What is a "Great Guitar"...???

[Roger666]

Possibly the real question should be asked as : What makes a guitar "Great guitar" ?

Is it the wood, frets, neck, tuners, bridge, electronics, strings, weight, price, brand, action, pickups, feel or where it was built or simply the bragging rights???

Or is it the combination of few of those above or all of them ?

Does a $7000 Gibson LP Custom sound 130% better than a $3000 LP and most importantly does it sound 7 times better than a $1000 Epiphone like a '59 Epi LP Std?

We agree that an electric guitar regardless of brand or model needs a great quality amp and pedals in order to achieve a great tone... Then what is the difference between the less expensive and unbelievably pricy guitars?

If talents like Dave Gilmour needs ton of the highest quality amps and pedals and sound setup, in addition to having his own personal guitar tech following him around, what is the rational behind us thinking there will be enough difference in performance between a $1000 and $3000 guitars and because of it we should buy the expensive one!

So, question remains, "what makes a guitar "GREAT" guitar?"

Oh, I wish I knew the answer... Hope, some of you do

A great guitar is one that tells YOU what to play. It talks to you before you even plug it in. For example, i have a '54 blackguard tele and a 2023 Squire equivalent. When I bought the Squire for a student, that thing was SO Chatty I couldnt believe it. All kinds of stuff was pouring out of it. Even stuff I never learned, but it seemed to guide my fingers to the right spots effortlessly.
Also its one that lets you be dynamic. If you play it lightly it gives off a nice clean tone but when you goose it, you get all the crunch and sustain you want.
In MY mind, thats what makes a great guitar or ANY instrument, really.

 

[syco]

The #1 factor of a great guitar to me is no fret buzz with string height no more than 6/64" bass side, 4/64" treble side. I don't know why I've been cursed with guitars with severe fret buzz, but every single one I've ever bought has/had it bad. Brand new Gibsons, used Gibsons, Epiphone, PRS, LTD, basses, too, Yamaha, Squier, Gretsch...
Doesn't matter how I set them up. I can put the best possible bridge and nut, get the frets leveled by the best repair shop in OR, and they just always have bad fret buzz no matter what. I bought 6 Gibsons this year and returned 5. The one I kept has the least buzz of the 6 but it's still bad enough to drive me mad. G string goes bwang like a sitar. B string rattles and frets out. And it comes and goes in every other spot.
Also, it has to be all black, non-glossy, with EMGs, a variable mid control, and an active balance control instead of a switch.

How do you get "Fret Buzz " with such high action ?

 

[Equalphone]

A great guitar is one that when you sit with it and play, you realize that it's your current skill limitations preventing you from producing more, not the guitar's limitations or characteristics limiting you.

 

[Darkness]

I thought for sure @Paruwi would say "when you've found one and you know that there are none blacker"

 

[AJ6stringsting]

Like myself and many Epiphone players have noted, many a Gibson owners give some negative attitude towards Epiphone owners .... buyer remore much ?!!!
As Joe Perry once sang," Let the music do the talking " .

 

[Joel]

A

Possibly the real question should be asked as : What makes a guitar "Great guitar" ?

Is it the wood, frets, neck, tuners, bridge, electronics, strings, weight, price, brand, action, pickups, feel or where it was built or simply the bragging rights???

Or is it the combination of few of those above or all of them ?

Does a $7000 Gibson LP Custom sound 130% better than a $3000 LP and most importantly does it sound 7 times better than a $1000 Epiphone like a '59 Epi LP Std?

We agree that an electric guitar regardless of brand or model needs a great quality amp and pedals in order to achieve a great tone... Then what is the difference between the less expensive and unbelievably pricy guitars?

If talents like Dave Gilmour needs ton of the highest quality amps and pedals and sound setup, in addition to having his own personal guitar tech following him around, what is the rational behind us thinking there will be enough difference in performance between a $1000 and $3000 guitars and because of it we should buy the expensive one!

So, question remains, "what makes a guitar "GREAT" guitar?"

Oh, I wish I knew the answer... Hope, some of you do

A ‘great guitar’ is magic in the hands of a sorcerer.
Mere wood and metal crafted together, and blessed with hands and fingers that can bring out the greatness.
Anyone can own and play a great guitar. Heck you can acquire one from Amazon.
But,,,, the greatness will only make itself known when in the hands of a musical sorcerer.

 

[DECEMBER]

Did it ever occur to you that your way of playing might be the culprit for that incredible amount of fret buzz.

It has nothing to do with how I play. I got .38mm picks and even if I use those and play as gently as humanly possible, a lot of the fret buzz was/is still unavailable. It's high frets, back-bows, warped necks, nuts cut too deep...
Always has to be at least one jackass that has to try to tell me I don't know what I'm doing. I've been playing for 25 years. I've been sold a bunch of shoddy used guitars with serious defects. And I'm not the only one who's saying that Gibson has been slacking off on the QC lately. Supposedly Plek'd at the factory... then how does my brand new Gibson arrive with 4 high frets?!

 

[DECEMBER]

How do you get "Fret Buzz " with such high action ?

High frets, warped necks, back-bows, nuts cut too deep... I've been sold a bunch of shoddy used guitars with severe defects.

 

[BGood]

Always has to be at least one jackass that has to try to tell me ...

Well ... this jackass will suggest you abandon playing string instruments and pickup bowling.

 

[imnotcreative]

It has nothing to do with how I play. I got .38mm picks and even if I use those and play as gently as humanly possible, a lot of the fret buzz was/is still unavailable. It's high frets, back-bows, warped necks, nuts cut too deep...
Always has to be at least one jackass that has to try to tell me I don't know what I'm doing. I've been playing for 25 years. I've been sold a bunch of shoddy used guitars with serious defects. And I'm not the only one who's saying that Gibson has been slacking off on the QC lately. Supposedly Plek'd at the factory... then how does my brand new Gibson arrive with 4 high frets?!

With thin picks i tend to pick harder because i don't feel when i hit the string, giving me fret buzz. With thicker picks i get more feedback in my fingers when i hit the strings, no fret buzz.
Back bowed necks is just a matter of loosening the trussrod. Nuts cut too deep is annoying but should only affect open strings. After fretting a string the nut is out of the equation.
When i buy a guitar i expect to have to do a basic setup, neck relief, string height, intonation and pickup height. There is a lot of water around where i live so i expect things will have moved after getting the guitar home.

I bought 6 new Gibsons since 2020 and none of them have any issues after doing a basic setup. All have a neck relief of 0.10'' at the 8th fret with 3/64th string height on high E and 4/64th on the low E.
The 3 Epiphones i bought also needed a basic setup and some minor polishing of the frets because they felt a bit scratching but that was dealt with in 10 minutes.

Have you checked pickup height? Pickups too close too the strings can pull them down when vibrating -> buzzing on the frets.

Sounds to me like either you buy from terrible shops or your playing technique could use some work.

 

[Epison]

1-.plays effortlessly
2-easy to dial in at the amp to the point it takes seconds
3-every time you put it down within minute you wanna pick it up again

 

[Paruwi]

Supposedly Plek'd at the factory... then how does my brand new Gibson arrive with 4 high frets?!

Gibson doesn't use the Plek system like it should be used,
they do it to cover their (not so good) work

My preferred guitar brand don't use Plek, they say a well crafted guitar doesn't need a Plek

 

[Cozmik Cowboy]

for the sellers it's the ones with the most profit

that's why (for example) thomann prefers to sell you their own harley-benton brand over other 'cheap' bands

Part of why I got fired from Guitar Center all those years ago.
Weekly sales meeting; the manager tells us "We got a great deal on these Yamaha [I forget the model; 1983 bottom-of-the-line Strat knock-off], and these are what we're pushing until they're gone. We're selling them for $150, that's a 100% mark-up."
Young player comes in, asks "What's the best guitar I can get for $150?"
Sez I "This 1959 Gibson ES-330-TD."
The 330 only made $50 profit. The manager heard me. I heard a bunch of.......correction.

Oh - and for the record, I thought then & think now that the '59 330 was the acme of electric guitar development (and try to find one for $150 now!)
[edit: And of course I include it's slightly younger sister, the Casino, in that assessment!]

 

[Raiyn]

Well ... this jackass will suggest you abandon playing string instruments and pickup bowling.

Bowling is a sport of skill and finesse.

 

[Cozmik Cowboy]

Bowling is a sport of skill and finesse.

And beer!

 

[nadnitram]

Right now, a great guitar is a Squier Paranormal Cabronita Telecaster. Earlier today, it was a Yamaha FJX730S. In a few minutes, I expect it will be an Epiphone Les Paul Classic.

I love having options!

 

[Mike Hickey]

A telecaster

 

[spupilup]

if it feels good to my hands
if it sounds good to my ears
if it looks good to my eyes
if it is well made to my expectaions
if it fits my wallet

it is a GREAT guitar in my opinion

I’d add one more caveat; if it makes me want to play it whenever I see it sitting on my rack or hanging on my wall. If a guitar does that, it’s a great guitar.

 

[DECEMBER]

Well ... this jackass will suggest you abandon playing string instruments and pickup bowling.

That's the most asinine thing I've ever heard.

 

[DECEMBER]

With thin picks i tend to pick harder because i don't feel when i hit the string, giving me fret buzz. With thicker picks i get more feedback in my fingers when i hit the strings, no fret buzz.
Back bowed necks is just a matter of loosening the trussrod. Nuts cut too deep is annoying but should only affect open strings. After fretting a string the nut is out of the equation.
When i buy a guitar i expect to have to do a basic setup, neck relief, string height, intonation and pickup height. There is a lot of water around where i live so i expect things will have moved after getting the guitar home.

I bought 6 new Gibsons since 2020 and none of them have any issues after doing a basic setup. All have a neck relief of 0.10'' at the 8th fret with 3/64th string height on high E and 4/64th on the low E.
The 3 Epiphones i bought also needed a basic setup and some minor polishing of the frets because they felt a bit scratching but that was dealt with in 10 minutes.

Have you checked pickup height? Pickups too close too the strings can pull them down when vibrating -> buzzing on the frets.

Sounds to me like either you buy from terrible shops or your playing technique could use some work.

I said I got the thinnest picks available and played as gently as humanly possible, and the fret buzz was still unavoidable.
Yeah, they shouldn't need any more than a basic setup. I'm fully capable of doing that, including proper pickup height.
No, this back-bow was not corrected by loosening the truss rod. I loosened it until the nut came off and it was still back-bowed, and still the next day. Yeah, a bad nut is an easy replacement, but when I pay $1200+ for a used guitar with significant aesthetic blemishes, I expect it to be able to play without fret buzz after just a basic setup. I shouldn't have to put more money into it and have to wait for repairs on something I just bought.
Really, the main factor is that they ALL had several high frets, and I specifically asked every seller before buying "does this have any high frets?" Answer was always "no". So they're not as described and getting returned. If they wanted to give me a $300 discount to pay for a fret leveling, and the time I would waste getting that done, then maybe... But I needed a guitar I could start recording with immediately, but $1000-1600 should be more than enough to get that. All of these guitars had major defects beyond what a basic setup could fix.
I know what I'm doing. I've played guitar and bass for 25 years. I just had the worst luck in who I chose to buy guitars from. And with my options very limited because of very specific requirements, there weren't many options. None of these guitars should have been listed for the prices they were asking. They all had defects that should have been disclosed, and a significant price reduction to make them worth buying, knowing that they would immediately need work done.