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I’d love to have a beater, but I’m afraid I get too precious with any guitar I buy. I’ve bought a few guitars which were meant to be beaters but the only one I mistreat in any way is this:


fender dg-4 It’s the party guitar...

My Sonex is beat to shit. I think the paint used had trouble adhering to whatever sawdust and glue mixture they build the body out of because the shit practically rubs off when combined with human sweat. Or maybe they just used cheap paint.

Thankfully much had already worn off the neck when I got it, because it can get kinda funky to touch.

The combination of a huge swimming pool rout and a really heavy body makes it sound rather massive, the dirty fingers pups help too. It was Gibson's attempt to court the beginner market, I think they get unfairly maligned. But I guess most Gibson players don't want a guitar that sounds like a flamethrower.

I was quite stoked the other day when I was watching youtube vids of Hammerhead and saw the guitarist using one. It's definitely suited to noise rock.

dub wrote:My Sonex is beat to shit. I think the paint used had trouble adhering to whatever sawdust and glue mixture they build the body out of because the shit practically rubs off when combined with human sweat. Or maybe they just used cheap paint.

Thankfully much had already worn off the neck when I got it, because it can get kinda funky to touch.

The combination of a huge swimming pool rout and a really heavy body makes it sound rather massive, the dirty fingers pups help too. It was Gibson's attempt to court the beginner market, I think they get unfairly maligned. But I guess most Gibson players don't want a guitar that sounds like a flamethrower.

I was quite stoked the other day when I was watching youtube vids of Hammerhead and saw the guitarist using one. It's definitely suited to noise rock.

Fuck... back in the 90’s when I was learning to play there was a guy who used to busk in St Enoch Square in Glasgow used to play a bit of Floyd and other proggy bluesy stuff he was an amazing guitarist and he had a grey / silver one of these. I’ve always wondered what it was as I’ve never seen another since until now.


exactly like this. cheers I've always wondered what it was

Fran wrote:P.S. That RIC copy of Westy's is horrendously ugly. He wins.

Haha, but it's not a copy,the Electro was made at the Rickenbacker factory.

i think that electro is badass. i'd love to try that out.

used to have a t-15. it was GREAT

When I got this, I thought it was an all original (except for the pickups), super rare transitional HIIN with the Fenderesque headstock. Once I opended it up, it turned out to be a hacked for humbuckers Hagstrom II so I went to town with the dayglow krylon. As I mentioned in the shortscale thread yesterday, this guitar is reserved for very low tunings and excursions into the drum set.

I don't really understand the idea of a 'beater' guitar. I've had cheap guitars I've loved but I don't really think of them as any different to the more expensive ones.

This probably won't be a very popular opinion and bear in mind that I'm not trying to set myself against other people's point of view regarding this but...

I'm not overly mindful of wearing out any of my guitars. None of them are particularly worthy of it and if I had instruments that I thought were, I probably wouldn't take them out to gigs, play them the way I do or leave them in my dirty rehearsal space. Now I would never intentionally wreck any instrument but I'm definitely less careful with ones that have limited/close to null market value. No matter what happens, I can always fix them up, so I'm at little personal loss in being a bit careless. What I gain from it is a more personal, more mechanical, perhaps even more honest approach to that particular instrument. It's no loss, all gain for me.

James wrote:I don't really understand the idea of a 'beater' guitar. I've had cheap guitars I've loved but I don't really think of them as any different to the more expensive ones.

I have no expensive guitars, I'd happily throw any of them at a wall if the feeling arises.

wwrrss wrote:

James wrote:I don't really understand the idea of a 'beater' guitar. I've had cheap guitars I've loved but I don't really think of them as any different to the more expensive ones.

I have no expensive guitars, I'd happily throw any of them at a wall if the feeling arises.

I've never understood that either. The whole smashing a guitar on stage thing seems completely pointless.

all my guitars are beat, and i got them mostly cheap. but if i had to one "cheap" beater one, it's this one:



i got it for a little under 100 bucks. it's quite beat up, but the previous owner just painted over the dings with black permanent marker. the original bridge is also gone - this is a 60s jap one.
these things are SO underrated, they're fucking magical pigs.

but i was shocked to see that they sell for almost $500 on ebay nowadays. geez.

but of course, my #1 favorite beater is my '65 "crackwhore" jag:

i spend hours just staring at its hotness. and then play it. after i've played with myself...

Pat.

Pacafeliz wrote:but of course, my #1 favorite beater is my '65 "crackwhore" jag:

i spend hours just staring at its hotness. and then play it. after i've played with myself...

Pat.

Can I just dry hump it for a few minutes?

That's not a beater..that's just a sweet fn axe with character and mojo!!!

The only beater i have, '70s Mustang

I'm seeing some seriously cool beater guitars . Pacafeliz , I'm jealous . Muy pinche celoso.



I guess my beater six string would be my Toronado. An MIM black with brown tort armed with Duncan Mayhem combo pickups . Pretty much keep it in drop D . Perfect for Deftones shit . Or even Mushroomhead .

timhulio wrote:

westtexasred wrote:

Love it. My missus would adore one of these too. I'm sure Sleater Kinney used the real deal at some point.

I dunno about that but Kat Bjelland from Babes in Toyland plays one.

And Courtney Love had one in the early 90's Hole, and George Harrison when he was in Hole too.

rich wrote:not spousal. bonus points for short scale. i love my craptastic harmony. bought this thing in a pawn shop a year ago for $50. i'm pretty sure it's a newer model. after some neck adjustments, it became very playable. it's not a short scale, but the body is so small that it feels like one. it can't be more than an inch thick, too. the pickups are really low output and the guitar itself is super percussive and loud... makes for some cool recordings when room mic'ed. what's your favorite cheapass guitar?

i sold one of those to one of my band mates for 2 packs of smokes and an xl double double from tim hortons last summer. an enjoyable guitar,.. i never really got on with it though..

as for a beater guitar.. i'm quite certain that all of my guitars would qualify at this point in time, as i have a tendency to treat my gear like it owes me money (and in most cases it does..)

Serfx that 51 may be inexpensive but she's no beater. You treat her like a lady mmmmkay?

inexpensive? i don't own anything cheap, no whore guitars in my house..
just a lot that have been passed around and handed over

though i'd say i'm currently rocking an acoustic that has seen its fair share of love
this is my buddy Layne rocking it before he gave it to me when i broke my black acoustic playing a show with him
though it is no "beater" either