I bought my Taylor Acoustic around 1998.

When I went to the music store I had a $400 budget in mind.

As I strummed the name brand $400 guitars, I thought that they sounded fine.

Then I picked up the $800 Taylor. It was a world of difference to all my senses.

Then I remembered how unhappy I was with my previous guitar.

I convinced myself that I should buy the best guitar that I could afford.

There is a very good reason why the Taylor that I bought was twice the price of the others (as good as they were).

Of course there was a $1,200 Taylor that I liked too, but It was too expensive at that time (sigh).

Dave

 

I've played the Taylors, and Martins, and they are great. However, they aren't great for the price.

I went to 3 different stores and played racks of acoustics, and consistently found that the Takamines were top notch for the price. I ended up going back and forth between a $2800.00 Taylor, and a $1200.00 Takamine. I then asked my wife which one she liked better for sound, and we both agreed that the Takamine was fuller and still bright. It plays like a dream. The Cedar top is unfinished and beautiful as well.

I actually went home, jumped on Musicians Friend, and bought the thing for 1K even and no tax.

 

I got off work early today and went to three different music stores - with a sidebar about customer service - and there's no question about it, I want a Telecaster (and the skills to play it).

The first store I went to is the biggest music store in town, dealing in everything from kazoos to grand pianos and everything in between. They're an Ibanez, Gibson, and Fender dealer largely, with a few other brands I can't really remember right now. I spent almost 30 minutes roaming around and looking, without a single peep from any of the employees or sales people. Admittedly, I'm not ready to buy just yet, gotta do my taxes first, but a "Hi" or a "Can I help you" goes a long way with me. I was pretty much ignored, even when I went to ask one of the employees if they had any Telecasters in stock (I couldn't see any hung up, a ton of Ibanez guitars, a few Strats and Gibsons, didn't see any Teles), he didn't even look up from the magazine he was reading, he just said "I dunno." What? Well go find out, ya tool! I don't think those folks will be getting any of my business.

Second store was a smaller guitar/bass, big Schecter dealer, lots of Fenders, nice folks, ready and willing to help, "Just let us know if you want to plug anything up." Their prices though left a lot to be desired of, and they wouldn't price match - a standard Mexican Tele they had in stock, they wanted like $470, the same guitar is $399 from Musicians Friend.

The last (and coolest) store was a guitar/bass only store, a relatively new one I stumbled on by accident, they had a bigass billboard down the street from where I work. Really cool guys, had a ton of new Fenders in stock (only American made ones though, they said they don't carry Mexican ones), had a nice used selection too. I saw a used Muddy Waters edition Mexican Tele for $300 - one of the guys at the store pulled it down, let me handle it, then he proceeded to rock the frickin' house with this guitar. Holy crap, he had that thing screaming, sounded awesome, it made me dizzy trying to keep up with his fingers flying across the frets. I don't know if I can tell the difference in sound between different guitars, but I know 100% beyond the shadow of a doubt, I want a Telecaster. They offer a free lesson with any guitar purchase too, and lessons after that are only $30 for a half hour session, and $45 for an hour. These guys were cool, and their prices seem to be fair, so I know who I'm buying from.

On a sidenote, are there any big differences between Mexican and American Fenders? The last shop carried nothing but American Fenders, and an American Telecaster was about $700-900 depending on options.

 

that muddy waters tele is the kind of buy i look for...it sells new for double that, it's an upgrade over the standard MIM with: american vintage pickups, american vintage 3-brass saddle bridge (better 'twang')...basically it has the good stuff from the MIA and MIM in one package for the price of an MIM...if it played well, i'd buy it


it has a rosewood fretboard, which can sound slightly warmer and darker than maple board to some ears...but it's not a huge difference, and it's a cool thing if you play multiple styles



MIA (made in america) will have hardware of higher quality and in most cases will have better wood--but guitars are like people in that it's more about the individual

i've played MIM that were far and away better than MIA next to it and vice versa

MIA--22 taller frets, higher quality hardware and pickups, usually better wood, ie 2-piece body

MIM--21 vintage (shorter) frets, lesser-quality hardware and pickups (although some like the sound of the MIM pickups more than the MIA), sometimes >3 piece bodies

 

I don't know what plays well and what doesn't, but this guy was working it like a master. He said something about it needed a truss bar adjustment, but it played well otherwise. I gotta wait for my tax return to drop, and if that Tele is still there when it does, it's mine.

Now if only I can learn how to play it worth a damn, I might be getting somewhere...:o

 

Just check out the Taco Strats or Teles and if the guitar has no issues buy it. (Unless you want to get the American to be buying American)

Like smoke said most of them are plenty good. I'd make sure any adjustments are made before you buy it.

 

The differences are really the quality of materials used, and the care which they are put together. However, the Telecasters are a very simple guitar, and very easy to mass produce. Even if you were to online-order a Tele and it showed up kind of off, you can take it in anywhere and have it setup in a jiffy.

With that said, I would consider paying a little more in your case to a local shop just so you can get a friendlier tech. Sometimes they frown on people that want them to work on a guitar that the person didn't buy from them.

Telecasters are very versatile too. You can rock or twang, and with a Maple neck and fretboard, they do a nice warm bluesy sound too.

Here's a vid on Fender if you're interested...

Fender Factory Tour

 

Yeah, be especially leery of the "it just needs a truss rod adjustment". I've seen seriously warped necks on guitars in the store and the salesman said that. It might be true, but insist on the guitar being set up (adjusted) before you sign/pay anything.

A reputable shop will be glad to do that, because even if you decide not to buy the guitar, they can sell it a lot easier if it plays right.

Since you don't play yet, you have a problem in that you don't really know if a guitar is setup well or not. Take a friend or co-worker who plays with you and let them advise you.

If you don't have a buddy to go shopping with you, you can "make one" in the store. There are always customers sitting around playing guitars. Find someone who is ripping up the fretboard, wait patiently for him to take a break and politely ask if he would check out the one you are interested in. Explain that you are inexperienced and would like to buy a good one and you need help evaluating them.

Guitar guys are a lot like car guys, and you will find they will gladly help you out. You might even make a friend/gain a jam buddy that you can learn from.

I recommend a book by Dan Erlewine - "How to make your electric guitar play great" I believe is the title. You can learn a lot about construction and setup and get a better idea of what to look for. It is also an excellent reference for when you finally get one, to learn how to adjust and maintain it yourself.

 

dan erlewine's books are great!

but all guitars with a truss rod need a periodic adjustment--that's nothing at all to be leery about, and it's the reason the truss rod is there...truss adjustments are really very simple--you'd be able to read and understand what it does, which is also simple

...but the best bet is to just be clear on your return policy and let your tech look it over when you have it set up...once you get to know how the neck, bridge, truss rod, nut, frets, neck pitch, etc. all work together, then you can easily begin to evaluate instruments on your own

good luck!

 

Yeah, I agree, but I'm talking about that being suggested as a simple solution to a banana neck. You can only do so much with a truss rod.

 

gotcha

 

Thanks for the great advice everyone, I really appreciate it. I asked this same question on another board and got a few jackass answers, y'all keep reminding me why this is my favorite forum on the 'web. I'll keep y'all posted as to what I do/buy.

 

I'll hopefully be spending some money tomorrow...stay tuned (tuned, ha, made a funny).

 

any news?

 

After re-reading this thread, I'm surprised nobody brought up or showed off any PRS guitars. Any thoughts on them?