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Jack White was famous for using inexpensive guitars in The White Stripes. https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/i-always-look-at-playing-guitar-as-an-attack-it-has

Jack White was famous for using inexpensive guitars in The White Stripes. https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/i-always-look-at-playing-guitar-as-an-attack-it-has-to-be-a-fight-how-jack-white-made-cheap-guitars-cool-and-expensive https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/i-always-look-at-playing-g... Manufacturing is so good these days that even the cheapest guitars are pretty good. Justin Sandercoe is a well known guitar teacher on YouTube and he did a series where he bought the cheapest Amazon guitar ($60 IIRC) and went through a full setup with it. He and the guitar tech. were both impressed with how good the instrument was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0SHE_xooyU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0SHE_xooyU

AlbertCory 3y ago
I'm not playing guitar now, but from what I've heard, the knockoff Les Paul or Strat is almost as good as the real one. Plus if it's stolen you just buy another.
kelnos 3y ago
I guess that doesn't really contradict the GP, though, no? They said "cheap, shitty guitars". Sounds like Jack White used cheap, but not shitty*, guitars.
- criddell 3y ago
  The second part of my comment argues that there are cheap guitars, but maybe the era of shitty guitars is over.
- whstl 3y ago
  Nah, they were categorically "shitty", since they were not well made and a bit difficult to play. "I’ve been playing the most difficult guitars to play all my life. But with all the changes I had to deal with—people I never played with before, two days of sessions in New York, two in L.A.—I didn’t have time to monkey around with antique guitars in that moment." https://blog.evhgear.com/2018/06/jack-white/ https://blog.evhgear.com/2018/06/jack-white/
Avshalom 3y ago
>Jack White was famous for using inexpensive guitars Which is pretty good evidence that generally professionals don't use cheap/shitty guitars. You don't usually become famous for doing the completely normal thing.
- coldtea 3y ago
  Parent means he was a famous example of doing that. Not that White became famous because, or in any part due to, using inexpensive guitars. And he was a particular prominent example, because he didn't just do it, he advertised doing it as part of his philosophy. And he is not in any case the only example, tons of famous guitar players use cheap guitars, in stage and on records. They just casually use them, they don't make a point of it, unlike White.
- whstl 3y ago
  I wouldn't be so sure. The current nostalgia-driven market of guitars might distort our views of what constitutes a "cheap" guitar, and also what quality really means. Lots of famous guitars had a "cheap" phase where nobody wanted them and they were left to rot on pawn shops before being rediscovered by some famous musician and becoming coveted again... that happened twice with the Les Paul (first with Clapton, then Slash), and then with the Jazzmaster/Jaguar/Mustang (thanks to hundreds of indie musicians). Also, there were plenty of famous people playing student models: The Gibson Les Paul Junior/Special/DoubleCut played by Keith Richards, Johnny Thunders, Billie Joe Armstrong, Leslie West. Joan Jett played the even cheaper Melody Maker model. Also Danelectros made of kitchen countertops were played by Jimmy Page, Syd Barret. Kurt Cobain had a Univox Hi Flyer era, and then a Mustang era. Always played cheap Japanese Stratocasters instead of the more expensive American ones. Almost all of those guitars above were considered undesirable, antiquated and hard to play sometime in history. Especially in the 80s era of superstrats. Now they're expensive because they were played by rockstars. This phenomenon still happens with almost every piece of gear. Josh Homme of QOTSA revealed in an AppleTV show that he'd play a cheap low-quality Peavey Amp an now this amp costs 10x what it did.
kerrsclyde 3y ago
Bruce Springsteen has used the same 'bitza' guitar which he bought in 1973 for almost the entirety of his career. [1] https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bruce-springsteens-favorite-guitar-the-story-behind-one-of-a-kind-fender-119846/ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bruce-spri...
- Hoasi 3y ago
  He's a singer-songwriter though not a virtuoso guitarist.
  - smrq 3y ago
    That wasn't the position of the goalposts.
  - coldtea 3y ago
    Which is irrelevant, and wasn't part of the original claim. He still made his livehood singing and playing guitar to tens of thousands of people at a time. Besides, virtuoso guitarists also use cheap inexensive guitars all the time. Some examples, out of the top of my mind: Prince, a big virtuoso, favorited his "Madcat", a Tele clone he bought for like $50 dollars. Eddie Van Halen often used cheap Teisco guitars. Mike Rutherford (the Genesis guitarist) used mucho-cheapo Squier Bullet guitars (Fender's cheapo line) for Generis 2020 live tours. Marillion's Steve Rothery also uses a Squire as one of his main axes. The Beatles were also known for using cheapo guitars like Epiphone Casinos.

AlbertCory 3y ago

I'm not playing guitar now, but from what I've heard, the knockoff Les Paul or Strat is almost as good as the real one. Plus if it's stolen you just buy another.

kelnos 3y ago

I guess that doesn't really contradict the GP, though, no? They said "cheap, shitty guitars". Sounds like Jack White used cheap, but not shitty*, guitars.

criddell 3y ago
The second part of my comment argues that there are cheap guitars, but maybe the era of shitty guitars is over.
whstl 3y ago
Nah, they were categorically "shitty", since they were not well made and a bit difficult to play. "I’ve been playing the most difficult guitars to play all my life. But with all the changes I had to deal with—people I never played with before, two days of sessions in New York, two in L.A.—I didn’t have time to monkey around with antique guitars in that moment." https://blog.evhgear.com/2018/06/jack-white/ https://blog.evhgear.com/2018/06/jack-white/

Avshalom 3y ago

>Jack White was famous for using inexpensive guitars Which is pretty good evidence that generally professionals don't use cheap/shitty guitars. You don't usually become famous for doing the completely normal thing.

coldtea 3y ago
Parent means he was a famous example of doing that. Not that White became famous because, or in any part due to, using inexpensive guitars. And he was a particular prominent example, because he didn't just do it, he advertised doing it as part of his philosophy. And he is not in any case the only example, tons of famous guitar players use cheap guitars, in stage and on records. They just casually use them, they don't make a point of it, unlike White.
whstl 3y ago
I wouldn't be so sure. The current nostalgia-driven market of guitars might distort our views of what constitutes a "cheap" guitar, and also what quality really means. Lots of famous guitars had a "cheap" phase where nobody wanted them and they were left to rot on pawn shops before being rediscovered by some famous musician and becoming coveted again... that happened twice with the Les Paul (first with Clapton, then Slash), and then with the Jazzmaster/Jaguar/Mustang (thanks to hundreds of indie musicians). Also, there were plenty of famous people playing student models: The Gibson Les Paul Junior/Special/DoubleCut played by Keith Richards, Johnny Thunders, Billie Joe Armstrong, Leslie West. Joan Jett played the even cheaper Melody Maker model. Also Danelectros made of kitchen countertops were played by Jimmy Page, Syd Barret. Kurt Cobain had a Univox Hi Flyer era, and then a Mustang era. Always played cheap Japanese Stratocasters instead of the more expensive American ones. Almost all of those guitars above were considered undesirable, antiquated and hard to play sometime in history. Especially in the 80s era of superstrats. Now they're expensive because they were played by rockstars. This phenomenon still happens with almost every piece of gear. Josh Homme of QOTSA revealed in an AppleTV show that he'd play a cheap low-quality Peavey Amp an now this amp costs 10x what it did.

kerrsclyde 3y ago

Bruce Springsteen has used the same 'bitza' guitar which he bought in 1973 for almost the entirety of his career. [1] https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bruce-springsteens-favorite-guitar-the-story-behind-one-of-a-kind-fender-119846/ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bruce-spri...

Hoasi 3y ago
He's a singer-songwriter though not a virtuoso guitarist.
- smrq 3y ago
  That wasn't the position of the goalposts.
- coldtea 3y ago
  Which is irrelevant, and wasn't part of the original claim. He still made his livehood singing and playing guitar to tens of thousands of people at a time. Besides, virtuoso guitarists also use cheap inexensive guitars all the time. Some examples, out of the top of my mind: Prince, a big virtuoso, favorited his "Madcat", a Tele clone he bought for like $50 dollars. Eddie Van Halen often used cheap Teisco guitars. Mike Rutherford (the Genesis guitarist) used mucho-cheapo Squier Bullet guitars (Fender's cheapo line) for Generis 2020 live tours. Marillion's Steve Rothery also uses a Squire as one of his main axes. The Beatles were also known for using cheapo guitars like Epiphone Casinos.