Can Cheap Guitars Be Good Guitars?

“But it’ll never sound like my handmade custom guitar built from Unicorn bone!”, some may say. I mean, yeah, duh… However, cheap guitars can prove to be extremely faithful companions, sometimes even more than some of your higher end guitars!

Now, to answer the question, “Can Cheap Guitars be Good Guitars?”

Yes, they can. Here’s why:

Practice!

If you can’t play a cheap guitar the way you play a high end guitar, then you may need more practice. To help get my point across, here’s a video of Paul Gilbert ripping it up on an entry level guitar.

Experiment

Please don’t go and solder, modify, or replace anything on your expensive instruments if you don’t know how. You may end up damaging them. Instead, learn these things with the massive amount of information on youtube and other places, and practice them on your cheap guitars. It’ll be just as rewarding when you do it right, and you won’t feel too bad if anything goes wrong! In fact, if you’re interested in learning how to solder, we have an in depth guide that teaches you how!

Mods

Upgrading your guitar is incredibly fun, whether it’s a cheap one or an expensive one. Serious permanent work on high end guitars can hurt resale value (if you are one to constantly trade/sell guitars). Another issue is that you may not like it down the road and you’ll be stuck with it, but if it’s a cheap beater, go for it!

Just don’t be an idiot and subject your guitar to a cruel fate such as this $4,000+ Mayones was subjected to.

I’ve seen people add double to the value of a guitar just to make it the world’s sickest joke, making it play and feel like custom shop instruments! The results have always been fascinating and definitely unique.

Just beat it!

This one may be a bit subjective.. I like to keep my guitars in excellent condition, and I get pretty upset when they take any damage. Cheap guitars are everywhere and you probably won’t cringe if your cheapocaster gets damaged or develops dings and scratches. I mean, it happens to all guitars, but damage on a high end guitar is always a bit more painful to look at.

We all probably started out on a cheap little guitar, it may still be in your room or a cherished memory. “It was a POS, but I miss that thing”, I’ve heard this phrase more than once, and I often find myself saying it as well. Just don’t forget that enjoying a guitar doesn’t always have to cost an arm and a leg!

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This article was written by Mike Azernov, our editor located in New York.