One $4.5k guitar or three $1,500 guitars?

[GuitarsFromMars]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Would you rather have one great guitar or three pretty good guitars with different tone woods?

3 pretty good ones, work.

[reholli]

I'm perfectly satisfied with the guitars I have, with no interest in spending my time asking What if I could have...

In conclusion, I'd like to add that I've been perfectly capable of discerning what sounds good musically all of my life from a natural appreciation for music produced on a well-built instrument. No additional experience or ear training has ever been necessary, along with no need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in the pursuit now.

[rmyAddison]

A great guitar is a great guitar, I have no interest in less. Life is too short, music it too important to me, and 50 years of hard work has made buying great guitars possible.

My answer is what I have, 4 great guitars.............

[Martin00028EC]

One great guitar over many avarage guitars. The pleasure of playing a great guitar is overwhelming.

Originally Posted by billgennaro

Having three pretty good guitars would always leave me feeling that I'd like something better.

My worry is that, even if I bought one $4500 guitar, I'd still feel that I might like something better!

[Goodallboy]

No question for someone seeking the ultimate in tone.

Others have variety as their preference.

I choose one great acoustic.

[RoseAdi]

Get a Lowden and be done with it! (Actually that may only work for me!)

As ,IMO, there is no 'one size fits all' guitar, your choice would depend on what types of music you play. $1500 - $2k buys some pretty nice guitars.

One thing that I can say about higher end acoustics is that they tend to NOT be one trick ponies. I've owned my Lowden F for 7 years and I've yet to find it's limits. Not necessarily a Lowden, but this is one aspect you may want to explore.

[Guitar1083]

Originally Posted by Willie Voltaire

My worry is that, even if I bought one $4500 guitar, I'd still feel that I might like something better!

if you want something better get a custom

[thechoochlyman]

You all seem to think that you have to pay $4500 for the best sounding guitar on the market. Psssh, the best guitar I've ever played only cost $1500. The choice is clear for me.

[Guitar1083]

Originally Posted by lodi_55

Not sure I agree with your "more expensive is better" viewpoint. I would definitely suggest you shouldn't approach a less expensive guitar as sounding "like a toy" simply because it's not a 8k guitar.

for nylon string guitar i feel that its so true. steel string maybe not - such a bigger selection like 15-1 Sam Ash. Guitar Center. now nylon strings maybe like 8-10 in each store so when you see 1 for $2,000 and it sounds bad you call it a toy.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by thechoochlyman

You all seem to think that you have to pay $4500 for the best sounding guitar on the market. Psssh, the best guitar I've ever played only cost $1500. The choice is clear for me.

I think you've misread what we think.

I've owned cheaper guitars and I've owned much more expensive ones. Without exception the finer guitars sounded better, were better made, and came from more accomplished builders, containing the finest tonewoods.

Perception is everything and if you believe your guitar sounds better, far be it from me to critique that opinion. I'm happy for you.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by thechoochlyman

You all seem to think that you have to pay $4500 for the best sounding guitar on the market. Psssh, the best guitar I've ever played only cost $1500. The choice is clear for me.

I think that you missed the point of the question (which is why I removed the dollar amounts from my answer). It is not if a $4500 is automatically going to be better than a $1500 guitar. It may be and it may not be. However, there is often (but not always) a correlation between price and quality, but that does not suggest causation.

The question that I think that the majority of us have answered is: would you prefer 1 great guitar or 3 good guitars for the same total value, whatever that value is?

TW

[jpbat]

My guilty pleasure these days is to find *great* guitars under 1500$.
And there are some. Hunting is a thrill.

Finding a great guitar at 1500$ gives me more joy than finding a great guitar at 4500$.
Finding three great guitars at 1500$ : three times more pleasure.

[Guitar1083]

if each level of guitars sounds good this would mean they are getting better in price.

1 store has 6 levels 5 of each guitar 1 Jem in each. your budget is $4,500

$1,500 - $2,000
$2,000 - $2,500
$2,500 - $3,000
$3,000 - $3,500
$3,500 - $4,000
$4,000 - $4,500

Imagine if the persons budget was $13,500 and he was able to get 3 for $4,500 or 1 for $13,500 wow this forum would go crazy...

[ukejon]

I too am in the one killer guitar camp. From my experience, there is musical magic up in the $4.5k range if you find the right one (which I fortunately have).