What does 'plays like butter' mean?

fretfinder

Maybe it's just me but why do people say their guitar 'plays like butter', as if that supposed to mean something? I mean, I know what they're trying to say but why butter, and since when did the yellow greasy stuff you spread on toast have anything to do with the playability of a guitar? Always makes me laugh when I see that in a for sale thread. Maybe next time I sell a guitar I'll try 'plays like cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil' and see where that gets me...

JookyChap

Yep. quite agree..

"Killer axe, she plays like butter", doesn't really grab me either

Adam_MD

Totally agree it's a horrible phrase really puts me off whenever I read it.  I'm going to stop there though before I start including other phrases that bother me like rare being used for everything on ebay and gumtree these days.

bntylr

I guess it's meant to imply that the guitar is easy to play? I've never played butter myself though so I can't comment on the matter.

Someone having "butter fingers" means they'll often let stuff slip through their hands. Must have come from something like that.

I'm sure it was a phrase that was often frowned upon back on ye ol' MR.

fretfinder

Adam_MD said:

Totally agree it's a horrible phrase really puts me off whenever I read it.  I'm going to stop there though before I start including other phrases that bother me like rare being used for everything on ebay and gumtree these days.

Quite agree. Sellers often say 'rare' when what they actually mean is 'these were so undesirable that hardly anyone bought one'!

Handsome_Chris

bntylr said:

I guess it's meant to imply that the guitar is easy to play? I've never played butter myself though so I can't comment on the matter.

Someone having "butter fingers" means they'll often let stuff slip through their hands. Must have come from something like that.

I'm sure it was a phrase that was often frowned upon back on ye ol' MR.

I think that the expression comes from "Spreads like butter".  Some chump could have easily enough said "Plays like it says on the can".

Bucket

I always take it to mean it plays fast and easily, like the neck has been greased with... you guessed it, butter.

ICBM

It means I instantly have no interest in the guitar being sold.

monquixote

It means you've spent too long on TGP.

Handsome_Chris

Bucket said:

I always take it to mean it plays fast and easily, like the neck has been greased with... you guessed it, butter.

Why? What you said isn't "Plays like butter." so much as "Plays like it's been greased with butter.", a practice that I've never entertained.  It can't be good for a neck that has been sanded down.

Moltisanti

what it actually means in real life is that the setup is decent, and it has 9s on it

OilCityPickups

Plays like it was previously handled by Richard Madeley?

Adam_MD

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Plays like it was previously handled by Richard Madeley?

Shit I knew I shouldn't have had a late lunch, I think I'll go lie down and try and think of something else.

Dave_Mc

monquixote said:

It means you've spent too long on TGP.

LOL +1

jimboflojo

I believe plays like butter comes from the late great guitarist B. Utter, famous for his crazy fast playing style and for being able to slide across the stage on his knees from one side to the other- as if the stage itself was butterlike. Plus he had a killer axe, which was very rare.

ESchap

"Last tango in Paris"

Parker

Allow me to explain. Butter is quite slippery - greasy if you will. A guitar that has a neck that plays like butter means it has a fast neck and is silky smooth to transition around the neck. If someone does not buy a guitar on the basis it has been described as playing like butter. I fear you may be missing out on a technicality!

ICBM

I wouldn't want a neck that feels slippery even if I could stand the phrase, so I doubt I'm missing anything. It just puts me right off the seller anyway - calling a guitar "she" or an "axe" in an ad is almost as bad.

axisus

"This new butter is sooooooo smooth, it spreads like you are playing yngwiesque arps with speed fluidity and precision"

Hmmmnn ....... doesn't quite work the other way around.

tonyrath

Suggests to me a list of sellers phrases like the estate agents spiels could be compiled 

Jalapeno

Unless you've played a perfectly set up guitar, I'm not sure you'll ever understand what "Plays Like Buttah" refers to.

Smooth fretboard, perfectly dressed and polished frets, non-sticky neck .....