Guitars: Ever gone for function over form?

Philly_Q

Paul_C said:

TeleMaster said:

goldtop said:

^ Anyone who bought a Telecaster

Whaaaaaat??? 

Telecasters seem to be the current easy target for those who know nothing

Try being a PRS fan, they're always an easy target.  At least with Teles opinion is pretty much split down the middle.

stickyfiddle

fretmeister said:

Kurtis said:

fretmeister said:

Always!

I never buy for aesthetics. I don’t give a crap what an instrument looks like. If it looks nice then that’s a bonus, but I really don’t care.

There are loads of beautiful instruments that I refuse to even consider because their function is compromised.

Is that why you wear stretchy slacks and work boots? 

Actually I do buy identical sets of clothes when I find something I like. 

I def do that. Highly recommended! 

Kittyfrisk

^ Are you both in the Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg sartorial fanclub?

Lestratcaster

I too never buy a guitar just cos how it looks. If it sounds crap and doesn't feel nice to play I don't want it.

All my guitars are either red/white/black. Dull to look at but feel great to play and all sound good, are well setup and stay in tune. I use them for recording mostly so you'll never see the guitar anyway.

Philly_Q

stickyfiddle said:

fretmeister said:

Kurtis said:

fretmeister said:

Always!

I never buy for aesthetics. I don’t give a crap what an instrument looks like. If it looks nice then that’s a bonus, but I really don’t care.

There are loads of beautiful instruments that I refuse to even consider because their function is compromised.

Is that why you wear stretchy slacks and work boots? 

Actually I do buy identical sets of clothes when I find something I like. 

I def do that. Highly recommended! 

I guess I do that, to an extent.  Always the same brand of jeans, always M&S for socks and pants.  And I bought multiple pairs of the same types of shoes which went out of production years ago.  I'm on my last pair now, I'll have to find something new soon.

Kittyfrisk said:

^ Are you both in the Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg sartorial fanclub?

To me the reference point for that is Seth Brundle in The Fly.

goldtop

Paul_C said:

TeleMaster said:

goldtop said:

^ Anyone who bought a Telecaster

Whaaaaaat??? 

Telecasters seem to be the current easy target for those who know nothing

They are butt-ugly (as per the OP's question), from the withered headstock to the plank-like body and low-effort hardware.

They function great. I know that. We all know that. 

Sporky

Never!

As the great Gojirosan said, how a guitar looks is by far the most important thing, because everything else can be changed.

I have five of the same hoodie but in different colours.

stickyfiddle

Kittyfrisk said:

^ Are you both in the Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg sartorial fanclub?

Nah, not my vibe. But I have 4 identical white shirts that are mostly for work and occasional nice dinners, plus a couple of matching plaids in different colours.  At least a couple of pairs of same jeans, and 2 of my favourite black hoodie. Plus a bunch of same-make tshirts in black & white. 

p90fool

I've had half a dozen or so great looking Strats made between 1963 and 2020 but have only kept the ugly one. 

Keefy

Looks have a huge effect on whether I will even try a guitar. The closest I’ve got to buying a guitar that did the job I wanted but didn’t appeal in the looks department, was a Palir Titan T-type in Shoreline gold. I love Teles but I didn’t love the gold finish. I tried it anyway and ended up buying it on the strength of the middle position sound. The looks have since grown on me.

Musical_Mystery_Tour

Yup, got to agree with the Telecaster assessment; I love 'em to bits - I have three of them and am considering adding a fourth one at the moment - but it's not a pretty guitar by any stretch of the imagination. In fact if you look at it objectively, the Telecaster is fairly ugly, however from a functional standpoint, it's an absolutely brilliant design which was years ahead of its time, and that is where its beauty lies, not in its looks, but in its practicality and versatility.

I call it 'the working man's guitar' because that's basically what it was designed to be, and over 75 years later, it still is. The Strat was essentially the prettied up version of it with some extra whistles and bells, but I've always preferred the Tele for it's no-nonsense, easily repairable simplicity. I think that's why a Telecaster looks better when it's had the shit bashed out of it, sort of like how a WW2 Jeep looks better with mud all over it.

Offset

p90fool said:

I've had half a dozen or so great looking Strats made between 1963 and 2020 but have only kept the ugly one. 

Yeah, I'm the same with wives (date range aside).

Yorkie

I am imperfect and so are my guitars. 

Amazing how many times I’ve been able to reuse this comment so far! 

Kurtis

Yorkie said:

I am imperfect and so are my guitars. 

Amazing how many times I’ve been able to reuse this comment so far! 

Whether it's relevant or not!  

Grunfeld

Cols said:

...There are no headless bodiless monstrosities in the Cols household, and there never will be.

So you've never owned a Gibson then?

skay

Nope, I did the opposite a bought a Rickenbacker :-) 

slacker

I often get a colour scheme I don't like. 4 out of 5 of my electric guitars are the wrong colour.

Yorkie

Kurtis said:

Yorkie said:

I am imperfect and so are my guitars. 

Amazing how many times I’ve been able to reuse this comment so far! 

Whether it's relevant or not!  

Nobody’s perfect. 

TTBZ

I guess my SG falls into this category for me. I did used to like the look of them (big Sabbath and Fugazi fan!) but I find it too cheesy now. I've found that it's one of the most comfortable guitars for me to play though, especially live. Doesn't sound quite as good as a Les Paul but my bad shoulder and back thanks me for it!

Would also like a Strandberg, but I do kinda think they look cool in their own way I guess. Comfiest guitar I've ever played.

uksaint7

Yes, with my current guitar, my headless Kiesel (monstrosity? ). I think it is quite cool but really I bought it because of the ergonomics. It is a bit too pointy for my tastes. However as it was a custom order I got the chance to make it look a bit more classic, I went for a 70's kind of vibe with a green burst finish, laminate through-neck and double cream pickups. I love the look of more vintage style guitars but the playability and accessibility of my Kiesel is excellent and I find it much more comfortable for me to play.