An Ode to Thy 'Beater' - anyone love theirs?

[v32 finish]

I got this idea after I sat down with my wife the other day; she's not a very huge guitar person but she likes that I am.. mostly.. other times, she tolerates it (when the checkbook is involved, mostly ) but anyway..

we sat and A/B/C'd my three guitars together: the Taylor 710 and the Gibson, with a considerably higher stature (and pricetag) should easily outclass my Washburn WD-44S, which is my "beater".. (which is a bit miseading because I still take good care of it); at $350 used at a pawn shop, including an OHSC which is better than my Gibson OR Taylor cases.... this guitar has its own voice.. really it's nothing short of miraculous. Truly one of those 'skies open up, angels singing' type deals when I played it first time around. just purely from listening to the voicings, you'd NEVER know that it was a different price range. It's the one I reach for most often, strangely enough, because I'm not worried about dents or dings, but also just because of comfort.. like a pair of shoes you love.. i absolutely love this guitar. Anyone in the market for a cheap, cheap dread that hits above its pricetag, I see these go for ~$200 on Reverb sometimes. it literally plays like a $3000 guitar. I wish their were 000's or OM's or parlors in this run (120th anniv. series, 2003) but I think it's all dreads.

Back to the sound: full, clear, and bright, (but not in a thin way), it has tremendous clarity and note separation.. and the overtones.. it's amazing. responsive as all get out. just hums with energy. I've done the "tap test" on every guitar that comes through here, listening to the soundhole while I give the body a tap in various places. And of 4-6 high end guitars recently, NOTHING has reverberated and sounded as deep and thunderous as this guitar when tapped. To be objective and totally fair, it loses (narrowly) to both the higher end guitars in respect of headroom (EDIT.. this is not so much the case since replacing w/ bone bridge pins and elixir HD Lights.. ) .. if you really dig in (which I don't, typically, on any guitar) it will get a bit muddy and lose just a fraction of its magic. Anyway. I just had an urge to share here, my "Ode" to my "beater"- does anyone else have a guitar like this? Surely I'm not alone? I will dig around for a sound clip, but for now, here are a few pics of the Washburn WD-44S (which also changed my mind and turned me around completely when it comes to their whole brand). I will never sell it, either, because of the sentimental value: it was like the universe aligning when I played it in the pawnshop that day, and my wife later came back to buy it for me- and actually managed to let me think, for a while anyway, that it was gone, when I inevitably went back to get it. So there's also a cool/family story there as well.

Anyway, just spent about 30 minutes playing it, and I just am constantly amazed at how a $6-700 guitar can sound and play this way, and wanted to share and see if anyone else had similar experiences!! when these pop up on Reverb (or its 'siblings' also from the 120th anniv. 'rarewood' series, -41, -42, -43 etc) and I always just want to shout from the rooftop and tell a fellow guitar-geek to buy one.

sorry for the long-winded post; now -- who else has a 'beater' or a less expensive guitar that has captured your heart or plays 3-4x above its pricetag??




And.. next to the Taylor.. which should dominate it, and yet, it doesn't..

[bluesfreek]

All my guitars are beaters... I love them all!

[fazool]

Yep

and about every other post where this topic comes up

I would describe my "beater" as about 15% of the costs of my best guitar with about 75% of the sound.

[donlyn]

Don't have a designated 'beater'. I suppose it's just whichever guitar I wish to play at the time.

[TBman]

Even though My Guild D-120ce only cost me $425 used, I don't consider it a beater. It gets just as much, if not more, playing time as my J-45 and Larrivee OM-05. I'm just as careful with it as my more expensive guitars.

As it is all solid hog, with the right strings it rings out pretty well. Ok, its not a Larrivee OM-05, but it's good. There's a tune with me playing it in my signature below. Even though I'm planning on a fairly decent NGD post this summer, the D-120 will still get plenty of playing time.

[Nyghthawk]

This thread reminded me of 'the one that got away.' I saw a Washburn wd-56sw in a store about 2-3 years ago. It was used for $325-350. Sweet guitar. Coulda-shoulda-woulda.

[v32 finish]

LOL. Fazool - thank you. I guess my post would've been well-suited as a reply to your thread, but I didn't see it. Thanks for sharing. I don't mean to get gushy or what-have-you, but it's definitely a realization (as you and others pointed out in that post) that even with GAS and expensive and amazing instruments everywhere, sometimes we lose sight of those very things.. Simple pleasures.. and that it doesn't always take a heirloom/lifetime/boutique guitar to achieve that greatness that made us guitar players in the first place.

I also agree with whoever in that thread said that playing can be spiritual. I don't have nearly as much time playing in nature as I'd like, but even indoors, it's not every time.. but sometimes without warning, it's like you slip into the 'zone' and something moves you. To me it feels like at that moment God himself is guiding the notes and I am just a grateful witness.

Anyway, yeah. I think the overall theme here is gratitude; for me anyway, and tonight I am very thankful for my family and my humble Washburn. What would life be without music?

cheers

[ChalkLitIScream]

Yep, my beater is my first guitar. All laminate but being a dread, or our projects my concert sized all solid guitar. By no means is it poor guitar. 200 bucks. The top is still stable, neck is great and fret wear is still good.

Thinking of adding a soundport to it as a summer project.

[v32 finish]

Barry,thanks for sharing! I've always been intrigued by Guild as I haven't come across many and obviously hear such great things and see people constantly with 4, 5, 6, 12 different ones in their sig. That is a great clip; just proves that sometimes there are real gems hidden amongst those guitars with lower pricetags.

Nyghthawk, I feel similar about a Cordoba that I was eyeballing locally for a long time. It must have been a month or more, probably 3-4 times I went into my shop and each time I played this beautiful* nylon crossover number, real dark, probably stained EIR and sitka by the looks of it, and it was maybe $599 I think- when I finally decided a little while back that I for sure wanted it, because it just had that gorgeous nylon sound with a super low action and just really, really sang -- it was gone. There were 3 or 4 others, and none of them have ever compared since, including one of the exact same model (Orchestra Fusion or something, IDK). Still haven't scratched that itch since, as far as the nylon goes. coulda-shoulda-didn't.

[maxtheaxe]

My "beach guitar" is a mid-70s Aria ProII dreadnought that I bought cheap several years ago specifically for the purpose of having a guitar that I wouldn't worry about taking to the beach or camping, etc.

It's a MIJ (by Matsumoku, I think) nominally supposed to be a D-35 copy...has a wonderfully aged solid sitka top over a laminated Brazilian (!) rosewood back, sides, & headstock overlay, really nice soft-V neck with the Martin-style 'volute' at the headstock. Of course it wouldn't be complete without the over-the-top MOP vine inlay on the fretboard!

This guitar was badly abused in the past by someone who tried to refinish it and did a heinous job of it. It looks a lot worse in person than what shows in the pics but at least there are no cracks. In spite of it's many cosmetic, induced flaws, what it does well is play and sound WAY better than it has a right to. The saddle and nut are poorly executed...I can only assume that when I get around to replacing those it will sound & play even better but in the meantime, I couldn't ask for a better beater.

[zombywoof]

Yeah, I am one who gives the side of any guitar I run into I might possibly buy a good thump and then listen and feel.

I have a friend who says "beater" is a description you use to describe a used guitar to your wife to make the purchase sound more reasonable.

To me there is a difference between an inexpensive guitar and a beater. I do not consider a guitar a beater because I own more expensive instruments. There is something else involved. It could be condition but I think it is more an attitude and a freedom to take the guitar any where you want ant any time you want and not fret over it.

Anyway, here is my favorite beater - a late 1950s Harmony Sovereign which I have owned for decades and which shows every mile put on it. But these remain one of my favorite guitars of all time - I own three of them.



Here is another - in this case a maple body Oahu concert from the 1930s.

[TBman]

Here's a picture of it - Guild D-120ce

[Shades of Blue]

My "beater" is a J-45. Yes it's brand new, yes it's expensive, and yes I love it. I just want to play and enjoy this guitar and not worry about keeping it pristine. I won't be mistreating it or abusing it in any way, but I am not going to baby it.

My 000-28 may be the girl I wine and dine and take out on a fancy date, but the J-45 is the girl I hit the town with and see where life takes us...

[rmgjsps]

Originally Posted by bluesfreek

All my guitars are beaters... I love them all!

What he says. Although the Lakewood isn't really a beater, I bought it
used at a beater price.

[scriv58]

my beater a 1946 gibson southern jumbo- not a beater price but i ain't fearful of taking it and playing it anywhere