Brand or No Brand
By Brand guitar I mean the classic, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Martin, Taylor, Guild etc etc ...established and supposedly well made guitars with pedigree.... The truth about guitarists when they're just starting out is that, they have to make choices about where to get their first guitar. If they've rich parents they might get brand named guitars, if they don't and can't afford one, they may get a copy guitar.
Often it's a choice made by those who control the money and whether they see the choice as something worth investing in. So the value difference between a major named brand or cheap copy guitar from some random brand is not always understood by the person with the purchasing power and although the actual guitarist may get a choice...it's often based more on marketing psychology than anything else, i.e. buy the name...
So here's a few key pointers that show the realistic difference for those with less experience.
What's the difference
The difference is actually quite significant, although there are exceptions to the rule here and I'll say why later.
Psychology
Having a Brand guitar adds psychological edge to what the aspiring guitarist is doing, it says "I have the proper gear" so I must therefore be ok, it's the same peer pressure argument that teenage fashion requires of people...look fashionable and fit in. It helps the owner feel like they are part of the scene - in the band or actually like their role model guitarists. This actually counts for a lot when your trying to be something you essentially don't feel like you are...it adds support to the lack of skill and feelings of inadequacy that plague aspiring guitarists.
Playability
In terms of playing a branded guitar it can make a difference in feel, from a quality point of view, and it certainly shows your taking it seriously as a business, investing in a piece of equipment you could end up owning for life!
Although you could say beginners wouldn't be able to tell the difference, as they've not played lots of guitars- well that's true for those that don't try them out first...that is a key rule, you have to like the feel of the guitar your playing in my opinion.
Brand guitars tend to be built with some pedigree and expectation of quality, better finish to the neck or setup of the body and neck angle etc, better quality parts, higher quality woods etc...all of these things are generally true when buying a guitar above £500...under that figure your in the cheaper end of the market and anything goes. However thats not to say Cheap Guitars are all bad!
Value
Brand guitars, as well as having a name on them, have a serial number, a certificate of authenticity etc which means they are more likely to hold their value. All of these things can impact you, even without you realising when your just starting out, and even when you're more established, you still review these things almost by default when buying a new guitar.
Unbranded guitars or copies of the brand's, are always going to be psychologically inferior to a branded one, unless you have a mind set that's able to overcome that peer pressure and perhaps be anti fashion...going against the brand's psychologically and using something out of the ordinary is one way of making a mark as a player, Or as a band thing.
Courtesy of Vox Showroom... Although Vox is now a Brand...they weren't in the 60's, they were cheap and different and not a lot of them sold!
Anyone ever played one of these....
A Burns Black Bison, circa 1963, courtesy of Direstraits Blog...
Burns was an British manufacturer who went into liquidation...although these are now sought after guitars, when they came out they weren't popular and not the Guitar of Choice!
Young and aspiring guitarists tend not to go for "Unusual" or off the wall unless they have to, or they join a band which specializes in this like KISS or Punk bands that want to Stick it to the Man! They tend on the whole to buy whatever they can to get started. Second hand, cheap or easily accessible brand's, tend to be purchased by parents as starter guitars, for one simple reason, the parents have no idea if the aspirant teenager is going to continue playing for any real length of time....
"You can have a "real guitar" when you can play"
Ever heard that phrase, it being the basic ploy to mitigate wasted money and yet to provide a challenge to the recipient... play this and you can play anything.
The recipient of a unbranded guitar often knows no better and is grateful for what they get, as they should be, if the parent is putting out a fair bit of money.
There are arguments both sides of this to say it's fair or unfair to invest/not invest.
However the truth is that you can have the best of both worlds, from day one easily enough if you ask the right people and you take real advice.
Internet advice always need comparison between sources to make sure your not being sold a line -however many aspiring or beginner guitarist can start out with brand name guitars and good quality ones at that without spending much more than the cheaper Unbranded.
Best of Both Worlds
Both Fender and Gibson originally tried to cater for the "Junior" market by making cut down specification guitars. However these days you get very high specification on quite cheap guitars depending on whose making them and which market they are targeting.
It is possible to get a cheap, well made guitar that is from a respectable Brand these days, although you need to pay attention!
The Guitar Market basically goes like this
£60-200 Cheap and likely not good in the long run, parts will fail or setup will be required and finish will be basic. Your likely going to replace this in a short time.
£200-500 Cheap-Midrange, likely good finish, and reasonable specification, there is a lot of variation at this point. Setup may be required and finish might be an issue at the lower end. You need to research any guitar in this bracket and pay attention to reviews. There are good brand name guitars in this range.
£500> Midrange to High above £500 your likely not to encounter basic issues like finish or fret dressing on the neck. Neither should you encounter issues related to specification on Pick ups or Machines etc. However sometimes you can get shortcuts being made on specification which lets a high end guitar down. Pay attention to Reviews and do the research anyway.
Above all Try them out!
Final Thoughts
A Classic example of a Brand Guitar that is cheap and likely going to provide both a beginner and a pro with all that's needed would be the Yamaha Pacifica Range...coming in at £199.00 this guitar will be reasonable well finished but basic. Yamaha parts are good and your likely not to encounter major finish issues.
Images Courtesy of Guitar Adventures!
In the harsh world of Budget deals this guitar is the all round winner in terms of giving you bang for your buck. So you can have Brand and Budget.
Ultimately Guitar Choice is a personal thing and the classic route of buying a cheap one then saving up for a good one is pretty much the route all major players have been through.
Going to the top of the range from day one, means you might miss the challenge of playing high action, poorly finished frets and bad tuning. However all those challenges sometimes lend greater flavour to the achievements of creating great music!
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