What makes the expensive guitars easier to play?

I have not found it to be true on my guitars.

My 500 dollar Dean Performer is less forgiving than my used 99 dollar fender dreadnaught.

On the electric side....the 85 dollar (ebay) Cort strat 80's made project guitar is the best guitar I ever had, fits me like a glove and I play better on that than anything else I ever had. And I can see what I am doing better with the maple fretboard versus the rosewood models.

For me.......I think it is the neck. I play better on guitars with wide necks. But overall fit and comfort has a lot to do with it too. It took 6 guitars over the past couple years to find the one that was for me. Ironic that it was the cheapest but I am investing some money in it to dial it in for me.

On the higher end guitars...I have no idea, never had the pleasure of playing one............YET.

Just sounds to me like the expensive ones were set up better than the cheap ones that you played.

I have a cheap Yamaha laminate top as my beater guitar. When I got the thing it didn't play that great (high action) however, after I adjusted the truss rod and filed down the saddle it plays like a dream. In fact it plays much nicer than most guitars out there, expensive or cheap.

As long as you have a decent guitar with a straight neck then you can make adjustments to make it easier to play.

Amore expensive guitar will also have a solid top which makes for a brighter sound. If you want your A&L to play better have the action adjusted I did mine and it's much easier to play.

Solid top guitars don't always sound better than laminates.

As mentioned above, better set-up is a main reason. Better fret leveling and finishing also helps -- it's also one of the first places costs are cut in the manufacture of less expensive guitars (same for set-up).

+1

take yours in and have it setup for $50. If you like have them put in a bone saddle for an extra $25.

$500 guitars aren't really setup any better on average. Neither are $1000.

What you like in a setup is what makes the setup good or bad, and most manufacturers err on the high side. It's easy to take a setup down, hard to bring it back up.

My Taylor 712 was setup perfectly from the shop. My Gibson J180 setup sucked based on my preferences. Neither of those are cheap guitars.

Now when you get into the really high end, the builder will ask how you would like it setup and what styles you play.

It's setup... and manufacture.

Guitars are actually pretty complex constructions - even the simplest guitars have seven main wood parts (top, back, two sides, end block, neck, fretboard) that must fit perfectly. Add another 20 pieces or so for bracing, and more (from four up to hundreds) for lining blocks, and there's a lot of stuff to fit just so.

The tricky part is that they don't fit just so when it's built - they are pulled into perfect fit when it's under string tension. Builder Dana Bougeois has been quoted as saying a perfectly built guitar is right on the edge of tearing itself apart.

So a really great guitar will play well because when all that stress is applied by the strings, the neck relief, tension on the bridge, and bowing of the top will conspire to create a nearly perfect spacing between the fretboard and the strings. Throw in a good setup, and it's effortless to play.

A good setup will make any guitar easier to play. So now we're at economics - if I own a store, doing a setup is going to cost me maybe $20 in tech labor and shop overhead. If the guitar lists for $3000, I might net $500 on its sale - so setup takes 4% of my profits, and makes it easier to sell. A $300 guitar might net me only $100, so setup would take 20% of the profit - so those guitars will only get a good setup of the tech has nothing else to do. So what you see in a shop will have gotten more attention as the price goes up.

Not all great guitars play easily. All of my guitars have decent setups - but the 'hardest' one to play is my Martin... which also has the best sound of the lot.

Noteboat's post is right on about setups, and it's also one of the reasons to know what you like before you buy. First, play a lot of guitars and find one you really enjoy playing.

Now really spend time getting to know your preferences. Get a small ruler accurate metal ruler and measuer the distance from both the high e-string and the low e-string to the fretboard at the 12th fret, press the srings down at the 3rd and 15th frets and measure the relief at the 7th fret on the high and low strings (you'll need someone to help you do this, obviously).

Now when you go up to the salesperson you can tell them "Hey, I love this guitar that you're trying to sell for $394.99, but I can get it on http://www.music123.com for $299.95. I'll tell you what though, I'll pay you $350.00 even for it, but you need to toss in a gig bag, 2 extra set of strings, a bag of picks and a set-up. I want the high-e to be lowered 5mm and the low e lowered 3 mm at the 12th. I also want the relief raised 2mm all around."

You will eventually find a store that will sell you exactly what you want for exactly what you want to pay, including the setup.

I highly recommend that you pick up one of Dan Erlewine's books on guitar repair and setup (he has at least two, either will do). And really get to understand what can be done on a guitar. You don't have to be able to do it, but you need to be able to talk to the tech intelligently to make sure you get what you want.

Hey Pilot7,

I also have the A&L Wild Cherry as well. Yes I have also noticed that when I play more expensive guitars (Larrivee's, Martins, Gibsons etc...), that they sound a lot better or are easier too play.

However, not all expensive guitars are like this. I have found that some guitars just don't fit right in my hands and I can't seem to make them sound good no matter what I try to do.

After a year of playing my A&L, several other guitarists have noted that my action was a little too high. So I went to http://www.frets.com and used his method to lower my action on the saddle. And lo and behold, my playing was a lot smoother. I also splurged and bought some Elixar strings.

While I would still love to buy a Larrivee, I am happy with the A&L for now, until I can afford a more expensive guitar.

My advice is too bring your guitar into a guitar tech to adjust your guitar for you. It's a small price to pay and you might be surprised by the small changes.

Kenny

I also set up my own guitar, using information from this website in the repair and maintenance forum. There are quite a few threads based on the subject.

A couple of other things to consider. Although you already have some great advice. String gauge. Medium gauge strings will require more tension ergo harder to play. Make sure you are using light gauge strings. Also in some stores the guitars are tuned down a half step, you can ask the ones you frequent for a tuner if you need one.

If you guitar is not too expensive and you can follow directions well, setup the guitar yourself. Just err on the side of caution, and if you need to re-adjust you can do it again later.