I have many guitars as some of you may know. I have had many good deals. I was thinking of which instruments were the absolutely best deal as in price to quality ratio. My Gibson Les Paul Special double humbucker is a close second at $550 ........ but I have to give the nod to my Kramer Standard Pro. It is a Korean guitar, but ......... solid mahogony body, one piece, and mahogony neck, one piece, glued neck joint and flamed maple top. Gotoh magnuim lock tuners and Seymour Duncan pickups, a JB and a Pearly Gates! It has gold hardware and I got it for 1/2 price. $299! It was $599 through MusicYo which was a great deal considering the features. For $299 it is was just nuts!
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
My Art & Lutherie acoustic guitar I got to replace my original acoustic when I first started playing. I was amazed at the price of the guitar for a solid top with pick-ups and how well it played. I love the look of the finish and the setup right of the box was perfect for me. I can't say enough about this company of guitars. They make solid guitars and give the best bang for the buck. I thought it was a steal for $400 CDN.
Best deal....hmmm, that would have to be my Agile AL-3000 w/ P90 pickups. Sweet Les Paul copy guitar, much better than any Epi LP I have ever played, except for maybe an Epi Elitist. It sounds great, is loaded with extras (see website below) like ebony fretboard, abalone inlays, cherry sunburst finish, etc.
http://www.rondomusic.net/al-3000csbp90.html
No, it isn't as nice as a Gibson LP, but it misses only by a little. And at only $370, it is a STEAL!
My Art & Lutherie acoustic guitar I got to replace my original acoustic when I first started playing. I was amazed at the price of the guitar for a solid top with pick-ups and how well it played. I love the look of the finish and the setup right of the box was perfect for me. I can't say enough about this company of guitars. They make solid guitars and give the best bang for the buck. I thought it was a steal for $400 CDN.
My A&L is my best bang for buck guitar too. I have a Wild Cherry that was cheap, and sounds great. It was my first guitar, and I use it more then my washburn which costs about 2 & 1/2 times as much. I use a Seymour Duncan Woody pickup in it and it sounds terrific.
Paul
Vacate is the word...Vengance has no place on me or her...Cannot find a comfort in this world.
I spend a LOT of time looking at guitars online and when I find a DEAL I usually get it.
Anyway my best bang for the buck guitar is probably my Agile AD-2000. It normally sells for $250 but I got it for $153. It's my first LP and I love the tone but since I play sitting down and am used to Strats its not that comfy to play.
http://www.rondomusic.net/ad2000bk.html 
I found this one today, its the Agile that I have wanted since I found Rondo Music but I was too cheap to pay full price. It's an Agile AL-3000 Rootbeer. It normally sells for $369 but I got it for $216. Hopefully this will be my best bang for the buck.
My dad would always talk about retirement, and allude to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And I say all you've got at the end of the rainbow is death. You're riding the rainbow right now. - Mark Borchardt
Oh, my Agile was considered here for sure .... and it is an AL2000 .... a cheap one. See my avitar ... I love it .... I had to chose the Kramer though as it is not just close to Gibson good ..... but it IS Gibson good. (I've only owned 3 Gibsons though ...... still got two)
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
I spent some time in the Philippines and picked up a local made classical for about $34. Later typhoon Mileneo hit and with no water and power for almost a week I spent a lot of time playing.....and almost as much time retuning :roll:
Oscar Schmidt OE-30 $149
Fender Squier 51' $99
IMO best A/E under $1000
EG523SC ~ $675 w/case
#4491....
It's a Richard Mermer guitar. I bought it for $900. The flamed koa upgrade alone is $450. It's about $5500 new.
A close second is my Taylor 712ce, I got that for under a grand or my Breedlove Northwest which was under 2 grand. My Collings I paid close to list and it may just be the best bang for the buck guitar tonally and playability wise.
Inexpensive guitars? A Flyde Orsino for roughly $300
Atleast there is someone, who mentions exotic guitar manufacturers (Those I never heard before). We are long tired of Fender, Gibson, Martin, Agile (lol) blah blah.
Got to be this one I bought off Nick....
I love its looks, tone, playability - any guitar that makes me sound OK has got to be worth the money! And it wasn't particularly expensive - Nick bought it off e-bay, and sold it on to me at the same price.
Electric? Squier Tele is never very far from my hands....
it's pictured there with the Squier Strat it replaced - I've tried other guitars, none feel as good or sound as good as the Squier Tele.
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Atleast there is someone, who mentions exotic guitar manufacturers (Those I never heard before). We are long tired of Fender, Gibson, Martin, Agile (lol) blah blah.
yeah it gets a bit boring when posts stay on topic eh? :roll:
i got an idea! start a thread about "exotic" manufacturers! :wink:
#4491....
Great idea Twisty ! (I love when you post, because I get to see the best guitar player in your avatar...)
Actually I have no guitar to mention worth the buck's bang. And I feel pity for the fellow GN'ers, who are currently suffering from my return to GN. (Its only a passing stage and it won't be long so, I promise.) :(
Oh well, if you so, it has to be my only guitar - Yamaha C-70 classical guitar (around 150$), on which I play everything from classical, gipsy, jazz to heavy metal and punk rock.
Best bang for the buck for me is my Seagull S6+ Folk model, she sounds good and is a pleasure to hold and play. I think the cost was just under $300 about 4 or 5 years ago. Second place would be the Washburn D10S12DL which was just under $200...
My Eastman Uptown AR810CE. It's not a cheap guitar by any means -- I found mine for just over $2k.
However, it plays better than several guitars I've tried that are 3-4x as expensive. It is a world-class instrument at a very modest price point.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
