Meh... I have no desire to play a crappy guitar just so my great guitars stay in a protective bubble. I paid a small fortune for some of my instruments. I want to play those and not some cheap box with strings.
I don't think you need a crappy guitar to have one be your beater. To me, beater simply means the guitar I will take camping or to the beach. I have a guitar that I call my beater but it was not a cheap guitar, it is the one I don't mind being in the path of the campfire smoke.
And I will add, Taylor's less expensive guitars are definitely not crappy guitars (I know JTC111 didn't say they were). I'm just agreeing with MGap that "beater" can sometimes mean the less expensive guitar in a person's arsenal. Like my GS mini. Using the "beater" term loosely, it is probably my "beater" guitar. But I still take good care of it.
