A question for the ages: Which "cheap" guitar?

RickyWicky · 2014-10-26T11:35:29+00:00

I mention this in my introductory post, but I've been playing guitar for quite a long time, but went through this period where I played nearly nothing. In January this year I bought a Squier Bullet-Strat at a local Cash Crusaders and have been pretty happy about the purchase because it reignited my love for playing, except as time has gone by now I'm noticing things about the guitar that are definitely a testament to the low price tag of R1100. (Granted, I bought it second hand, but I figured it would be a better quality product compared to other strat copies, seeing as it is a Fender product... albeit cheaply produced.) Anywho, I'm looking to upgrade, so I'm posing the question: Between a higher-up Squier, Yamaha, Ibanez or Cort (and a budget of about R3500-R4000), which would be the better option? I like my single coil pickups, but I would like a guitar that has a humbucker on the bridge position. My style of playing is generally a blues-rock type mashup. The MAIN problem I have with the bullet strat is that it doesn't stay in tune. I have my pickups set pretty low so as not to pull on the strings, I set my intonation correctly when I put new strings on, but the G string is always out around the third fret, but in around the seventh and higher. This is super annoying. Anyway, I welcome suggestions! And if it's advisable to just save up for an even more expensive guitar then so be it, although I'd like to get a new guitar with next month's paycheck! ?

warrenpridgeon

RickyWicky wrote Thanks man.

I think what I'll do is this: I've got a bunch of songs that I have recorded with the Squier, so I'll upload those, and then record them with the Ibanez and do an A/B like that with the same amp settings etc. I recently put new D'addario 9 gauge strings on the Squier, and the guy selling the Ibanez says he put new Ernie Ball 9's on it, so hopefully he's not lying, lol.

Mmmm... interesting idea... But the feel and tone of the different guitar will make you play differently so it will sound different, but it is a good idea!

P.s. since you've got recording capabilities... best you enter the monthly competition... hehe.

RickyWicky

I was thinking that, too! Sad I joined a bit too late to enter the October competition, but I will do November's definitely. Just not sure whether I classify as intermediate or advanced lol.

exsanguinator

A R5k s/hand guitar is a R12-R15k new guitar
Who buys new?

warrenpridgeon

exsanguinator wrote A R5k s/hand guitar is a R12-R15k new guitar
Who buys new?

Not me... hehehe... ok... once...

Ibanezguy

The Ibanez SA 260FM is by far the most underestimated guitar, value for money, and if you shop around you will get one at around R2000. You cannot buy any other brand with mahogany body with a maple cap at the Ibanez SA260 price. I have owned 2 and they were both exceptional and I'm a fussy son of a bitch. I only got rid of them because I'm very used to having a locking trem on my guitars and I've run out of hanging space LOL. Had they not been standard non-locking bridges I would still have them both. I sold the one to my "die hard" Fender Stratocaster buddies for R2500 (he says the best money he's ever spent) and he hasn't used his Strat at a gig for over 2 months ?. The SA is basically an S with a flat back as opposed to arched front and back of the super thin S Series. I am surprised how long SA's end up sitting on Gumtree etc, given that they kick the shit out of almost anything costing twice as much.

MHO but I am biased ?

warrenpridgeon

Ibanezguy wrote The Ibanez SA 260FM is by far the most underestimated guitar, value for money, and if you shop around you will get one at around R2000. You cannot buy any other brand with mahogany body with a maple cap at the Ibanez SA260 price. I have owned 2 and they were both exceptional and I'm a fussy son of a bitch. I only got rid of them because I'm very used to having a locking trem on my guitars and I've run out of hanging space LOL. Had they not been standard non-locking bridges I would still have them both. I sold the one to my "die hard" Fender Stratocaster buddies for R2500 (he says the best money he's ever spent) and he hasn't used his Strat at a gig for over 2 months ?. The SA is basically an S with a flat back as opposed to arched front and back of the super thin S Series. I am surprised how long SA's end up sitting on Gumtree etc, given that they kick the shit out of almost anything costing twice as much.

MHO but I am biased ?

Nice guitars... but if you shop around... you can find deals ?
I got my epiphone les pal ultra for like R2000 - R2500 and I believe it has a maple cap and mahogany body... Oh and I got a real nice guitar stand and bag with it ?

I've been very lucky when shopping second hand...I've managed to find the guitar I want in the colour I want ?

morph

There is nothing wrong with Yamaha and Ibanez, amazing products, and really good purchases second hand.

Me, I would keep the Strat, maybe improve the pickups/hardware, and buy a H-H like the PRS. This way you cover the British Clapton/Dire Straits/Hendrix bluesy stuff, and you can cover the range of ZZ-top, Gary Moore, Santana....

A single HSS can't give you all of this.

RickyWicky

Greg Perkins wrote There is nothing wrong with Yamaha and Ibanez, amazing products, and really good purchases second hand.

Me, I would keep the Strat, maybe improve the pickups/hardware, and buy a H-H like the PRS. This way you cover the British Clapton/Dire Straits/Hendrix bluesy stuff, and you can cover the range of ZZ-top, Gary Moore, Santana....

A single HSS can't give you all of this.

I don't really want to emulate all of those guys. I'm playing my own music and I'm looking for my own tone.

Anyway, so I bought the Ibanez, and I must say that I am veeerry pleased with it. The guitar is in an amazing condition. Brendon, the guy I bought from, really looked after this guitar. And I only mention his name because he mentioned coming onto the forum once in a while so: Brendon, if you see this, thanks a million for being kind enough to put new strings on the guitar, tune them, give me a plectrum and give me a free padded bag! You're a legend.

Okay, so the guitar doesn't have the coil tap feature like I thought, but it's no biggie. I'm not that hard up for a single coil in the bridge as I can use the Strat for that. I'll definitely be hanging on to the Strat and just upgrade its components later on. I'm going to laser-cut a new scratch plate at work to have the guitar fit a neck humbucker.

Come to think of it, would anyone be interested in custom scratch plates made of acrylic/perspex? We've got a big 1.2m x 900mm SA Argus laser at work that cuts perspex, wood, engraves etc. so if you'd like something like that, let me know and I can make it happen.

But okay, to summarize: The guitar plays great, looks great, is great. Throughout the day I'll do some recordings and upload them.

V8

RickyWicky wrote Okay, so the guitar doesn't have the coil tap feature like I thought, but it's no biggie. I'm not that hard up for a single coil in the bridge as I can use the Strat for that. I'll definitely be hanging on to the Strat and just upgrade its components later on. I'm going to laser-cut a new scratch plate at work to have the guitar fit a neck humbucker.

Come to think of it, would anyone be interested in custom scratch plates made of acrylic/perspex? We've got a big 1.2m x 900mm SA Argus laser at work that cuts perspex, wood, engraves etc. so if you'd like something like that, let me know and I can make it happen.

But okay, to summarize: The guitar plays great, looks great, is great. Throughout the day I'll do some recordings and upload them.

Good to hear you took the plunge on the guit - while I'm not a huge fan of the sound of Ibby's (I reckon they all sound the same ???) - tone is a hugely personal taste and most importantly - you dig it, you'll play it more and that is a result!

When you have the pickguard off, check out if the humbucker has 4 wires - if so you can wire up a coil tap/split.

Interested in the pickguards/engraving - I did get some cut recently (3mm plexi, not the best material), didn't turn out quite as neat as I hoped, mainly due to edging with the router and not the laser cutting process. Alas, the fellow I was working with left soon after and his replacement wasn't into guitars like he was. From the little I learnt about laser cutting - that's a huge bed on your machine! Also want to investigate getting some setup gauges cut, Attila and I did some initial ones, but process stalled.

Ack - can't figure out embedding from box.net : link to working folder with pics and svg template if anyone is interested : https://app.box.com/s/ry2docimr1h7ppgci7me

Wizard

The first guitar is probably not going to be the last. And may well be sold. These insights materially affect the decision.

RickyWicky

Interested in the pickguards/engraving - I did get some cut recently (3mm plexi, not the best material), didn't turn out quite as neat as I hoped, mainly due to edging with the router and not the laser cutting process. Alas, the fellow I was working with left soon after and his replacement wasn't into guitars like he was. From the little I learnt about laser cutting - that's a huge bed on your machine! Also want to investigate getting some setup gauges cut, Attila and I did some initial ones, but process stalled. - See more at: http://www.guitarforum.co.za/general-discussion/a-question-for-the-ages-which-%27cheap%27-guitar/45/#sthash.UVFSvIAY.dpuf

I bought a 400 x 400 piece of perspex, 3mm, clear (I took it clear so that I can put a rainbow variety of different colours on it if I feel like it, but I have yet to cut it. I think 3mm is a bit thick to be honest. I should rather get a 1.5mm sheet. But the laser does give the perspex a beautiful finish, so if you're interested you needn't worry about a shoddy result, at least. Also, you can have the top of it engraved with any sort of design you like (tribal, floral, words, you name it)

RickyWicky

Alright, sorry for my absence. Was just a bit of a horribly busy week (coupled with very little sleep, thanks in no small part to a big ass rain spider in my room.) But here are two basic recordings of a part of one of the songs I'm working on.

These aren't my cleanest recordings, but they'll at least convey the point here (comparing the guitars.) I find that the squier's pickups are louder, but also more "raw" than the Ibanez's pickups, which are somewhat darker, lower-output, but much clearer. The humbucker in the bridge obviously has the most recognizably different sound compared to the single-coil in the Squier, but these recordings were both done on the single-coil neck pickups of both guitars through a peavey vypyr amp and a bad monkey tube overdrive pedal. I recorded the Ibanez and then literally just unplugged it, plugged in the Squier (then tuned it) and recorded the piece again.

Squier
http://picosong.com/fUy2/

Ibanez
http://picosong.com/fUyS

Afterwards I EQ'd both, cut at around 80 hertz, added a slight reverb and so on. (if you listen carefully it'll sound like there's actually a very long reverb, but that's a separate recording in the background that I did of the same piece, very overdriven and then treated with the heavy reverb and turned waaaay down.)

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