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<gasp!> Have I become a cork sniffer?


diablo175

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A silly debate raged on another forum last week and continues still. The topic? That a lower-cost guitar can be made to be as good as any high priced custom or fancy-shmanzy high end production model. This debate is nothing new and it's been touched on here at the HFC. What makes this somewhat noteworthy is my shift in perspective. I have vacillated back and forth between pro and con on this issue for years but I finally took the position of: higher end guitars , in most cases, are superior and that it's not likely that you can mod a low cost import to be as good as or better than an comparably equipped high end. And if you can, it's likely you're spending as much as you might have initially spent on a new or used higher end ax.

Lots of reasons behind this perspective and I'll state for the record that exceptions do exist. But I approached this debate from the stand point that the other side did, which was dealing in generalities. My general premise was: if you have superior materials and superior craftsmanship, you're more than likely gonna have a superior instrument.

Discuss.

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There are accidents that occur which results in an outstanding instrument made from inferior parts and woods as well as high quality parts, woods and luthiery that yield a dog. In the grand scheme of things quality ingredients and crafsmanship are more likely to yield a quality instrument.

ArnieZ

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You can upgrade electronics, refret and plek, change a bridge/tailpiece, add a bone nut, but you cannot upgrade the wood. You cannot recarve a neck to a thicker dimension.

Be the corksniffer.

And then pick up a Danelectro and marvel at the unique tone of the masonite.

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Instruments built with superior ingredients are more likely to be better, agreed.

However, there's a price point from where you won't notice any difference at all and that's where cork-sniffing starts. I mean, I'm 100% convinced that you can get a quality instrument in the $800-$1200 range if you focus on the right things. Just forget all the fancy stuff and just get what does improve the playing experience, and you won't need much more than that!

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Original Teles and Strats were meant to be cheap guitars that anyone could afford, slapped together on an assembly line. They are now 'Holy Grails'. I always thought it a bit odd that so many boutique builders chase that.

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Soundwise you can get close with upgraded pickups, and yes, there are palpable differences in wood quality and craftsmanship, but to me the X factor is the fretwork. Poorly seated, uneven frets can really make a guitar unplayable. If you're gonna incur the additional cost of plekking and refretting, you might as well just pop for the costlier, higher quality instrument.

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I don't care what the HC/TGP people claim - Agile guitars are pieces of crap.

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My favorites are the guys who say "this $500 import Brand X guitar is just as good as their American-made Custom Private Elite Shop guitar that costs 10x more - all I had do was change the tuners, the bridge, the pots, the pickups, the nut, level and finish the frets, put in a new jack and get new knobs". Well, yeah, other than that.

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...and then there is: "Tone comes through fingers".

Even a so called crapy guitar can sound good or uniquely good to someone's ears when played the right way.

- Masonite made Danelectro, already mentioned

- Blockboard with an old fireplace piece of oak made Brian May Red Special guitar played through a modded old transistor radio circuitry, the Deacy amp. Created the tone in Bohemian Rhapsody!

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I've seen this similar argument with other instruments and various things. I generally agree, with some caveats. While about all guitars are made with a price point in mind, I think skilled people taking time to properly build an instrument with good materials and machinery will stand an excellent chance of being great, whereas an instrument churned out as quickly as possible with lowest-bidder materials and inexpensive labor have the odds stacked against them.

There are middle grounds, of course, but mostly inexpensive instruments aren't quite finished. So, yes, you can take one of these, redress the frets, resolder and/or replace some electronics, adjust everything, maybe even replace cheaper metal parts with better ones. It may turn out to be good at that point, even excellent, but at some point I wonder why I just didn't get the one a skilled person took his/her time building right.

Personally, I'd rather buy things that were made with care and skill, as I would like to help keep those people around.

Despite that, I don't think I'm a cork sniffer. I may be deluding myself, but I personally don't care for fancy inlays, ultra flame or quilted tops and I have a serious aversion to gold hardware. I admire the skill taken in creating those guitars, but I tend to like more understated instruments, like my Hamer Artist Studio. But I still want well crafted instruments and seriously believe I can feel the difference when playing one. So my caveat here is that I prefer when most of the work has been put in the functional part rather than ornamentation. Once you get to the "bling," you're not really getting a better instrument, just a fancier one, which is where the diminishing returns really kick in. So I really appreciate companies that manage to build great guitars at reasonable price points.

As a final aside, my dad bought a lot of guitars in his younger days. He always looked for bargains, as he was in the "these are just as good" camp (and he spent most of his money taking care of his family and never really spent much on himself). While they've been taken care of, most of them haven't held up well, and the way they were made has become more evident as they aged.

---

Edit: I wrote way too much again. I'm tempted to delete this all and replace with a few words. Um, how about, "I like the hearty aroma of a good mahogany note with dressed frets, but the bouquet of abalone and gold plating distresses my palette."

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What is cork sniffing when Hamer buyers can't wait to swap the standard SD 59s out?

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This is a topic that I find myself pointlessly debating every day with a buddy of mine. He is constantly trying to disprove the law of "you get what you pay for" and spends an ungodly amount of time and money chasing the brass ring of tone with cheap foreign guitars. Thats all good and fine, except when he tells me they are "as good as..." just before they go on Ebay. I just told him that Two Buck Chuck tastes fine, its got all of the same ingredients as a fine wine and is perfectly drinkable. Just don't start comparing it to my Silver Oak and we are fine! Its uncanny that builders like Nik Huber and Scott Lentz "get lucky" as often as they do.

There are many things in life that are over rated. For me, that list does not include cuban cigars, boutique guitars and women with a firm round booty!

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What is cork sniffing when Hamer buyers can't wait to swap the standard SD 59s out?

SD 59 are sometimes the perfect pickup. I have a guitar with them that has it!

Pickups are like a significant other, some make beautiful music and others don't.

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There are many things in life that are over rated. For me, that list does not include cuban cigars, boutique guitars and women with a firm round booty!

Well stated, sir!

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TBP put it well, as did... well, everyone. You can roll the dice and sometimes get a guitar that was built quickly and simply on an assembly line and the craftsmanship and most importantly the wood will all have been in the top percentile of what the maker does. You get a really good guitar. My MIM Tele is like that. I played a bunch in the shop, American, Chinese and Mexican, then bought the winner.

But my MotorAve is on a different plane altogether, from good wood being properly dried and cut and glued, to immaculate frets and wiring. It is not bling-y at all: just plain ol' paint and dot inlays.

In the end of course Jeff Beck will kick all our asses playing a Squier Strat, but I buy instruments that make me feel good so I enjoy playing them and one that has a nice neck, sounds good and doesn't have things loosening and dropping off during gigs makes me happy. Usually you have to spend more money for better materials and workmanship to get there.

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I thought cork sniffer denoted someone who would debate the merits of super boutique equipment, not debate the lower echelons.

From my view, when you deal with lines of higher standard(easier to differentiate between the same company's product lines) you increase your odds of getting a really good guitar. Down in the lower reaches, you might find a great one but the odds are lower. Obviously this varies manufacturer to manufacturer.

When debating the differences between a $3k and $7k electric guitar, you're talking about the law of diminishing returns. Is that $7k guitar more than twice as good as the $3k one? Highly unlikely.

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I thought cork sniffer denoted someone who would debate the merits of super boutique equipment, not debate the lower echelons.

From my view, when you deal with lines of higher standard(easier to differentiate between the same company's product lines) you increase your odds of getting a really good guitar. Down in the lower reaches, you might find a great one but the odds are lower. Obviously this varies manufacturer to manufacturer.

When debating the differences between a $3k and $7k electric guitar, you're talking about the law of diminishing returns. Is that $7k guitar more than twice as good as the $3k one? Highly unlikely.

^ ^ THIS ^ ^ . . . rather than the, "Marginal Utility Factor", its what my buddies refer to as the "Marginal Funtility Factor". Its relevant whether rich, poor or dead in the middle ~ you just feel it and notice it less when you have more money to blow on expensive toys.

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What I'm taking from all of this is that it's largely subjective, which is kinda what I imagined it would be.

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What I'm taking from all of this is that it's largely subjective, which is kinda what I imagined it would be.

Please allow me to disagree. :)For me it's pretty objective. Above the 2.5K barrier it becomes cork-sniffing all the way. As far as you have a decent wooden frame (which nowadays it's not hard to find in many import lines) you can easily have a quality instrument for less than 1K.

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I have a ridiculous collection of vintage Les Pauls and modern handmade guitars. My main guitar?

A $699 Schecter Solo6 Custom.

The thing WORKS.

+1 on the Schecter Solo 6. I've got a gold top with P90s and it's a really good guitar. So good in fact, it remains 100% stock including the Duncan Designed pickups.

Schecter = Bang > Buck

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