What makes a guitar a 'Work Horse'?
 

Solid legacy guitars are called work horses. What makes them that?

For me, my J45 has features that make it that for me

a. short scale length, can play longer without fatigue, easier to play
b. tone is good for most genres of music, even balance
c. light weight

By contrast, my Larrivee D40 is

a. heavier strings
b. distinctive sound

and so I view it as a speciality guitar for composition in my case.

What makes one for you?

Or is the saying meaningless? For something meaningless you sure hear it alot.

I can’t be quite that analytical. For me a workhorse guitar is the first guitar you reach for unless there’s a reason not to.

Not too big. Not too small. Stays in tune. Plays easy. Not too flashy. Not too expensive. Sounds good. Not lazy. Willing to except responsibility for its actions. Oh, and never late for a gig.

In my experience the term "workhorse" is used in opposition to "show horse." To me it's an obvious comparison - there's workhorses and show horses and the terms indicate which each is used for.

What makes a guitar a workhorse? The marketing department!

That sums it up perfectly. The “war horse” can walk onto any stage or into any jam or picking circle and dominate every instrument around it, including fiddles and banjos. And then there’s the “Sea Biscuit”. It’s an instrument that shouldn’t sound as good as it does. It’s a Recording King or Seagull or Blueridge that makes people’s jaws drop when they hear the tone. An old friend played in a few bands and owned a couple Nuggets mandolins. His backup mandolin was Kentucky A with f holes. I don’t remember the model, a 200 something. That “cheap” Kentucky would wow everyone who heard or played it.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For me, it’s a reliable, good sounding guitar that can take a few knocks in its stride.

I see a work horse guitar as one that can take the abuses of gigging and always gives what you ask of it. It can be any guitar regardless of manufacturer or body size. I guess the same could be said as a recording guitar as well.

For me it's the one I know will sound good plugged into any amp or PA system, the battery will last the whole set, it works well with a capo, cuts through the mix even in a bigger band setting, holds tune, and plays easy. My LLX6A is THE one.

To my thinking, it is a guitar for live gigging, one that can take abuse - and has. Tonally, it may not be the best for every song, but it handles adequately most anything you throw at it. You may not like it for recording, however, and at home it may not be the one you first reach for. But when you walk out the door, it's in your hand.

As noted by all the responses above, few agree on what the phrase means in any precise or practical way.

Generally speaking, a workhorse guitar is usually meant as a no-frills guitar that gets played most often in any environment, on the road or in a studio. It is not a beater - it usually has the same or similar qualities of a top tier guitar, but without being too fancy. Standard as opposed to a custom. A D28 can be one's personal workhorse, but, generally, a more apt example would be a D18, or a D15; great guitars, with few-to-no frills, and decidedly less expensive for it. Few, if any, boutique guitars qualify as a workhorse, as their cost is prohibitive to most players.

I think when a manufacturer calls one of its models a workhorse, it is both acknowledging its stripped-down features and implying the guitar's playability and construction are aimed at most working musicians, for most situations. This is marketing, of a sort, but not at all dishonest.

And, of course, others will disagree.

A workhorse guitar is one that you use to make music. You can add your own romantic accoutrements for special effect.

Obviously James Taylor's Olsen is a workhorse.

The “workhorse/showhorse” dichotomy is a great way to think of it. The problem is, one man’s (or woman’s) workhorse is another man’s (or woman’s) showhorse. For example, most people who spend $30k+ on an Olson probably don’t gig with it and treat it as a delicate, prized possession—to James Taylor, it’s a workhorse.

I play just one guitar, so it’s my workhorse.