Sorry if this is a stupid question.. Does the guitar still matter when using a processor?

[BillBee]

Only after the effervescence has wafted suitably for the delight of others. :P

[cruisinon2]

Only after the effervescence has wafted suitably for the delight of others. :P

My mother taught me to share....why should I be the only one to enjoy it? ;)

[bjnette]

Without reading the whole thread I have very ordinary guitars and my basses are much more expensive. Much depends on the set up.

 

I have a georgeous squire strat I bought for $49 from a Pawn shop like new. I swapped out the pickguard with a chinese loaded pickguard $20 off ebay. It sounds awesome  but I  SET IT UP

 

There is improvement with a well made guitar and hardware and much relates to the playability and the inspiration it imparts but it is a scale of diminishing returns and if they are not set up well will sound.

Where a cheap well set up guitar and a very well made and set up guitar differ most can be heard with cleaner tones and joy of playing often worth the cost.

 

High gain removes many differences in quality.

[cruisinon2]

High gain removes many differences in quality.

Can't say I agree...an instrument that looks, feels, and sound cheap, will look, feel, and sound cheap whether you're trying to play Megadeth or Pat Metheny.

 

Yes, you can occasionally get lucky with a $50 pawn shop Squire. But for every one of those, there are a thousand awful press board-body "starter" instruments that come with the equally horrendous 1.6 watt practice amp that parents love to buy as a package at Xmas. I used to have students show up with these things all the time. Half of them couldn't be successfully intonated. No amount of set-up skills could redeem many of these disasters. Pump all the high gain you want through one of those things...makes no difference. Sh*tty is sh*tty.

[BillBee]

Crappy amps have little hope - sometimes a speaker swap can help.

 

There are inexpensive guitars then there are crap guitars. For reasons unbeknownst to me I had an urge to pick up a OLP MM1 - pretty abused ~ $50. The type where a gig bag might be used in an attempt to hide it. The neck profile is no where near a real MM but the damn thing just has a great feel for a shorter scale and a good neck profile. The hardware is not the best but the generic JinHo tuners are tight and nothing was binding on the nut (blocked the bridge) it stays in tune and can do some neck pickup singing when needed.

 

So I understand. ;)

[pianoguyy]

At this point, someone should post the video of a guy playing guitar on a tree that was toppled over. 

[bjnette]

Can't say I agree...an instrument that looks, feels, and sound cheap, will look, feel, and sound cheap whether you're trying to play Megadeth or Pat Metheny.

 

Yes, you can occasionally get lucky with a $50 pawn shop Squire. But for every one of those, there are a thousand awful press board-body "starter" instruments that come with the equally horrendous 1.6 watt practice amp that parents love to buy as a package at Xmas. I used to have students show up with these things all the time. Half of them couldn't be successfully intonated. No amount of set-up skills could redeem many of these disasters. Pump all the high gain you want through one of those things...makes no difference. Sh*tty is sh*tty.

I have other cheap guitars that I have set up well and they are surprisingly good. Nowadays the Chinese factories mostly give you good wood and they make factory made guitars day in day out that are acceptable and can be set up. Of course I haven't tried all guitars. I found Korean Guitars that were not so well made and most impossible to intonate well.

 

I have compared my cheap well set up guitars to very well made USA guitars of friends and most remark how well mine are to play. 

It is true well made guitars do sound better feel better and inspire more. No argument.

I was just answering the question for OP

The guitar does matter, it has to be set up well.

[duncann]

not a guy playing guitar on a tree that was toppled over...

 

but this is a tree used to do some music :D

 

 

Well that was different. The question is, how would the tone be affected if the tree was toppled over.

[cruisinon2]

not a guy playing guitar on a tree that was toppled over...

 

but this is a tree used to do some music :D

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY-ZoVMwGKM

So this is what happens when you get lost in the woods for years, with a laptop. He needs a stage name, though. "iTarzan" would work nicely, I think. ;)

[BillBee]

Try to get that thing in the van. Drummers....... always looking for a solo. ;)

[cruisinon2]

I had a rhododendron that could play the spoons, once. Had to give it up...carpal root syndrome. Very sad...

[BillBee]

Now that is a pistil of a joke. :P

[cruisinon2]

 

 

All that work, and they made it a lefty?!?! That thing will sit on ebay forever...;)

[cruisinon2]

you only need to ask!.. we take care of ideas posted here ;)

 

Lol...

[pianoguyy]

I have compared my cheap well set up guitars to very well made USA guitars of friends and most remark how well mine are to play. 

 

 

The guitar does matter, it has to be set up well.

 

But some of that could be like comparing apples to Fords. 

For example, to me, a $50,000 Fender Stratocaster will never play as well as an $800 imported Jackson.

Certainly one is better. But, I cannot play on a 7" radius. A good setup doesn't matter in this situation. 

 

I think the best way to compare guitars would be to compare Gibson to Epiphone, or Fender to Squier (or MiM Fender).  

Because there, all things are equal. Some are just made more cheaply. And THEN you can totally tell the difference.

[bjnette]

That $50k Fender might have a warped neck etc and not be playable and a collectable from its history.

There is no doubt the better made guitars are better but the question here is who can tell what is being played on 

some well made records?

What instrument is being played on some unknown's album. 

Can you hear the difference between a Fender Strat and a Squire Strat? A Gibson and an Epiphone?

There must be plenty of youtube videos on it and forum AB tests. 

I might be wrong but the average joe won't hear a difference especially using some modelling of high gain amps.

It is the player who can easily discern the quality difference. IMO

[pianoguyy]

Hell, they think Beyonce is singing. lol

[bjnette]

LOL