Willie G. Moseley Posted March 19, 2009 Posted March 19, 2009 ...and for the sake of brevity, let's not count imported modern-day items like Squier Strats (no copies of a bona fide front line model, in other words).And yes, you'd probably be examined by other musicians rather than the audience, but so what?The guitars and basses should have been designated and/or marketed (or at least, had the, er, "vibe") of being a student/beginnners' model, or at the very least, an entry-level, budget guitar or bass in their respective time. Try to consider the instrument(s) in their original configuration, and unmodded.I've always liked the original style G & L SB-1s, SB-2s basses (and their guitar counterparts, the SCs). An original SB-1 I used in some recordings sounded great going directly into the board.Mosrite Ventures IIs were kinda cool.An original Fender Mustang Bass can be made to sound quite nice.A Gibson Melody Maker bass is rarer and cooler-looking than its front line counterpart, an EB-0.Others?
adgc Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Yamaha BB300 Basses (P Bass format built with Yamaha quality. Timeless.)
tomteriffic Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Gibson Juniors of all varieties, Melody Makers.Epiphone Wilshire, whatever the Epi equivalent of a Junior was, Fender Duo-Sonic.+1 the Mustang Bass, also the Epi Rivoli.
Bjørn M Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 The PRS SE range. Not one with a trem though (would require a new nut and locking tuners). And probably not that one with the bat on it (Billy Martin or whatever)...
prototype-fan Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 60s Melody Maker modded with a humbucker or P90.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 There are some Hamer Slammer series guitars worth taking on stage...maybe only after a p/u upgrade, but the guitars themselves play extremely well.And I've got an Ibanez GIO GRG212 that gets a really nice out-of-phase blues sound using both HB pickups that I wouldn't be ashamed to perform with. (the tone sucks in either single position, though).
tomteriffic Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Forgot: the Yamaha Pacifica Series, particularly the low-endish ones. Nothing a pickup swap won't fix and they look good. I use a 12-er at almost every show.
Dutchman Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Any early eighty's Made in Japan Fender. They are better instruments than the made in USA Fenders of that period.
Hackubus Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 +1 On the early 80s MIJ Fender.+1MEELION on the Les Paul Junior.
ceeb Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 I don't mind being seen playing any guitar, as long as I can make it sound good. Not that I have much in the way of cheap guitars, I have a Dano 12ver, a $100 Epiphone Junior, Mohogany set neck single P-90, (in fact I got that planning to use it as a bar guitar ((Musicians Fiend blowout)) On second thought, If I was a pro musician, I'd bust out the quality stuff for gigs, because I imagine first impressions count for something.Some of those funky old National Airliners are cool. I've seen pros with really funky off beat stuff making some incredible and unique sounds. I remember from Matt Smith's Chop Shop Seminar, "For slide you really want an off beat guitar, the weirder the better."
dboy66 Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 60s Melody Maker modded with a humbucker or P90.+1
BubbaVO Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 An Ibanez ST-50 from the late 70s. Not shaped like a Gibson or a Fender. Kind of its own thing.
Thundernotes Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 My Carvins get sneers from the corksniffers occasionally, but they sound good and I use them (a guitar and a bass) regularly. I'd use anything from the mid-90's on from them. Here's my main solo-gig axe: Carvin Bolt with the Graph-Tech Ghost piezo pickup system. One of these days, I'll put the Ghost system on my Artist and use that, but this has served me well for a year now.
tomteriffic Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Two of my favorites. LOVE the blue mutant Musicmaster, Marcus!
bubs_42 Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 My Carvins get sneers from the corksniffers occasionally, but they sound good and I use them (a guitar and a bass) regularly. I'd use anything from the mid-90's on from them. Here's my main solo-gig axe: Carvin Bolt with the Graph-Tech Ghost piezo pickup system. One of these days, I'll put the Ghost system on my Artist and use that, but this has served me well for a year now. Thats a great looking Carvin.
formula73 Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 Funny somebody should mention an Epi Wilshire. I just put a 60-something on layaway this afternoon. I honestly haven't played many guitars that felt as...right...it's as comfy as an SG but with an added pawnshop vibe. I approve.
Brooks Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 in the distant past i've gigged a slammer series sunburst (w/ new pups),and a '56 fender musicmaster (w/ new pups & kahler!). i've owned both the mustang & musicmaster basses.
BubbaVO Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 What makes something a "student guitar" anyway? I just bought a USA Daytona from Rocktuna for a very reasonable price and my oldest son who has been asking me to learn guitar is learning to play on that. I honestly can't think of a better way to start him off. Chances are he'll never outgrow that guitar regardless of how much skill he develops.
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