Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegelI think a lot of this is just luck of the draw. This is why it's so important to go to a store & play a few guitars. To put your hands on the actual machine you might buy.
Just about any modern electric guitar can be made perfectly playable with a good setup. Even the budget line models! :)
Very true, and I agree about for the money, every Gibson LP you pick up should be awesome...but that's not the case. The shape that my Gibson LPs were in when I bought them, Gibson should have been ashamed of themselves. Credit to them though for making them right under warranty.
I've always been very reluctant to go with budget line model guitars. Any I had tried left me wanting and you seemed to get what you paid for. Recently I came upon a deal I couldn't resist...a steep discount on an already cheap G&L ASAT. This is G&L's Telecaster copy. Out of the box, it was pretty miserable...frets corroded, action set terribly low, strings rusty. After my luthier set it up and dressed the frets, it's absolutely amazing to play!
It's amazing what you can get at at budget levels these days, though you may need to put some work into it.
I can understand how the OP was drawn to HP's guitar...HP has some amazing tone.