I have given up on buying new guitars from Fender, Martin, Gibson and the other big names that peddle overpriced kit justified by the name stamped on it alone.
There's no reason their kit needs to be as expensive as it is. Lower end guitars from other brands are fine for beginners. Yeah Fender has $200ish Strat and Tele clones. But you can find those all over CL thanks to the focus of this article.
The days of arena rock are probably long gone. Fender wants to encourage people to take up guitar? Then get off your high horse and cut prices?
It's a piece of Americana most Americans can't even afford. It's their own damn fault.
Yep. As I got older and had a little bit of play-budget, I was able to buy a few guitars even though I only play occasionally. Even then, I didn't go for anything too pricey or "flagship" (although I might if I was gigging or recording).
Instead, I got a knockoff Les Paul style from a Korean company called Agile. It's not quite as nice as the high end Les Pauls but for under $400? Hell yeah and it sounds/plays better than the Epiphones of similar price.
Also got a Squier Jaguar off Craigslist for $150 because I always wanted a Jag...just not enough to shell out for the really nice ones.
Add in a cheap travel electric for campfire jam sessions, an absolutely crap bass that I only have because it was $10 at Goodwill (seriously the strings I bought for it cost more) and the cheap acoustic I bought for $50 as my first guitar in 1992 and I've got more than I really need for the occasional practice or just because I have a song stuck in my head and want to play along with the album for the hell of it.
I have given up on buying new guitars from Fender, Martin, Gibson and the other big names that peddle overpriced kit justified by the name stamped on it alone.
There's no reason their kit needs to be as expensive as it is. Lower end guitars from other brands are fine for beginners. Yeah Fender has $200ish Strat and Tele clones. But you can find those all over CL thanks to the focus of this article.
The days of arena rock are probably long gone. Fender wants to encourage people to take up guitar? Then get off your high horse and cut prices?
It's a piece of Americana most Americans can't even afford. It's their own damn fault.