 strings. It is absolutely hands down one of the best crafted and playing 7s I have ever handled. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating.

I think, like all other brands therefore, it pays to try the guitar out instead of buying off the Internet.

Thanks for your insights mate, always good to hear from people

I have a Regius 7 Core V24 with Lundgren M7's, fantastic guitar and plays very well. I have an E-II ST-1 which is no where near the same level as either the Mayones or my Caparison. It had a neck pocket too deep to the point that the Floyd sat so low in the trem cavity it couldn't be properly intonated as the saddles would hit the end of the pickguard. A shim fixed it just fine but the fact it left factory like that amazed me, that and the fact that there's over spray on some frets. Admittedly it's the first E-II I've had but since they're supposed to be exactly the same as previous ESP line I was quite surprised. I had late 90's and early 2000's ESP's that were complete workhorses though and I couldn't fault them, I curse the day I sold them but that's life.

BKP I have are Nailbombs in the Caparison which really work well in that guitar. They were the first BKP I ever played and I was pleasantly surprised since I was sure I'd be doing an EMG drop in, but they're articulate and punchy enough that I dont see the need. The only thing I dont care for in them is split coil tones but I'm really not a fan of that in any pickup. The other set I have are Rebel Yells in a PRS Singlecut and they are superb for rock/blues tones, especially the neck position.

I've had Sentient/Nasgul on my "to try" list for a while now, everything I've heard from them sounds like they fit my pallet so I may well look for a guitar with them for my next acquisition. Maybe a Duvell Elite but I'm also eyeing up Aviators and Skeversen's so we'll see. I'm also very curious to try an ESP USA with the configurator thing but they really dont have much variation within a model for me, you cant take out the inlays, change the headstock etc. so it would have to be a full Custom Shop ESP which I can only imagine would cost a fucking fortune and take a long time to build. I may be wrong but I seem to recall hearing that they're in a 18 month turnaround or something like that.

Nice as, I've been meaning to get onto some Lundgren's for a while, am contemplating swapping the Nazgul/Sentient out of my Regius for them. Interesting about the E-II, although it doesn't altogether shock me - despite supposedly being the same line, as soon as ESP took their name off the headstock, the quality was always going to drop - not on every guitar, but there are more errors consistently on E-II's. I've got a couple of late 2000's Horizons and they're what I'm comparing the Regius to, they're absolute machines.

Nailbombs sound great, what woods are the Capa?

The Sentient/Nazgul set are great, but imo work better in a darker guitar. The mid-bump works really well in mahogany, but I find they combine to be a little bit much in something brighter like swamp ash (hence considering swapping them out of the Regius.) The chugs on the Nazgul are sick, grindy and guttural low mids really shine there. And hahaha I know the pain, eyeing off an ESP Custom is so tempting but pricey and testing waiting that long.

 

[Ross82]

Thanks for your insights mate, always good to hear from people


Nice as, I've been meaning to get onto some Lundgren's for a while, am contemplating swapping the Nazgul/Sentient out of my Regius for them. Interesting about the E-II, although it doesn't altogether shock me - despite supposedly being the same line, as soon as ESP took their name off the headstock, the quality was always going to drop - not on every guitar, but there are more errors consistently on E-II's. I've got a couple of late 2000's Horizons and they're what I'm comparing the Regius to, they're absolute machines.

Nailbombs sound great, what woods are the Capa?

The Sentient/Nazgul set are great, but imo work better in a darker guitar. The mid-bump works really well in mahogany, but I find they combine to be a little bit much in something brighter like swamp ash (hence considering swapping them out of the Regius.) The chugs on the Nazgul are sick, grindy and guttural low mids really shine there. And hahaha I know the pain, eyeing off an ESP Custom is so tempting but pricey and testing waiting that long.

The Caparison is Mahogany body, one piece Maple neck with Ebony board. I had the same guitar back around 2004/2005 with EMG's and I absolutely loved it, I saw this one pop up on the 'Verb and jumped straight on it. There's a couple of FX Dellingers and Horus that I have my eye on too, I pretty much never use a trem despite half my guitars having floating trems that I have blocked except for the E-II, so my next one is going to be a Hipshot fixed for sure, just so much easier to maintain.

The Lundgren's were very impressive too, first time playing them and I was again pleasantly surprised. Interestingly the neck pickup on clean is very sweet. That guitar is tuned to G and on high gain it never gets too muddy or incoherent.

 

[Solomon Monagle]

The Caparison is Mahogany body, one piece Maple neck with Ebony board. I had the same guitar back around 2004/2005 with EMG's and I absolutely loved it, I saw this one pop up on the 'Verb and jumped straight on it. There's a couple of FX Dellingers and Horus that I have my eye on too, I pretty much never use a trem despite half my guitars having floating trems that I have blocked except for the E-II, so my next one is going to be a Hipshot fixed for sure, just so much easier to maintain.

The Lundgren's were very impressive too, first time playing them and I was again pleasantly surprised. Interestingly the neck pickup on clean is very sweet. That guitar is tuned to G and on high gain it never gets too muddy or incoherent.

Sounds great, mahogany-maple-ebony is a tried and true classic for a reason. There's some decent deals around atm on a couple of Caparisons for sure, I'm not entirely sure of the Ash-Maple half and half body but it can't hurt to try.

That's really good to hear, all I really look for in a neck is a half decent clean tone so will definitely add them to the shopping list.

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

Not a particular brand, but I don't understand people who feel they need certain things otherwise they can't play the guitar - scale length, fanned frets, evertunes etc. Most of the best songs ever written, in all genres, were played on guitars with more 'traditional' specs.

Lots of this shit isn't mentioned outside of gear forums..and let's be honest. Gear forums are often full of people who demand certain specs and super specific things, just so they can play in their bedrooms and do nothing that'll be heard by anyone.

People just like to word-jerk about gear on forums. It always amazes me how lots of great musicians aren't that picky and some don't know shit about gear..

 

[John]

Not a particular brand, but I don't understand people who feel they need certain things

Not so much in terms of a specific need. But seeing how pricey guitars can be and how fast it adds up at times, I can understand how others would be adamant with certain preferences over others. I mean, why burn that much money if you're only partially satisfied vs completely satisfied. This goes for certain specs, aesthetics including shapes, among a variety of other things.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Lots of this shit isn't mentioned outside of gear forums..and let's be honest. Gear forums are often full of people who demand certain specs and super specific things, just so they can play in their bedrooms and do nothing that'll be heard by anyone.

People just like to word-jerk about gear on forums. It always amazes me how lots of great musicians aren't that picky and some don't know shit about gear..

Preach.