What is the most overrated part of a guitar?

[tippy5]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

What's the ugliest
Part of your body?
What's the ugliest
Part of your body?
Some say your nose
Some say your toes
(I think it's your mind)
But I think it's YOUR MIND
(Your mind)
I think it's your mind, woo woo

This . . . . . Oh my, will there ever be another musician / composer like this ever again?

woo woo

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by PapaC

The price tag. Yeah, definitely the price tag.

You are probably onto something here.

Unlike many others, I own up to it and do count on the appearance. It's the whole package that counts to me, it has to look nice and be put together in an outstanding manner - as well as sound and play to my satisfaction.

[hubcapsc]

Originally Posted by Rockysdad

I’d say the *name* on the headstock.

What is this "name" y'all are talking about?



The fellow who made this guitar didn't care much for other bling
either.

As far as the rest of this thread goes, I like pretty straight-grain wood on
the backs of guitars way more than crazy grained wood or wood
that looks flat sawn... and tight grain on the front... I read that Gibson
used to glob on the lacquer, I can barely see the grain on the front
of my 57 Country Western through the crazed finish...

-Mike

[jkilgour2000]

Ebony bridge pins. I think plastic is just fine

[FoxHound4690]

I would hands down say the pickups in a guitar are the most overrated part.... people see a stratocaster with 59's in it or a les paul with P-90's in it and they get all excited..... why though?

Tone is purely subjective when it comes to guitars especially electric.... the pickups can have a diverse effect but there's alot of other factors to consider as well that are often overlooked...... the gauge strings your using, the size and watt of the amp your using, the settings on your amp, pre-amp, effects boards and pedals, the size room your playing in, the acoustics of the room you are playing in, the relative humidity at the time, the guitars setup can become a factor as well... there's a thousand factors that can contribute to determining a guitars "tone".

yes you should be focusing on tone when it comes to guitars but always remember that big music shop full of guitars and amps is a completely different environment to your bedroom at home....

[Guilty Spark]

Originally Posted by botofogo

If I'm going to spend the kind of money the guitars I want to play cost, I expect them to be as visually appealing as they are tonally. To me, the guitar is more than wood that makes music.

Agreed.

Too, I wouldn't equate having a certain aesthetic expectation for a pricey guitar (as a whole) with "obsessing" over it. I have relatively mild OCD and Lord knows I have obsessed over things (just ask Mrs. GS about my 914c odyssey....).

The back of my Martin ain't one of 'em.

[jpricewood]

Originally Posted by FoxHound4690

I would hands down say the pickups in a guitar are the most overrated part.... people see a stratocaster with 59's in it or a les paul with P-90's in it and they get all excited..... why though?

Tone is purely subjective when it comes to guitars especially electric.... the pickups can have a diverse effect but there's alot of other factors to consider as well that are often overlooked...... the gauge strings your using, the size and watt of the amp your using, the settings on your amp, pre-amp, effects boards and pedals, the size room your playing in, the acoustics of the room you are playing in, the relative humidity at the time, the guitars setup can become a factor as well... there's a thousand factors that can contribute to determining a guitars "tone".

yes you should be focusing on tone when it comes to guitars but always remember that big music shop full of guitars and amps is a completely different environment to your bedroom at home....

I think expensive electric guitars in general are overrated, because most of the sound comes from the strings, pickups and amp.

Regarding acoustics, I think aesthetics and brand can both mean a lot. I’ve always thought people get a little too hung up on nut width and nut and saddle material.

[EZK123]

The end pin. I mean. . . does anyone REALLY need a fossilized walrus ivory end pin to match their bridge pins?

[EZK123]

Originally Posted by jpricewood

I think expensive electric guitars in general are overrated, because most of the sound comes from the strings, pickups and amp.

Regarding acoustics, I think aesthetics and brand can both mean a lot. I’ve always thought people get a little too hung up on nut width and nut and saddle material.

I'd agree in many aspects, but some more expensive aspects can be very useful. For instance, my main electric is based on Jerry Garcia's guitars. It has an onboard effects loop that sends the full signal from the pickups to your pedals before it hits the volume control, then out through an onboard signal buffer. This allows you to adjust your volume without affecting the response of your pedals (very helpful if you're using things like an envelope filter that are extremely dependent on volume for proper performance). Things like that can add a bundle to the price of a guitar.

That said, I wouldn't pay the huge prices some ask for aesthetics, labels, etc. I'm not inclined to pay $10k for a PRS with super nice wood but nothing special electronically, but I'm totally willing to pay $4-6k for a well build guitar that offers all the electronics I want or need for my purposes.

[RussL30]

Originally Posted by Mark Stone

Nut material, and the difference between 1-11/16 and 1.75.

I would go with this. 1 and 11/16 vs 1 3/4 is the least of my concerns when considering a purchase. Also I see much fuss dealing with gloss vs satin necks. I own acoustics and electrics with both, and either one is fine with me.

Also the species of spruce top is overrated to me. I own Sitka and Engelman and have played Adirondack and Sitka is just as good as anything else out there.

[Guilty Spark]

The difference between playing my Ovation or Takamine (both have a 1 11/16" nut) and my guitars with a 1 3/4" nut is readily apparent to me. Like night and day.

YMMV

[brencat]

Adi bracing vs Sitka. How many times have we discussed this in various threads, and I’m as guilty as anyone. After many years and many guitars, it’s the whole package that matters, not this one attribute. Might as well include no tongue brace vs with in this too.

[redir]

Originally Posted by tippy5

This . . . . . Oh my, will there ever be another musician / composer like this ever again?

woo woo

And the funny thing is as soon as I saw that I didn't just simply read it, I sang it, and in that voice too And I know you did too

[redir]

To each there own but as one who makes guitars I think it's silly to make the interior of the guitar perfectly clean like a doll house inside. I never sand braces preferring to leave tool marks, pencil lines and so on. The hand of the maker is what I call it. Though there was guy who posted here recently, I think, who put a little mouse in the inside of the guitar and I thought that was cool.

[OregonJim]

Kinda depends on whether you're a player or a "collector". For a player, everything is overrated. The guitar is only 10% of the equation. For a collector, nothing is overrated - except maybe tone.