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

[_MementoMori_]

I guess I'm not mad?

???

?????

But yeah there's something about this $240 Reverb special that I just can't define and I can't put it down. The entire thing set me back less money than the Warmoth neck alone on my other partscaster.

They're not super different in layout/construction. Vintage style 3 saddle bridges, standard 3 way controls, standard neck and bridge pickups, etc. The cheapo is set up with 9s and the expensive one is set up with 10s. That's honestly the biggest difference between them.

 

[jfgesquire]

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

 

[_MementoMori_]

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

Haha. Pardon my laziness but I'm just going to link to my threads about both of them rather than taking and uploading new pics:

El Cheapo - https://www.tdpri.com/threads/my-be...ter-arrived-today-it-sucks-lol.1076262/page-2

El Not-Cheapo - https://www.tdpri.com/threads/first...lete-ignore-the-crooked-thingamajigs.1071352/

Pics are peppered throughout on the cheap guitar, but all at the beginning of the thread on the expensive one.

 

[Sax-son]

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.

 

[_MementoMori_]

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.

Hey, I hear ya. I hand selected every part of my build very carefully and have plenty of premium features and parts on it. That's why I'm so surprised.

 

[Controller]

Good for you discerning with your hands and ears rather than your wallet. I get it, my least favorite Tele is also my most expensive.

 

[teletail]

New guitar syndrome. It will pass.

 

[_MementoMori_]

New guitar syndrome. It will pass.

There is something to that. I agree. I don't know this time though. I guess time will tell.

 

[teletail]

There is something to that. I agree. I don't know this time though. I guess time will tell.

I said it half in jest. The bright new shiny object always gets our attention. Regardless, you're enjoying it now and that's really what counts.

 

[Tim S]

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!

 

[StrangerNY]

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

 

[_MementoMori_]

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

Speaking of GFS, this cheapo that I love has Slick brand Fullerton pickups in it. They are FRICKIN' AWESOME.

 

[ucnick]

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.

I don't know about partscasters (I have built a few) but I have a Squier Affinity HH Tele that played and sounded better, out of the box, than a $1000+ PRS S2 Standard 22. One of the few guitars that I have ever really disliked. It is loooonnnggg gone, thank goodness. The Squier, OTOH, is an amazing guitar, especially considering I paid $199 for it. And I still have and play it.

 

[Sax-son]

I don't know about partscasters (I have built a few) but I have a Squier Affinity HH Tele that played and sounded better, out of the box, than a $1000+ PRS S2 Standard 22. One of the few guitars that I have ever really disliked. It is loooonnnggg gone, thank goodness. The Squier, OTOH, is an amazing guitar, especially considering I paid $199 for it. And I still have and play it.

There are guitars at all monetary levels that for some reason we just don't bond with. The original question was when we discovered that a cheap $200.00 guitar sounded better than the $1000.00 one. My answer is still never.

Squire guitars are really good for the money. There is no doubting that. I too have played a few that really played and sounded pretty good. However, I can go into any Guitar Center, pull any Squire off of the wall and pick it apart for all that I find wrong with it. Substandard tuners, cheap pickups, lower quality hardware, thick poly paint jobs, fret spouts , you name it. Most I have seen require a lot of work, but you can get them there. I quit with cheap guitars a long time ago. I had both an SX Telecaster and Strat. They were ok and only $100.00 bucks each at the time. But I knew what I was getting and the limitations associated with them. They definitely were not a Warmoth or Fender AV 62 reissue, you can be sure of that.

 

[telemnemonics]

The former thread about the cheap guitar you now say you love, seemed to say it sucked.
Are you off your meds again???

 

[ravindave_3600]

Happens sometimes.

I went out with $1000 looking for an American Standard strat, sunburst with a maple neck.
Came back with $660 and a MIM, black with rosewood.

 

[carpenter]

I have 9s on all my guitars. Last week i picked up some 8s.
Lighter touch easier to play .

 

[nojazzhere]

I guess I'm not mad?

???

?????

But yeah there's something about this $240 Reverb special that I just can't define and I can't put it down. The entire thing set me back less money than the Warmoth neck alone on my other partscaster.

They're not super different in layout/construction. Vintage style 3 saddle bridges, standard 3 way controls, standard neck and bridge pickups, etc. The cheapo is set up with 9s and the expensive one is set up with 10s. That's honestly the biggest difference between them.

It's dangerous to make blanket, "absolute" statements like this......but I would just say price doesn't determine value. (as a player) Although it might not meet your expectations, I would expect a $1000 guitar to play better than a $250 guitar, in general. However, there are exceptions to that......my $350-400 self assembled partscaster plays better than many guitars costing far more. Just depends on the guitar.

 

[nickmsmith]

There is something to that. I agree. I don't know this time though. I guess time will tell.

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.

 

[Stanford Guitar]

EVH probably had about $250 in that Frankenstrat, he did ok with it.