That moment when you like the way your cheap $240 partscaster plays more than your $1K partscaster.

[viking]

There is a lot of internet wisdom in this thread.
Decent action , decent intonation , electronics that work , and pickups that dont squeal uncontrollable at gig volume. Now , if it stays in tune reasonably well , you can make music with it.

Its NOT about the gear , or if its expensive , or if the " wood match up "
Its what you make with it thats important , nothing else.

IMO , of course

 

[stratisfied]

I'll be honest, I have some "beater guitars" that I favor over some much more expensive ones. For example, I enjoy playing my Electra LP more than I do my Gibson Les Paul. The reason is the Electra and gives me back more than I expect plus The Gibson is much more expensive and I can't "loosen up" with it as I want to keep it in pristine condition. With the Electra, I don't have that in the back of my head and just play it differently.

In the case of partscasters, you can throw the best pieces together and it's till no guarantee the guitar will be stellar.

 

[d barham]

Not surprised. I have a partscaster that's made from a GFS body and the neck from a Squier contemporary Strat that I bought for 80 bucks. All tallied up, I think I've got $150 tied up in it, and I still get excited to play it after 3 years.

I love my non-cheapo Teles, but I'm just as likely to grab this one. It just works.

- D

I really like that.

 

[whetherkings]

I suppose it's possible, but I have always found that you get what you pay for when it comes to guitars. I have never had a "cheap" parts caster that played better than a guitar costing over a thousand dollars. I choose my parts carefully so I am rarely disappointed.

100% agree - if I was being honest (with my wife) and I calculated, I've probably spent more on some of my partscasters than it would have cost me to buy a high-end Fender.

 

[SimonBaja]

Nothing tastes better than bread you've baked yourself.

 

[Leonardocoate]

I have a $250 Harley Benton DC-Jr that beats the pants off my Gibson Les Paul Special, so I can relate. Same concept, less extreme than your case.

And the casual freedom you have with a cheapie guitar that plays great is icing on the cake!

Revel in it!

"Casual freedom"....nailed it with the terminology....a cheapie provides a player with that dimension, which can be very liberating.....good one Tim S

 

[preactor]

The fickleness of my ear, mind, and touch usually determine the "Guitar of the Day". But... when I'm sitting on the porch outside, I can't help but grab my old $49.99 Walmart Sawtooth Tele-style guitar. The Bootstrap Palo Duros also help in that regard.

 

[BarnKat]

Nope, not commenting any more than "pictures or it didn't happen."

According to that way of thinking, nothing on Earth happened before 1839...?

 

[jfgesquire]

According to that way of thinking, nothing on Earth happened before 1839...?

Before 1839 I'll accept a good contemporaneous artist's rendering, IF he/she was present for the event.

 

[jfgesquire]

According to that way of thinking, nothing on Earth happened before 1839...?

Before 1839 I'll accept a good contemporaneous artist's rendering, IF he/she was present for the event.

Of course I hope everyone know these are my feeble attempts at humor.

 

[johnny k]

the thing with cheap is that it won't get old as not cheap. But i like cheap guitars.

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

Price rarely defines quality, IMO, and inexpensive does not define junk. I think most of us have experienced a situation where the item performs opposite of what we thought the price purveys.

 

[jvin248]

.

It's all in the fretwork and setup. Get those rigĥt and you can have a great player. A $50 beater after a PLEK or a vintage 50s old famous guitar after a PLEK will play the same or the PLEK is not doing its job. You're more likely to dig in deeper with the $50 guitar than the nervous picking on that $350,000 artifact so your performance will be much better on the cheap guitar.

.

 

[moosie]

The difference in feel between string gauges (9s vs 10s) is significant. You're gonna notice that a lot more than the brand name on a neck.

Set them up identically, and then compare.

 

[Spooky88]

Where's the audio? Pictures are irrelevant.

 

[Late Comer]

A few years ago I bought a used pick guard that came with Jay Turser pickups. The first thing I did was replace those cheapos with some REAL pickups. The second thing I did was put the JT neck pickup back in because it had so much more character and feel than its expensive "upgrade".

 

[archetype]

Sometimes it doesn’t pass. My Most expensive Fender is the one I’ve liked the least. I just hold onto it due to the sunk cost fallacy.
High cost does not mean it’s fun to play, or that it’s guaranteed to sound better than a cheap guitar.

my Tele partscaster with a no name body, cheap 16 dollar pickup, and a MIM standard neck is a joy to play. And I’ve had guitars worth 5 times as much that I just didn’t like.

I still gig with my 11 year old cheap Ibanez classical.. and I’ve gotten rid of 3 Taylors and one Martin since I’ve bought it.

good guitars are good for a long time. Sometimes guitars are just uninspiring to you. Heck, almost all of my guitars are used purchases.. so they must have been uninspiring to someone else.

Pretty much the same thing with me. As for Strats, I play my Squier Affinity (Shell Pink!) as much as my Fender Classic Player 50s.

 

[jumpbluesdude]

I came across a MIJ strat on ebay that happened to be in a local pawn shop. I went down and picked it up for $315. Unfortunately, it had Carvin pickups in it and they had to go. $50 for and Evans, $70 for a Fralin rail and $125 for a Lollar Imperial F-spaced. $560 into it and I couldn't be happier. Then a stock MIJ strat showed up on marketplace. I beat the guy down to $350 with a case. Bye Bye Warmoth Strat I built years ago. It was a great guitar, but the $1200 I got from it made me real happy when I got 2 for 1 and still had money left over. My buddy has an American made strat with Fralin blades that's almost as good as the MIJ strats. Cheap guitars rock! Then there is the '83 Dean Elite I bought in another local pawn shop for under $200! Another great cheap guitar!

 

[Caffiend]

Quoted parts prices in this thread seem seriously distorted from a U.K. perspective. Are guitar parts really that crazy cheap Stateside?

 

[_MementoMori_]

The difference in feel between string gauges (9s vs 10s) is significant. You're gonna notice that a lot more than the brand name on a neck.

Set them up identically, and then compare.

I don't disagree. I have one electric set up with 9s, two set up with 10s, and one set up with 11s. They all play/feel VERY different.

So maybe I just really love the slinky feel of 9s. Something about that tactile response makes me want to beat the guitar like a 20 year old punk rocker.