The TRUTH About Cheap Guitars! | GEAR GODS

I get asked about cheap guitars a lot - here's the low down on them, and how to not get hosed!

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[treyxaviermusic]

Have you ever bought a REALLY cheap guitar? How did it turn out? Were you happy with it or was it a LEMON? Let me know!

[agufish]

I bought a really cheap guitar and it basically launched my YouTube channel lol

[patfix]

Being ‘Trey for a day’ got me an Epiphone LP while looking for a modern metal axe. There you go kids, you never know what you connect with!

[DavidNwokoye]

Jackson, Ltd and Ibanez make amazing budget guitars.
I own an LTD M10 and a Jackson JS22

[timothynorris]

A friend of mine in high school had an Ibanez Artcore af55 that I really loved playing. 4 years later I found the same model. I picked it up and it played just like I remembered and bought it for only 330. Its my absolute favorite guitar.

[StephenBecker]

Just a couple weeks ago I spent about 3-4 hours in Guitar Center playing every 5 string bass they had. Lots of revelations to me, including that the bass I hated the most was a made in USA Fender, and the bass I loved the most was one of the Chinese-made Warwicks!

[SixString_J]

Happens at the mid tier as well. I had a pro series king v jackson that was amazing. I decided I wanted a soloist of the same range and when it came in, it was a dud. It happens less often the higher up you go in price but it still happens.

[priyonjoni]

Gibson: everyone should play authentic
Harley Benton: hold my beer

[RoyalGuardGeine]

"Cheap guitars are targeted towards beginners who do not really know how to check if a guitar's good or not so good, hence why brands allow themselves loose quality control, so go to a guitar store and check cheap guitars for you to do your own quality control !"
Wait... What ? If I'm bad at judging if a guitar is good or not, how the hell am I gonna tell if a guitar is good or not ? xD
Especially if the vendor dude comes to... you know... "help".

[JMetalGuitarist]

He’s spot on with this. What you wanna do is go and physically ask to test out a few guitars until you find one that’s comfortable to play and sounds good *to you* don’t just blindly take a recommendation. The best guitar is the one that’s right for you, always. Last time I was at a guitar center there was a used LTD for $100 that I liked better than even the $300-500 jacksons, ibanez, and schecters on the main wall. You never really know what you’re getting unless you actually play them.

[wwjscid]

I Bought a Schecter c-1 platinum from guitar center when I was 13 and it’s still my favorite guitar.

[manoskf]

The most honest video about this topic... And yes I bought a Jackson JS32 and after few hours of setup and changing the pickups with premium pu's (cost more than the guitar) the guitar now is a dream... I have also an Ibanez Art 300 that I installed EMG's and it is a beauty ... and plays and feels like my most expencive guitars

[willb]

I am 57 - If we had the "cheap" guitars that we have now back in my childhood, things would have been different. Now, I think that we as adults must always buy the best we can afford for our children so it sounds good, plays easy and *encourages* the child (I am a double bassist and at 6 foot four - and I have tried to play Childrens instruments that have bee too hard for ME even). That being said some cheap instruments are great!! absolutely great. We had nothing like this - just truly unplayable bit's of wood. Really. Also, forgive me but you are American and therefore RICH compared to 80 % of the rest of the population and I fear few Americans have a good perspective on material objects.. There are children in the Congo who play Requiems on violins made from biscuit tins. and they are incredible.

[GearGasms]

I think Epiphone does a really good job as well as all of the FMC MiM stuff. It’s a great era for cheap guitars!

[jacoblima]

I can agree I did that with my black beauty.it was a $200 Epiphone Les Paul with a set neck.ive played 60s and 70s Les Paul and fenders and black beauty has been the beast guitar I've played

[zokmephisto]

Great video man. So glad that you’re presenting a transparent overview of what a newbie needs to know.

[BAMozzy]

The most important aspect to buying Cheap guitars is that you are the final Quality Control assessment. That means its important that you yourself go and try the guitar and inspect it yourself. Don't rely on online purchases - not unless you have a very good returns policy and/or a reasonable level of guitar maintenance skill. You may need to set-up, level, crown and or round off the frets, round off the nut because its got a sharp edge, set the action and neck relief etc.
In a shop, you can also compare various guitars of the same model, price point etc so you will know if feel is consistent or extremely variable - same with sound so you can decide whether its just that guitar that isn't up to the standard you expect or common to all models at that price point. For example, if the fret ends are not great but also not great on any of the guitars in the same model, then you know that's 'normal' for that and not just a 'bad' one. That can help you decide to look at a different model, accept that and file them yourself to get them to the standard you want or decide to up your budget to find something better.
Used guitars too require you to get your hands on and assess its 'Quality'. A Seller often has different perspective on condition - their 'Mint' maybe your 'good' at best. Even if all the hardware is 'stock', you also never know if the owner put the stock hardware back on quickly to sell so may not be soldered as well as it could be or set-up perfectly. The switch appearing to operate upside down to normal may well be an indication they have messed with something.
In a shop, the cheap guitars are hung low and much more chance that many people could have played on that guitar in the shop. You yourself can take it down and inspect it to see if it meets your needs and quality but so could lots of people and it could now have dead strings, not set-up properly anymore - look 'used' which you could use to your advantage if you want to negotiate a better price. More difficult to do online...

[samicusmaximus]

I got a $200 Ibanez RGR GIO with 2 humbukers and 24 frets. I love the thing. It is so incredible. No problems at all. The neck is butter smooth and can handle drop tunings very well.

[nicholastname]

As a left handed player, most of the guitars that l can play in a store or find locally are $80 acoustics and Fender Mexican standards or Epiphone Les Pauls. Flying V's are hands down my favorite body shape (yes, I've owned and played right handed V's, and I'm not a fan of controls digging into my forearm) At the moment l have a left handed 2018 Gibson V and 2019 Limited Run Dean V Select. Though both were impulse buys and neither are 100% what l "want, " l love both of them and they were both bought online! That being said, I've recieved my share of lemons from Ebay, first one that comes to mind was a Gibson SG 70's tribute that sounded like a wet rubber band, felt like an Epiphone, and had its fretboard slightly lifting from the neck after only 4 years of life...

[TheWinterwraith]

All fine and dandy if you play right handed. Not so much if you’re a lefty. I started playing in the 80’s and currently own around 40 guitars, and have had quite a few more. I can honestly count on my fingers how many I got to try out before buying. Going to try out the ‘range’ in my local stores is a wasted journey, always has been. I started out on a piece of crap strat strung upside down and spent two years learning on that. I’ve only once ever got the opportunity to choose between two identical guitars thanks to Mr Grey, the manager of JG Windows in Newcastle who was prepared to order two Aria Pro II’s from Japan at my request, when every other store had pretty much laughed in my face. That was my first proper left handed guitar back in 1987. I’m forever grateful to that guy for fuelling a 17 year old kid’s love of guitars.

Compared to 30 years ago there is no such thing as a bad guitar. For a couple of hundred quid you can get something that’s better than guitars that cost three and four times as much back then. Learning to set up your own instrument is something every guitar player should learn early on.