I Want a Headless

So…. I am an EXTREMELY happy camper with the unit I ended up with, it’s flawless QC wise….

But I’m not gonna lie I kinda cracked up going through the case candy when I saw that only one of the 3 distinct QC checklist fields was signed off on and the other two were blank :LOL:
 
It’s completely pointless doing reviews of budget guitars that look beyond the specs and hardware because they is no consistency in anything at this price level. The difference between a good and bad example is always huge making it impossible to generalise. You have to judge one instrument, the one you’re buying.
 
Eagle said:
It’s completely pointless doing reviews of budget guitars that look beyond the specs and hardware because they is no consistency in anything at this price level. The difference between a good and bad example is always huge making it impossible to generalise. You have to judge one instrument, the one you’re buying.
Click to expand...

Pointless? I respectfully disagree. Players want to know the spec comparisons before they buy. It's helpful to have that information in one video or elsewhere. Getting this information side-by-side makes for an easier decision. Stuff like neck feel, pickup tone quality, and other small details don't show up in the spec sheets.

In my case, I bought 2 guitars and got at random 2 examples. Both were well made and seemed to have some level of quality control. OTOH, I wouldn't say they're finely polished or hand crafted. Just reasonable priced guitars that I wouldn't call total junk. I was actually pleasantly surprised to find this to be the case. These low end guitars have come a long way.

I mean how much consistency is there with some brands at the high end? Is every Gibson the exact same as another out of the factory? Every Fender? PRS? I've owned guitars from all these makes and others. The variables of quality from one example to another is still there with those. Maybe not as extreme, but it is still there. Go to any GC and it's pretty obvious if you pull enough examples of the racks. After all, that's why someone goes to GC in the first place. That is, to find a good one.
 
TJontheRoad said:
Pointless? I respectfully disagree. Players want to know the spec comparisons before they buy. It's helpful to have that information in one video or elsewhere. Getting this information side-by-side makes for an easier decision. Stuff like neck feel, pickup tone quality, and other small details don't show up in the spec sheets.

In my case, I bought 2 guitars and got at random 2 examples. Both were well made and seemed to have some level of quality control. OTOH, I wouldn't say they're finely polished or hand crafted. Just reasonable priced guitars that I wouldn't call total junk. I was actually pleasantly surprised to find this to be the case. These low end guitars have come a long way.

I mean how much consistency is there with some brands at the high end? Is every Gibson the exact same as another out of the factory? Every Fender? PRS? I've owned guitars from all these makes and others. The variables of quality from one example to another is still there with those. Maybe not as extreme, but it is still there. Go to any GC and it's pretty obvious if you pull enough examples of the racks. After all, that's why someone goes to GC in the first place. That is, to find a good one.
Click to expand...
You have just made a good case for “pointless “ beyond the spec which is what I said above.
I agree the most guitars sub £2K are all over the place with QC and that you need to judge the instrument you’re holding. This also means people need to be able to judge the fundamentals and not reject a potentially excellent instrument for something trivial like fret spout or the like that can be corrected with ease, instead choosing something else worse but without the issue. Wood is a lottery at this price and dead spots are not even a consideration in manufacturing until you get quite expensive.
It’s one thing to suggest a budget guitar to check out but a detailed review is utterly pointless unless you’re selling the review guitar.
 
Eagle said:
dead spots are not even a consideration in manufacturing until you get quite expensive.
Click to expand...

Who does actually check for them? I know Vigier and Flaxwood and Aristides are immune, but Suhrs can have them, and when I asked Tom Anderson himself if they check he told me I shouldn't but from him! Man, I can't imagine any of the Fender or Gibson families of brands check either. Are we talking like Huber, or, Man, I don't know, like one man shops? Maybe James Tyler?

This question perplexes me.
 
State of Epicicity said:
Who does actually check for them? I know Vigier and Flaxwood and Aristides are immune, but Suhrs can have them, and when I asked Tom Anderson himself if they check he told me I shouldn't but from him! Man, I can't imagine any of the Fender or Gibson families of brands check either. Are we talking like Huber, or, Man, I don't know, like one man shops? Maybe James Tyler?

This question perplexes me.
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Most high end builders take it in to account when matching wood. Suhr does even though they miss a few.
 
It is definitely a consideration when I build a guitar. Something with weird resonances or dead spots would either get repurposed or thrown on the burn pile.
 
Frankencat said:
It is definitely a consideration when I build a guitar. Something with weird resonances or dead spots would either get repurposed or thrown on the burn pile.
Click to expand...
How do you test for this in the wood selection?
I know what I want in certain woods and builds but I don’t have anything more than weight a tap test and experience.
 
season 2 starz GIF by Ash vs Evil Dead
 
Eagle said:
You have just made a good case for “pointless “ beyond the spec which is what I said above.
I agree the most guitars sub £2K are all over the place with QC and that you need to judge the instrument you’re holding. This also means people need to be able to judge the fundamentals and not reject a potentially excellent instrument for something trivial like fret spout or the like that can be corrected with ease, instead choosing something else worse but without the issue. Wood is a lottery at this price and dead spots are not even a consideration in manufacturing until you get quite expensive.
It’s one thing to suggest a budget guitar to check out but a detailed review is utterly pointless unless you’re selling the review guitar.
Click to expand...

Hard agree. Generally, the more you pay, the more of a guarantee you have of getting a quality instrument. There are exceptions of course.

There is the question of hardware, and quality of wood, pickups, etc. But as far as playability, budget brands are perfectly capable of making guitars that play amazing.

But with the budget brands, it feels more like entering a lottery. With the big brands, that expectation is there, and if you get a crappy one it feels more like a reverse lottery, where you were just super unlucky.

It is one of the reasons I love buying cheap guitars, its a bit like gambling. When you get a good one, its killer. I have a Harley Benton that could take even my most expensive guitars to task in terms of playability. Its perfect.

But for every cheap guitar thats killer, I've had ones that were completely inexcusably terrible.

My Strandberg Essential is overall of great quality. There is the slightest route gap on the right side of the bridge. Also the wiring is done CHEAP cheap. I already lost 5th position, its completely shorted. I plan to redo the wiring with some higher gauge cloth wire.
 
Eagle said:
But it could also be Duesenberg .
Click to expand...
I know Dieter (Atze) Gölsdorf very well and I had many Düsenbergs on my desk for service and repair (mainly for service ).
It’s a shame that he so intransparent where the guitars are made (obviously Asia).
But Yeah you can charge higher prices for the mystery factor.
 
GuitarAddicted said:
I know Dieter (Atze) Gölsdorf very well and I had many Düsenbergs on my desk for service and repair (mainly for service ).
It’s a shame that he so intransparent where the guitars are made (obviously Asia).
But Yeah you can charge higher prices for the mystery factor.
Click to expand...
They cost literally 3x what any other manufacture would charge for the same thing hiding poor value under a vail of "original" parts that are in fact budget manufactured OEM from the usual suspects . A truly horrible company.
 
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