Why the 'anti bling' bias guys

Adam_MD

Jookyjr;762052" said:

Adam_MD said:

blueskunk;762024" said:Tacky

Tacky














Totally.

Who'd put a cream switch tip on that?

Are you sure Jooky's your dad? Pop quiz how would you finish a new les Paul build?

A - Classic goldtop or sunburst
B - Tie-dye
C - Acid and Rust
D - All of the above.

Jookyjr

Adam_MD said:

Are you sure Jooky's your dad? Pop quiz how would you finish a new les Paul build?

A - Classic goldtop or sunburst
B - Tie-dye
C - Acid and Rust
D - All of the above.

I guess you'd better ask my mum, and D covers it...though Burnt Beano with a Paisley accent is likely to be the look for autumn this year I think

Adam_MD

Jookyjr;762063" said:

Adam_MD said:

Are you sure Jooky's your dad? Pop quiz how would you finish a new les Paul build?

A - Classic goldtop or sunburst

B - Tie-dye

C - Acid and Rust

D - All of the above.









I guess you'd better ask my mum, and D covers it...though Burnt Beano with a Paisley accent is likely to be the look for autumn this year I think

Only one truly wise in the way of Jooky would be able to answer with Burnt Beano with a Paisley accent. He has taught you well

57Deluxe

what style of music goes with looking like a pair of trannies knickers...?

http://worldguitars.co.uk/images/uploads/products-banner/prs_ps_custom24_raspberry_50381.jpg

RaymondLin

Jez6345789 said:

For me the humour in all this is PRS is still trying to produce the best guitar he can where as Fender and Gibson are trying to make the best guitar they used to. 

The whole PRS thing was pretty much based on the envy of people who could not afford them back in the day they were dearer but better made than Gibson and Fender. Perhaps not always bought buy hard working musicians but bought by people who could afford to go out and buy the best to learn on rather than a 2nd hand squire.

It is what it is

Ha Ha  

A R9 now costs twice as much as a PRS...

andy1839

I flippin' love blingy guitars. Nearly every one I own has gold hardware, some sort of crustacean graveyard or quilt/flame tops/backs/necks etc.

That's just what I likes.

It would be rubbish if we all liked the same thing. Whatever would we talk about if GAS didn't exist?

Flink_Poyd

Rocker;49652" said:

especially when it comes to PRS guitars.  Too much bling!  I would only buy one in a full colour or whatever.  And speaking of PRS, why are they referred to as dentists' guitars.  Neither of the two dentists that I know play guitar.  Just wondering...

Because being a guitarist is all about control, restraint and not showing off.

I think some people see it as being a bit "boy racer" spoilers, side skirts and a flashy paint job will always divide opinion.

randomhandclaps

For me, what a guitar looks like is completely secondary to how it plays as I feel a guitar that is both great and feels right for me is such a rare commodity I'd put up with pretty much any finish.  That said I think when people question why blingy guitars are met with a touch of scepticism they forget how, where and when they first started appearing. 

When I was young, professional, high quality instruments came in very limited colour palettes with the exception of custom-made or overpriced limited runs which were ultimately built to go in a display case rather than gig around pubs and clubs.  If you walked into a guitar shop and saw a guitar with a flashy or graphic finish then it was usually a BC Rich-a-like piece of shit dress up to sell on aesthetics over quality.

Then brands like PRS came along trying to force their way into the mainstream and compete with high-end Gibsons and Fenders etc.  Working musicians (like any craftsmen) are sceptical of new tools when they already have something that does the job.  PRS's approach to get noticed was to offer 'flasher' or more varied finish options than the established big brands.

Musicians have always tend to hark back to the 'classics'.  Blingy guitars go against this.  It's not to say they are wrong or inferior, just that they will always be a matter of taste.

Another angle that I think doesn't help the 'Dentist guitar' stereotype (which is just accepted banter) it that you see an old, battered Gibson or Fender and think "That guitars had a life, it has a story and most of all it's been played.".  It's quite rare (partly to do with age) to see blingy guitars that don't look like they've lived their life in a display case... possibly whilst the owner was doing root canal work or working out a new tax avoidance scheme for his clients.

stickyfiddle

RaymondLin said:

Jez6345789 said:

For me the humour in all this is PRS is still trying to produce the best guitar he can where as Fender and Gibson are trying to make the best guitar they used to. 

The whole PRS thing was pretty much based on the envy of people who could not afford them back in the day they were dearer but better made than Gibson and Fender. Perhaps not always bought buy hard working musicians but bought by people who could afford to go out and buy the best to learn on rather than a 2nd hand squire.

It is what it is

Ha Ha  

A R9 now costs twice as much as a PRS...

And the starting price for a Private Stock is twice what an LP Standard retails at, what's your point?

FWIW a lot of it for me is chinese guitars covered in mother of pearl and fake flamey wood, plus the whole early 2000's Linkin Park/Staind/Creed/Nickelback/Limp Bizkit thing where every other bastard was playing stripey PRSi. 

I generally don't like blingy stuff but my #1 and #2 guitars are a flame-topped Gibson CS336 and a pink paisley telecaster so what do I know?

meltedbuzzbox

who cares?

Play what you like. There will always be people on the internet that dont agree with your opinion on what a great guitar is. 

It will be this way until the end of days. (assuming the guitar lasts that long)

Rowby1

A nice looking guitar is one thing......but I'll not part with my cash unless it plays, sounds and feels great, otherwise what's the point?

If I had the choice of course I'd have something that ticked all the boxes but bearing in mind most of us have a budget to work to, what are you going to compromise on? For me the look has to be a secondary consideration.

I have a Heritage 535, which most people agree has one of the most uninspired headstock shapes of all time. But it plays great and sounds as good (if not better) than any Gibson 335 I've ever had my hands on.

impmann

What ever moves you.

Bling guitars don't do much for me, as I prefer the blue collar look/feel of Fenders by and large (or Fender inspired instruments).

ICBM

I think you definitely need to blind test it.

Personally I dislike pretty much all blingy things, guitars are no exception. It's not to to with brands or anything.

But whatever you want to play is fine.

Phil_aka_Pip

I'm not anti-bling so much as I don't really think it's "my bag".

The blingiest guitars I've got are both Yamahas and the bling wasn't why I bought them.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/musophilr/Yamahas_zps855a4cde.jpg

I think this is probably my un-blingiest guitar

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/musophilr/GibsonSGStd_zps35415195.jpg

GuitarZero

When it comes to PRS the same people who slate them for being too garish or blingy usually disappear when you start talking about their solid colour guitars.  I think they are one of the best playing guitars available today and at every price point, they are hard to beat. The SE's have been popular for some time and the S2 range really put the cat amongst the pigeons because suddenly they were competing with Gibson Studios and Fender American Standard guitars in terms of price and because of the stripped down nature of many of the S2 guitars, their appeal has risen in some aspects.

Personally I'm not a fan of gold hardware on guitars, the Les Paul Customs somehow manage to get away with it more than other models though.  I am a fan of exotic woods, flame tops, quilts etc but I'm particular about colour, I don't like the bright pinks, greens, blues, purples etc, I prefer something a bit more traditional.  My only Core PRS model is Charcoal/Grey, my SE is Cherry Sunburst.  My Les Paul has a very well defined flame top, but again I went for Tobacco Sunburst keeping in line with the more traditional vibe.

impmann

It has been pointed out to me that I own a Jazzmaster and these are 'bling'... really? Define bling...

RaymondLin

stickyfiddle said:

RaymondLin said:

Jez6345789 said:

For me the humour in all this is PRS is still trying to produce the best guitar he can where as Fender and Gibson are trying to make the best guitar they used to. 

The whole PRS thing was pretty much based on the envy of people who could not afford them back in the day they were dearer but better made than Gibson and Fender. Perhaps not always bought buy hard working musicians but bought by people who could afford to go out and buy the best to learn on rather than a 2nd hand squire.

It is what it is

Ha Ha  

A R9 now costs twice as much as a PRS...

And the starting price for a Private Stock is twice what an LP Standard retails at, what's your point?

FWIW a lot of it for me is chinese guitars covered in mother of pearl and fake flamey wood, plus the whole early 2000's Linkin Park/Staind/Creed/Nickelback/Limp Bizkit thing where every other bastard was playing stripey PRSi. 

I generally don't like blingy stuff but my #1 and #2 guitars are a flame-topped Gibson CS336 and a pink paisley telecaster so what do I know?

I knew someone would bring up the Private Stock point but I thought the point was obvious...anyway, and I am sure you know all of the below but since you asked....

It is widely considered that the Gibson USA line is not of the quality of the Gibson Custom Shop, they use different wood, different hardware and even different factory even.  The Custom Shop is considered around the same level of the PRS Core line.  The PRS Core line also make the same guitars as their Private stock, it's the same wood, same hardware, same factory.

So looking at it from the quality perspective, it used to be that a Core is about the same as a Gibson Custom Shop Reissue.  The Reissue is now twice as much as the Core.  Of course, people used to compare PRS Core to Gibson USA and back then the Core was more than the Standard but the quality was also better, if I take that argument, then then Standard has caught up in price to the Core and they are both around the same price.  

Private Stoke is akin to Gibson's Made to Measure programme.  Private Stock is not better quality, it is not any lines of guitar, it is specced by the buyer individually, like Made to Measure.  Which I did not mention as it's something not off the shelve. 

That's the point.

Jalapeno

Phil_aka_Pip said:

I'm not anti-bling so much as I don't really think it's "my bag".

The blingiest guitars I've got are both Yamahas and the bling wasn't why I bought them.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/musophilr/Yamahas_zps855a4cde.jpg

They aren't bling in the slightest.

THIS is bling

usedtobe

I went through a short lived blingy guitar phase, but bling's not my thing, these days. Each to his/her own, and no harm in a bit of banter, I suppose.

Phil_aka_Pip

@Jalapeno To me a gold plated and engraved stopbar is "bling" - well, it's more bling than the chrome or nickel stuff on my other guitars. However, I'm happy if other people don't see my guitars as blingy