What's the cheapest keeper guitar you have?

billyz said:
The White Jimmie Vaughan Strat , I cannot believe how good it is. The Neck profile is Fantastic, and even though the pickups are more cheaply made, they sound great. The Hardware is excellent USA made as are the Pots and switch. I have some very expensive Stratocasters and this one beats them all.
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But I think the premise for this thread is cheaper keeper guitar. A Jimmie Vaughan signature Strat is not going to be that cheap, is it? I'm sure it's great; just not cheap.
 
$175 on Craigslist a few years ago and I'll never sell it, mainly because I recorded my first EP with it that is out there on all of the streaming services. The guy who sold it to me said it was originally a standard, black Mexican (MIM) Strat with rosewood neck. The guy decided to attempt to "relic" it so he sanded off the black lacquer, painted it with what looks like white latex paint, then sanded off the areas you can see in the pic. He also installed a fake Fender maple neck. Said he'd sell it to me with the original neck for more but I decided $175 was a nice price. The main issue with it is the nut: I had to apply graphite dust in the slots because they're too snug (causing unstable tuning) and put a tiny piece of paper in the slot under the A string to get the height right. I love not caring about whether it gets banged up and it sounds and plays amazingly well all things considered.
IMG_3865.JPG
 
karljansen said:
$175 on Craigslist a few years ago and I'll never sell it, mainly because I recorded my first EP with it that is out there on all of the streaming services. The guy who sold it to me said it was originally a standard, black Mexican (MIM) Strat with rosewood neck. The guy decided to attempt to "relic" it so he sanded off the black lacquer, painted it with what looks like white latex paint, then sanded off the areas you can see in the pic. He also installed a fake Fender maple neck. Said he'd sell it to me with the original neck for more but I decided $175 was a nice price. The main issue with it is the nut: I had to apply graphite dust in the slots because they're too snug (causing unstable tuning) and put a tiny piece of paper in the slot under the A string to get the height right. I love not caring about whether it gets banged up and it sounds and plays amazingly well all things considered.
View attachment 3674409
Click to expand...
Those Mexican made Strats are really good for the money.
 
billyz said:
Those Mexican made Strats are really good for the money.
Click to expand...
MIM Tele's are nice, too!

80f3053e-b3b2-453b-872e-409edfec218f.jpg
 
20260113_103557.jpg
70's Suzuki Model 700.
My wife found it on the curb.
The orginal tuners were crumbling, so I installed a new set.
20260113_103619.jpg
It sounds nice despite it's bland appearance.

The top is beginning to warp near the bridge, so I will have to figure out how to repair that soon.

20260113_103755.jpg
1984 Sigma dm-4gv.
Wife found this at a yard sale for $35.00.
I had to let it sit without strings for a year before the neck stabilized.
I installed Grover tuners, and Graphtec nut and saddle.

The heavy laminated body isn't going to impress anyone, but it sounds acceptable and will likely outlast most of us here.
I don't have a case for it, and don't see the need for one. I let my 2 year old bang on it when I'm playing my better stuff.

The G string sounds fairly stiff, but a lighter string guage should fix that.
 
kirk57 said:
OK, I'll play. The two guitars in front were both thift store finds:


View attachment 3673939

On the left is a Korean-made Celebrity CC15 12 string which I got for $90 dollars including a nice hard shell case.
It stays in tune better than any 12 string I've had and sounds ethereal as a 12 string should.

The guitar on the right is a Carlo Robelli CSX65CE2T which I understand is a house brand of Sam Ash. Paid $50.
This is a big guitar and it sounds like it. The electronics failed, so I removed them (I have no use for them as
I would be too mortified to actually play in public) so where the volume/tone control module was is now a
big hole in the side which actually sounds kind of cool

I've installed Bridge Doctors on both.

Actually all the guitars on the wall are cheap compared to what most of you guys have.
The usual suspects: Epiphone, Squier, Ibanez.
The one in the upper left corner I built from an Sqiuer Strat neck, body was a discarded
picnic table. That one I have about $60 into...
Click to expand...

Very cool. Thanks for sharing! :) I really need to add a 12-string to the collection.

billyz said:
The White Jimmie Vaughan Strat , I cannot believe how good it is. The Neck profile is Fantastic, and even though the pickups are more cheaply made, they sound great. The Hardware is excellent USA made as are the Pots and switch. I have some very expensive Stratocasters and this one beats them all.
Click to expand...

Is it Fender or Squire? Did you get it for $300 or less?
 
Crap! For some reason I never saw this page of posts! lol

billyz said:
Used $400. cheap to me.
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Matonanjin3 said:
Actually, you are correct. That is cheaper than I expected.
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I set the limit at $300 for this thread, including the price of acquisition and any parts that went into it. There's a little wiggle room with that, but in the spirit of the thread, $400 is stretching it a bit. This thread is dedicated more to cheaply constructed and more budget-minded guitars bought on the cheap. :thumbsup:

war2thegrave said:
View attachment 3675359
70's Suzuki Model 700.
My wife found it on the curb.
The orginal tuners were crumbling, so I installed a new set.
View attachment 3675360
It sounds nice despite it's bland appearance.

The top is beginning to warp near the bridge, so I will have to figure out how to repair that soon.

View attachment 3675361
1984 Sigma dm-4gv.
Wife found this at a yard sale for $35.00.
I had to let it sit without strings for a year before the neck stabilized.
I installed Grover tuners, and Graphtec nut and saddle.

The heavy laminated body isn't going to impress anyone, but it sounds acceptable and will likely outlast most of us here.
I don't have a case for it, and don't see the need for one. I let my 2 year old bang on it when I'm playing my better stuff.

The G string sounds fairly stiff, but a lighter string guage should fix that.
Click to expand...

Those guitars certainly qualify! :thumbsup: I have a heavy-bodied laminate acoustic that sounds lovely for fingerstyle playing (oddly, I don't like the sound of it at all for playing with a pick). Sometimes they just work and do a "thing.":dunno:
 
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I did not see your $300 limit when you first posted your thread. Did you later edit it?
Matonanjin3 said:
But I think the premise for this thread is cheaper keeper guitar. A Jimmie Vaughan signature Strat is not going to be that cheap, is it? I'm sure it's great; just not cheap.
Click to expand...
 
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