Favorite “cheap” electric?

[MIGAS79]

First off, I don’t really care to define the word “cheap“. All three of mine are probably cheap guitars to many people. So, whatever it means to you.

My Gretsch Electromatic Pro Jet (retailed for $399, picked it up as a mint floor model for $319) is my choice. It feels so comfortable and the chambered basswood body with Blacktop FilterTron pickups have a very big sound. It kind of has its own category in my book. It certainly doesn’t sound like a Fender or Gibson. When it took a fall home, just shipping a bit of paint on the front I was at first devastated but it’s probably a blessing. It is now not worth trying to sell so will keep it around! I find it to be quite versatile but the sweet spot is mildly overdriven. It’s a lightweight guitar with a large voice. It doesn’t like to go back on the stand once picked up, probably more than my other two, which cost around double. It’s not just good “for the money”.

So, tell us about YOUR bargain beauty.

[loco gringo]

Telecaster type guitar made out of parts. I bought ir from Rob DiStefano at Cavalier Pickups. It is a pine body with a nothing fancy wipe on finish. The neck is a repurposed baseball bat, I think. Kidding, but it does have the biggest neck of any of my guitars, and I love it. It has Rob's pickups in it, and they smoke. The guitar sounds and plays amazing. I have about $400 in it, about the same as your Jet.

[GCWaters]

Squier classic vibe custom Tele....

[Steve DeRosa]

Using traditional American/Japanese-made instruments as a criterion, I'll define "cheap" as anything that would sell for $1K or less new at current market prices - that said, got/had a few in my stable (all brand-new prices BTW):

Solidbody
Hagstrom Swede: $249 w/HSC in '78, the new MIC versions don't compare to this Swedish beauty that I never should have sold
Yamaha SSC-500: bought brand-new in '82 for $199 w/HSC, a 3-PU SG-cum-Gretsch Corvette that still serves as my beater
Ovation Ultra GP: $269 w/HSC in '84, sounded great but never felt quite right to me, should've kept it since they sell for $2500+ on the vintage market today
Squier-Fender Strat: one of the MIJ solids that maintained the Fender name/market presence during the post CBS transition period, another $199 (in '86) bargain that sounds/plays like the best USA versions and served as my main stage guitar for 25 years
Gibson LP Studio '60s Tribute: paid $800 in 2011 for this P-90 goldtop beauty - looks like a sweet under-the-bed '56, plays like a good SG thanks to the routed body and Slim-Taper neck, and took over from my Strat as my go-to stage solid

Hollow/Semi
Carlo Robelli ES-450: a '53 Gibson ES-5 knockoff that I scored for $450 w/HSC at Sam Ash in '04 (with free Robelli J-45 knockoff that became my classroom guitar) and nicknamed "Elvis," my jazz/blues/rockabilly guitar for nearly a decade
Godin CW II: been selling for $1K since its introduction in the early-2K's (tell me again why everyone else keeps jacking up their prices...), scored this ES-175 style hollowbody for just over $600 w/TRIC case from Amazon Christmas Day 2012 - one of exactly three guitars I've owned in 55+ years that needed absolutely no setup whatsoever, it's become my go-to jazz/blues box and on-stage backup for my P-90 LP
Gretsch 5622T-CB: my $899 "Swiss Army" electric, a 3-PU/cats'-eye semi that'll cover every iconic Gretsch tone from Chet to Harrison to Setzer along with Strat-style "Position #2/#4" (thanks to that middle pickup), plays like the best old Brooklyn originals while exceeding the build quality of most of them (also needed absolutely no initial setup) - written about it many times here on AGF since the initial NGD, and if I could only have one electric (yeah, right) this would be it

Bass
Ibanez SR405: $360 w/HSC in '03, my only 5-string and only active EQ bass, built just before they went to that reverse top-mounted jack (um, not everybody does that behind-the-endpin thing with their cord, guys - and it's impossible to hook up some wireless systems), sounds more natural and "passive" to my ears than all but the most expensive active EQ systems - and with nylon tapewound strings that low B comes on like a 16' organ pipe, with none of the harsh metallic rasp of roundwounds/taperwounds
Gibson Faded SG: my go-to bass as I get older thanks to its light weight and compact dimensions, cost me $699 w/HSC in '07 (based on the price of the current SG guitar equivalent could be reissued for about $1K w/gigbag today), and whoever said short-scale basses have "inferior" tone needs to get their head out of their exhaust pipe - a set of 49-109 LaBella flatwounds (the way these instruments were set up back in their heyday, BTW) gives it the weight and sonic authority of a long-scale bass (my Pedulla P/J has since gone into semi-retirement), I can cover everything from slap-&-pop to those classic EB-3 '60s rock/R&B tones, and when it comes time to do some speed riffing Messrs. Bruce and Clarke knew what they were doing when they reached for a short-scale
Ibanez Mikro-Bass: $149 w/gigbag during an MF Holiday Sale in '09 and IMO the ultimate travel/jam bass, sounds like a full-size Ibanez SGR through even a 30-40W practice amp (and huge through a beefy stage rig) - easily hotrodded with aftermarket parts (uses standard-size P/J pickups, and compact sealed tuners are an easy DIY retrofit with a hand drill), these are a great option (and cult favorite) for guitarists who need to lay down a bass track but don't want to invest in/can't handle a full 34" scale P/J instrument

Drums
Pearl Rhythm Traveler kit: $449 @ Sam Ash in 2010 plus another $275 invested in upgrades, a compact recording and small/medium-size venue performing rig for those who still prefer the tone/feel of acoustic drums, but don't want/need the bulk and raw volume of a typical modern kit; a full set of Remo Fiberskyn 3 heads and Zildjian ZBT cymbals (crash/crash-ride/hats) give it much of the feel and tone of a typical '50s-60s club-date/jazz set (with its smaller toms and 20" kick drum), and a broad and easily-controlled dynamic range that'll take you from acoustic-guitar compatible to moderate-volume rock (even with low/mid-powered amps you'll never have to worry about drowning out the guitar/bass/keys) - shame they discontinued this one in favor of one of those "Questlove" style kits that have become the rage

[wrathfuldeity]

Have gone through a dozen or so cheapies and not so cheap. However the current 2 left are not going anywhere. Peavey mia reactor and predator, both with a fair amt of mods.

[pieterh]

I bought a MiM Classic 60s Tele from a friend for roughly $300 (thereabouts, not sure of the exchange rate with Swedish crowns) and since then have swapped out the bridge (I don’t like those 60s saddles) and added a StewMac neck shim. That guitar is probably the most comfortable and best set up of all my electrics.

I also bought an Ibanez RG350mdx (the one with the maple fingerboard) for around $100. It needed a couple of bridge parts, new whammy bar and whammy height screw which cost me another $40 or so (ordered the parts from the USA). Hard rock axes aren’t really my thing but it plays like a dream so I’m keeping it!

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by GCWaters

Squier classic vibe custom Tele....

Or even just the Squier Classic Vibe (not the custom version) tele or strat. I’ve had a couple of the teles and they’re great guitars. If you do a good setup on em, they play as well as anything out there and their pickups sound awesome. The necks are too skinny for some traditionalists, but that’s because a lot of people love skinny necks. These are $399 and you can usually get them for 15% off if you’re a little patient.

[ohiopicker]

90s and 2000s Fender MIM Strats and Teles. The ceramic pickups have a nice grit at their top end. If they get scratched (or worse) at a gig, I don't have to go into grief therapy.

[Chickee]

When dinosaurs walked the earth and I was fresh out of school and on a real job the first thing the store owner taught me was "never say the word cheap, always say inexpensive." I've used that lesson my whole life. I own no cheap guitars, just inexpensive ones! bahahah

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by Chickee

When dinosaurs walked the earth and I was fresh out of school and on a real job the first thing the store owner taught me was "never say the word cheap, always say inexpensive." I've used that lesson my whole life. I own no cheap guitars, just inexpensive ones! bahahah

Agree. Especially on some of these guitars when the raw material/ wood is better quality. Labour costs vary, and if anyone has visited a factory in a place like Indonesia, those folks work hard long hours and honestly so.

[guitararmy]

One of my bargain favorites is the DeArmond series from Fender, which were Guild-inspired models. The Goldtone humbucker pickups they used now sell for almost as much as the guitars did!

[MIGAS79]

So often sound quality isn’t the issue with inexpensive instruments, it’s the component quality. Scratchy volume/tone knobs and loose switches kinda bum me out. Tempted to pick up one of the very large number of Epi LP’s out there that someone else heavily upgraded on their dime. Typically they have addressed some of the things that would keep me away.

I do prefer “inexpensive” to cheap. Well put.

I have had fun picking up used gear to demo at a price I can sell it for if need be. Instruments seem perhaps unique in this way. Allows you to find hidden gems without wasting much money. A half hour at a local GC isn’t enough for me. I need time (and nobody auditioning for Metallica in the background)

[DanR]

I have a PRS SE Singlecut Korina which is a very nice guitar for not that much money.

[DukeX]

Godin LG-P90, $450 new w/Godin HSC. Gone now. But it was very high quality, terrific playing and sounding guitar.

Epiphone Dot, $450 new, w/Epi HSC. Still have. It was excellent out of the box, but I immediately replaced the electronics/pickups with a BCS vintage wiring kit and Seymour Duncan Antiquity HBs. Total investment about $750.

[FrankHudson]

Oh! Don't get me started....

There's something about Fender's designs that seem to allow real inexpensive copies to still sound great. I don't always love the necks, and little cheap things sometimes will need replacement (which Fender's designs always make easy--Leo didn't play, but he started out as a radio repair-man and he wanted stuff to be easy to fix). I could easily list 25 guitar or so that fit this description that I've played over the years. Let me just list 2 that are fairly common and you might run into one and be convinced to give it them a try:


Squier Tele Custom II P90. Tele custom layout with 2 tone 2 volume like a Gibson, but two Duncan Designed P90s. A bit beefier neck than many Squiers, which it a plus for me. This guitar introduced me the sound of P90's and I haven't fallen out of love yet. These are from before the Vintage Vibe era, but you see them around used fairly often.

Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster. Ignore the endorsement if you're not a fan, this is just fine affordable expression of the Jazzmaster you can by new for $450 (and was even cheaper when I bought mine). I happen to love the gold pickguard over white body look, but you could always swap in your favorite color pickguard, and the metal pickguard shields the electronic well for a guitar with two wide single coils. Pickups are apparently not a pure expression of a vintage Jazzmaster, and I suppose one could swap them out, but I've been so happy with the guitar I haven't bothers. Retains the original design switching, which you can just ignore (or use, it's basically a way to have a preset warmer sound available at the flick of a slider switch). Quirky original design rocking bridge (many don't understand them, and some that do still replace them) is already swapped out for a TuneOMatic style. The Jaguar/Jazzmaster trem is one of Leo's under appreciated gems. I prefer it to Strat trem or a Bigsby.


Others? I've been very impressed with the sound of the Epiphone 339 Pro P90 model. I bought the full-sized 335 Pro model at the same time in a moment of madness, and I like it too, though it's less distinctive. The Epi 335 came out of the box as if it had had a nice setup, with all frets level and medium low action. The 339 had a couple of high frets, which I had to work on, but the pair of P90s it sports are pure P90 heaven. The Epi humbuckers in the 335 Pro are not bad or anything, and the full-sized 335 body adds more of the 335 resonance at lower volumes/cleaner amp settings, but that smaller bodied 339 Pro really sounds wonderful clean or cranked, gently plucked or when you dig in. The neck shape on these are a bit weird, a square shouldered D, but I cope with it.

I was going to mention my Gretsch Guitars G5422T, which when it was on sale was just above the upper limits of what I consider "cheap" when I bought it on sale earlier, but currently it's back at $850. Everyone's scale of inexpensive/cheap varies, and knowing what I know now, I'd probably still buy it at that price if I could swing it. But someone has also mentioned the turn of the century DeArmond line that was something of a Edsel for Fender management back then. In body shapes they were reminiscent of the odd-ball Guilds, but in pickups they sort of leaned Gretsch without duplicating that sound exactly. Like Ford with the Edsel, they market-researched these, and introduced a very full line with appropriate hype, and then the buyers just weren't there. I've owned a bunch of them, all but one purchased when Fender pulled the plug and dumped inventory at sub $300 prices.

The Gold Tone humbuckers are OK. I have a surprisingly light sort of Bluesbird single cut copy from the line (most of them weighed a ton) that I still play that brings the best out of them. Most of the ones I've kept have the DeArmond line single coils, and they have a distinctive sound that I like even more. Right next to me as I type this is a S72-12 string that it my go-to "I want to sound like the Byrds/McGuinn" guitar. I have a another single cut with Bigsby that is sort of a RockJet kind of thing. That one's as heavy as a cement block, but then that just helps it stay steady when I engage in Bigsby abuse. And finally, I have one of their basses with the bass version of the single coils and those large "I'm Gumby!" bodies. It's strung with TI flats and it's sounds wonderful for vintage style bass things.