What do you want?

[jcyphe]

A spin-off from the PRS thread where people were pretty vocal about what they didn't want.

My question is what do you want to see from production electric guitar companies?

Here are some general questions to shape your responses.

Where would you like to buy the instruments you purchase(i.e. Local, Internet, direct from manufacturer)?

What amount of customization would you want in a purchase within reason, and how much of a premium would you honestly want to pay for this?

Do you have a price range or style of guitar that you exclusively buy, i.e. vintage, a specific brand, or price category, or do you buy from different product categories?

[Zack]

Great topic jcyphe. For starters I think it's super difficult to please everyone as a person or a guitar company. So even creating more ways to customize a product might not be enough, or worth it. For instance a lot of custom shops have options for colors and different hardware coating but ultimately they're very limited to what the manufacturer has in stock or is willing to do in the first place. I'm a bit out of the loop with newer models and options from the top dogs of the guitar world but I think it'd be nice to see options for other pickup configurations instead of your standard humbucker, single-coils, et cetra. Now I know that guitar companies have sort of stepped in that direction with creating new versions of old guitars with minihumbuckers or what have you but most of them if not all have been limited runs with hefty prices, ultimately it seems unrealistic for the market to buy and not profitable for the company to produce.

Back when I was first starting out playing guitar I was drawn to name brands based on the guitarists who I saw playing and I was captivated by it. Hell, I even fell into the trap of thinking having a "quality instrument" would make you a better musician at a time. As time went on I stopped yearning for ridiculously priced guitars that may or may not actually be quality instruments and set my sights on affordable vintages under 1k.

So while on the one hand I think it'd be nice to see more customizable options, after watching that gibson downfalll video in another thread I feel like there's already such a large stockpile of instruments that people aren't buying. On the other hand seeing a company like fender remix and "frankenstein" their models is a good start. It'd be ideal if they were willing to have some online builder to create custom mixes of guitar designs and hardware and then create it for you, like what many people have already done on forums like this. That would allow people to actually get what they want instead of a toggle in a stupid spot, et cetra. Realistically a company needs to limit what they can do with custom work but it might be cool to see customers be creative with the instrument they buy.

Ultimately If I really wanted something custom, I don't think I'd be looking at a production guitar company to do it for me. I'd probably find a luthier willing to make what I'm actually looking for, which a lot of people already do.

And when it comes down to it, how many guitars do I really need?

[BearBoy]

A spin-off from the PRS thread where people were pretty vocal about what they didn't want.

My question is what do you want to see from production electric guitar companies?

Here are some general questions to shape your responses.

Where would you like to buy the instruments you purchase(i.e. Local, Internet, direct from manufacturer)?

I've never actually been that keen on guitar shops (generally full of cunts ) so am happy to buy online, eBay etc. You do take a bit of a risk but I've never ended up with a lemon. Totally get some people would 100% want to try before buying though.

What amount of customization would you want in a purchase within reason, and how much of a premium would you honestly want to pay for this?

I was quite excited when Fender first announced the "mod shop" or whatever it's called but it's been a bit of a disappointment so far as a) the options are still extremely limited (you can only have 9.5" radius necks, no fret options) and, b) it's not available on the Island anyway. I would definitely be interested in paying a bit of a premium (20% maybe?) to get a Fender to my spec from a wider list of options without going down the full bespoke, and very expensive, Custom Shop route.

Do you have a price range or style of guitar that you exclusively buy, i.e. vintage, a specific brand, or price category, or do you buy from different product categories?

Not really. I've managed to escape catching the vintage bug but have stuff ranging from US made Fenders to Indonesian Squiers. I really like my Squier VI, for example, but doubt I would ever have stumped up for a MIJ or MIA version for the relatively limited use I get out of it.

[Fran]

I've recently sold five guitars so not really in the market for buying.

Hypothetically speaking, Squier have basically done everything I wanted a manufacturer to do for a long time.
They've produced good quality, affordable guitars based on classic designs. Sometimes with tasteful modifications.

I'd like to buy locally but there are no local guitar shops anymore.

Bought vintage in the past but a lot of it is mojo feathers imo. They are expensive, the quality is hit and miss and they come with problems. Like fret wear, scratchy pots, dry joints...
There are some gems though, don't get me wrong.

I'm more inclined to buy a decent chassis then add vintage spec pickups and quality hardware nowadays. Like I did with the Duo and Telebastard. Which are both Squier based.

My favourite two guitars as well.

[kingkiller]

As a younger (read: less experienced) guitar player and someone who doesn’t always have a lot of disposable income, my options are typically limited to Squier, Ibanez GIO, Epiphone, and other budget brands. Squier is my preferred, like Fran said, because they offer pretty solid versions of any Fender model I would want, and some that Fender won’t make a high end version of (the Squier Contemporary HH with active pickups and reverse headstock in Olympic White hnnngggg). All I really want out of a guitar is value for money. Give me a few finish options to choose from, some bursts, some metallics, spread across different models. The Ibanez GIO catalog is the best example of this, but Squier is starting to turn my head more than before.

Ultimately I want a “budget� guitar that is decently playable, maybe might need a good setup to get it exactly how I want it, that doesn’t matter if I mod the fuck out of it because it’s not going to lose any value. And really Squier, Ibanez, and some cheaper Jacksons are the only ones I’ve found like that. Every epiphone I’ve ever played I’ve disliked, save maybe one, so I don’t really include them. I’m not a huge Gibson fan in general though.

[robroe]

I would buy that purple squier thing they won't release here

[mkt3000]

I would buy that purple squier thing they won't release here

[Fakir Mustache]

I would buy that purple squier thing they won't release here

It was released in the US and Europe, in small numbers everywhere and no longer available:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier/Bullet-Strat-HH-with-Tremolo.gc
Only posted the blue one because it was the first to come up, there was purple and green.

There is an interesting Squier Bullet hardtail strat with single coils at the moment, doesn't seem too common either, comes in Fiesta Red, black and I think some other finishes too, but not too wild.

[BearBoy]

Assumed he meant the Cribs one?

[theshadowofseattle]

All I want is a white 3 pickup telecaster WITH INDIVIDUAL ON-OFF SWITCHES INSTEAD OF A 5-WAY.

not weird gross gray transparent "BLONDE", not gross hentai-skeet-pastel-yellow CREAM, but stark, bright, clean af, Crest-approved white


This will never happen.