What's the impact of a 'quality' electric?

Jayne

Jayne

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I played for a year on my $100 amazon acoustic before I went to a music shop and played different acoustics to pick my 'real' acoustic I wanted to spend money on. The sound difference between the various (price) levels is very very noticeable up until around $3k, then I think you're paying for embellishments/inlays/etc vs. actual sound quality. Now even with my reduced hearing when I go back to playing my $100 acoustic, it sounds like crap.

Fast forward and now I've been playing my $200 electric for a year, and am toying with the idea of upgrading. However... how much of the sound of an electric is from the guitar vs. the amp/pedals/etc? Is there a huge sound quality difference between $200 and $500 and $1000 and $2000 if you keep everything else it's hooked up to the same?

I'm sure I'll just go into the same store and play around, but with the acoustics it was easy. Play a few, go into a private room and play without distraction and pick. With the electric there is so much infrastructure and fiddly crap I'm not sure that's practical to do (or if they'll end up 'tricking' me by changing more than the guitar, or setting up an amp that's not suitable for cheap stuff).
 
I think it depends on your “musicianship “. A more expensive guitar, properly set up, will be somewhat easier to play and sound somewhat better than a cheapie. A proper set up is key.

After that, I think it really depends on your ear. A strat, straight into a deluxe reverb, is really all you need if your chops are good.

I’d say, take the pedals you’ve been using with your current guitar and play through a similar amp to get as close a comparison as you can. Maybe even take your current guitar and A/B them through the same amplification chain.

To me, I think $1,500 for a bolt on neck and $2k for a set neck gets you into a good playing, quality instrument (without frills).

Just my .02
 
Once you get to 1000 dollars, everything being equal, it gets very hard to detect. Nowadays there are some amazing guitars under 1k as well.

There is another jump imo between 399 and 699, as far as guitar tiers go. If I could do it all over again id just get a nice average guitar and a nice average amp, and play the snot out of them.

Instead I got distracted by toys and pedals etc... so those ate time I could have spent getting better.
 
The entire PRS SE line is 20% off until the end of the year. Personally, I think those are some great instruments for the money. Check one out and see for yourself. Almost all of them are coming in under $1000 during the sale. Squier and Epiphone also offer some good less expensive clones of Fender and Gibson models. Sterling by Music Man is a other brand to throw in the mix. They offer some great models under $1000. Now is a good time for less expensive electric guitars. Good luck on your search.
 
steelciocc said:
A proper set up is key.
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I had my cheapy setup and restrung with slightly heavier strings, my instructor said that would make the transition between acoustic and electric less 'dramatic'. I play both every session pretty much, so I do a lot of flipping back and forth.

steelciocc said:
I’d say, take the pedals you’ve been using with your current guitar and play through a similar amp to get as close a comparison as you can. Maybe even take your current guitar and A/B them through the same amplification chain.
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I'm not actually using any pedals, I just have a spark amp and am using whatever effects it can do. There are tone sets you can easily download, so I just pull down whatever I need for whatever song I'm trying to play. So far it's worked pretty well for my skill level. That would make it pretty easy to use my real gear though, that amp is very portable.

That is how I picked the acoustic, took my original in and played it back to back with any contenders.
 
GeorgeBush said:
Once you get to 1000 dollars, everything being equal, it gets very hard to detect. Nowadays there are some amazing guitars under 1k as well.

There is another jump imo between 399 and 699, as far as guitar tiers go.
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Found the same in the acoustic realm. A couple of tiers, base when everything is plywood (or MLM or whatever they're calling it), when you got a solid wood top, then solid back and sides, then slightly better woods and then.... it got nutty with all the inlay and fancy stuff.
 
PIsgahboy said:
The entire PRS SE line is 20% off until the end of the year. Personally, I think those are some great instruments for the money. Check one out and see for yourself. Almost all of them are coming in under $1000 during the sale. Squier and Epiphone also offer some good less expensive clones of Fender and Gibson models. Sterling by Music Man is a other brand to throw in the mix. They offer some great models under $1000. Now is a good time for less expensive electric guitars. Good luck on your search.
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I have a PRS SE tobacco sunburst LP copy, and it plays GREAT!! Nice action and pretty fast neck. And the pickups are perfect for any playing I need to do…. Which ain’t much. An occasional rhythm track on a demo and that’s about it….

I think I got it at Guitar Center in Melbourne, FL for around $500.00 with a case. It was used, but in excellent shape!!
New it was around $800.00
 
Don't rule out used guitars either. I never buy new anymore because you seem to get more for the money, most times. Honestly, I'm pretty impressed with the what I call "mid level" $500-$1200-ish range in quality and consistency. And now would be a good time to look around and find a tech that you like. A decent setup can make a decent guitar better.
 
What you can get for under a grand is crazy.
It’s a great time to be alive for affordable guitars. Soooo many choices.
Worth asking shop guys their opinions based on your budget. Hard to go wrong with a Mexican Fender strat or tele.

Agree with steelciocci, professional setup is key and worth every penny.
 
The set up is def key.. My old custom Dinky had humbuckers with coil taps at both ends and good quality pots.
It had a wonderful range of sound. My thinking is that the "guitar" part is for my feels
and the electronics determine the sound. For the most part, anyways..
I never was a "techy" kinda player tho' and lacked the "nuance" to appreciate the higher end gear. 🥴:cool:
 
Learning to set up your own stuff is time well spent IMO. Get a pro to set it up, figure out what you like about it, and learn what it takes to adjust it correctly. It's a lot like fitting a shotgun. But I enjoy tinkering and wrenching on my own stuff, so...

As far as purchasing, I'd get yours set up, possibly a pickup upgrade, and play it until you know exactly what you want out of it that you're not getting. THEN figure out what new instrument best addresses that need/want.
 
sixtysevensg said:
Don't rule out used guitars either. I never buy new anymore because you seem to get more for the money, most times. Honestly, I'm pretty impressed with the what I call "mid level" $500-$1200-ish range in quality and consistency. And now would be a good time to look around and find a tech that you like. A decent setup can make a decent guitar better.
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Exactly. A lot of folks who were staying home during the WuFlu spent their DonnieDollars and BidenBucks on music gear that they now no longer have time to play. I think that's the main reason PRS just introduced a boatload of new SE variations and marked down the whole SE line (except for the DGT). Heck there's one dealer on Reverb who regularly has multiple used SE Standard 24s from the last couple of model years for $350/$20 shipping.
 
Obi-Wan Bon Jovi said:
Exactly. A lot of folks who were staying home during the WuFlu spent their DonnieDollars and BidenBucks on music gear that they now no longer have time to play. I think that's the main reason PRS just introduced a boatload of new SE variations and marked down the whole SE line (except for the DGT). Heck there's one dealer on Reverb who regularly has multiple used SE Standard 24s from the last couple of model years for $350/$20 shipping.
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Marketplace is flooded with people dumping scamdemic gear purchases right now. It's a great time to buy, suck time to sell. I've been scoring some screaming deals on some Gibson's here lately with plans on flipping them when things get better/less saturated.

I also believe that FJBidenomics caused inflation is causing folks to dump their "luxury" items such as those .gov funded guitar purchases. Let's face it, guitars are luxury items and very few of us are making a living with it. Definitely a buyers market! @Jayne , if you run across something, swing by and let us know what and we can steer you away from a pontential POS. Or, maybe get a local member to go with you to help spend your money. Ask us questions.
 
WeepingAngel said:
As far as purchasing, I'd get yours set up, possibly a pickup upgrade, and play it until you know exactly what you want out of it that you're not getting. THEN figure out what new instrument best addresses that need/want.
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I've been thinking about it a lot over the last few weeks and trying to actually figure out what I want. Can't seem to come up with anything.

With only 2 years of playing in, I don't have the skills yet to know what I might want or be able to take advantage of it. The good news is that they're not going to ban guitars any time soon, so waiting is perfectly OK.
 
I went to Harry's today and talked with a guy, he really spent some time showing me the differences in build/features/etc of various tiers. Zero pressure, just good info. No wonder I like giving those guys money, they really come across as helpful.

Anyway, since I still can't define my music style he suggested this (or the non-US made version depending on budget): https://harrysguitarshop.com/collections/paul-reed-smith/products/prs-ce-24-amber-smokeburst-1

The rationale is that this is a 'swiss army knife' style guitar. It's flexible enough to be used for whatever general tone I'm after. It won't be as good of a strat as a strat, etc but it can fake it pretty good. The sales guy said he was in a cover band and this is what they use because they change genres constantly during a gig and can't have a dozen guitars on hand.

Need to put more hours into practicing Ozzy and Green Day so I can go try some stuff out. I've already got a good handle on a Brittney song, mostly because it bugs the crap out of the wife when I play it.
 
Me. said:
@ProfMagoo(ret) , didn’t you go through some of this same process?
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A few years back, yes. I went with a PRS Custom 24 SE.
Unfortunately, I have such a bad ear and a complete inability to keep time that I sold it via Reverb.

Thanks for the mention, but I'd be the last person who would feel themselves qualified to comment on instrument choices. Now Dr. Mrs. ProfMagoo is another matter, of course. :)

That said, the CE 24 is a fine guitar, particularly for bolt-on neck afficianados.
 
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Can't go wrong with prs. Swiss army knife is a good description. I should not have sold mine.
 
The PRS is a solid choice. One thing to be aware of if you plan on standing when playing is weight. 9-10lbs may not seem like a lot, but after a couple hours, you feel it. Especially as you get older.
 
sixtysevensg said:
The PRS is a solid choice. One thing to be aware of if you plan on standing when playing is weight. 9-10lbs may not seem like a lot, but after a couple hours, you feel it. Especially as you get older.
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yea, that's a lot heavier than my current setup. at the store I very intentionally kept my hands in my pockets as to not touch/fondle/play anything. it's not that time yet.

99% of the time I'm sitting down when I play, I'm lazy I guess.
 
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