What is the best guitar for the money including older used guitars

[flag72]

well this thread as been very interesting to me,Ive been looking to purchace something vintage late 70's early 80's amp or guitar but vintage amps a very expensive(to much for my bank acount)then there's the guitar option fenders are also very expensive,but Ive been reading many thread about peavey guitars and this might be a good option for me to own a vintage instrument with out a second mortgage .I will be reading more thread about those peavey guitar
and thank you to the original poster of this thread for the great question

 

[Ed Boyd]

My 70's Hagstrom Swede I bought used for $175. Pickups are getting a little mushy. I may put a SD FB and SD Jazz in it.

 

[Dwills94]

My 70's Hagstrom Swede I bought used for $175. Pickups are getting a little mushy. I may put a SD FB and SD Jazz in it.

i really like the look of hagstroms but ididnt know you could get them that cheap!

 

[ericluther]

Godins, G&Ls and Carvins

 

[Blackdogxx]

Best electric for the money?

Squier Classic Vibe series, especially the 50s Strat and 50s Tele. Also I like the PRS SE singlecut in korina if you care to spend $35 for a Mean 90 from GFS for the bridge.

My hat is off to the Washburn RX50: Duncan USM humbuckers, China built, set neck, strings through body, mahogany topped in maple. Mine was nearly perfect on the set up and almost in tune in the shipping box. It needed 2 fret ends smoothed, cleaned up, adjust pickups and play! It is so cheap and so good, you can buy it as a toy, but is is versatile and plays well. It is not a crummy built guitar... it's nice.

eBay seller brand new and shipped free for..... 'best offer' of $259 and I got the black burst one. Tuners look like but don't feel like real Grover minis, but decent. Bridge could be replaced and maybe capacitors for not much. StewMac has locking Grover minis for about $55 and you have a great little guitar for drinking money outlay !

 

[thunderbyrd]

i recently acquired a Yamaha Studio Lord, which the seller had listed for $700. i traded for it, so i don't know how much cash would have taken it.

anyhow, iv'e owned 4 gibsons, and none of them were "better" than this guitar. matter of fact, 3 of them weren't as good.

the studio lord is an exact copy of a les paul. the only differences are: 1 - it says yamaha on the headstock 2- the inlays on the neck aren't as nice as the ones on gibsons 3 - i think the body might be somewhat thicker. it's definitly heavy, at almost 10 pounds.

but i don't know how many of these you're likely to see in the future at this kind of price. if you see one for less than $800 and you don't want it, please shoot me a PM! they are incredibly good guitars.

 

[jericho60]

Lots of great 70s and 80s Japanese guitars out there from the Matsomuko family.

Aria Pro II, Vantage, Westbury, Washburn, bunches of brands came from that factory, and many can still be had pretty cheap.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Wat too many variants that come into play . . .


. . . but i would still look at these :


Used Gibson Studio Faded Mahogany
Used Gibson Faded SG
Used Fender 60's Series Telecaster

 

[gguitar55]

Bang for buck new guitars are PRS SE's. Used too.

I gotta agree big time with that one. I bought a new PRS SE Soapbar single cut off of eBay. They were discontinuing this model at the time which I don't understand cause it's the coolest one. The necks on PRS SE models are amazing, some of the best Korean workmanship around. The pickups are raucous (rawkus?). The mahogany body lets you feel the string vibration. and the finish is gorgeous. Check one out. Got mine for less that $450.

enjoy. see if you can find a good used one on eBay.

 

[maliyah]

I would say it depends on what you want to play and what sound you like, if you like it all, blues, jazz, rock and country, I would suggest something in a semi-hollow body with p-90's, I like the casino, but I like the G & L semi hollow body with their p-90 style pick up

 

[gguitar55]

I would say it depends on what you want to play and what sound you like, if you like it all, blues, jazz, rock and country, I would suggest something in a semi-hollow body with p-90's, I like the casino, but I like the G & L semi hollow body with their p-90 style pick up

And if you're going to go that route, check out the Eastwood Airline Tuxedo.
They are really great and can be found new for around $760.

Click on these demos for an idea of what it can do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG5Vp5etJck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl3BGCHSX00&feature=mh_lolz&list=HL1317498542

 

[backalleyblues]

I'm seeing a lot of HWY1s going for under $500 in these parts... hard to beat that for US made wood and wire...

The SG fadeds I've seen are even more hit-and-miss than usual for Gibson, so it's a "play before you pay" thing there...

Also, if one turns up, those St. Blues guitars are pretty nice... nearly bought one a short while back for around $400, and was a really nice guitar...

Franc Robert

 

[DuncanAngus]

For new I'd say a good MIM Tele, almost any Epi arch top or as stated above, the '56 p90 goldtop. I got a catalog from someone last week with the black '56 marked down to 299. I like black.....

My favorite sleeper as far as vintage electric is the mid 80's Gibson ES-335Studio. Can be tough to track down, but it's a SWEET instrument. No F-holes, no feedback, early ones had ebony boards and Tim Shaw PU's. Not a lot of flash, but a lot of bang for the buck.

Best sleeper vintage acoustics in my mind are the Epiphones built at the Gibson Kalamazoo plant. Not the sleepers they once were, but less than a comparable Gibson built on the same line. Appointments vary a bit, but I think they're as good or Better than most of the Gibsons.

YMMV

 

[robotguitar]

In today's market you can get US made telecasters and strats from 380-700 if your look hard enough. Hard to beat. My best guitar for my buck was hands down a 2003 Gibson Les Paul Special USA for $420. But every guitar in a sense is just a piece of wood, so you have to find a good one.

 

[ac15]

Late 70's to early 80's Hamers can be had for under a grand, and they're some of the best instruments I've ever played. Great designs, original hardware, fantastic DiMarzio PAFs, and hand built by a tiny team of up to about 12 people in the suburbs of Chicago. It's absolutely insane that I could get my Hamer for less than a grand when it blows away every $2k-plus LP I've ever played, including vintage.

There are some great bargains out there, but if you want the best of the best at any price point, early Hamers are fantastic. And about half the price of a modern Gibson.

I agree that used Hamers are great deals. As far as them "blowing away every $2k-plus LP", I haven't found that to be the case. Again, good deals though.

Don't ever buy a new Hamer if you think there's any chance you'll sell though, because you will get killed on resale.

 

[Triton Thrasher]

What is the best guitar for the money including older used guitars
In your opinion

Not opinion, but fact: it's any guitar you get for nuthin'.

value/price = infinity

 

[electricjr]

used mim std strats and teles can be found for under $300, and some of them are really excellent players (best I've played are from '99-2001).

 

[andre4999]

hands down

imho

If you want to find an amazing player for under $200 I would immediately look for the "cat" series of aria guitars (mij versions). It is a plain crime how these have been overlooked for quality and playabilty. If you want a "copy" guitar see below...

you can find crazy good deals on MIJ fernandes fender copies....more so than any other MIJ maker (ceptin mebbe hondo certain units...but thats not for you to know!)

If I had $200 for a guitar worthy of a $800 price tag, I would look at mij fernandes, mij arias and mij vantage till one showed up...they always do!

Lastly, a vastly underrated guitar comes in many forms...look for a (fender bullet "from the early '80's") copy...not the bullet that is in your local gutter center now....fender made a bullet that was usa, mij, then korean...but to tell you the truth I have had all of them and the lotus and mako bullet copies simply astound me for their versatility and magnificent necks......seriously a guitar that can be found for $100 and just kills most everything up to the $400 range

ok, thats the sleeper champion for players out there (other than an ibanez st-50 that you find in a yard sale for $50)

cheers!