Share your beater guitar

[jrs146]

Originally Posted by Lake Sagatagan

I required a little "rescue work" be done on an Applegate SJ, cocobolo/ redwood, featuring Brian's signature "grill" sound port and a custom inlay. When the tech returned it, he said, " Here's your beater, good as new!" Does that count?

Ha sure why not!

[YamahaGuy]

Don't have one anymore, but when I did it was a Yamaha FG700s.

[zombywoof]

My late 1950s Harmony Sovereign. For many decades this was my throw over your shoulder or in the trunk guitar. Shows every mile put on it but has always fired up when I needed it to.

[Greg Ballantyne]

My old Aria could qualify, after a new set up a couple of years ago - but I'm not a beater concept guy. If I have a guitar I want to play, I play it.

Most any guitar is capable of surviving quite well in many environments some guitar players hesitate to expose them to....I've exposed mine to many environments, and even my 40+ year old Aria, which after having taken more boating, camping, etc... trips than I could count still looks barely used. All my guitars look new - with one small exception..... we won't get into that.....

[jjracer]

No beater guitar. Take one of my guitars and am careful with who I let play it.

[TBman]

I have 3.

Washburn D-10S (left) Seagull Folk (right) and below an Alvarez AP66sb.

The Seagull is a great little blues box and the Alvarez isn't half bad either. The Washburn's setup would make TE jealous. You take one string off and it buzzes,

[fitness1]

I guess it would be my Cordoba C9 Spruce (modified a good bit) - the one that's sent some 3k used classicals down the road packing....

[Looburst]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

A very basic $50.00 kit guitar, my 3rd.



I enlarged the sound-hole a little.
Made my own bone nut and saddle.
Used 'Wilkinson' Kluson like tuners.
Bought bone bridge pins.
Found a very cheap Gibson like pick guard.
Got the intonation 'spot-on' with my bridge positioning.
Sounds surprisingly good with D'Addario NB 12's.
I'll give it away if I find some-one needy - I've given away my first 2 kits.

I like your style, Bruce!

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Looburst

I like your style, Bruce!

Thanks, thinking back, I bought every single item on this guitar from ebay!
Tuners, strings, pick guard, Gibson headstock sticker (from Spain ... sorry Gibby owners!) bone nut and saddle blanks ... oh, and the guitar itself.

[Looburst]

Very creative, Bruce. I'm a serious Gibby owner but I do dig it!

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by TBman

I have 3.
Washburn D-10S (left) Seagull Folk (right) and below an Alvarez AP66sb.

HEY! I wouldn't call MY AP66SB a beater guitar, especially since I spent over $200.00 upgrading to Gotohs and a Gator.

[Shades of Blue]

Seagull S6 Spruce

Learned how to play on it and will never let it go. Wish it sounded better, but it is what it is.

Originally Posted by jrs146

Anyone out there not buy into the beater concept?

I tried it years ago, but I always wished I had a "good guitar" with me instead. I now take whatever "good guitar" I happen to be enjoying at the time camping, to festivals, on family and business trips, etc. Those settings are sedate enough that I have reasonable control over security and storage conditions. I suppose if I had reason to take a guitar into truly harsh conditions, I'd poke around and buy a laminated guitar for short money or perhaps even a carbon fiber guitar. Nothing I currently do requires that though.

At my last outdoor event I had a '36 000-18, 2017 Pre*War, 2017 Klepper, 2005 D-18A, and a Ledford mandolin. Wouldn't call those "beaters" but I'm not afraid to use them either.

[TKT]

Originally Posted by Tico

I'd define a beater as the guitar that's your least favorite and/or least valuable to you.
It may not be your cheapest or worst-sounding or worst-playing guitar.
You're the boss and can use whatever reason, or no reasoning, to decide.

I'd say it's the one most likely you'd bring when there's a possibility of damage from rain, heat, cold, a campfire, etc.
It is the last guitar that you'd rescue from a burning house, after the people, pets, photos, papers, valuables, and other guitars are rescued.

The LAST guitar I'd rescue??! I guess that would be the 1920s Supertone on the wall.

I consider the one I'm willing to let live outside of a case on a stand to be my beater, that's a pre-beat Cordoba Cadete. I love the li'l sucker.

My outdoors, campfire, hot parked car travel guitar is a CA Cargo carbon fiber.

[TBman]

Wait I have one more, I forgot, lol. I have Lucero LC-100 classical (sound clip below). I love the sound of a classical. One day I'll get a decent one.