#1 worst...guitar you ever owned

[ye olde fretmonkey]

For me it'd probably be the Les Paul copy I started out on. Semi hollow body with a veneer top, cheapo electronics, puny single coils under big humbucker covers, disintegrating pot-metal saddles, tuners with plastic keys that would break off and you'd have to tune with pliers on the shafts.

Miserable.

[Colo Springs E]

.....a no-name SG copy bought at KMart I think.

Had inch-high action but who knows maybe it could've been set up to play okay. I also didn't have an amp or strap, but I could still do some killer air guitar with it. LOL

I will say, the worst SOUNDING guitar I've had in recent memory was a G&L ASAT Z-3. I like G&Ls in general, but man those Z-3 pickups literally hurt my ears. It was the harshest sounding guitar I can ever recall hearing. Here's a pic, it was a cool looking axe:

[Oskar]

it was my old Silvertone, single pickup with the amp in the case. Let me preface my rant with the fact that I know these guitars are quite desirable these days by a lot of people, and they fetch around $300. That's fine, but my experience is based on owning one in 1964.
It was the laughing stock of all my friends, especially when I plugged in my case
It wouldn't stay in tune, buzzed on all frets, hummed like a dynamo, impossible to intonate, and had a neck that felt like an unsanded 2x4. It cost me a very hard earned $75 and it was all I could afford at the time, but It also helped me learn how to play guitar. However, I wouldn't take one today if you gave it to me. I've played some since and that same nauseous feeling would come over me.
And as far as they being desirable today, I really can't think of any one guitarist of either fame, or non-fame that uses one as his/her regular guitar. If there is, well, they may know something I never learned.

[txspreacher]

Ovation...I know some folks love 'em, but I just never got used to it. Learned a valuable lesson - wood makes tone, not plastic.

[Suitor_Stu]

ive not owned a 'worst' guitar to be honest!!! I learned on a japanese Columbus Les Paul copy - one from the 70s which was my dads first one! - it was make out of plywood, but the 'humbuckers' were very low output, and sounded just like a teles!!! I still play that guitar now, 5years on even tho ive got an 84 MIJ tele and other 'better' guitars!

Ive always thought its a bit strange that we all learn on crappy guitars with poor tuning, intonation and action, then graduate to better ones!! Surely we NEED better playability when were starting out??!!

Stu

[Chris S.]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

the worst SOUNDING guitar I've had in recent memory was a G&L ASAT Z-3. I like G&Ls in general, but man those Z-3 pickups literally hurt my ears. It was the harshest sounding guitar I can ever recall hearing.

Another example of different strokes for different folks. ;-) Next to my Barden-equipped Nocaster Relic, my G&L ASAT Z-3 Semi-hollow is easily the BEST SOUNDING (non-archtop) electric I own. I think the Z-3 pickups are one of Leo's finest designs. And I often refer to my Z-3SH as the "Swiss Army knife of guitars," because it not only produces so many different tones, but so many GREAT ones. :-)

You say "puh-TAY-toe," I say brilliant innovation... ;-) Hee. – CS

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by Chris S.

Another example of different strokes for different folks. ;-) Next to my Barden-equipped Nocaster Relic, my G&L ASAT Z-3 Semi-hollow is easily the BEST SOUNDING (non-archtop) electric I own.

......I think it's possible that the Z-3s don't do well in a solid state setup too (as you can see in my pic, I have a solid state PV head). I dunno, only thing I know is they sounded... CAUSTIC. I will say, people either seem to love 'em or hate 'em, and (so far) I'm definitely in the "hate 'em" camp--but as you say, diff'rent strokes!

take care, -Eric

[Durtdog]

Ephiphone electric, don't remember the model. It had a set neck that wobbled in the breeze. At its worst, you could have shot arrows with it.

[RevMike]

A few years back, my wife bought me a Lotus mini Les Paul Copy. Nice looking littl axe, but wouldn't stay in tune for anything. Pickups sounded awful too. It has been hanging on my wall for the last 8 years or so. Finally, after fooling around with a Mandobird, (another surprise from the wife), I got an idea. I found the slinkiest possible strings I could find, restrung it and tuned it EBGDAE. Basically a mando tuning with a low E and B. Haven't quite figured out what to do with the low E & B yet. But it sounds much better now.

[geddins]

I had an Epi Strat copy years and years ago....picked it up at a pawn shop, for serioius cheap.....come to find out, I still took a beatin on it.

Pups were bad, neck was worse....I never could get it to set in after adjustments. Gave it away

[Joel66]

Any guitar that I'm not playing well that night.

[robb3566]

Oh, i had a really bad one once. I bought it for $25 [too much] because it looked weird. I wish i had a picture of it.... think it was made in the 60s...mildew-green sunburst, a bunch of switches, four huge chrome pickups that you could talk into and be heard quite clearly through your amp....a warped neck, weighed about 20 lbs, and no name on the headstock [i don't blame them, if i had made this guitar, i'd have been too ashamed to put my name on it too]. I ended up giving it to my downstairs neighbor who wanted to learn to play. I hope it didn't discourage him entirely.

[Mike D.]

When I first read this thread I thought it was about the worst "good" guitar you ever owned. Here's mine, a '95 Fender 62 RI Strat. Vintage white with a RW board. I lusted after it in the display case at Bill's Music in Baltimore for months. Everytime I would go near the store I would check to see that they still had it. One day I traded a bunch of gear and some cash for it. I took it home and gave it my best set up. I could never get to intonate properly, the tone was really thin and I could never make it play the way I wanted. I traded it straight up at a GC a couple years later for a brand new Lonestar Strat that is a great guitar. I still have it and gig with it all of the time.

Second place would be a '77 sunburst LP. It had the sunburst on the back of the neck. A horrible POS that never should have been called a LP, other than the fact that it looked like one.

[asatbender]

i got one of those for a back up beater guitar after reading a review in a magazine.

[David Barnett]

Technically, the worst would have to be my first, a Vox Student Prince. The huge neck with a strong V-profile was really hostile for what was supposed to be a beginner's instrument.

But as far as outright hatred goes, I've owned two Les Paul Customs at various points in my life, and both of them were dull lifeless planks that gave nothing back.

[Blazer]

An Ibanez 2650 Black Beauty Les Paul Custom three Humbucker model, made according to its serial number in 1977.



I hope that somebody can explain to me exactly what it is that makes people say that they were on one par with real gibsons from the same eara. I bought it because of its killer looks and playability but I quickly found out that this beauty was a beast.

Because of the crappy tuners keeping it in tune was impossible, the pickups sounded weak and howled like crazy and the saddles in the bridge chewed up strings faster than I could afford to buy new ones.

I didn't own that one for long and allthough I still consider the Les Paul Custom one of the most beautiful guitars out there, I wouldn't want my Ibanez back for a million bucks.
.

[Twangmeister]

This was the all-black one w/white binding, a la Pete Townshend. It had a Floyd Rose locking trem that never, NEVER stayed in tune. Godawful. I had to pay someone to take it away.

Of course, i can take a great guitar and make it sound pretty awful under the proper circumstances, hee-hee.

[maestrovert]

t'was a G****n "L6S"....followed real REAL close by an "L5".......no tone, necks limber and/or warping, BAD frets etc.....put me offa Gypsums for a LONG time....
one of the BEST guitars i ever had was a no name (Italian?) hollowbody violin shaped 6 string with a faux Bigsby and a rosewood board with block inlays and a zero fret....absolutely DEVESTATING tone and playability....picked it up for $25.00 , i gave it away to a friend's kid who was interested in learning......wishin' i had it back now...

[string slinger]

It was my first, a black cortez lp copy. I put sperzels on and and they honestly cost more than the guitar. But at 13 I thought I had arrived :D

[Smokin' Joe Picante]

A Paul Reed Smith goldtop. I had wanted one forever and finally bought one off friend a few years back. A dead ringer for the "Dave Grissom" guitar. I LOVE goldtops (as in my avatar), and the "Grissom guitar" was like my grail. Beautiful guitar, played great, stayed in tune ... but only had one sound. The rear bucker was AMAZING for solo's but that's the only sound this guitar would produce well. The bridge sounded like crapola when clean and the neck pickup had absolutely no funk, clean or dirty. I tried three different pickups in the bridge and neck, and about a half dozen wiring schemes with each. NADA. NOTHING. It just plain sounded flat until you hit the go button and started soloing.

It broke my heart! The guitar looked and played SO good, but I couldn't justify having a guitar of that value for literally ONE sound. It was great for cutting solo's in the studio, but useless live. Not that I didn't try! But it got so bad that my drummer would just glare at me when I'd sheepishly drag it out of the gig bag to give it another try after fiddling with it yet again. He just knew it wasn't going to cut it, and told me one day "man, just let it go, o.k.!? I know you like it, but it sounds like dung most of the night, and you're driving us all crazy trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Let it go."

I traded it straight up for a Mary Kay Strat that I have to this day, and it's my BEST sounding guitar for clean playing and blues. The guy I traded with called after six weeks wanting to know if I would trade back. No way!

[BB]

I've been blessed in that the 40 or so guitars I've owned over my lifetime have all been good and served a particular purpose. Some were "less expensive" than others, but were still good, functional guitars. The worst of the lot were my first stella acoustic and a Lyle Hollowbody 335 copy. In the upper end, when my Ibanez AS200 was stolen, I could not find another, so I replaced it with an Ibanez AM205. The AM205 could not hold a candle to the AS200 as far as tone and build quality. I was lucky enough to trade it straight across for a Gibson Firebird.

[Joe-Bob]

Squire 51.


Took it back the next day.

[JJRaccoon]

I had a Carvin that was made from Koa and had a floyd rose. It was pretty to look at but it didn't have a soul, it was a hotdogger guitar. I had an American fat strat that never grew on me and a Tacoma Roadking that was beautiful and sounded great but was a dog to play. I love my lite ash telecaster but the neck isn't perfect so I gonna switch that. The best guitar I've ever had and still have is an Alvarez acoustic koa dreadnought. It's the best sounding acoustic guitar I've ever heard - I'll never part with it.

[Roel from Holland]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

......I think it's possible that the Z-3s don't do well in a solid state setup too (as you can see in my pic, I have a solid state PV head). I dunno, only thing I know is they sounded... CAUSTIC. I will say, people either seem to love 'em or hate 'em, and (so far) I'm definitely in the "hate 'em" camp--but as you say, diff'rent strokes!

take care, -Eric

My Z3 sounds great with my Fender ProJunior and my Dr. Z Z28. It doesn't sound good with my Holland Little Jimi.