The decade the gear was purchased has to be taken into account when talking about affordable. Layla was recorded using a tweed Champ and a tweed Deluxe on a 50s strat. At the time music stores were selling those "used/second hand" guitars for $100-200. They couldn't give them away. So, at the time they were affordable.
List of affordable guitars used by artists to record hits
- Thread starter ScareDe2
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I had always heard that it was Jimi's use of the Strat that propelled a resurgence in sales. In fact, at the Lewisville Pop festival in 1969, a week after Woodstock, Randy California played his Danelectro all night, (they were cheap, but discontinued and not always easy to find) but changed to a Strat for their final number, I Got A Line On You. We wondered if it was because he sent it sailing across the stage at the end? A Strat was easier to replace back then than a Danelectro.Case in point. Stratocasters were near worthless at one point - nobody wanted one until some guy named Eric picked up three used for next to nothing, exchanged some part between them, started playing one as his main guitar and gave the other two to a guy named Pete and that other guy....
Edit: Okay - this might not be the event that single handedly propelled the Stratocaster to its current levels of popularity, but it didn't hurt!
Nogoodnamesleft
Friend of Leo's
I laughed at this and how true it is. At one time "vintage" guitars were "used" guitars. I had a Fender Electric XII from 1966 that bought in 1992 for $1100 Canadian.
In the early 80s, before U2 got famous, old Vox AC30s were at rock bottom prices.
Offset guitars now the rage in shoegaze were often bought by those who pioneered the genre because they were not popular and cheap. Now try to find a 70s Jag.
But back to the original thread, I seem to recall Sune Rose Wagner recorded the first Raveonettes album on a MIM Telecaster.
The price originally paid by the artist doesn't matter.
The black Squier Precision Bass first appeared on Roger Waters FB profile in January 2017. Judging from the picture below, Roger played it when he was in studio recording his new album. It's hard to tell if he used it on any particular track, or if he was playing it only because at the moment there wasn't any other bass around.
Everything matters.. most of the hits on '59 Burst Les Pauls were recorded by people who bought them for under $1000, Les Pauls were worthless at one point just like someone mentioned Strats went through a period where they were undesirable.
Decade matters a lot because of inflation too. Almost all the vintage guitars that go for 10s of thousands today were all under $1000 when they were new.
If you're going to write a hit it doesn't really matter what guitar you have, as long as you can get it setup for the way you play or you're one of those people who is indifferent to setup you're good to go.
Practically everything recorded on an offset (Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Duo Sonic, Mustang, etc..) would have been recorded on a bargain guitar since those arguably had the longest stretch of all where they were undesirable and inexpensive.
I don't know if a reissue model can achieve the exact same sound but the 1965 Epiphone Casino is not cheap at all.
Chester P Squier
Poster Extraordinaire
Not after John and George played them. I’m talking “before.”
Really almost all hits using a Fender Strat or Tele was an affordable guitar in your requested under $1000 standard for affordable.
They may have cost more than $1000 when they were new but nobody is going out and buying a new Fender when they want to record a new album.
They grab a well worn used Fender they've had a while and know what to expect from.
Of course right now it'a hard to get used gear because so many have been bored and frustrated for a couple of years so gear got hoarded to make up for having no life during lockdown.
Then after lockdown gear got hoarded because it was scarce due to the former lockdown and guitar players first instinct is to hoard more gear!
The best affordable top quality guitars are all used, every damn one of them.
Not only do you get more for your money buying used, you also know that the neck has settled and become more predictable.
And truly, if you're looking for guitars used recording hits, most hit makers chose older guitars and almost none were obsessed with buying the latest model because they were busy making music and there are so damn many used guitars that there's just no motivation to shop for the latest model.
Some of us actually think new guitars are for suckers!
Go ahead and buy new then lose money in a couple of years when you sell to us sensible money conscious players!
They may have cost more than $1000 when they were new but nobody is going out and buying a new Fender when they want to record a new album.
They grab a well worn used Fender they've had a while and know what to expect from.
Of course right now it'a hard to get used gear because so many have been bored and frustrated for a couple of years so gear got hoarded to make up for having no life during lockdown.
Then after lockdown gear got hoarded because it was scarce due to the former lockdown and guitar players first instinct is to hoard more gear!
The best affordable top quality guitars are all used, every damn one of them.
Not only do you get more for your money buying used, you also know that the neck has settled and become more predictable.
And truly, if you're looking for guitars used recording hits, most hit makers chose older guitars and almost none were obsessed with buying the latest model because they were busy making music and there are so damn many used guitars that there's just no motivation to shop for the latest model.
Some of us actually think new guitars are for suckers!
Go ahead and buy new then lose money in a couple of years when you sell to us sensible money conscious players!
Electric Warrior
Tele-Afflicted
Tom Scholz on a $100 Yamaha 12 string for More Than a Feeling jumps to mind.
It doesn't matter if you're making a statement as opposed to what seemed to be a question.
But it DOES matter if you're genuinely asking a question.
You asked what affordable guitars were used by artists to record hits and the answer is they virtually all had used guitars.
No comparison to new guitar prices, so no point in arguing that you want to know what affordable guitars they DIDN'T USE.
And since you can't buy their carefully selected used guitar, brand new, that is the wrong tree to be barking up!
Is there are specific reason you want to pay the highest possible price for a given guitar model?
I certainly see tons of shoppers who want to pay high prices for low end guitars!
Many of us though prefer to pay lower prices for higher end guitars.
Like we might buy a used Am Std for the price of a new MIM.
Better still we might buy a used partscaster with swapped Fender parts.
Those are the best bang for the buck by a long shot!
Ed Driscoll
Friend of Leo's
According to Wikipedia (so take it with a grain of salt), Clapton’s Layla guitar, “Brownie,” was purchased for $400:
In Clapton’s autobiography (so take it with a grain of salt), he writes that “Blackie,” his main stage guitar from the mid-‘70s to the mid-‘80s, was even cheaper:
teletail
Poster Extraordinaire
It depends on how much your rent is.
You can easily buy used Fender MIA teles and strats for under $1,000 if you shop carefully. You can also buy a lot of the gibsons; SGs, Les Paul Studios. I've seen Flying V's, explorers and Firebird studios for under $1,000.
I don't think your whole premise is valid.
Ed Driscoll
Friend of Leo's
David Gilmour's stage guitars in the 1980s through the mid-1990s were simply stock 1980s Fender Strat and Tele reissues, to which he later added EMG pickups when his iteration of Pink Floyd went on tour to eliminate the hum from their massive stage show.
Just did a search on Reverb, selected price low to high, and the first 40 listings for American Standard Strat are under $1000.
And that's in a massively inflated price gear market.
And that's in a massively inflated price gear market.
David Gilmour's stage guitars in the 1980s through the mid-1990s were simply stock 1980s Fender Strat and Tele reissues, to which he later added EMG pickups when his iteration of Pink Floyd went on tour to eliminate the hum from their massive stage show.
Every one of Gilmours iconic recordings was made on a partscaster, and if it wasn't associated with a famous player, those guitars would sit at $500 and might sell for $400 after adjusting for era.
So there's no snarky content in saying brand new is just the wrong place to look for best bang for buck.
Modded Fenders AKA partscasters are feared and loathed yet are responsible for much of the formative Rock recordings.
Those are the biggest bang for the buck but place responsibility on the player buyer to learn more about guitars than models on Sweetwater.
tenthstreet
Tele-Meister
What was the state of Epiphone in the early '60s? From what I understand, it wasn't the Gibson equivalent to the Squier/Fender status at that time. I think as time went on, production moved overseas and it reached the price point and build quality that it is now—and the new, US-made ones are bringing it back the what the production was like when Paul, and then John and George, bought their Casinos.
