"High-end" guitars that have dissappointed you?

[SCman]

Just curious to see what high-end guitars we have drooled over, purchased and then quickly unloaded. For me, PRS just don't hang around that much.

 

[phoenix 7]

My PRS's went quickly too. Very fine guitars functionally, but they look gaudy to me. Can't say I've ever owned any truly bad high-end guitars, though.

 

[patentcad]

My other hobby is road cycling. To paraphrase my bike shop owner pal Rich:

"Once you get over three grand, none of it sucks kid'.

This generally also applies to guitars.

 

[mcdes]

For me it was the Gibson 335. But it was probably the pickups I didn't like.

 

[Average Joe]

My first "good" semi was a 87 Gibson 335. It wasn't a very good instrument. Not terrible, just not very good, which was a letdown considering how star struck I was over getting it. Oh well, lesson learned.


Other than that , I don't think any of the high dollar items I've had were bad - but I'v been disappointed in the sense that I've had different expectations from what the gear could deliver. The dissappointment have been a result of my perceptions rather than deficiencies or shortcomings of the gear

 

[Windup 43]

I hated the John Mayer Strat I had, sounded thin/lifeless and the high E always pulled off the side of the fretboard. I got a '62 Hot Rod shortly after, far and away better guitar.

 

[VHS analog]

I hated the John Mayer Strat I had, sounded thin/lifeless

I played two, same deal w/ both.

Also played a white & gold Les Paul Custom, late 80s early 90s. It sounded like it was made out of wet balsa wood.

 

[wilblee]

Just curious to see what high-end guitars we have drooled over, purchased and then quickly unloaded. For me, PRS just don't hang around that much.

My PRS's went quickly too. Very fine guitars functionally, but they look gaudy to me. Can't say I've ever owned any truly bad high-end guitars, though.

It's the other way around for me. My Gibson's were the ones that moved on and the PRS guitars that stayed. The DGT, in particular, has become my favorite guitar.

 

[mcbprs]

afraid for me its the many strats I have owned (Clapton, SRV, Plus, Plus deluxe (x2), Suhr) they always sound great when someone else plays them just don't work for me :-(

 

[Bluesdaddy]

PRS for me also , I'll add custom shop Fenders , the ones I had didn't live up to the hype.
Funny I see 335's I keep getting them and selling them because I prefer Les Paulsbut I think I finally found one that will stick around .

 

[Tom60]

Also played a white & gold Les Paul Custom, late 80s early 90s. It sounded like it was made out of wet balsa wood.

probably a LP Custom Lite .. not a real Custom

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/361367

 

[gmann]

PRS guitars. I don't know exactly what it is. They are beautiful and for me that's as far as it goes. I've played many and they leave me with no real impression good or bad. They don't leave me wanting one. Several of my friends play 'em and they sound great, just not for me. Someone's buyin' them tho, they're doin' great business.

 

[Scootch McGooch]

Not exactly a true 'high-end' builder, but the Kauer Daylighter Jr. was the single most disappointing guitar I've ever owned. Tones were OK, but there were big time and obvious flaws in the wood itself (divots in the wood, scrapes on the fingerboard) and the finish quality was hideous with paint bleed up and down the fingerboard laquer on both sides. Surprised it left anyone's shop and even more surprised that a dealer sold it that way....

 

[VaughnC]

PRS...they seem to do best at dirty'ish humbuckery sounds and I seldom go there. A good Strat is all I "need" and my current #1, an inexpensive MIM Road Worn 60's Strat, is about as good as any I've played in almost 50 years in the game. It's not as pretty as a typical PRS but I've learned to believe in what my ears & hands tell me .

 

[Pietro]

Any higher-end Gibson, especially the Les Paul. Idolized them and all who played them when I was a kid... but the controls are weird to me now, they're too heavy, and Heritage makes better ones at a better price, imho, if you really have to have an LP. (or a Studio... LOVE those for the price...)

Fender Custom Shop. meh.

I've played or owned a couple others that didn't ring my bell, but I'm not naming them, as I think the guitars were awesome, and the builders are incredible. They're just no... me...

 

[ronniesize]

strats for me!

 

[goodwater]

I had a Fano SP6 for a brief time but found it unusable live---there was too much volume difference between the P90 in the neck and the tele pickup in the bridge and the notched tone control made making subtle tone changes on the fly damn near impossible

 

[buchla300]

Quite a few Gibson I have tried have been rubbish off the shelf, considering the price.
PRS and Fender have been excellent in that respect.

 

[Alister]

I don't think a "high end" guitar has ever disappointed me, even just farting around with them in guitar stores.
Normally, I try to adapt myself to the instrument, not vice versa. Reduced to elementals, a guitar is just an inanimate object; I have to provide the brains and emotions, and make the most of the object.

That said, some brands and designs are harder for me than others. PRS, for instance, has a body shape on most of their models I just can't adapt to. This is no knock on PRS; I love the sound of them a lot, esp. the McCartys.
Probably it's because I "grew up" on either Strat or Les Paul body shapes, and though those two models are not similar at all, I got used to them.

Any guitar, including acoustics, which was designed and built with serious attention to the production of music, and the player in mind, is a wonderful thing.
I have a very critical mind when it comes to music, but I have a very tolerant mind when it comes to the guys who build instruments.
Especially "high end" builders.

 

[smcgov]

PRS guitars. I don't know exactly what it is. They are beautiful and for me that's as far as it goes. I've played many and they leave me with no real impression good or bad. They don't leave me wanting one. Several of my friends play 'em and they sound great, just not for me. Someone's buyin' them tho, they're doin' great business.

played them numerous times and just never did it for me either...I always find my way way back to a nice LP