who gives a fuck what a guitar look's like

[Rsmacker]

Depends if it is The Stabbed Poo guitar, or the Cockdragon, or if it has a Goatse graphic on it, or "I am a Gaylord" painted on it......

[atdguitars]

Look at it from the reverse side of things. If you buy a really pretty new guitar and it gets a couple dings and starts showing some wear do you sell it just because of that?
Ugly guitars need love too. Besides whens the last time you heard of an ugly guitar getting stolen?

[DonP]

In the end, tone and playability win.

I have an ugly pink HM Strat (sorry to those who like this color) but it plays and sounds great. It's been stealing a lot of play time away from my beautiful Bengal soloist and LP.

[Snoogans]

Looking at some of the abortions that get posted here from time to time - stuff like the ESP Devil Girl, or that Epi caravan thing - I don't care how good they might be. I'd no sooner play one of those than Rsmacker would play a Brian May replica!

And that's speaking as someone who used to regularly gig with a Fender Katana....

[Ben...]

I agree. I just bought a rather worn in Jackson a week or two back and I can't put it down. It's got a few nasty chips and even nastier mismatched patch jobs but I don't care. It plays and sounds amazing so that's all I care about. Anything cosmetic can usually be fixed with a refinish but a crappy playing guitar will never play good. My guitar has a chipped point on the headstock and a huge chip on the lower horn but that doesn't impede playing so I ignore it. I actually like it because now I don't have to be as careful with it. Normally I wouldn't have bought it because I always want immaculate guitars but being that I managed to play it for over an hour straight at the store and only put it down because my parents needed the car showed that I truly enjoyed playing it and that's rare with me and guitars. Usually I only try a guitar for a minute or two then move on.

[SEEGERMANY]

I'm all about tone, but I like for my guitars to look nice. Treat them with respect and not like a fuckin door mat and they'll stay looking nice.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I agree that tone and playability win over all, but I DO care what a guitar looks like... probably a little too much sometimes. To me a guitar is a kind of work of art and craftsmanship and it's aesthetically pleasing.

On the other hand, I've had some ugly ones that I covered in stickers and vinyl tape and I liked them, too... Just not to look at.

Now, and old well-worn guitar is a work of art of its own. Not some 3-year-old guitar that some "huh I don't need a case" douchebag dragged around carelessly so it "looks cool" but an honest, well-worn guitar shows some character. It's pretty much inevitable that with enough playing time and "real" accidents that a guitar's going to get some dings and scratches and that's OK by me.

[Ben...]

an honest, well-worn guitar shows some character. It's pretty much inevitable that with enough playing time and "real" accidents that a guitar's going to get some dings and scratches and that's OK by me.

That's my Jackson. The previous owner obviously cared for it, he has it perfectly set up and he tried to fix all of the chips and did an okay job for the most part, it's difficult to patch metallic black/dark gray but he managed to though there's just no sparkle in any patched areas.

[Matt_B]

...but a crappy playing guitar will never play good.

I've owned probably 50 guitars in my lifetime and only 2 have not played well. One is the first guitar I ever owned, a $20 Sears special, and they other was a Jackson that had a bad neck. If a guitar has the basic specs I like, I can get it to play the way I like it, assuming it isn't defective.

[Matt_B]

There's a difference between a guitar that's treated with respect that gets chips and dings vs. a guitar that is not treated with respect and just abused.

If a get a ding or chip on a guitar, I'm not going to get it refinished. I'm just go play it.

There's no reason that a guitar can both play well, sound great and look good but yes, if I had to choose, I would always pick a guitar that plays well and sound great. However, it's pretty darn easy to get a guitar to play well and sound great - get a good set-up, pickups you like the sound of and you're good to go. As far as looking good, there's a lot of variables there.

[Grandturk]

The difference for me is that if I don't like the way a guitar looks - I would never pick it up in the first place to give it a try.

Guitars I would never pick up:

- PRS's that have the burst around the top horn instead of through it (regular PRS sunburst finish vs. McCarty burst finish)
- Plastic "Sears" style guitars - Airlines, etc
- Telecasters
- Parker Flys
- Any strat-style guitars with a maple top
- Those tree-branch looking ESP's - the one Lynch plays - ugly fuggers
- Firebirds, Reverse or Straight
- Non-Stratocaster Fenders

I've gone against this rule twice, playing a Danelectro and a Gretch Duo-something - both played like crap and sounded like crap.

[atomic charvel guy]

to quote Thulsa Doom from the original Conan movie-
"What is steel compared to the hand that weilds it?"

It's not the guitar, it's the player.

Then again, I wouldn't be seen playing that toilet seat guitar
even if it sounded and played like a dream. So as usual I'm guilty of hypocrisy.

[Matt_B]

The difference for me is that if I don't like the way a guitar looks - I would never pick it up in the first place to give it a try.

That's a good point. If it doesn't grab your eye, you probably won't grab it in your hands.

[Axewielder]

I don't mind having two or three ugly ducklings in the collection, but mostly I like to have badass cool lookin' guits! Ya know?

[Musician78]

These guys mean business.