Have I just been lucky with cheap guitars?

[Cassady]

I stopped in at the local Music Go Round tonight because I noticed that they had a Squier '51 that I wanted to look at. I have a '51 and I've swapped its neck to my Squier Tele; both of them are terrific necks--a comfortable thickness and really nice fretwork.

The one I looked at tonight could have been used as a saw--there were so many frets sticking out past the fretboard. A really bad case of fret sprout.

I have a number of inexpensive guitars: the aforementioned Squier '51 and Standard Tele, an Epiphone Sheraton II and Les Paul and a Silver Creek acoustic. All of them have good frets, no fret sprout and good playable action (though I have some of them setup higher or lower than others).

I was beginning to think that the reports of fret sprout, and other problems with inexpensive instruments, were over reported, but looking at the Squier I did tonight made me think twice.

Have I just been unusually lucky with my inexpensive guitars or did I just find a lemon tonight?

Cassady

[Mark Davis]

I got an SX BASS made in china for $109.95 new thats every bit as good as my $850 HWY1 Jazz Bass. Makes no sense to me they can sell something this good so cheap. But Im not complaining.

[Tim Armstrong]

I think a lot of the fret sprout necks are from lack of humidity in stores, or in the case of used guitars, from lack of humidity wherever the guitar was stored. Necks dry out, frets sprout. You don't see humidifiers in the rooms where the electric guitars are stored at places like GC, only sometimes in the high-end acoustic rooms...

Cheers, Tim

[bendecaster]

I love the less expensive guitars, and also have had pretty darn good luck! Sure you can find crappy ones, but with luck, and a keen eye for detail, you can wade through the crap to the jewels!

[pengipete]

You pick the guitar up and if it's no good you put it back and try another one. That's not luck - it's good judgement.

[Mark Davis]

NO guitar anywhere at any price leaves the factory with fret sprout.

Its caused by the guitar being in a too dry enviroment. The wood shrinks the frets dont so you feel the edges of the frets.

Ive seen it happen on all brands and on all types of necks.

[Nick JD]

You people and your guitars made from dead trees! What do you use for pickguards? Dead animal skin?

[J-man]

I've NEVER seen a guitar with Fret Spout, and I often have a good look at low-end guitars!

Does that make me blessed?

[Mark Davis]

Originally Posted by J-man

I've NEVER seen a guitar with Fret Spout, and I often have a good look at low-end guitars!

Does that make me blessed?

Really then you need to come to the Bakersfield Guitar Center.

They have so many there with really bad fret sprout you almost need boxing gloves to keep from cutting your fingers up.

[J-man]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

Really then you need to come to the Bakersfield Guitar Center.

They have so many there with really bad fret sprout you almost need boxing gloves to keep from cutting your fingers up.

Ah, maybe my lack of experience with fret spout has something to do with the absence of GC in this country.

[sneakyjapan]

I like cheap...

$230.oo yesterday...



$300.oo last month...plus $40.oo to get the wiring fixed...1987 Super Real Greco...



when I put down $200.oo a few months ago for this early 80s Tokai Springy Sound, I got change...



a $300.oo JV strat ... with hard case a couple of years ago...yup, I like em cheap...and I have more.

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

I think a lot of the fret sprout necks are from lack of humidity in stores, or in the case of used guitars, from lack of humidity wherever the guitar was stored. Necks dry out, frets sprout.

I seem to have more of a problem with fret sprout on cheap guitars. When I have a Squier and an American Telecaster sitting next to each other, the Squier gets sprout and the Tele does not. My conclusion: The cheap guitars are sometimes made with wood that is not dry enough. Then as it goes through the normal drying process, it gets fret sprout.

Jim

[bowlfreshener]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

I seem to have more of a problem with fret sprout on cheap guitars. When I have a Squier and an American Telecaster sitting next to each other, the Squier gets sprout and the Tele does not. My conclusion: The cheap guitars are sometimes made with wood that is not dry enough. Then as it goes through the normal drying process, it gets fret sprout.

Jim

I think that is a good point, but I think with some of the guitars, like the Indonesian made Squiers, it may also have something to do with how humid it can get in Indonesia as well, which may also contribute to the wood not being dry enough...

[Bangbang]

Makes me think of my cigars. A few hours out of the humidor and my cigar dries out to the point it will fall apart........20 minutes in a hot car and I may as well toss it.

[studio1087]

I saw a Squier Double Fat Strat (two humbuckers) sell on ebay this week for $7.00 and $40.00 shipping. It was a $.99 no reserve auction with three bidders. It was in good shape. I should have bid. I assumed that it would jump to $125 in the last minute but there were no snipers.

[bowman]

I have a few cheapos at home, and I've had good luck with them, too. As a result of the decent construction and tone they have, most of 'em actually get taken out and played. Of course they aren't quite in the same league as my "real" guitars, but they are closer than you'd think.
sneakyjapan: nice collection of bargains you have there...

[Doug Ferguson]

Originally Posted by Nick JD

You people and your guitars made from dead trees! What do you use for pickguards? Dead animal skin?

No dead trees with these! http://switchmusic.com/guitar_view.aspx?pid=1

[hekawi]

cheap ain't what it used to be.
and i mean that in a good way. computerized equipment and so forth has given us better quality gear in the more affordable price ranges.


by the way, "cheap ain't what it used to be" would be a great title for a country song.

[neocaster]

Originally Posted by pengipete

You pick the guitar up and if it's no good you put it back and try another one. That's not luck - it's good judgement.

+1. If you bought these online, you're lucky. If you picked them because you played them, the only luck was finding it where you looked.

[outbreak]

i got an epi studio dot almost half its already cheap price at a clearance sale. it's one of the best feeling guitars ive played although the volume nob is rather cheap and scratchy at times it feels great

[superlightweigh]

It's not hard to get lucky with cheap or inexpensive guitars any more. I have guitars that were made in Mexico, China, and parts unknown (probably somewhere in Asia). I don't care who put it together, if his name was Pablo, or Kim, or Apu..

The value is unbelievable with some of these. Others, not so much.

[Maggot]

Originally Posted by J-man

Ah, maybe my lack of experience with fret spout has something to do with the absence of GC in this country.

You'd also expect a lot more fret sprout in Bakersfield than Wales because of the climate.

[Intonator]

My 2006 MIM Tele has it.
It was really bad last winter and got better in the summer.
But, was not like it was when I first bought it.

Put a Herco Humidifier in the case this year, and although you can still feel the frets, it isn't as bad as last winter.

By comparison, my brother in laws 2006 Diamond Anniv. Strat feels like glass coming down the Fret Board.

[Oskar]

Well, not all guitars are created equal. Let's face it, you're not going to find the quality of fretboards to be the same on a $100 Squire and a $3,000 custom shop Fender. Most of the wood in lower end guitars has been taken off the woodpile with little curing or drying if any. To me the real test is not when you pick it up in the store, but where will it be 5 or 10 years down the road. How well will the wood hold up, and the frets. I always thought that cheap, soft metal was used in the frets of really cheap guitars. A few years of heavy playing and you'd need a fret job. Of course if you paid $100 for the guitar you may as well just go out and buy another one rather than spend $200 on fret job that could be on a fretboard made with inferior wood.
I know many feel the cheapo guitars are as good as the very expensive ones, but I still believe there's a reason an instrument costs more.

[Dr. T]

Originally Posted by Oskar

...I know many feel the cheapo guitars are as good as the very expensive ones, but I still believe there's a reason an instrument costs more.

With all due respect, Oskar, the price difference is often - not always - because the guitar has been "reliced," or is a "signature model," or a "[fill in the year] re-issue." Certain manufacturer names on the headstock are good for 10% or 15% markup. These are ephemeral qualities that have no intrinsic value.

Making quality guitars, especially solid-body electrics, isn't "rocket surgery" any more. All my electric guitars and basses are "cheap;" that way if a truck ran over them I'd feel bad, but not $2,000.00 worth of bad. And many people comment on how good my guitars sound, even though they're constructed from plain, old, generic parts.

No way in the world will I pay over 500 bucks for a solid-body guitar.

[outbreak]

i agree with oskar, the cheaper guitars tend to not age well when compared to the more high end stuff. there is of course always exceptions to this.

[sumed]

Now, now SneakyJ... thats not nice teasing us like that! Man I love me some finely made Japanese axes!

[beep.click]

None of my guitars has ever sprouted, and I've only bought one cheap guitar with rough frets -- a Squier Strat. I filed 'em down, and haven't had any problems since.

[Nick JD]

Originally Posted by Doug Ferguson

No dead trees with these! http://switchmusic.com/guitar_view.aspx?pid=1

Rosewood fretboards... Sounds tree-ish to me!

[6942]

I bought a late 60's MIJ Conrad guitar for $21 on flea-bay.
The guitar was in a box, so I had to re-assemble it.
Yeah, I KNOW I took a chance....but for $21....it wouldn't kill me to take the risk?
Turned out to be well-built with good hardware....a looker & a player!

Steve

[Doug Ferguson]

Originally Posted by Nick JD

Rosewood fretboards... Sounds tree-ish to me!

Very true, very true. For a few bucks more you can get one with an Ebonite fretboard. Then you can take the FB off and make it into a mini bowling ball.