What is the cheapest guitar you own and what do you think of it?

[Nintari]

The cheapest guitar I own is a twenty-year-old Washburn acoustic that I got new at a pawn shop those same, twenty years ago. It looks cheap, sounds cheap, has fire damage along the back (long story) and a puncture hole on the top (another long story). One of the pegs is busted and only stays put if you use glue and the high E string buzzes.

But I'll say this: the intonation is and has always been spot on. I can tune it down a whole or half step, drop D, standard... it doesn't matter. It just stays perfectly intonated (I think I just made that word up, but oh well).

Having said all that, I'm happy to finally be able to replace it with a quality acoustic guitar. Sometimes, even when something has a lot of sentimental value attached to it like that Washburn, a really cheap guitar can stunt your interest so much that you literally will stop playing. And that was the case with me.

 

[rolandson]

This. A 30 year old Allparts body that took a small thermonuclear device to strip the finish from, a MIM fender neck, tuners, bridge, and internals collected from the junk box...only the pickups carried a real price tag but even that was small, being used.

I like it very much. Sometimes I'm convinced it is the nicest playing guitar I have despite being a pauper.


I have a Danelectro that I'd have thought ought to occupy the honor of cheapest...but the current prices of Dano's is insane.

 

[John]

I still have my first guitar, which is a Jasmine/Takamine nylon string guitar. Couldn't have cost more than $100 at the time.

By far, it is the cheapest I own and I keep it around for sentimental reasons. It's still at least usable as a practice guitar at home.

 

[Burny FLG]

Do partscasters count? If so, here's mine.

'94 fender mim ocean turquoise strat body ($200)
'08 fender Joe Strummer relic '60s tele neck ($250)
Tex-Mex neck pickup ($10)
Robert Cray middle pickup ($25)
SD Lil '59 bridge pickup ($45, this pic is before installing)

$530ish not counting knobs, pickguard, etc.

Sweet player but getting very little attention recently...

Always wanted one of those and nice amp and carpet

 

[Wound_Up]

The cheapest guitar I own is one I paid about $25 +$15 shipping for. It's a modern Silvertone SS11 'Strat'. Dark blue with a somewhat figured, 1-piece neck and rosewood fretboard. I have a black SS10(maple fretboard) I bought as my first guitar for full price in Dec 2019 and thought I was buying another black guitar. I intended on pulling the neck off of it and swapping to the one I already had.

Fast forward 2 weeks and the guitar arrives from Goodwill in Colorado. It takes me about 15 minutes to realize the guitar I'm holding isn't black. It's actually dark blue! I was pretty stoked. So I left it as is and played it for a bit. The frets need leveling now, so I haven't played it lately. I also got a new guitar for Christmas so it can sit for a while until I get to it.

 

[Goober]

A cheap single cut from a non guitar store with gold plated parts. It is decent.

 

[ehb]

The cheapest guitar I own is one I paid about $25 +$15 shipping for. It's a modern Silvertone SS11 'Strat'. Dark blue with a somewhat figured, 1-piece neck and rosewood fretboard. I have a black SS10(maple fretboard) I bought as my first guitar for full price in Dec 2019 and thought I was buying another black guitar. I intended on pulling the neck off of it and swapping to the one I already had.

Fast forward 2 weeks and the guitar arrives from Goodwill in Colorado. It takes me about 15 minutes to realize the guitar I'm holding isn't black. It's actually dark blue! I was pretty stoked. So I left it as is and played it for a bit. The frets need leveling now, so I haven't played it lately. I also got a new guitar for Christmas so it can sit for a while until I get to it.

When my son was a teen, we bought him a Silvertone Strat from a junk shop for next to nothing. Damn good guitar. Dense wood, rings out like any Skrat but with a bit more balls with the dense body/neck... Dunno who actually built em, probably one of the usuals like Samick, Core-Tek, P. T. Wildwood, etc. that build most everything except the big boy USA names...

I’m toying with buying another Hamer, the korina Monaco w/ P90s... damn nice... Built by same Indonesia folks I think that build Jackson, Schecter, Dean, etc., etc., etc., etc.... I have Lesters, Skrats, etc.... I don’t ‘settle’, I buy what plays and sounds good... regardless of brand...

 

[Wound_Up]

When my son was a teen, we bought him a Silvertone Strat from a junk shop for next to nothing. Damn good guitar. Dense wood, rings out like any Skrat but with a bit more balls with the dense body/neck... Dunno who actually built em, probably one of the usuals like Samick, Core-Tek, P. T. Wildwood, etc. that build most everything except the big boy USA names...

I’m toying with buying another Hamer, the korina Monaco w/ P90s... damn nice... Built by same Indonesia folks I think that build Jackson, Schecter, Dean, etc., etc., etc., etc.... I have Lesters, Skrats, etc.... I don’t ‘settle’, I buy what plays and sounds good... regardless of brand...

My first 2 guitars are/were Silvertone 'Strats'. I still have them since that was just a year ago that I bought my first. They were made by Samick. They still own the Silvertone name but stopped production in 2016.

I have a black SS10 'Strat' with maple fretboard and a very dark blue SS11 with rosewood fretboard that weighs a TON! Like, even more than my Indio 66 DLX Plus Goldtop. They're great guitars. I've had no issues with my black one that I bought new. I bought the blue one used for $25 plus like $17 shipping and it's had a few issues with frets buzzing but nothing I can't take care of. I also modified the black one with CTS pots, Oak-Grigsby 5-way, a Puretone output jack, and a Guitar Madness Alnico V 59'er humbucker in the bridge.

 

[CB91710]

My first 2 guitars are/were Silvertone 'Strats'. I still have them since that was just a year ago that I bought my first. They were made by Samick. They still own the Silvertone name but stopped production in 2016.

They could really cash in on the "Boomer Bucks" if they went back into production on the original designs... including the model with the amp in the case!

 

[Goober]

My first 2 guitars are/were Silvertone 'Strats'. I still have them since that was just a year ago that I bought my first. They were made by Samick. They still own the Silvertone name but stopped production in 2016.

I have a black SS10 'Strat' with maple fretboard and a very dark blue SS11 with rosewood fretboard that weighs a TON! Like, even more than my Indio 66 DLX Plus Goldtop. They're great guitars. I've had no issues with my black one that I bought new. I bought the blue one used for $25 plus like $17 shipping and it's had a few issues with frets buzzing but nothing I can't take care of. I also modified the black one with CTS pots, Oak-Grigsby 5-way, a Puretone output jack, and a Guitar Madness Alnico V 59'er humbucker in the bridge.

I own the Silvertone Samick Jupiter reissue.

 

[Wound_Up]

They could really cash in on the "Boomer Bucks" if they went back into production on the original designs... including the model with the amp in the case!

They already did. I guess no one bought them. So they stopped all production of Strat clones and reissues in 2016. Maybe they were a couple of years too early? Not enough edvertisement and exposure? I really don't know as I wasn't playing back then. You can find 1423, 1449, 1478 & 1303 reissues on Reverb. And a 1444 bass and some acoustics, too.

You can see all of the stuff they had out as reissues at http://www.silvertoneclassic.com/reissue-guitars/#, their now defunct website. Being made by Samick, also, and costing more than my Strat clones, I suspect that they're probably pretty good guitars.

 

[wildhawk1]

There's the collector crowd.

There's the because I can crowd.

There's the $300 sounds like $3000 reality.


I'm in the last one.

 

[Thrill]

Seafoam green Indy Custom strat copy. Not a fan. Bought it at a flea market for like $120 or so. Dont really know what I saw in it at the time, because theres not anything I like about it. Neck is too thin and shoulder-y for me, Pickups are crap. Hardware is crap. The frets were crazy sharp and sat proud of the fretboard edge. Maybe I just liked the color and the little bit of figuring on the fretboard. Idk.

Ive been thinking of ripping the frets out and using it as a fretless guitar for slide playing and fooling around with.

 

[diogoguitar]

Fender japan.Not really a cheap one , but much better than many at the $600-$1000 bracket

 

[Deftone]

Ibanez S420 Ebay $235....

I bought it because I wanted an S series Ibanez with an oil finish. so I was going to sand down this one, but it's such a great player I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Gonna slap a Duncan JB in next time I change the strings.

 

[Rocco Crocco]

I got this during the lockdown. $400. After spot leveling a couple frets, it became a very nice guitar.

 

[madh4ttr]

My cheapie

 

[Thrill]

Ibanez S420 Ebay $235....

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I bought it because I wanted an S series Ibanez with an oil finish. so I was going to sand down this one, but it's such a great player I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Gonna slap a Duncan JB in next time I change the strings.

I had an S570 years ago. Loved the look and feel of it, and the acoustic sound of it (pickups werent great), but couldnt get past how neck heavy it was. I play sitting most of the time, and the neck would just dive. Ended up getting rid of it, but Ive been wanting another one.

 

[Deftone]

I had an S570 years ago. Loved the look and feel of it, and the acoustic sound of it (pickups werent great), but couldnt get past how neck heavy it was. I play sitting most of the time, and the neck would just dive. Ended up getting rid of it, but Ive been wanting another one.

No neck dive on mine. It's easily the thinnest neck I have ever played. Massive frets, though. The pickups are definitely the weak link. I have a few laying around though, so it should fun to try out something new.

 

[Dark Horse]

Cheapest is an Alpha acoustic I bought off Ebay for $80 AUD/$61 USD it's quite good and has a bright tone to it. The 14th fret notes buzz if you bend on that position though!

Cheapest electric is the LTD Viper 256 which I got on sale for $380 AUD/$293 USD. At the time I was interested in the Epiphone SG 400 as they were a similar price. I heard some comparison vids and ended up going for the LTD as it has a warmer and fuller sound as well as 24 frets instead of 22. It weights a ton too which probably what makes it sound so throaty.

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