I remember when I first learned guitar and I couldn’t afford a Fender Stratocaster. I wanted to look and sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Van Halen, Jimi  Hendrix… Eventually I ended up with a Fender Strat but it didn’t look or sound like the ones my heroes played. So I started modding.

Of course, there is way more to sounding like these icons than parts and materials but that didn’t matter to me. As time went on I wanted to look and sound like other artists but didn’t have the money to buy all the expensive gear... And therefore I entered into a phase of my life where I started buying cheap guitars…

But who are cheap guitars for? What classifies a guitar as cheap? Are there any good ones out there? How do you know it’s time to upgrade? Are they worth modding?  And what are the usual flaws?

Well we will discuss this, and more on this group therapy session with Barber, on the Tweed couch.