ajdebeer wrote: Good day i dont know if this is the right place for this forum but lets go.

What you think is the best guitars.
Under R 3000?
Under R 6000?
Under R 12000?
12k and over?

Would love to know what you people think

Shewee... very very subjective question.. especially as you get to the higher prices... you could just as well ask which is better Gibson or Fender... oh wait... lol... just kidding...

Music and the equipment used to create it is very very personal... One guy will like a certain guitar or amp and another guy would say that it was utter rubbish...

I haven't played very many guitars... I only play guitars when I am shopping for a new one... but from my experience...

Under R 3000 - Epiphone Les Paul Special II (Found it better that the bullet squire strat)... Steer clear of the cash crusaders brand...
Under R 6000 - I liked the Ibanez SA 36 DRS I had for a while, but I found I liked the Epiphone Les Paul Standard a little more
Under R 12000 - I played a Gibson SG that a buddy got for R 11000 ... It was cool and made me realise the difference in what I previously owned... But I prefer the features on the PRS SE Custom 24 that I currently own (current retail is close to $1000).
12 K and over... I've never played an instrument of that value...

Too subjective... It all depends on what you want... If you want to play heavy metal (Lord knows why ? ), you aren't gonna have the best of times with a basic Squier strat or tele for R2500... Same if you want to play classic rock or blues. An Ibanez or ESP shredstick isn't gonna be your best friend.

Are you looking at solid body, semi-hollow or full hollowbody? Single coils or humbuckers? Style of music? I think there's too much going on to just ask for a "best"...

Not busting your chops here... Just stating that the topic is quite open ended ?

I am speaking off an overall guitar. This is for new guys and just for guys who want to know what others think.
I wish ill could read something like this when i bought my first guitar.
I could promise you i would not have bought a sx strat. The guitar sound was fine but did not play good at all against others. I've resetup the neck and put fender pickups in the sound is now amazing but the neck still bad and it the guitar cost 2200 back then. Could have got alot better if i known what others think. My second guitar that i bought was a washburn wi 64 for 4000 i think i paid a little much for it but ok. I loved that guitar with the sweet humbucking pickups. The neck played well and with my boss gt 10 it sounded good. Then i bought a les paul studio for 15k and all change this thing plays like a dream against other guitars i played but the disappointment came when i got home the thing sound amazing on just the amp and superb on stomp boxes , but the boss gt 10 threw away all that full sound and make it dull. And all these things i wished i knew before i bought the stuff. So this is just to see what you guys think what guitar will be the best for the money you can put the style also in if you think that guitar sound like a beast in the genre.

Hi AJdB
I am not a specialist but an opportunist when it comes to guitars. ? To me it boils down to neck profile first and then action. The other stuff can be mod'd but action and profile is crucial
Guits under 3k, to me is dicey, sometimes you are lucky as was I with my China Squier Fender bullet.
I don't have in-between'ers meaning 6k and over but I do play a Fender Sonoran SCE which was somewhere in 5k region when I purchased it.
I now own a Tokai Vintage LS 92 LP which is more in your latter range. The neck profile is sweet and the action is superb.
So, not all electric and personal preference will mostly be the guide for the players needs and music style.
Most important play before you pay! Loan, or ask a muso with something in the style you like, then buy

Buy second hand in each of those price ranges. Who needs a new guitar to learn on? The only excuse for buying new is if you think you want something that's not for sale second hand (but you can't be sure up front about what you want anyway).

Gearhead wrote: Buy second hand in each of those price ranges. Who needs a new guitar to learn on? The only excuse for buying new is if you think you want something that's not for sale second hand (but you can't be sure up front about what you want anyway).

Second hand all the way... lol...

I've only bought ONE guitar new out of the 4 I've owned... It's easier to pick up lower to midrange guitars secondhand for a decent price mostly because people buy to learn on and then don't enjoy it and just want to get rid of... The mid to high range guitars are harder to find second hand (for a good deal) because people are more likely to know what they actually have and therefore the value of it... BUT there are times when you can pick up nice stuff second hand for a decent price... I was super lucky to be able to pick up exactly what I wanted in the colour I wanted for like 60% of the new price... and it was only 4 months old when I bought it from the guy...

In short: don't buy "player packs" or "get started packs" at a store... and I always advise people who want to start out to shop around for a secondhand guitar and I even help them find something decent (because they won't know yet)... Firstly this saves money and secondly they probably won't know what kind of "style" they'll like yet...

I also wish I had known more when I started... and when I bought my first tube amp... but we learn... and I try convey my experiences to others so they don't have to learn the lessons I had to they hard way.

Gearhead wrote: Buy second hand in each of those price ranges. Who needs a new guitar to learn on? The only excuse for buying new is if you think you want something that's not for sale second hand (but you can't be sure up front about what you want anyway).

Or if you didn't know better. I bought new and that was 2 years before I found my way onto this forum... So yeah, you don't need a brand new guitar to learn on, but a lot of folks don't know that you can find great beginner's instruments online or elsewhere for half the price

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:

Gearhead wrote: Buy second hand in each of those price ranges. Who needs a new guitar to learn on? The only excuse for buying new is if you think you want something that's not for sale second hand (but you can't be sure up front about what you want anyway).

Or if you didn't know better. I bought new and that was 2 years before I found my way onto this forum... So yeah, you don't need a brand new guitar to learn on, but a lot of folks don't know that you can find great beginner's instruments online or elsewhere for half the price

Whilst there are certainly deals to be had second hand, I am not so vehemently opposed to buying new. I think a great number of Cort guitars new could well meet your first two categories.
Sometimes, when you're a beginner, as I once was, it's nice to buy a new guitar from a store,(in my case it was Andy McGibbons) get a set up, and acquaint yourself with the dudes there.
Buying my first Cort new 13 years ago gave me the chance to take it back in several times for minor adjustments and stupid things, like tightening an allen key to hold my whammy bar tighter...I was young and my guitar was my life and I was scared to do shit like that myself.
The guitar only cost me R2000, but the support, back up, expertise and ultimately friendship that I got from Andy, Aggi, Deon, Mando, Richard, etc, has been well worth that money.

I'm not saying you have to buy new, tho having bought many guitars new (ranging from the cort s2550 to the Prs Custom22 artist package) I can safely say that I have never paid an unacceptable price, and I have never regretted buying a new guitar.

Gearhead wrote: Buy second hand in each of those price ranges. Who needs a new guitar to learn on? The only excuse for buying new is if you think you want something that's not for sale second hand (but you can't be sure up front about what you want anyway).

+1

I've never bought a new guitar and it's resulted in some AWESOME guitars that play incredibly well, worth over R7k or more, for less than R4k or R3k. (I still miss my purple Ibanez ;()

You get some good deals second hand and the gear you buy comes pre-mojo'ed - that's kinda priceless to me ?

(That said, I wouldn't mind buying something brand new, if the money was just sitting there.)

can open, worms everywhere... ?
it's been my philosophy to advise folks to set a budget first. then to play as many different guitars within that budget range as possible, to get an idea of what might suit them. they might love the sound of one, the feel of another, etc, besides which, it's fun to spend time looking at and playing guitars. you're eventually gonna find one you love, and i believe it's important to invest serious time in a serious money investment. (a 3grand guitar is a serious money investment when you're starting out. a 30grand guitar is a serious money investment when you're making your living off it, or you're serious collector. it's all relative.)

i also encourage folks to look a little below, and a little above their budget range. you might find a really great bargain for a little less, or something worth spending a little bit extra on. and i do believe you can find exceptional value in the second hand market, but you need to know what you're looking at. if you're a novice, take someone with you who knows their stuff, really well.

but in essence, it's not what it costs, it's not the brand, it's all about one thing for me, and that's the inherent value to you of the instrument
dh|

Some very valid points raised here.

My favorite guitars would fall into the first two categories:

MII Squier Strat (less than R3000)
Cort MMP II (Less than R6000)

Granted, the Strat has fantastic pickups in (Reilander P90s), but it still cost me less than R3000 total.

These guitars are not particularly desirable (a shame imho). I have never considered upgrading, since I am convinced that I would need to spend a ludicrous amount on the new guitar just to have a marginal improvement.

I reckon the brand is irrelevant. If you enjoy playing the instrument, and you feel inspired, then it's a win in my books.