The worst guitar I ever owned

[mayfly]

Listen up Gibson Haters Club...I know there's plenty of legitimate reasons to be critical here but I think this pathalogical disdain is rooted some where upstairs in your Fender rear end smooching brains.  I know Fender rules here and I've had plenty of strats thatI liked too but  lets face it..In the 80's when I bought my beloved (and superior quality I might add) black Gibson Les Paul Custom ($860 brand new!), Fender strats had more cheap lightweight plastic and poor quality wood than your basic Gibson.  Anyway. worst guitar was a Kramer Focus 6000 and I don't  have enough time to list what it did wrong. Most surprisingly good guitar was actually a Mexi-Yngwie Strat if you can believe it!

psI wouldnt pay $2000-$5000 for a Gibby either.

You know what, you're right!  Back in the late 70's fender was even worse than Gibson!  I played bran-new strats in music stores that had warped necks - just just...Well there's a reason why Ibanez ruled back then.

It's one of the reasons why I got into Rickenbackers - they were actually good guitars for a good price.  I stayed with Rick until I built my first W tele - then it was game over.

You now what - we're really lucky that W is around.  Fantastic pro quality instruments done exactly the way you want.  Glorious.

 

[Doughboy]

I don't hate Gibson because of the poor quality guitars at outlandish prices. I hate them because they sell poison milk to orphans.  :laughing8:

 

[Cagey]

I don't hate Gibson because of the poor quality guitars at outlandish prices. I hate them because they sell poison milk to orphans.  :laughing8:

There's that. Also, they use gelatin made from puppy bones to pot their pickups. That's just wrong.

 

[mayfly]

I don't hate Gibson because of the poor quality guitars at outlandish prices. I hate them because they sell poison milk to orphans.  :laughing8:

There's that. Also, they use gelatin made from puppy bones to pot their pickups. That's just wrong.

But I hear that the puppy bones is the only way to get that PAF tone:  Puppy After Fried

 

[Doughboy]

I don't hate Gibson because of the poor quality guitars at outlandish prices. I hate them because they sell poison milk to orphans.  :laughing8:

There's that. Also, they use gelatin made from puppy bones to pot their pickups. That's just wrong.

But I hear that the puppy bones is the only way to get that PAF tone:  Puppy After Fried

Don't even ask what goes on to make a Burstbucker.

 

[Cagey]

I don't hate Gibson because of the poor quality guitars at outlandish prices. I hate them because they sell poison milk to orphans.  :laughing8:

There's that. Also, they use gelatin made from puppy bones to pot their pickups. That's just wrong.

But I hear that the puppy bones is the only way to get that PAF tone:  Puppy After Fried

Right. Little known fact: that's why pickups are often called "pups". It's not an abbreviation, as is commonly believed.

 

[smavridis]

I'd say a First Act acoustic from Best Buy, everything on that guitar wobbled loose.

Worse serious instrument.. my Ibanez IJXB190 was a scratchy, buzzy, hummy POS, but it got me interested in four big strings instead of six little ones, and for that I am thankful.

hey now! we have totally kick ass instruments now! go to a best buy with a musical instruments department, seriously we are killing GC.

I don't hate Gibson because of the poor quality guitars at outlandish prices. I hate them because they sell poison milk to orphans.  :laughing8:

There's that. Also, they use gelatin made from puppy bones to pot their pickups. That's just wrong.

But I hear that the puppy bones is the only way to get that PAF tone:  Puppy After Fried

i love you guys.

 

[DesmoDog]

Right. Little known fact: that's why pickups are often called "pups". It's not an abbreviation, as is commonly believed.

Stop it already! You're scaring Sophia!

 

[Cagey]

She doesn't look scared. Actually, she looks like... dinner! I'll have to look around my library here, but it seems to me I have an oriental cookbook titled "101 Ways To Wok Your Dog", with appendices by Seth Lover on rendering carcasses, freezing broth, separating dissolved cartilage from fat, etc. According to him, they tried using kittens, baby harp seals, lambs, even My Little Pony's eventual offspring, but nothing produced the proper tone like rendered puppy cartilage. Smurfs worked well, but they made the pickups smell like chicken bones that had been left in the trash for several days, so sales suffered. Plus, it was a more "blues" oriented tone, and thus not as widely marketable as the more general-purpose pups.

 

[DesmoDog]

She doesn't look scared.

 

[kboman]

This is the sort of thread derailment I love and crave!

And for the record, I loathe (to the extent that I loathe anything) Gibson and Fender equally. Gibson for being really stupid (or "traditional") and way too expensive, Fender for not having any sensible guitar models - ie Les Pauls. In short, Gibson treats me like a moron and Fender builds little that interests me.

 

[AGWAN]

I have a hard time believing anything thats not double-cut with 24 frets is sensible.

Surely playable. I'm sure it can sound great and feel good.

but in terms of "Sense" a 24 fret superstrat is pretty much as down to business as a guitar can get. with the primary focus being function and ease of use. and not traditional aesthetics.

...

Look at me acting like I know things.

Its like a puppy walking on its hind legs.

 

[Cagey]

I have a hard time believing anything thats not double-cut with 24 frets is sensible. Surely playable. I'm sure it can sound great and feel good. But in terms of "Sense" a 24 fret superstrat is pretty much as down to business as a guitar can get. with the primary focus being function and ease of use. and not traditional aesthetics.

Actually, you get up past about 20 frets or so, and the number you have is more or less moot. At that point, the frets are so close together, you can't chord on them worth a tinker's damn and the likelihood of you hitting one accurately goes way down if for no other reason than your fingers are wider than the distance between the frets. What you do is grab what you can, and stretch to where you want to be. It's sort of a "real-time compensation" ability that experienced guitarists who play up in that area develop.

I know 24 frets sounds logical - it's exactly 2 octaves - but who's suffering because they can't get the second octave up on the high E? Hit the high D and stretch it quick. No pablum.

Buddy of mine from years ago was a die-hard Gibson thrall, and one of the first things he'd point out as a deficiency in their primary competition is that Fenders only had 21 frets as opposed to 22, so they were inferior right off the bat. Never mind that he could barely play cowboy chords down in the first 5 frets... Then, he played a Les Paul. You gotta be willing to risk Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to play anywhere past the 15th fret on those things. Any Fender model would let you climb much higher than that without having to develop the Vulcan Neck Pinch to reach a note, so WTF?

 

[kboman]

Then, he played a Les Paul. You gotta be willing to risk Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to play anywhere past the 15th fret on those things. Any Fender model would let you climb much higher than that without having to develop the Vulcan Neck Pinch to reach a note, so WTF?

OK, I'll bite. Why? I have never had any problem reaching the top frets on any Les Paul and chording at 12th-15th fret is not all that difficult. The cutaway is a bit tight on my Swede which irks me a bit, but it's perfectly playable.

 

[Cagey]

It's not that they aren't reachable; they are. Obviously, lotsa people manage to do it. It's that you have to contort your fretting hand so much to do so. Your whole approach to the neck has to gradually change as you move into the higher registers, until you get to the point where you almost wish you didn't have a thumb while still needing it to exert any pressure on the strings or stretch/waver them.

It's probably just me, so take it all with a grain of salt. But, as much as I love the sound of a Les Paul, I just sold mine because I can't get comfy with it. It's too weird. I want the neck to feel much the same all the way up, and I don't want 3 inches of heel getting in my way early on in my travels. There's no need for it, as exemplified by many other designs that don't have that handicap.

 

[Doughboy]

After 25 years of playing, I must say that I have NEVER played a Gibson that was well crafted. Even though Fender has made it's share of pathetic low quality guitars, it did finally get it's act together & now blows Gibson out of the water in terms of quality, craftsmanship & value.

Gibson is just relying on it's heritage & name to carry on. I'm not even asking them to innovate, but for God's sake, come out with a guitar that has a good fret job, well set inlays, a good binding job, tops that match etc. When I pick up a Gibson, I feel like the company is giving me the finger: 'Here' you go buddy, a low quality guitar at a premium price. If you don't like it, screw you, we won't change.'

Btw, although I don't own any, Ibanez used to put out total garbage as well, but really go their act togther & now put out very good quality instruments at great prices.

Or look at a company like Godin. Their new Kingpin guitar won best Hollowbody award & beat out a $5,000 Gibson L-5 & the Kingpin costs $700. The difference here is that Robert Godin CARES about his company & the products they put out. Gibson...not so much!!!

 

[Cagey]

After 25 years of playing, I must say that I have NEVER played a Gibson that was well crafted.

Make no mistake; Gibson has made some fine instruments. That's how their name gained it's cachet. I've played some of their guitars that were amongst the finest examples of the craft available. But, that was a long time ago. And even back then, when you bought one of their guitars you paid a heavy premium because it was a Gibson. That kind of craftsmanship takes unusual talent and time, and it has to be paid for. Nobody minds paying for that. Never have.

I remember when we used to call SGs "Super Glides", because the fretwork was so good it was just out of this world. No harsh edges; everything was dressed and leveled to where you could put the action down within a RCH. Some called the Les Paul a "fretless wonder", because the neck was so perfect it was like you just had to imagine what you wanted to play and you were there. No work; playing a Gibson was a reward for working hard and saving up until you could afford that level of craftsmanship.

But, mean ol' Mr. Reality snuck in after production levels cranked up. If it takes 3 hours to really get a guitar right once it's built, that means a good craftsman can only turn out 12-14 a week, assuming he's on top of his game. How many of those guys are there? And what do they cost? So, they gradually cut back on that until you have what you get today - something less impressive than a Korean import at 10 times the price. Nobody wants to pay for that.

I don't think anybody wants to disparage Gibson, but what choice does anyone have? You can't ignore the evidence of your senses. They're not junk, but they're less than a ghost of their former self. When I can buy an import for $400 that beats up on a $3500 Gibson, it's not a matter of labor differences. It's a matter of a company that's lost its way. It's too bad, but only a fool or someone who doesn't know any better would claim the situation is any different.

 

[Jusatele]

I think Gibson went downhill when thy started selling millions of guitars, I liked the quality of the guitars in the 70s but was to young to afford a Gibson.
So I got a Mustang, ouch, but it worked till I could afford a Strat.
I think Fender's current lineup of American guitars are great, I have a 03 American standard I feel is one of the best guitars I have ever owned. I guess the worse I ever has was a late 80s Squire.
As far as Gibson now days, I cannot think of anything I have picked up of theirs in the last 10 years I have wanted to play more than a few minutes, Guess that is why I own a PRS, wanted the tone but needed a guitar that was playable.
Now then guitars are also something you cannot judge by one thing or another, I hate having to lug a Tele around all night, heavy as anchors as far as I am concerned, but put a tele in front of me and I go all gogo, I love the sound, the things a basically a flat piece of over priced wood with shit paint job, but I cannot help myself, I just want to get primal and drive the tubes to crack and let it wail. That thin tone breaking through a Vox driven hard is what it is all about.

 

[kboman]

It's not that they aren't reachable; they are. Obviously, lotsa people manage to do it. It's that you have to contort your fretting hand so much to do so. Your whole approach to the neck has to gradually change as you move into the higher registers, until you get to the point where you almost wish you didn't have a thumb while still needing it to exert any pressure on the strings or stretch/waver them.

Interesting. I have the exact same grip along the full length of the neck. Obviously there is a small change in the wrist angle because of the varying distance to the shoulder, but the basic angle of the hand stays the same. May I ask how you hold the neck? I'll see if I can dig up a photo of how I do it, but I just started my work day so it can be a while.

 

[Doughboy]

For all you guys who love the sound of a Les Paul, but don't want the rest of the none sense that goes with owning one, there is hope. I build a Warmoth that is basically a Les Paul. Mahogany body & neck, Bloodwood fingerboard & PAFs. It sounds pretty damn close to a Les Paul but feels & plays like a strat. Higher frets are a breeze & it weights under 8lbs.