What Does a "Workhorse Guitar" Mean to You?

guitaardvark

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To me it means a silly phrase.
I originally asked the question because every guitar sale ad in recorded history says something to the effect of "This is a workhorse guitar that plays like butter" and both phrases have essentially lost meaning to me because of overuse/ambiguity. I have an idea of what each means, but everyone has their own definition for both which was why I was curious what everyone here thought.
 

_MonSTeR_

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To me it means a dependable, reliable low maintenance guitar. Typically without fancy aesthetics, or at least without the need to preserve its looks for the sake of its value or function.

You could have a private stock PRS as a workhorse, but you can’t care if it gets scratched.

When it comes to ‘for sale’ adverts I think workhorse often just means ‘it’s got lots of scratches and paint chips’ as a way of appealing to people who aren’t looking for adverts that say ‘mint condition’.
 

Anquished

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Personally, I'd say a workhorse guitar is somethings that's simple and reliable.

It doesn't have to look fancy or have a ton of tonal options. Also I would stretch it to guitars which may or may not have been beat up a little. My S2 is scratched to death by it's previous owner but it is simple, reliable and sounds fantastic - that's my workhorse.
 

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diagrammatiks

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I originally asked the question because every guitar sale ad in recorded history says something to the effect of "This is a workhorse guitar that plays like butter" and both phrases have essentially lost meaning to me because of overuse/ambiguity. I have an idea of what each means, but everyone has their own definition for both which was why I was curious what everyone here thought.

It means it’s rekt but still plays so don’t whine afterwards about a random scratch. That’s it.
 

budda

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Just sayin I don’t see why you’d “have” to pay more than that to get something reliable to gig with for most styles of music. If we’re talking brand new, I’d say like $850 tops.

If I’m looking at guitars over that range I know I’m not looking for a reliable tool to complete a job. Im shopping for a new toy. And that’s okay!

Oh you absolutely don't have to pay more than $350USD or whatever a used MIM standard fender goes for.

I'm just trying to illustrate that writing off higher priced guitars that also fit the description is silly.
 

MaxOfMetal

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I originally asked the question because every guitar sale ad in recorded history says something to the effect of "This is a workhorse guitar that plays like butter" and both phrases have essentially lost meaning to me because of overuse/ambiguity. I have an idea of what each means, but everyone has their own definition for both which was why I was curious what everyone here thought.

There's ambiguity because it's an ambiguous/arbitrary concept that has a lot to do with the needs and preferences of the individual player.

Which means there can be significant variation of the guitars referred to as such.
 

guitaardvark

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There's ambiguity because it's an ambiguous/arbitrary concept that has a lot to do with the needs and preferences of the individual player.

Which means there can be significant variation of the guitars referred to as such.
I hope I'm not sounding like I'm mocking the phrase or those who use it. It's interesting to see that everyone has their own similar if not slightly varied definition of it, although I still think it's a little bit useless in a for sale ad because of this.
 

stevexc

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I think it comes from the perspective of "workhorse" vs "showhorse". A showhorse guitar is the one you pamper and show off and sink your money into keeping it looking pretty - it's the guitar you take out for special occasions. It may have issues, it may not be perfect functionally, but damn does it look pretty. A workhorse is the opposite - it's the one you rely on to get things done. Aesthetics are secondary to function and reliability. I don't think price has anything to do with it, it's what's valued more on that guitar - form or function.
 

MaxOfMetal

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I hope I'm not sounding like I'm mocking the phrase or those who use it. It's interesting to see that everyone has their own similar if not slightly varied definition of it, although I still think it's a little bit useless in a for sale ad because of this.

It is useless.

Just like saying something has a AAAAAAAA top, it's not an official grading term, or that the plastic laminates are still on pickups or cover plays, they don't protect much.

Same with calling stuff "mint". Most of the time, it's not.
 

Un1corn

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I would say Ibanez RG350 to Schecter Sd 2 24 is the ''workhorse' range for me.The RG350 is the budget guitar,which is basically the minimum price you could find for a stable, useable Floyd rose guitar.schecter Sd24 has excellent Japanese crafting quality and feels very nice.It has a variety of sound which is best for recording some light rock songs or pop songs.it could go for heavy music but I might use a metal-oriented guitar.I mainly write Prog metal and record them using my Ormsby ,so Sd24 is my workhorse for trying out great riffs and record some solos and crunchy strumming.
 

Descent

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Think of Curt Cobain's idea of "workhorse" guitar, I probably never play anything like that onstage cause it'll keep on going out of tune...not that I'd mind having one of his for the resale value :)
 

HUGH JAYNUS

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Able to pick it up and play with minimal to zero setup (tuning or other adjustments).

Whether it's just to flesh out an idea you have or laying down a demo, just to do a quick practice, or teaching a band member a peice.

It gets used the most, and you dont have to really plan on anything specific to use it. It just needs to be ready to go at any given moment. It can be a cheap peice of crap, or it can cost more than your car. Like the name says, it's ready to put in work
 

HUGH JAYNUS

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Which when i was in my band, my best workhorses were an Ibanez RG1570 for 6 string songs, and an RG1527 for 7 strings.

And a couple examples why:

I had an Ibanez S i loved, but it was only a 21 fret. And i had some songs which required the 24, or it just was easier to play a couple sections on the RG.

Also for recording they were both had the trems blocked. And the held tuning perfectly.

I had multiple other models, but those two just always seemed to be ready to go 24/7 and NEVER let me down
 

JohnIce

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My family has had horses all my life, for competing. It's absolutely nuts the amount of work is required, several hours a day strictly time-regimented, copious amounts of veterinary and dietary scrutiny and of course lots and lots of physical training. It's like training an olympic athlete that, on its own, has the intelligence of a toddler. Even the slightest irregularity in the horse's step needs to be identified and corrected before it turns into an injury that can completely ruin the horse's potential to compete, cause astronomical veterinary bills or at worst require the poor horse to be put down. If you think having a beloved pet dog put down is bad enough, imagine it also being worth the price of a new car.

A "workhorse" is basically the opposite of all that. It just does what you need it to, and the rest of the time it just eats grass and poops and minds its own business.

All of this is applicable to guitars :lol: I'll echo what others have said, a guitar needing minimal maintenance that gives you peace of mind to just play, that's a workhorse guitar.
 

FILTHnFEAR

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Workhorse for me is my 1527. Awesome build quality, stable tuning, great sounding, plain finish, no bells and whistles, and not the end of existence if it's scratched or chipped. It's also my main guitar.
 

Mathemagician

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As an example my ESP M-1. Single emg, fixed bridge, either play it or put it away.

Don’t have to spend time “dialing it in” or worrying about “rolling off the tone knob” or “checking intonation on the G string when I pick at a 29* angle or less at the trem saddle”.

If it gets dinged I’ll be super mad for like a minute but hey it’s mine and I’m not selling it since it sounds and play great and it’s not a $6k PRS “look at this art” guitar so I’m over it by the end of this run on sentence.
 

lurè

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I have an LTD mh 400 that is incredibly good for a 300€ guitar. Stays in tune, has no sharp frets, has a boring greenish finish and sounds absolutely good.

Basically meets all the requirements for a workhorse guitar.
 

p0ke

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My workhorse is my Jackson DK2, which I bought from a friend of a friend for 150€. It was a fire-something model that had a Seymour Duncan Fire-something gain boost, which I stripped from it (along with all unnecessary switches and knobs) and managed to sell for 50€. So now the guitar basically set me back 100€ (which included a nice padded gigbag, a similar one I bought for another guitar for 70€!).
The neck on the guitar is awesome, its' tones are crushing and the licensed floyd stays in tune pretty much as well as a floyd can. It looks pretty torn, since it had many dents already when I bought it + I've removed all but one volume control and pickup switch and taped over the holes (with bright red electrical tape ofc :lol:), but it doesn't matter. It's a perfect rock solid backup guitar :) It actually plays and sounds a bit better than my main guitar (27 fret Ibanez Xiphos), but I don't like the body shape as much, which is why it's just a backup.

So to answer the question: a workhorse guitar is a guitar that isn't really anything fancy but just works.
 
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