I played an expensive guitar today

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  • SunDevilSunDevil Frets: 511
    edited January 2018
    Certainly a law of diminishing returns at play here and as with all CS Fenders and Gibsons, they vary from guitar to guitar

    Equally, a Ferrari shod with remould tyres (nee crappy amp) isn't going to give you the full experience!
    The answer was never 42 - it's 1/137 (..ish)
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  • ricorico Frets: 1220
    Whitecat said:
    “Told to turn down”? While *amp* shopping?

    I’d say “Ok” - hand them back the guitar, switch off the amp and walk out. If they can’t provision for cranked amps they shouldn’t be in the business of selling them. Terrible. 
    I'm surprised you were told to turn down at Andertons. How loud were you playing?
    I like to crank an amp when I try it, but I've never been told to turn down at Andertons.

     It's a very subjective experience for me when I try guitars. I just immediately connect with some guitars but not others, even when they're the same model. There's probably some subtlety in the way they're set up. But I suspect that I could probably connect with most guitars once I've had time to get used to them and set them up to my taste, provided the frets aren't too low and the neck isn't too wide, and there isn't a sharp feel to the edge of the neck, and the pickups aren't microphonic and the sound is good etc, etc... :)

    I was in one of the little booths and had the V30 totally cranked but it wasn't 'that' loud. The cab was aiming at my feet but still. The guy who told me to turn down had actually sold me a few bits previously and fairly recently but didn't recognise me (why should he) and made the excuse that there was someone testing an archtop in the booth adjacent. I had wanted to demo the Sheriff 44 too but I said to the chap that was dealing with me that I wouldn't bother if I couldn't turn it up and to be fair he did agree with me.  

    @Neil it's a fair point you raise. I know it's intangible but I expected to be slightly more blown away - it just didn't feel like anything special. If I was to spend that much on anything (guitar stuff, watches - that kind of scale) then I would expect it to feel like an event, so to speak.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    edited January 2018
    Maynehead said:


    I bought a £150 bottle of brandy once. I thought it would taste like the nectar of the gods... turned out it just tasted like brandy, albeit a little smoother.

    I find to get the most out of expensive booze it pays to taste them alongside a cheaper version.   I guarantee you will notice the difference and pick out more flavours if you do this. 


    the same should probably apply to guitar shopping.   If you want the £5k Gibson its probably worth playing a few cheaper and some alternative versions to make sure it is actually what you want.    Unless your are loaded and/or have the disposal income.  Perfectly fine to just buy one because you want to

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  • peteripeteri Frets: 1283
    Interesting - and echoes my experience in the more modern Gibson CS stuff.

    I'm sure there are some good ones, and if you've got one - no disrespect, but on the day I got my 1972 Custom (for a lot less money), the ones I tried did not even come close to what I was looking for.
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  • peteripeteri Frets: 1283
    Oh and the turn it down is BS!
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  • ricorico Frets: 1220
    WezV said:

    f you want the £5k Gibson its probably worth playing a few cheaper and some alternative versions to make sure it is actually what you want.    Unless your are loading and/or have the disposal income.  Perfectly fine to just buy one because you want to :)

    I absolutely agree! I am usually pretty poor at making impulse & 'I want it so I'll buy it' type purchases but when it comes to something I am very passionate about, it must be a considered, researched choice. 
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  • aord43aord43 Frets: 287
    WezV said:
    Maynehead said:


    I bought a £150 bottle of brandy once. I thought it would taste like the nectar of the gods... turned out it just tasted like brandy, albeit a little smoother.

    I find to get the most out of expensive booze it pays to taste them alongside a cheaper version.   I guarantee you will notice the difference and pick out more flavours if you do this. 


    the same should probably apply to guitar shopping.   If you want the £5k Gibson its probably worth playing a few cheaper and some alternative versions to make sure it is actually what you want.    Unless your are loaded and/or have the disposal income.  Perfectly fine to just buy one because you want to

    Ideally it should be a blind test because we are notoriously influenced by the psychology of a nice label, or just knowing that it's expensive.  Easier to do with a drink, but I did see a video (maybe Andertons?) where they did it with guitars.  Very interesting.
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  • SunDevilSunDevil Frets: 511
    I know the Physiotherapist next to Andertons very well - occasionally you get bass coming through the wall but never guitar, so who's complaining?

    Whether you get an accurate sound through 30 watts in a room not much bigger than an Iso chamber is a different matter...
    The answer was never 42 - it's 1/137 (..ish)
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  • ricorico Frets: 1220
    SunDevil said:
    I know the Physiotherapist next to Andertons very well - occasionally you get bass coming through the wall but never guitar, so who's complaining?


    Evidently the guy who was trying out an archtop!
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  • 57Deluxe said:
    Is only one Q to ask when looking at a guitar - will it help me play/sound better?
    Thought it was what does it look like on me in the mirror?
    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
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  • ricorico Frets: 1220
    57Deluxe said:
    Is only one Q to ask when looking at a guitar - will it help me play/sound better?
    Thought it was what does it look like on me in the mirror?
    Couldn’t decide on wis or lol, wis it is
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    aord43 said:
    WezV said:
    Maynehead said:


    I bought a £150 bottle of brandy once. I thought it would taste like the nectar of the gods... turned out it just tasted like brandy, albeit a little smoother.

    I find to get the most out of expensive booze it pays to taste them alongside a cheaper version.   I guarantee you will notice the difference and pick out more flavours if you do this. 


    the same should probably apply to guitar shopping.   If you want the £5k Gibson its probably worth playing a few cheaper and some alternative versions to make sure it is actually what you want.    Unless your are loaded and/or have the disposal income.  Perfectly fine to just buy one because you want to

    Ideally it should be a blind test because we are notoriously influenced by the psychology of a nice label, or just knowing that it's expensive.  Easier to do with a drink, but I did see a video (maybe Andertons?) where they did it with guitars.  Very interesting.
    that may be taking it a bit far for the average shopping trip  ;)
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  • hotpickupshotpickups Frets: 1813
    Similar in only that Andertons asked me to turn down whilst in the booth when trying out an amp too :(
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    I have limited experience of Gibson CS stuff - but I played a 2006 R7 back-to-back with a 2005 Standard (which was fitted with high-end PAF-alikes - the name of which escapes me). The R7 (with stock pick-ups) was significantly better sounding and felt much better.

    I tried them through a hand wired Victoria tweed combo.

    I know it’s ‘cool’ to suggest expensive stuff is a rip off - but my experience is that it is usually better than lower-priced alternatives. It won’t be true of every individual instrument - but generally, it is....
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    Danny1969 said:
    I'm tight when it comes to guitars but I have friends who are collectors,in particular 2 of them own in excess of 160 Gibson's, PRS's, Fenders, Taylors, Martins, Duesenbergs, Guilds and some some appointed guitars.  I've gig'ed pretty much everything from basic USA Strats to Gibson and Fender Custom Shop anniversary models heading well into the 10K territory.

    In all the above the best setup guitars in terms of fit and finish and sheer perfection were Duesenburg's .... a bit too bling for me but the attention to detail and ease of playibiity on those guitars is something else !

    My actual favourite guitar to gig is a friends bog standard blonde Fender USA Tele ...... which cost about £700 second hand 

    I regularly gig with an EvH circles guitar with a Frankenstein pickup in it
    <£500 the lot
    and I have a lot of exotica
    its funny some guitars just grab you
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  • rossirossi Frets: 1699
    Above a certain price everything is really just boast value .You drive a really hot low slung super car to get looked at and boast about ,not for practical everyday use.most are still not race track allowable .A large flash house says I am rich etc .Few stars seem to play super  expensive guitars  which must say something ..The best guitar i have played so far is an Albert Lee sig model which had a neck to die for but also it suited me .It fitted nicely and  sounded good ,had a super low action etc .Most  very pricey guitars are bought by collectors who just hang em on a wall .
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  • The example I always give is when I took the plunge and bought a Gibson SG Standard when I'd been playing my Epi SG for years. Yes, the Gibson was beautiful to look at and sounded great, but I was so used to my Epi which played superbly and had a nicer feeling neck, that I barely played the Gibson and eventually sold it. 

    I've since learned that a more expensive version of the guitar you have, does not necessarily mean 'better'.
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  • Never buy an expensive guitar because you'll never feel like you've got your money's worth, guaranteed.
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  • NelsonPNelsonP Frets: 3347
    edited January 2018
    WezV said:
    Maynehead said:


    I bought a £150 bottle of brandy once. I thought it would taste like the nectar of the gods... turned out it just tasted like brandy, albeit a little smoother.

    I find to get the most out of expensive booze it pays to taste them alongside a cheaper version.   I guarantee you will notice the difference and pick out more flavours if you do this. 

    Funny how our senses can deceive us. Sometimes you think something is better just because you paid more for it. Whether it really is objectively better doesn't matter much at that point. 

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis

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  • olafgartenolafgarten Frets: 1648
    The rate at which the price of CS Gibsons is increasing is insane. If it keeps up the trend, by the time I have enough disposable income to buy one Gibson will have been long bankrupt. 
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