What is The Lexus of Guitars?

[Nightside]

Paragon Music of Tampa would not let you put a fingerprint on an instrument if you were not buying it. If I remember though they only sold a couple brands, including BC Rich, which pissed me off that I could not handle one myself. I also think they quit selling guitars a few years back; might even be closed now.

Having worked at GC, that was dependent of stock. Most of the time low end models came in batches so we could sell from the back, but there was little to no such thing as a "demo discount". But I also worked at a giant store who held the line. Higher end stuff and platinum room instruments you could play all day but had to buy whatever was on the floor because it was likely the only one. Same thing with Sam Ash. And people working there handle everything so it's almost unheard of that anything is untouched.

Well, in the spirit of comparing autos to guitars, it makes sense based on country of origin (even if manufactured somewhere else). I'd want to say ESPs are higher up than a Lexus, but I guess that makes sense with the Original Series, which are excellent.

For the OP: what kind of guitar are you looking for and how much are you trying to spend? MIJ Fender, Jackson, Charvel are all solid, S2 series PRS or a good deal on a used Core model; ESP E-II might be the best bang for the buck. I've had phenomenal luck with Ormsby, but I've read others who have not. What you want may not always be available. Ibanez premium might be worth a look, but they have been hit or miss for me. I hear you on the Epiphone Ghost Horse; holy crap was that a bad instrument in hand, trying one out in a Sam Ash. The latest Epiphone Les Pauls though, actually pretty good. I bought the JC Wino on the spot because it felt and played excellently, AND stayed in tune!

Also, who are you ordering from? Are these all shipped or are you getting them in store? I'd be very gun shy about ordering online if I had done that and had all the troubles you are encountering.

Dragon Man's place in Colorado is like that but with guns. I wanted to check out a G3 style rifle and the dude was like aRe YoU gOiNg To BuY iT? And I was like how do I know if I want to buy it if I haven't even touched it. YoU dOn'T nEeD tO tOuCh It If YoU rEaLlY wAnT iT yOu JuSt BuY iT. So I was just like I'm not buying anything from this place and left.

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

Dragon Man's place in Colorado is like that but with guns. I wanted to check out a G3 style rifle and the dude was like aRe YoU gOiNg To BuY iT? And I was like how do I know if I want to buy it if I haven't even touched it. YoU dOn'T nEeD tO tOuCh It If YoU rEaLlY wAnT iT yOu JuSt BuY iT. So I was just like I'm not buying anything from this place and left.

That's ridiculous. Some of those shops are insane in FL too; some guy at Shoot Straight Tampa wigged out about me touching a $3500 Remington 700 clone because "I might damage the barrel finish and nobody will buy it". Dude if it's that brittle it wasn't worth selling for that much. He didn't even want me to gently cycle the action (which I did when he turned around, and it was trash). I brought one of my GA Precision competition rifles to the shop to show a friend, same dude saw me and said something snarky because I rattle canned it, that it looked cheap whcih was good because I clearly couldn't handle "high end" firearms. My friend who worked their said, "Really? That's a $10K 1/4 MOA rifle. You can cycle it with two fingers."

If the GC platinum room will let you jam on a $12K Murphy Lab Les Paul, you should be able to at least hold any dang guitar anywhere. I used to ask people to be careful with expensive stuff, take off rings or necklaces other than wedding rings, and nobody had a problem complying. I think people get the "you break it you buy it" concept. If stuff was on the floor for a long time and worn out enough, I would try to get some kind of discount or add stuff to sweeten the deal.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

If stores didn't let me play the "new" stock for funsies I would not own a PRS

 

[BlackMastodon]

ESP is the Lexus of guitars. E-II is the Toyota of guitars. Ibanez J-Custom is the Acura of guitars, and Prestiges are the Honda of guitars.

Came here for this comment, thank you.

 

[technomancer]

Yea, I mean, just that you're making a Japan/American generalization when it's really just a matter of specific shops' policies.

Yep 100%. My last 4 guitars from Japan were all brand new in box, and they weren't $3k+ high end models.

 

[Musiscience]

I’ve never been let down by Suhr. Consistently flawless and if you look at the used market often, you can find some good deals from time to time.

 

[Lemonbaby]

Ibanez?

Anybody go down the route of just getting a cheaper guitar and getting it plek'ed and setup so there is no bullshit?

Yes - several cheap guitars with a new fretjob/setup and new pickups. If you can do some things on your own, you're able to save yourself a loooot of money.

 

[prlgmnr]

What's the Bernie Rico JR of cars?

 

[c7spheres]

The Hydra is the Rat rod of guitars. lol.

 

[SalsaWood]

What's the Bernie Rico JR of cars?

Factory Five lol.

No disrespect to F5 owners.

 

[ItWillDo]

Caparison is definitely the Lexus. Generally great (build) quality, but at a price range at which you're going to look at other/better/more prestigious options.

 

[Lord Voldemort]

The Lexus of guitars? So basically the build quality of a Honda Civic with a pricetag that's 2-3x as much?

Definitely a Gibson Les Paul.

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

What's the Bernie Rico JR of cars?

Factory Five lol.

No disrespect to F5 owners.

I have a different spin on that. BRJ's, in their heyday, were pretty good instruments and not too insanely expensive. The construction got shoddy near the end before he disappeared with all of our money. Also when we discovered how much was made in Mexico and just assembled here, plus the way they were storing bodies before the business died. So overall, they are often good, if not great instruments (give me a Jed Simon Vixen please).

It was the DRIVER at fault, not the car. So BRJ is akin to Ryan Dunn drunk + Porche 911 GT3 = crash into guardrail and burst into flames.

 

[complex-barb.0t]

For the OP: what kind of guitar are you looking for and how much are you trying to spend? MIJ Fender, Jackson, Charvel are all solid, S2 series PRS or a good deal on a used Core model; ESP E-II might be the best bang for the buck. I've had phenomenal luck with Ormsby, but I've read others who have not. What you want may not always be available. Ibanez premium might be worth a look, but they have been hit or miss for me. I hear you on the Epiphone Ghost Horse; holy crap was that a bad instrument in hand, trying one out in a Sam Ash. The latest Epiphone Les Pauls though, actually pretty good. I bought the JC Wino on the spot because it felt and played excellently, AND stayed in tune!

Also, who are you ordering from? Are these all shipped or are you getting them in store? I'd be very gun shy about ordering online if I had done that and had all the troubles you are encountering.

I am looking for a HH or HSH 24 fret guitar or something with an Explorer body shape. Price range I am looking for something around what I paid for the Korina Epiphone I will be sending back ~$1300 retail, maybe a bit more.

When ordering I am going through a few retailers on Reverb usually. The stores in my areas do not give discounts and often don't even have in stock 2/3rds of the brands we are talking here.

I always see PRS mentioned. Seems universally praised. Am I lame for not being able to get over the birds on the fretboard? Also for the folks talking ESP you mean MIJ ESP and nothing in the 'ESP LTD' lineup right? I am not familiar with the E-II line and will check some of those models out.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

I am looking for a HH or HSH 24 fret guitar or something with an Explorer body shape. Price range I am looking for something around what I paid for the Korina Epiphone I will be sending back ~$1300 retail, maybe a bit more.

When ordering I am going through a few retailers on Reverb usually. The stores in my areas do not give discounts and often don't even have in stock 2/3rds of the brands we are talking here.

I always see PRS mentioned. Seems universally praised. Am I lame for not being able to get over the birds on the fretboard? Also for the folks talking ESP you mean MIJ ESP and nothing in the 'ESP LTD' lineup right? I am not familiar with the E-II line and will check some of those models out.

You asked about Lexus but it seems like your budget is Toyota

 

[mastapimp]

What's the Bernie Rico JR of cars?

Tartan Prancer

 

[mastapimp]

Seems like you're asking for a decent performing budget guitar without CQ flaws to buy sight unseen.

I have no problem with made in Mexico Charvel or made in Mexico/Japan Fender. Good hardware, perfect frets/necks, minimal setup or work involved to get them playing great. I have a mexican San Dimas that's pretty damn close in comfort to my USA Guthrie Govan. My 2 Japanese Fenders (HM, Kotzen tele) are indistinguishable from my USA strats, quality-wise.

 

[dmlinger]

The Lexus of guitars? So basically the build quality of a Honda Civic with a pricetag that's 2-3x as much?

Definitely a Gibson Les Paul.

Damn, what did Lexus do to hurt you?

 

[Puttness]

I don't even know what point I was trying to make with the whole "you get a discount for the display model" deal, 4AM brain don't work so good. But at least I see it sparked some interesting discussion.

Now that my brain works, I would say the "standard" ESPs that are still handmade would be Lexus, maybe you could say the more custom models like the Signature Series are a step higher.

 

[Mboogie7]

Used prestige