Does it really matter what guitar you have ?

[M Sarad]

No. As long as you’re playing a guitar, price doesn’t matter.

[shockfinder]

I think it does, but not in a snobbish way. I don’t play well enough to be snobby. However, I want the best combination of sound and playability I can get. In fact, one example of it mattering was the other day I was playing with a friend. We were tuning and just noodling before we really got started. He just stopped and said “What guitar are you playing? It sounds really nice. Better than your others.” The others are fine, but the sound and playability of this one is special.

Another friend plays an old old Yamaha with laminate back and sides and a messed up bridge. He plays fingerstyle and we always stop playing and just listen when he starts. It’s beautiful and earnest. But sometimes he picks up one of mine and plays it and suddenly everything just rings out and is instantly more....vibrant? Anyway, he plays beautifully and he loves his guitar. He’s got a long history with it. But he does much better with a better guitar. Better being defined by playability and tone, not necessarily price.

[Joe Beamish]

I’m still with Tommy and the OP. But there’s nothing wrong with gear, or with millions of threads about gear.

We’re here for the gear. But I like the OP’s reminder.

[aknow]

I have acoustics ranging from $300 to $5000
My favorite is a recent Yamaha FSX5, red label re-issue/acoustic/electric
because when it accompanies my voice it sounds great, and it is relatively easy to play.

[Black-n-Nan]

I own a Taylor 214-K-DLX and always thought that it's not a real Taylor. The real one has to be all solid and US made. Period. Last Friday I have visited the largest music store in Moscow just to pick new string set. Since I have some spare time, decided to play all Taylors they have. I tried them all, from 314 to K26. Are they better then mine? Sure. Are they SO MUCH BETTER, as their prices are? Definitely no. And I said to myself:" You are too old to hear the difference"

[RalphH]

Yes and no. I dont think price point stops you from enjoying a guitar, but I have two very different acoustics that I enjoy for different things and if I try to use one in the others territory I dont like it much.

Would it hold me back if I only had one of them? No, but it would shape what I play.

[Mr. Paul]

This discussion would be very different on a songwriter's forum but it's an odd subject to introduce to a group of guitar nuts.

[RalphH]

Today I was at my local guitar shop to buy a little acoustic for my daughter.

They had an Epiphone Hummingbird on display. I picked it up and had a go for a few mins with this thread in mind. It was £249. Was it a nice as my £4000 Gibson Hummingbird? No. Did it play absolutely fine and sound pretty reasonable. Yes, it did. In fact I thought it sounded and played great! Would I rather have my Gibson at 16x the cost? Yes. OMG yes. While I can't fault the Epi at it's price point, the Gibson is still miles better. No, it's not 16x better, but I don't need 16 guitars. Would I be sad and unsatisfied with my lot in life if I could only afford the Epiphone? No, it's a nice guitar and has the same sort of tonal vibe that I appreciate in my Gibson Hummbird, ie it's mellow and compressed and would be nice to sing over. If that was my price point I would be very happy with it. Would I rather live without my car than my Gibson if it came to that choice? Yes.

[JC.]

Have you ever had the experience of admiring somebody’s playing in a guitar shop only to discover that those angelic chords and heavenly harmonies were coming, not from the “Please Do Not Touch” SantaCollingsGibsoMartin, but from a shockingly cheap “Beginner Guitar”?


No, neither have I.

[Silly Moustache]

I think that in another thread we discussed whether your audience care or can differentiate the finer tonal qualities of the instruments we play, so the choice is really all about OUR perception of our guitars.

I didn't start to play guitar until about the early/mid '60s, with a £16 distributor branded guitar , and as soon as my musical direction focussed I worked up to the magical "Martin" by the early '70s. I was in London and could see the Thursday ads and jump!

As my style improved (?) my requirements became better defined, so by 1999, I achieved my first Collings - a high priced brand for most (I would have stopped at Martin if I had been able to find one that suited my hands).

I run a small club and can tell the quality of guitars played by others just by listening. I have pretty much identified the lesser price tag guitars that soud good and the higher price ones that don't.

I don't see many more purchases for me but after my acquistion of Collings, a Santa Cruz, and a Martin 12 string, my most recent scores have been:
2019 - An Eastman E20-P (£1000)
2018 - Eastman AR805 (£650 + plus £150 mtce))
2017 - Harmony H1270 12 string (£600+ £50 mtce)

I've been playing my new Eastman (model "O") along with my Brit built 0028 and my 2003 Collings 000.
Frankly, whilst all very different tonally - the new Eastman (with adi top) stands up very well with the other two.
The Eastman has a £1500 price tag, and an equivalent Martin, if you could get one!) woud be app £3600, and a Collings - IRO £5600.

US made instruments are of fine quality no doubt, but they really need to do something to reduce their prices whilst maintaining quality.

Is my new Eastman of the same quality of my Collings? ... No, but I'd say it equals a standard model Martin!

[hubcapsc]

So what if you have a less exspensive guitar

Yep... so what? I think (and this is an opinion thread) that
a guitar needs to be nicely playable... lots of guitars that
don't cost a load of money chord and play fine. I wouldn't
play much if my guitar had lousy action and wouldn't stay
in tune, so I think that's what matters most. My buddy Kent
has stuck with his $100 guitar from college (not because he
has to), and we're 60 now. He plays a lot, and has fun doing it.

-Mike "you could get some good $100 guitars from Japan in the 70s..."

[RP]

The popularity of the Acoustic Guitar Forum is largely based on the notion that it does matter what kind of guitar one owns and/or plays. While it may not matter to the listener, it certainly matters in some way to the player/owner...

[cdkrugjr]

The Best guitar is the one you have available so you can play on it every day.

The Collings I want does me no good at all.

YES, it made me sound better when pretty much the only thing I could play was a G chord, which no other guitar in that shop did...

A couple years later I found a 12-fret D-18 that had the same effect, but it was a day-1 consignment and the seller wouldn't move...

[raysachs]

I think it's pretty simple. If it matters to you, it matters. It definitely doesn't matter at ALL to anyone else. But so what? You're the one playing it, so your opinion of whether it matters is the only one that counts...

[s2y]

If someone with a cheaper guitar plays better than someone with an expensive guitar, that's winning at life. It's the Indian, not the arrow. Be a player, not a polisher. I think this thread will settle everything once and for all. (much sarcasm)

I must be compensating for something since I play expensive guitars. It's more like having specific needs that aren't available stock. That and Taylor has discontinued many of the guitars I like. I have small hands, so I want a smaller neck. Much like a dude with giant mitts doesn't want a pint sized neck. On large and/or deep bodied acoustics, I need a bevel of some sort.

In mid 2019, someone asked me where I studied music. I was having a decent night at the local acoustic jam. I am a healthcare professional, so I was a bit confused by the comment. A few weeks later, I let someone play the guitar I used that night and it clicked. My Bob Thompson OM sounds so amazing that my abilities were magnified. That was the first time I had heard that guitar in the sonic sweet spot. Yes, that guitar matters a lot.

Guitars in the lower price range continue to get better. That being said, a major weakness of lower end guitars in my area is that they're poorly cared for. The guitar isn't climate controlled. Setup? What's that? They often compensate with lighter strings that are 6+ months too old. It's hard to do much when the guitar doesn't sound great and is difficult to play.