Chicago too has kids who play paint buckets for change, better than many with zillion dollar drum kits.

And absolutely, soul and desire to make music is way more powerful than the dollar or pound or peso or rand spent on gear.

But cool gear is just so much (bleep)ing fun!

There is nothing better than making gearsnobs eat crow when you crank your "discount" axe through an el-cheapo amp and blow them outta the water tone wise (even if they can play circles around you). I've done it and seen it done a Zillion times.
Think of EVH- his guitar was homemade $@!& and everybody ended up wanting to sound like him!

I have owned many nice albeit expensive guitars and I've owned many guitars that are generally frowned upon by many for many reasons. Such arguments people offer include "It's a cheap guitar; therefore it will never measure up to it's American counterpart", or "It's Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc..." (The asian import argument. Strangely, these same people have no problem with Euro instruments.). I own an American Deluxe Strat that I played twice in the shop and it absolutely wrapped its arms around my soul and made me feel loved - and so I bought it. I also have an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top that to my observations played as good or better than any Gibson LP Standard in the shop. Better fretwork, finish, heft, same great LP tone and feel, etc... That was good enough for me and I bought it. I get this stigma from the dedicated Gibson snobs and I just have to chuckle that I am indeed playing the same guitar, made from the same CAD programs for the CNC as the ones used in Nashville to make the LP's other people gladly paid 2k more for. I am a confirmed strat/superstrat guitar player and will probably not change my preference in my lifetime. Play what moves you to play. Never, ever let the thought that better sound comes totally from your wallet. Do realize however that sometimes craftsmanship comes at a premium.

I don't know about out of el-cheapo amps! Most of the el-cheapo amps I have heard sound every bit el-cheapo until you get to mods for them and good mods are not cheap. I can hear the difference from a cheap amp to a quality amp and the word quality does not mean expensive per say. You can make any budget guitar sound good but at what cost? How playable is it how well will it hold up all of this can be adjusted but how much and how often.
I don't understand this crap of people being called gearsnobs are we all not soundsnobs? If given the opportinity to walk into a music store to pick any Fender made Strat worth up to 1000.00 free because you won a prize, those people with the 150.00 guitars that are the greatest tone monsters in the world would walk out with a American Stratocaster.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

+1 CV

I have had cheap guitars that sounded just fine; but when I got to a place in life where I could afford to buy high-end guitars...I did, several times. Just because I could? I dunno.

I agree with CV's statement about playability. In my humble experience the higher end guitars tend to hold up better and require fewer adjustments/modifications once you get them zeroed in.

Just my 2 bits.


~Sam

Dude,I have played guitar for over 20 years-in bands ,in multiple styles ranging from thrash metal to blues to country to free flowing psychedelic jam stuff ... and blah,blah- wasting dough on a guitar (or amp)that is supposedly better because the ads tell you they are and because of the "wow" factor of buying the most hyped item on the market is silly.
my main setup is a an affordable mexican strat thru either an El-Cheapo FM212r or another discount amp- a marshall mg100 ( or both depending on the situation) with a few well selected pedals in between .
Nothing special there,just solid state trash hooked to a "budget" axe.
Guess what? Everyone loves my tone,other guitar players included -
They are usually shocked,because they judge first ,then listen later.
I would NEVER part with my Mexi-strat...the best playing and sounding strat I have ever touched (an that's alot of em)...
If it sounds good it is good,no matter if its free or $$$$$$$$
So sure,spend all you want on the glitzy hollywood specials man,but I'll bet if you actually spent a little time and effort you'd find something WAY cheaper that'd impress for more than its glamourous image

This argument will never end.

Well, you can see what I buy. I like my stuff.

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James Burton Upgrade Telecaster
Hot Rodded Am Fat Strat Texas Special (now featuring Kinman Traditional II pickups)
Fender Blues Jr.
SWR California Blonde
Pedals Pedals Pedals

There is a HUGE difference between a "cheap" guitar and an "inexpensive" guitar. When Leo Fender designed the Stratocaster the idea was to make a great guitar that was less expensive. That's one reason why he designed it with a bolt on neck. He figured that could cut the manufacturing cost compared to Gibsons which have a set neck.

When I bought my first Fender it was a MIM Strat. One day at a friends house his dad started calling it a few expletives and then I told him to play it. Then he said "I'll trade you." I then flipped it on him and said why would I want your junk MIA. We both just laughed.

It doesn't matter what a sticker says. It only matters how it plays or better yet, how YOU play. There are those people out there that try to replace their "Squire" stickers with "Fender" just to keep up with the tone snobs.

I have never bought an Amp because an ad say's it is good. And the days of the 100 watt screamers are gone I don't even own one anymore because where are you going to play it. Now days you mic. My Vox and Budda are going to put out sounds that I could never touch with a FM212 totaly different sounding. Now when it comes to solid states I am a fan of Rolands which is why there are two of them here in the house as well a 30x cube and a 15 so I have amps with cost across the board and they were all bought on there sound. But I must say most high cost amps sound better there made better ect.ect.
My setups have change from the band days of the 70's

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

There are a lot of benefits to owning a nice guitar besides tone. So, yes, you get what you pay for, but what you are paying for is not always just tone. A nice interior does not make a car drive better, but it makes for a nicer car.

I think there is value in an MIA that makes it worth the price. I have one. It has a vibe about it that just makes me want it in certain situations. But just for sound and playability, my MIM is absolutely it's equal, and I gig with it frequently.

Tone snobs are irrational. I have a friend who is a snob, and I always chide him about it. He's accidentally complimented the sound of my MIM a few times. I always say thing to him like "Yeah, I pulled the Peavey logo off that amp and the sound just opened up!." or "You're gonna love the sound of this guitar when I sand that Squier logo off."

I do not care what is on the headstock as long as they sound sweet. I love my guitars. Both have their own tone and reasons why I play them.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Miking amps is a pain in the butt,I usually just use a line out if I need to keep it down and run through the house P.A....speaker emulation is a wonderful thing. Honestly- who but the humble sound connoisseur knows anyway,and even then-in a noisy,crowded room its next to impossible