$100 Squier Affinity Strat v $6,000 John Cruz Strat - Can you hear a $5,900 difference?

Octafish

Link in OP doesn't work and when you google it comes back with a video showing a guy playing the guitars so it's hardly difficult to guess what one's what??

The test is flawed anyway as the cheaper Strat has ceramic pickups vs the more expensive guitar's Alnicos. That's probably the biggest difference people are hearing. Despite the crap guitar sound the 2nd one (Alnico) has a bit more chime/brightness, a little less mid. Soundwise a CV Strat would have been a better comparison. One big thing is we can't tell the difference in how they feel or play.

I did play a Custom Shop Strat at Peach guitars last year when trying out some amps and it was a badly set up dog - it was reduced and I think the shop was trying to offload it. This was confirmed when I then went onto another shop and played a US Standard which felt a far better guitar.

RiftAmps

ICBM said:

RiftAmps said:

I should also say that I hated both guitars

I don't think it's the guitars, it sounds like an amp/recording EQ issue.

For me it is, I don't like single-coil Strats!

The whole tone is annoying though, it wouldn't have been that hard to play through a proper valve amp, would it?!

Voxman

Octafish said:

Link in OP doesn't work ...

Fixed. 

Be interesting to see if anyone's ears change when they see the guitars:

Voxman

HAL9000 said:

You might not hear much of a difference, and TBH the average Joe in a pub almost certainly wouldn't. However, with a guitar it's not all about the sound. Guitars are very tactile instruments and, for the player at least, a lot of it is about things like feel, finish,  etc.

Very true - and let's be honest here, for most people it's also about 'name','image' * 'stret-cred' & validation as a player to 'deserve' something 'better'. 

darthed1981 said:

I think we all know that there is a difference, but whether that difference is worth $5,900 is down to two things: -

1. Personal taste and beliefs.

and more importantly...

2. Personal wealth

Again, very true.

You can argue back & forth whether videos like this have validity - but it does demonstrate that you don't need to spend $6,000 to sound good, and raises the question as to whether any $6,000 guitar is 'worth it' based on what might actually be only questionable differences in tone.  

Build quality and tone of 'cheap' guitars is now a world apart from the (mostly) crap cheap guitars that were available when I started playing guitar in 1970. I paid £850 for my 'pre-loved' 2002 PRS Cu24 (the most I've ever paid for any single piece of gear) - but no way IMHO would it have been worth the £2,300 being asked by stores at the time for a new one. 

Most of us (and I include myself) are to some degree or another 'snobs' when it comes to names and gear.  Picking up a 611VFM Yamaha Pacifica has reminded me you don't need to spend a lot nowadays to get hold of a very good guitar. 

Rocker

Groan. Another one of 'those' threads. My experience is that you have to play an instrument to determine if it is for you. The price is irrelevant - simply how does it feel to play. And sound. Recently I went looking for a Precision bass. I tried lots, and I mean lots, in various price ranges. Eventually the only one I really liked, the one I kept coming back to, was a USA built Fender. Not the most expensive and definitely not the cheapest in the shops but it felt and sounded right so I bought it. Don't be blinded by the price. Cheap or expensive, if it works for you go for it.

Schnozz

I bought a £60 (Sue Ryder) Precision Bass to back up my £1000 (Bravewood) Precision Bass...

Aside from the looks and some unpolished frets, I couldn't tell the difference in sound and that's why I have a Cort Strat.

If you're going to pay over £1000 on a Guitar, get a Yamaha SA2200 or something classy, not a dime a dozen Stratomacaster. 

axisus

That Cruz does look awesome though!

Schnozz

axisus said:

That Cruz does look awesome though!

Looks like a cat pissed on it!

midlifecrisis

sound practically identical to me, but then we are only hearing one type of tone setting. also doesnt take into consideration playability and feel of guitar.    last year i bought a cheap affinity tele and loved it, it inspired me to get a fender baja tele, which i still have and really like but i wouldnt say its five times better than the affinity. what matters is that i liked it and it was affordable to me. I cant justify spending over 1k on a guitar at the moment but appreciate if you can afford it and want it it doesnt matter how much more it is than a cheaper  similar one.

Octafish

Voxman said:

Octafish said:

Link in OP doesn't work ...

Fixed. 

Be interesting to see if anyone's ears change when they see the guitars:

Ah cheers, I think I viewed the reveal video he's just posted.

As I said the biggest issue is the fact the Squier has ceramic pickups and the Fender has Alnicos. That kind of blurs the comparison. Swap the pickups over and I bet you'd hear the guitars swap sound somewhat.

darthed1981

I think here as well we probably aren't giving Squier enough credit.

I've played quite a few Squiers in the past few years, and none have been bad, most very good.

I'd have bought a Squier Maczis Jazzmaster in PMT Northampton if some idiot hadn't previously sent it on a trip to the floor!

thermionic

Weird. I couldn't tell the difference. Well, there was a difference, but I couldn't say which was better, they were just different.

Then I watch the other video where he's shown playing both... Oh yeah, the Cruz sounds much clearer and smoother!

I think this tells us a lot more about psychology than guitars.

Rocker

Another thread here, sound quality via Spotify, probably gives the answer to why both sound more or less the same.  It is the low bitrate of the audio.  If you could hear a significant difference, that difference would be massive in the flesh.  

Sassafras

They both sound incredibly boring but that's more down to the playing.

olafgarten

Schnozz said:

axisus said:

That Cruz does look awesome though!

Looks like a cat pissed on it!

That's what it's supposed to look like, a Cat Owners relic. 

rossi

Schnozz said:

axisus said:

That Cruz does look awesome though!

Looks like a cat pissed on it!

Yeah but it was a pedigree cat fed on specially bred mice tossed in honey .

grungebob

I only listened to 30 seconds of each. Hated the tune hated the tone but B sounded marginally less worse. But nope couldn’t honestly say which was which. 

duotone

I preferred B, but a $5900 difference...No Way!

Would have been good to hear a clean tone comparison.