What’s more important to you choosing between guitars when both are assumed to play perfectly

hollywoodrox

Imagine you are buying a guitar  for a certain price  & there is a choice of two 
  We can assume both are well made  & roughly the same price .

  One is aesthetically pleasing to you Colour ,neck  type of Board etc  brand new 

  The second is  not so aesthetically pleasing to your particular taste but is a well regarded 
   Finish & colour to most people  but more important is its pedigree  made in the USA  (barring
    political opinions aside for this hypothetical exercise ) 

   I think it more important to go with your heart with the one that pleases you aesthetically 

  Regardless of its pedigree (which is still a highly regarded country producing some of the
    Finest guitars we know  actually equalling or exceeding the USA .

    So  aesthetics wins for me   But that pedigree is a tempting devil on your shoulder 
     Knowing you’re getting an instrument of more monetary value 2nd hand .
     But the creative process is all about what inspires you  monetary value is ego & bragging rights 

    I must say I’ve seen (& own one) Mexican Strats  that are absolute bargains and look & perform 
    Great   I owned 2 outstanding Chinese Jackson’s  a squier that played like a Charvel .

     Interested to hear your stories 

Brio

Made in Korea PRS SE guitars for the win every time. But feel wins over looks every time.
It's basically the natural or stripper tits question at a guitar level.
Are you an eyes or hands guy?

stickyfiddle

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

I’m never going to buy a guitar I don’t love the look of. 

skullfunkerry

In your example Paul I'd go for the aesthetically pleasing one, because I don't really care about pedigree; my brain seems hardwired to go for the "underdog" in situations like that.

Sporky

I'd go to a different shop that didn't present me with a weird hypothetical dilemma.

Then again, this has never happened to me.

guitars4you

Only a few replies so far, but surprised eyes win over hands in many of the above replies - If it doesn't play well then it will soon be back up for sale - So playability, feel, tonal character for me - Maybe in truth I want a bit of both but looks alone ain't going to get that guitar in my collection 

stickyfiddle

guitars4you said:

Only a few replies so far, but surprised eyes win over hands in many of the above replies - If it doesn't play well then it will soon be back up for sale - So playability, feel, tonal character for me - Maybe in truth I want a bit of both but looks alone ain't going to get that guitar in my collection 

Truth is I won't buy a guitar I don't love the feel of either. But I won't even pick it up in the first place if it looks rubbish

Caffeine_Vampire

Close your eyes and have someone put each guitar in your hands in turn. Play and listen and choose the one that gets you off.

Caffeine_Vampire

Having said that, if the winning guitar makes me look slimmer and/or cooler then it's a big bonus

OilCityPickups

guitars4you said:

Only a few replies so far, but surprised eyes win over hands in many of the above replies - If it doesn't play well then it will soon be back up for sale - So playability, feel, tonal character for me - Maybe in truth I want a bit of both but looks alone ain't going to get that guitar in my collection 

I'm not surprised at all - we seem to exist in an odd place where folks buy and sell guitars with a turnover rate and fervour that would make even the most avid Starwars action figure collector blush to his socks. 

UnclePsychosis

guitars4you said:

Only a few replies so far, but surprised eyes win over hands in many of the above replies - If it doesn't play well then it will soon be back up for sale - So playability, feel, tonal character for me - Maybe in truth I want a bit of both but looks alone ain't going to get that guitar in my collection 

In the OPs scenario both guitars apparently "play perfectly" so this isn't anything to do with looks vs feel.

Its apparently about "looks vs pedigree" and nothing to do with playability.

Tannin

guitars4you said:

Only a few replies so far, but surprised eyes win over hands in many of the above replies - If it doesn't play well then it will soon be back up for sale - So playability, feel, tonal character for me - Maybe in truth I want a bit of both but looks alone ain't going to get that guitar in my collection 

But that isn't the question, nor was it the answers. The question supposes that the two instruments play identically, the only difference is that one looks nicer while the other one is a more famous brand. In three words, the question is:

Looks or brand?

Tannin

As for me, I'd go for the one in more interesting timbers. Hell, we all know that good guitars are just an excuse to buy lovely bits of polished wood, don't we?

As for US made, at the moment I'd go out of y way to avoid it. Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, sure. Others, probably not.

english_bob

guitars4you said:

Only a few replies so far, but surprised eyes win over hands in many of the above replies - If it doesn't play well then it will soon be back up for sale - So playability, feel, tonal character for me - Maybe in truth I want a bit of both but looks alone ain't going to get that guitar in my collection 

Hollywoodrox's hypothetical dilemma doesn't mention playability except to say that both "play perfectly" and are "well made". It really comes down to "a non-US made guitar *I* think looks great" versus "a US made guitar *most people* think looks good".

I think yours is a more interesting dilemma though- a perfectly decent guitar that looks great versus a guitar that feels great to play but isn't much to look at.

The real world answer is the one @Sporky gives of course- you put your wallet away and keep looking. It's a golden age of guitar manufacturing and it shouldn't be hard to find an instrument that pleases your hands, ears and eyes.

english_bob

hollywoodrox said:

Imagine you are buying a guitar  for a certain price  & there is a choice of two 
  We can assume both are well made  & roughly the same price .

  One is aesthetically pleasing to you Colour ,neck  type of Board etc  brand new 

  The second is  not so aesthetically pleasing to your particular taste but is a well regarded 
   Finish & colour to most people  but more important is its pedigree  made in the USA  (barring
    political opinions aside for this hypothetical exercise ) 

   I think it more important to go with your heart with the one that pleases you aesthetically 

  Regardless of its pedigree (which is still a highly regarded country producing some of the
    Finest guitars we know  actually equalling or exceeding the USA .

    So  aesthetics wins for me   But that pedigree is a tempting devil on your shoulder 
     Knowing you’re getting an instrument of more monetary value 2nd hand .
     But the creative process is all about what inspires you  monetary value is ego & bragging rights 

    I must say I’ve seen (& own one) Mexican Strats  that are absolute bargains and look & perform 
    Great   I owned 2 outstanding Chinese Jackson’s  a squier that played like a Charvel .

     Interested to hear your stories 

Hang on. Is the USA guitar meant to be "pre-loved" in this scenario?

The answer is still the one that makes me want to pick it up and play it, which- all other things being equal- is the prettier one.

GoFish

Given where we are, isn't the answer both? One to play, the other for the music video.

More pragmatically, both and give em a six month audition.

Offset

I'll be drawn to a guitar by its' looks and specs/features equally.  However if I don't like the specs (thin neck, 7.25", tall narrow frets etc) it can be as aesthetically stunning as you like - I won't be interested, despite being attracted to its' appearance in the first place.

I have occasionally been drawn to a guitar with all the specs I look for whose appearance has been sub-optimal, but it isn't often.

PAL

To me the most important thing is the guitar plays in tune. It's no good having something that looks pleasing but sounds out of tune.

guitars4you

Tannin said:

guitars4you said:

Only a few replies so far, but surprised eyes win over hands in many of the above replies - If it doesn't play well then it will soon be back up for sale - So playability, feel, tonal character for me - Maybe in truth I want a bit of both but looks alone ain't going to get that guitar in my collection 

But that isn't the question, nor was it the answers. The question supposes that the two instruments play identically, the only difference is that one looks nicer while the other one is a more famous brand. In three words, the question is:

Looks or brand?

Okay - I misread the question but then in that case my answer is neither 

In some ways the question reminds me of a scenario I went through about 15 years ago - I wanted to buy a PRS Hollowbody - I was at the PRS UK facility and tried 4 identical models they had in stock - Talking about USA models here - 3 were pretty with all the usual exotic figured maple trimmings etc - One was black 

Played all 4 - Immediately found one that was not as good a player IMO - But very good looking - So it went back in the case - I eventually got it down to 2 guitars to make my final choice - The black one and a burst that looked great - I still felt the black was the best player, but not the best looker 

I probably spent another 30 mins looking at both guitars and playing them  - Looks alone and there was only one winner - Playability wise and whilst there was not a lot in it, but the black version always had something else in it - I kept reminding myself that hands beats eyes every time but I was being tested here - In the end hands won - And I choose, what for a PRS is a bland looking model, so went for the black model - No pretty maple on show at all 

So in away, playability does come back into it - As even when you check out 4 identical PRS Guitars, you can find one that possesses something extra - So even if we 'suppose' that they play identically they don't 

I do support the scenario that eyes is maybe the first initial reason you consider any guitar, when you first see it on a stand/wall - Regardless of what make/model/brand it is - But if the next test is to see how it excites you, then sooner or later I'm going to play it - Very rarely, if ever do you come across two identical guitars with regards to feel/playability - So now, regardless of make, model, brand and looks, if it doesn't float my boat when I play it, I won't be buying it 

However and just for the record - 2024 and the Brum Guitar Show - I wanted to buy a nice acoustic guitar - So entered the acoustic arena - Looked at Lowden, Faith, Maton, Yamaha etc - Can't recall everything that was on display - I ended up buying an acoustic guitar, that an hour earlier I had never heard of - And yes my eyes and I suppose reputation, did initially lead me to look at certain models within any brand - But at the end of the day I purchased a JWJ - Hand built in the UK - And yes the ultimate buying decision was about feel, playability and tone - But brand name and looks took second place in such a scenario - I doubt there was a poor guitar on display - Granted I didn't play every guitar in the room - But I bet I played 20 and found only one winner - And it was a brand most of us have probably never heard of - Yes I like the look of it - But feel, playability and tonal character were the key factors before I handed over my pin number

LionAquaLooper

The colour.  Then the electronics.

Greatape

Sound, feel and weight, in that order.