$20 Guitar?

GreenMachine · 28-03-2008, 12:36 PM

Hey guys,

Decided about 10 minutes ago that I need to get another electric guitar - Had a Telecaster years back, sold it and the Marshall when I stopped playing gigs etc, just kept my acoustic and my dobro.

Apparently now that I have a house and project cars and expensive habits, I can't afford to buy a decent guitar. Or even a replica of a decent guitar..

What I can afford is this beast here:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWA:IT&ih=010

Now obviously this won't be quite the same as a mid 70's American Tele, but how bad can it possibly be? It'll be used solely for playing on the back verandah, through a ~15w amp.

Anyone got one of these uber-budget appliances? Any tips? Basically all I need to know is if they produce sound, that they're not made from polystyrene and that the necks don't look like a skate ramp...

(Don't tell me to go buy a Squire or anything - I don't even have enough spare cash to go to that level...)

Thanks!!

NH

snakeoil · 28-03-2008, 12:43 PM

dude biggest hassle with cheap guitars is they will not hold tune for very long..........if ever My nephew got a fender guitar pack for Xmas that has a reasonable strat copy that plays OK
gav 1975 ibanez SG 3 owned from new!!!

GreenMachine · 28-03-2008, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snakeoil

dude biggest hassle with cheap guitars is they will not hold tune for very long..........if ever My nephew got a fender guitar pack for Xmas that has a reasonable strat copy that plays OK
gav 1975 ibanez SG 3 owned from new!!!

Fair enough... Is that a machine head issue, or warpage/massive failure issue? I could always put a decent set of pegs on it down the track...

(I blame FordForums for this ridiculous mod bug - I've been thinking about buying a $30 guitar for 16 minutes now and I'm already posting about modding it..)

Karnage · 28-03-2008, 12:48 PM

Dont forget its going to need a limited edition kustom paint job!

FlipXW · 28-03-2008, 12:51 PM

Mate for the price that it will sell for, probably <$50, just buy it. If it sounds like sh!t or breaks within a week just put it down to experience. If it decent enough for a bit of fun then your laughing.

muppet · 28-03-2008, 03:01 PM

I have a few guitar students with these type of guitars (not the same brand just the cheap kind). They are kind of ok for a 10 or 12 year old as their first guitar but you will never get decent sound out of it. They are made out of really crappy wood and sound very thin and weak , they also feel like cr@p to play. If you were used to playing a tele then I would say you would be disappointed with this guitar and very soon be thinking man a $500 guitar would be nice. Then after you got the $500 one you would soon start thinking well that $5000 one would be nice lol. Kind of like cars really always something better to get.
Do you're self a favour and save some more money and get a nice second hand Ibanez or a Squire or something like that.

rodderz · 28-03-2008, 09:30 PM

I suppose like anything you get what you pay for. Brand new at that price, I wouldnt be expecting much. The pickups would be pretty much rubbish and the sound would be terrible, cheapies have a very "twangy" cheap sort of sound. Not only that, but the action and playability isnt as good as a decent axe.

Like above, I would spend a tad extra, maybe not in the $100's if you can't afford it, but get a 2nd hand "decent" guitar. The extra money would be worth it.

I wouldnt trust a brand new guitar for $20...imagine the parts that would be used. If it stuffs up, your back to buying a new one anyway

Nikked · 28-03-2008, 09:36 PM

I bought a Aria Acustic for $90, best buy i had it played well, untill the bridige started to lift away from the body.

For 100-250 w\you can get a casion or whatnot to muck around on. actually $20 sounds like these 'wooloworths' guitars so many legends played when they were young.

On cheap guitars also, my magnum that cost $300 is very good, its tone is nice, it plays well, i was surprised, even my Jackson is left unplayed because of the mighty Magnum!

JamesR · 29-03-2008, 01:10 AM

i just bought an LTD M200-FM, cherry red, stock EMGs, fixed bridge. $465.
i love ebay.
now to find a new amp...

Geez Louise · 29-03-2008, 01:17 AM

Greenmachine...got a couple of guitars that you can have for $20.

One has a sweet sound...the other is a learners guitar...pm me if you want.

HLC · 29-03-2008, 10:43 AM

for that piece of rubbish lol

depends how high you like the action, how much filler you like in the neck/fingerboard, unfiled frets across the top and bottom of the fingerboard and a tremelo that will send your guitar out of tune everytime you use it...

if you can tolerate that, then go for it! :P

anyway speaking of NICE guitars, im looking at getting a custom RAN built for me. they are based in poland and do some real nice work. www.ranguitars.com i got a quote on the Pat O'brien Signature guitar with a few added bits. $3700 landed at my door.

muppet · 29-03-2008, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLC

for that piece of rubbish lol

depends how high you like the action, how much filler you like in the neck/fingerboard, unfiled frets across the top and bottom of the fingerboard and a tremelo that will send your guitar out of tune everytime you use it...

if you can tolerate that, then go for it! :P

anyway speaking of NICE guitars, im looking at getting a custom RAN built for me. they are based in poland and do some real nice work. www.ranguitars.com i got a quote on the Pat O'brien Signature guitar with a few added bits. $3700 landed at my door.

Man thats a nice guitar.
What extra bits are you getting , a neck pickup perhaps?
The only other thing I would change is the nut width ,I would go for 43 mm , 42 just dosen't do it for me.

HLC · 30-03-2008, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muppet

Man thats a nice guitar.
What extra bits are you getting , a neck pickup perhaps?
The only other thing I would change is the nut width ,I would go for 43 mm , 42 just dosen't do it for me.

yeah a neck pick up, EMG 89, as well as associated hardware, switch, extra vol knob. and LED fret dots cause i can lol

i want it for my 21st, obvisouly a big communal present, but i couldnt wait the 10-12 months. it would kill me!

im use to playing my Epi Limited Edition Les Paul and Gibson SG, so i want something a lil' different and faster this time lol and with a floyd!!! as much of a pain they are to set up and all though!

muppet · 31-03-2008, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLC

yeah a neck pick up, EMG 89, as well as associated hardware, switch, extra vol knob. and LED fret dots cause i can lol

i want it for my 21st, obvisouly a big communal present, but i couldnt wait the 10-12 months. it would kill me!

im use to playing my Epi Limited Edition Les Paul and Gibson SG, so i want something a lil' different and faster this time lol and with a floyd!!! as much of a pain they are to set up and all though!

21 and you are getting aguitar like that , you ( insert rude word starting in f and ending in r here lol).
I am 38 and I still lust after guitars like this. The best I have is my jap Jackson , it's a realy nice guitar to play though.

This is my other baby my my custom made (by me lol) flying v with twin emg 81's and kahler floyd rose.

If you are used to playing Gibsons then be in for a bit of a shock. These sort of guitars are a different breed , thin skinny necks , flat fret boards. It will have you playing faster than you ever thought you could. And regarding the floyd rose , once set up they dont go out of tune and are no problems at all. Just dont think you can change tuneings without setting the whole thing up again. And dont change strings just before a gig or band prac. You need to give them a day to settle.

SirJuggsalot · 29-03-2008, 12:37 PM

yeah im looking at buying a cheap guitar, too. This one costs a little more, is it worth the extra $100 or would I be better of buying a 2nd hand one?

Rob

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/elec...er-style-black

muppet · 29-03-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirJuggsalot

yeah im looking at buying a cheap guitar, too. This one costs a little more, is it worth the extra $100 or would I be better of buying a 2nd hand one?

Rob

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/elec...er-style-black

You are better off getting a guitar you can have a go of first. If it feels ok to play then it should be ok. I have found that even two of the same guitars will play differently. My $1500 jap Jackson played better than the $4000 us one that was sitting next to it at the shop. I allways think you are better off getting a good name brand second hand guitar than one of those cheap chinese ones.

amisupposed2b · 30-03-2008, 12:33 AM

To be honest, with guitars I feel that you get what you pay for. I still have my first guitar from years ago, its a fender replica, I paid something like 150$, she still sounds alright, doesnt hold tune for more than 2 hours of playing. Not really gig worthy, but great to practice on or learn.

rodderz · 31-03-2008, 07:41 AM

lol... yeah the Floyd's are great once strings have stopped stretching they hold the tune after heaving playing and doing big dives on the whammy bar, but they can be a pain if there is a sudden change in temp and they expand/contract or they drop in tune more than the fine tuners can alter it, time to reach for the allen key again and set it all up again!

I have a fender strat and play gibsons a bit and after playing them the Jackson is so easy in comparison to play fast over the fretboard. All guitars have their uses though, I find the Jacksons and those style guitars dont compare to a clean good tone of a strat or a warm distorted tone of a les paul when playing bluesy stuff

GS608 · 31-03-2008, 08:11 AM

my ibanez has a floater in it, and i wanted to start playing in drop tuning (impossible with a floyd rose) but i found this, only cost me $100 and its the best thing ive bought in a long time, its called a tremol-no, basically it replaces some parts in the rear and lets you change between floating bridge, hard tail or dive only, works a treat.

http://www.tremol-no.com if anyones interested.

with guitars you definitely get what you pay for, of course you can just put better pups in it, probably even change the neck, but its still going to have the cheap body. i'd save up and buy a squire type guitar, or find a cheap used strat or ibanez copy.

GreenMachine · 31-03-2008, 09:27 AM

Decided not to get it at all... Might just start selling internal organs and get the ES-335 I've always wanted...

SpooN XL · 31-03-2008, 10:38 AM

Good idea.

I own a small music shop and the amount of eBay purchased guitars I get coming in for repairs is surprising. 95% of the time they are unfixable, neck issues are the biggest problem. This isn't just a cheap guitar problem many well known brand guitars purchased from eBay are rubbish as well.

I would ask all musicians to visit there local music shop and if they have to buy off eBay choose an authorized dealer.

My 2c