7th batch

[tonemonster]

Interesting thoughts on the JB. I guess the points you made are the reasons I like the pickup. Call me pussy if you want to, but thats the tunes I play. the 80's radio rock. thats where the JB shines. its all over it. Dokken, Crue, Bon Jovi, Great white, whitesnake, def leppard, etc.. now I use a Mesa Boogie Roadking, and with channel 3 on vintage mode, I can get in the zone of that old marshall tone, even more so if I turn on the spongy mode thing which is sort of a variac lowering the voltage. I realize the roadking is a recto, but its not the regular recto sound. its voiced differently than the single, double, and triple rectifiers. if you spend a little time tweaking the knobs, you find the 80's magic tone. I got it out of mine. its there. my 2nd setup is a rack of stuff, marshall JMP1, marshall EL34 50/50 and pedals overdriving it with a axxess switching system. 80's tone defined. and my 3rd setup is a Splawn Quick Rod. you get the picture......I am totally geared for that 80's tone. so for me the JB is great. but I have played heavier stuff and new metal, and its just not the tool for the job. way too flabby of a bottom end. not nearly defined enough.

so its just application. It just seems people diss the JB alot, but thats OK cuz there is always plenty of them used on the market for good prices.

[BenoA]

I played a few new Suhrs recently in a store. the guy working their was all hard on for them. ... I dont get the hype. good guitars, but not worth what they ask for them. not by a long shot.

Finaly someone who thinks like me!!!

[tonemonster]

well I just dont understand it. I mean I see and hear all this hype over suhr guitars. sure they are fine guitars, but the way people talk about them you would swear jesus christ himself hand crafted each one!!!!! I mean come on. sure they are good guitars but I think people are being taken in a bit by the hype and the mercedes benz marketing concept. same as PRS. just charge a helluva lot more for a good product and people will buy it just because their neighbor cant afford it. or because the higher cost must mean its that much better than its competition. The pickgaurds just kill it for me. I mean there is NO damn way I am paying 3K for a guitar that has a beautiful wood finish covered by a piece of plastic!!!! why put it on there in the first place? to me, pickgaurds just wreak of cheapness. and I just dont understand the hype......when did god come down and point his hand at Suhr's side of the field?? good guitars? hell yes they are. but there are other great ones out there for less money. I guess its just a personal call, but I truly cant understand why PRS and Surh command those prices and people will pay them. I mean come on. 6 to 7K for a damn guitar?? I dont think so. I dont care if the sumbich is made from wood the boat George washington crossed the patomic with. and the hardware was made from part of the titanic hull. its not worth that kinda money. no way. its just nonsense. the only reason they get that kinda of money for those guitars is because people are bamboozled into paying it. they either want to own an expensive guitar simply out of vanity, or they truly believe that it must be better because it costs more. what really frosts my nuts is those strats they get 2 or 3 grand for. its a freakin bolt on guitar with no locking trem and a piece of plastic on the front. 3K???? I dont think so.

[Newc]

But that was exactly Grover Jackson's reason behind his pricing back in the 80s. He reasoned that people associate higher cost with higher quality. Yes you could get USA Gibson Les Paul Customs brand new for $800. That was THE top of the line guitar in 1983.

Along comes Jackson and triples that price, and enough people bit the hook to keep them in business, just like with Anderson and PRS and all these other brands.

As long as people are willing to pay $1200 for a Korean-made ESPee or Ibenhad, they will argue that they're getting a quality guitar made of quality components by skilled hands, even though they aren't.

If Agile prices shot up over $1500, no one would consider them a "cheap Chinese junk" brand.


And I'm with you on the pickguard thing 100%. Look around Warmoth and find tons of beautifully figured bodies routed for a fucking pickguard.

What kinda slopass are you if your pick hits the top of the gutar in the first damn place?

[tonemonster]

pickguards are completely unecessary. completely. they are ugly as hell and just dont belong. any hack that needs one needs to turn in their guitar and start playing drums.

[tonemonster]

I hear you Newc on the grover thing, but the only difference is, back then Jackson guitars WERE that much better than the competition so the prices were justified! everyone else was putting out less than stellar quality.

[Grandturk]

I agree that pickguards are kind of silly on a strat-style guitar with a flame/quilt/suck-me-off-I've-got-figured-wood top.

For me, a pickguard is more "aesthetic" than anything else; and yes, my pick and fingers scratch the hell out of the pickguard or guitar body in that area - but I don't mind either way - I'm not a "minty" kind of guy.

Now, as for $$$ vs. value/quality - this is an arguement that will never be resolved. For myself, I think a bolt-on (strat style) guitar probably tops out in the $2000 in terms of playability and sound (I've said this before). I think at $1000, you get twice the guitar you can get at $500; I think at $2000 you get at least 150% of the guitar you can get at $1000; after that, you're into diminishing returns that may or may not affect the sound or playability of the guitar.

I like to say that you're getting a $2000 guitar with a $3000 story.

[tonemonster]

"my philosophy is a $3 pair of boots with a $100 shine." - John Winger

[tonemonster]

I can see your points Granturk. I agree on your idea of value. to me, the $2000 guitars that are put out today are about the best you can get in terms of function/sound/playability/looks and when you get above that in price, your paying for nothing really. is a PRS worth 5K? no fuckin way. is a Les Paul worth $4K? No fuckin way.

[Grandturk]

I guess it all depends on how much "wow" factor means to you. Me - you can throw figured wood at me all day long and I won't get a hard-on. I just don't care for it.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I don't really get the Suhr/Anderson hype, either. :dunno:

[tonemonster]

well figured wood is ok, but its just looks. I have 4 guitars with flame maple tops. 1 wiht a quilt. they are nice. but I have guitars with graphics or regular paint that I like just as much. I just cant see where they justify anything over 2K.

[tonemonster]

I don't really get the Suhr/Anderson hype, either. :dunno:

see... we are growing in numbers already. soon the streets with flow with the blood of the non believers.

Ok ok, just kidding.

I am curious how many other folks arent sucked into the dillusions of grandeur hype....?? sound off folks. lets hear ya.

[Grandturk]

I don't get the "unobtainium" hype, in general. There's cache in having something that few, if any, other people have. I don't feel that way. Its like when kids in high-school like a band until they find out that other kids like the same band - then they start hating that band (you remember those navel gazers).

Cost is a great way to get into the elite club - there's just fewer and fewer people who can afford to be there.

Now, the exact opposite is also a problem - because I don't care how many times Lindy Fralin rubbed his cock on a pickup - putting a set of his pickups in a POS MIM Strat does not BLOW AWAY ALL CUSTOM SHOP GUITARS - so stop it already.

[tonemonster]

Now, the exact opposite is also a problem - because I don't care how many times Lindy Fralin rubbed his cock on a pickup - putting a set of his pickups in a POS MIM Strat does not BLOW AWAY ALL CUSTOM SHOP GUITARS - so stop it already.

HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!