Cheap Guitars For Use And Abuse

[James Freeman]

Anyone has a cheap guitar for experiments, pickup swaps, and other uses and abuses?
The kind of guitar you lean on the wall or amp by the back of the neck or tuners and don't think twice about.
A work horse that you don't mind thrashing that sounds and feels exactly how you want after heavy modifications.

I know all guitars eventually become that after years of playing, dinging, soldering, swaping, refreting, drilling, burning, etc. but do you have a cheap new-ish guitar specifically for that purpose?

One example comes to mind is Van Halens Frankenstrat, a legendary use and abuse part-caster.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Player Strat.

Probably going to change the pick ups because why not?

Maybe give it another color?

Is that what you mean?

 

[laxu]

Yes and no. I've got a Fenix LP copy that I bought real cheap, but it's been like over a decade since I've done anything to it since everything is already good on it. I just don't mind too much if anything happens to it.

 

[JiveTurkey]

All my guitars are comparatively cheap. I can almost convince myself to fork out <$4k for an amp (which is fucking INSANE when i think about it for longer than 30 seconds) but anything $1k+ in a guitar is an instant hard pass for me. Which seems weird but it is what it is.

Of course; my sub $1k guitars are all custom hobbled so there is that justifiable rationale.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

All my guitars are comparatively cheap. I can almost convince myself to fork out <$4k for an amp (which is fucking INSANE when i think about it for longer than 30 seconds) but anything $1k+ in a guitar is an instant hard pass for me. Which seems weird but it is what it is.

Of course; my sub $1k guitars are all custom hobbled so there is that justifiable rationale.

Same here but different number. Not above 1500. I love the looks of custom shops but can’t bring myself to buy a guitar over 2000.

Amps same thing. But since modelers not interested in amp buying.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Amps same thing. But since modelers not interested in amp buying

Give it time

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Give it time

Haha I spend money on courses, teachers mostly.

And children are freakin expensive

 

[aerial7]

Cheap guitars are my thing!

I have 4 Squiers ranging in age from 5 days all the way up to 35 years.

The cheapest was the $280 Squier Affinity Series Telecaster Deluxe; the SW exclusive one is made in Indo. Got it for a project guitar, and I still intend to mis-use it as such. For what it is is, I really like it; the neck is probably the worst part of it because it is supposedly lightly finished....but mine feels like it's just smoothly sanded. Don't know, don't care -- I like it regardless. It has the full pickguard with everything mounted to it, so it should be ideal for wiring experiments (although I don't recall how the body is routed). I put some block inlay stickers on it so it easily could pass for a $300 guitar.... :-)

(The new one is the Limited Edition Paranormal Troublemaker Tele Deluxe in Ice Blue metallic; it's inexpensive at $450 but I got it at the discounted price of ~$315. LOVE this guitar, but it's too pretty to ding up and it's so good stock that I don't plan on changing a thing. It is also much better made than the Affinity model....)

 

[PLX]

And children are freakin expensive

 

[la szum]

Cheap guitars are my thing!

I have 4 Squiers ranging in age from 5 days all the way up to 35 years.

The cheapest was the $280 Squier Affinity Series Telecaster Deluxe; the SW exclusive one is made in Indo. Got it for a project guitar, and I still intend to mis-use it as such. For what it is is, I really like it; the neck is probably the worst part of it because it is supposedly lightly finished....but mine feels like it's just smoothly sanded. Don't know, don't care -- I like it regardless. It has the full pickguard with everything mounted to it, so it should be ideal for wiring experiments (although I don't recall how the body is routed). I put some block inlay stickers on it so it easily could pass for a $300 guitar.... :-)

(The new one is the Limited Edition Paranormal Troublemaker Tele Deluxe in Ice Blue metallic; it's inexpensive at $450 but I got it at the discounted price of ~$315. LOVE this guitar, but it's too pretty to ding up and it's so good stock that I don't plan on changing a thing. It is also much better made than the Affinity model....)

I love what Squier/FMIC is doing with the Paranormal Series. They can experiment and don't
stand to lose much if they are not hot sellers. I have 3 of the Paranormals and they get more
play time than my Core PRS guitars do, because they are more distinct, unique, and quirky.

Quirky is cool!

 

[dk_ace]

I have a squier affinity tele in bsb that I got to practice guitar setups, mods, and refrets on. I paid like $89 for it. I went to GC and they had a rack full of them. I played like 8 of them, most of them junk, but one was passable, and the one I bought was special. It’s one of those guitars that unexplainably just comes together just right and sounds and feels way better than it should.

I stained and refinished the neck, swapped saddles, put a fender waterslide on, lacquered the pickguard, and set it up. I’ve still yet to play a tele I like better than that one. I never carried through on some of the experiments I wanted to do because I ended up liking it too much to risk screwing it up…

D

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

It actually sounds REALLY great now that I've got a set of Antiquities installed and a 50's style wiring layout:

DIY weight relief

TRIGGER WARNING!!! This is not for those that get squeamish about a little blood/splinters/burn-marks/less-than-straight-lines on a guitar. I don't recommend @Eagle looking at these images. I've had this Hamer Echotone 335 knockoff for 2 or 3 years now. I think I paid $300 for it, and it...

thegearforum.com

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Heh, I have a few of those. This was a Laguna LE300 that I bought in maybe 2010/2011? (Pic is not mine):

It started out a HSS guitar with a tobacco burst gloss finish, which I covered up in electrical tape (and the SS cavities after yanking those out) because I thought it looked cool.. a bit like Batman's suit, hence the cardboard logo. I put some black knobs on the pots that came off of a cheap broken OD pedal and painted the pickup:

After a few years the tape came off, and so did the finish, and some of the body wood..

Headstock reshaped and painted..

I put it back together with just HB (paint scraped off), Vol pot, output jack..

Eventually put an IronGear Steam Hammer in. This is what it looks like today:

 

[Eagle]

I used to build parts guitars for this.

 

[Blix]

None of my guitars are safe. Well except for the Ibby JMP100 I guess, but it's getting banged up easily as the paint is stupid fragile.

Just ordered one of these to shave down the neck of my Edwards LP

 

[BahamaDada]

Harley Benton ST Guitar Kit

Bought one years ago together with my wife. We just wanted to have a "Winter project" and try some wood staining techniques (steel wool + vinegar essence = cool!).

Turns out I love that guitar dearly and it has some pickup/pickguard swaps under its belt. First a 3SC pickguard with WIlkinsons and now an EMG Steve Lukather HSS pickguard.

When I picked it up I thought it's some kind of firewood, but it turns out its a solid guitar if you knoiw your shit.

 

[littlebadboy]

Heh, I have a few of those. This was a Laguna LE300 that I bought in maybe 2010/2011? (Pic is not mine):

View attachment 35043

It started out a HSS guitar with a tobacco burst gloss finish, which I covered up in electrical tape (and the SS cavities after yanking those out) because I thought it looked cool.. a bit like Batman's suit, hence the cardboard logo. I put some black knobs on the pots that came off of a cheap broken OD pedal and painted the pickup:
View attachment 35037

After a few years the tape came off, and so did the finish, and some of the body wood..

View attachment 35038

Headstock reshaped and painted..

View attachment 35039
View attachment 35040

I put it back together with just HB (paint scraped off), Vol pot, output jack..

View attachment 35041

Eventually put an IronGear Steam Hammer in. This is what it looks like today:

View attachment 35042

Hey, those guitars play fantastic! I regret selling mine! The Wilkinson bridge partnered with the excellent locking tuners never goes out of tune after wankery.

 

[littlebadboy]

I had a Yamaha EG112C2 I bought used for $50. I experimented wirings and pickups on it, until I decided to turn it into a guitar that plays bass at the same time with a 2-pole middle pickup with its own circuit and output jack feeding into a DigiTech Drop and into a bass amp, while the regular guitar output goes into the usual guitar output chain. It was awesome!

 

[Byrdman]

I love what Squier/FMIC is doing with the Paranormal Series. They can experiment and don't
stand to lose much if they are not hot sellers. I have 3 of the Paranormals and they get more
play time than my Core PRS guitars do, because they are more distinct, unique, and quirky.

Quirky is cool!

Didnt you tell me you had a Squier 40th anniversary Tele you love a while ago? If so, still have it?

Now that my PRS experiment when to shit, I may put together a partscaster Tele this coming year or try to pick up one of those.

 

[metropolis_4]

I’ve always been all about cheap guitars -> expensive amps

$325 MIM Strat is still my #1 after nearly 30 years