The price of things..(guitars specifically)

[LoboLives]

One thing I noticed about the recent videos on the new Gibson guitars is they spoke about lowering the prices of their instruments but so far I’ve seen prices in the $3-4K range for some pretty basic guitars. In fact more expensive than previous years. I think over the past few years I’ve gone from being more focused on synthesizers than guitars and price has a lot to do with it. With a synth I’m getting so much bang for my buck and it’s incredibly versatile so $3k to $5k I can justify but now I’m seeing guitars more expensive than a Kurzweil Forte or Quantum and I’m wondering...are guitars a good investment anymore? Say you pay $5K for a new SG...you now have to spend more money on an amplifier to play it through (could easily run you another $2k to $4K) and likely more money on Pedals ($200 To $600 a piece). Now you have to think about recording your setup. Etc so it ends up being a money pit. When I see a guitar more expensive than the Moog One (which is $8K) then there is seriously something wrong in the guitar industry. It’s certainly something guitarists should reflect on and it’s also something synth players should reflect on as well on how lucky we are to be able to get so much out of our synthesizers and how little accessories we require to get them to work and record.

[chysn]

The thing with guitars is that they take really skilled labor over a relatively long time (guitars are put aside at several steps while something or other dries). Being a luthier is no small accomplishment, especially for one of the major makers, whereas I imagine synths can be put together with less training. Not to dis people that work on synth factory floors by any means, but it's perfectly natural to me that a good guitar would cost more--way more--than a good synth.

Another consideration is that rare and high-quality wood is getting harder and harder to find as demand goes up, climate change affects supplies, and countries crack down on wood exports. The wood issue alone probably makes fine guitars a good investment.

[LoboLives]

The thing with guitars is that they take really skilled labor over a relatively long time (guitars are put aside at several steps while something or other dries). Being a luthier is no small accomplishment, especially for one of the major makers, whereas I imagine synths can be put together with less training. Not to dis people that work on synth factory floors by any means, but it's perfectly natural to me that a good guitar would cost more--way more--than a good synth.

Another consideration is that rare and high-quality wood is getting harder and harder to find as demand goes up, climate change affects supplies, and countries crack down on wood exports. The wood issue alone probably makes fine guitars a good investment.

I’m just flabbergasted a new Gibson SG at $4k costs more than a new Marshall amp (that’s actually made in England)..heck even their Les Paul Jr models are close to $3K and those only have a single pickup. I would understand if these were boutique items like a Little Sister or Anderson guitar or whatever but a basic Gibson SG or Les Paul Jr? If Fender can have their American strats be around the $2500 to $3000 mark, I’m expected to believe an SG costs $4k to $5k? I just think guitars have become too much of a money pit compared to synths. If someone gave me $10,000 and said “You can have this one guitar or you can have a Moog One.” Id go with the Moog. Even if I got that $10k guitar, I’d never take it to a show, I’d be almost afraid to take it out of the case and above all that I still have to get an amp and Pedals to play it through and figure out a way to record it properly. So it’s ending up costing more than a Moog One in the long run. I couldn’t even fathom that.

[Shaw]

The thing with guitars is that they take really skilled labor over a relatively long time (guitars are put aside at several steps while something or other dries). Being a luthier is no small accomplishment, especially for one of the major makers, whereas I imagine synths can be put together with less training. Not to dis people that work on synth factory floors by any means, but it's perfectly natural to me that a good guitar would cost more--way more--than a good synth.

Another consideration is that rare and high-quality wood is getting harder and harder to find as demand goes up, climate change affects supplies, and countries crack down on wood exports. The wood issue alone probably makes fine guitars a good investment.

I’m just flabbergasted a new Gibson SG at $4k costs more than a new Marshall amp (that’s actually made in England)..heck even their Les Paul Jr models are close to $3K and those only have a single pickup. I would understand if these were boutique items like a Little Sister or Anderson guitar or whatever but a basic Gibson SG or Les Paul Jr? If Fender can have their American strats be around the $2500 to $3000 mark, I’m expected to believe an SG costs $4k to $5k? I just think guitars have become too much of a money pit compared to synths. If someone gave me $10,000 and said “You can have this one guitar or you can have a Moog One.” Id go with the Moog. Even if I got that $10k guitar, I’d never take it to a show, I’d be almost afraid to take it out of the case and above all that I still have to get an amp and Pedals to play it through and figure out a way to record it properly. So it’s ending up costing more than a Moog One in the long run. I couldn’t even fathom that.

Gibson (and Fender for that matter) haven’t made instruments that are “worth their prices” in years.  Want a great guitar at a value, look at PS instead of Gibson.  And the Charvel San Dimas (up through the Guthrie Govan model) blows away any comparably priced Fender.


I realize PRSs are not cheap, but the value over Gibsons is tremendous. 

[Paul Dither]

The alternative is to get a budget version and upgrade hardware and pickups to taste. I once did that with a Classic 50s Strat. Copper-shielded everything myself, added Custom Shop PUs and a Callaham bridge. The sum of all parts was still well below the casual rates. Cost me less than a grand, was as quiet as possible for single coils and almost featured Gilmour specs.

[Shaw]

The alternative is to get a budget version and upgrade hardware and pickups to taste. I once did that with a Classic 50s Strat. Copper-shielded everything myself, added Custom Shop PUs and a Callaham bridge. The sum of all parts was still well below the casual rates. Cost me less than a grand, was as quiet as possible for single coils and almost featured Gilmour specs.

Very true. I’ve made strat style guitars (Warmoth is excellent for parts) for way less than I could have otherwise purchased one.  Though the results from going that route will of course depends on the skill of the one doing the guitar mod / construction, and not everyone is so inclined.

[LoboLives]

The thing with guitars is that they take really skilled labor over a relatively long time (guitars are put aside at several steps while something or other dries). Being a luthier is no small accomplishment, especially for one of the major makers, whereas I imagine synths can be put together with less training. Not to dis people that work on synth factory floors by any means, but it's perfectly natural to me that a good guitar would cost more--way more--than a good synth.

Another consideration is that rare and high-quality wood is getting harder and harder to find as demand goes up, climate change affects supplies, and countries crack down on wood exports. The wood issue alone probably makes fine guitars a good investment.

I’m just flabbergasted a new Gibson SG at $4k costs more than a new Marshall amp (that’s actually made in England)..heck even their Les Paul Jr models are close to $3K and those only have a single pickup. I would understand if these were boutique items like a Little Sister or Anderson guitar or whatever but a basic Gibson SG or Les Paul Jr? If Fender can have their American strats be around the $2500 to $3000 mark, I’m expected to believe an SG costs $4k to $5k? I just think guitars have become too much of a money pit compared to synths. If someone gave me $10,000 and said “You can have this one guitar or you can have a Moog One.” Id go with the Moog. Even if I got that $10k guitar, I’d never take it to a show, I’d be almost afraid to take it out of the case and above all that I still have to get an amp and Pedals to play it through and figure out a way to record it properly. So it’s ending up costing more than a Moog One in the long run. I couldn’t even fathom that.

Gibson (and Fender for that matter) haven’t made instruments that are “worth their prices” in years.  Want a great guitar at a value, look at PS instead of Gibson.  And the Charvel San Dimas (up through the Guthrie Govan model) blows away any comparably priced Fender.


I realize PRSs are not cheap, but the value over Gibsons is tremendous.

Yeah I think a lot of the price comes from the name on the headstock. Still...shocking to think Marshall can do a new UK made plexi head for $1500 and yet we are looking at SG and Les Pauls at $4000K+. I think maybe boutique stuff might be the way to go but even then I found a lot of companies are really restrictive. I was asking about a Tom Anderson guitar once and it seemed everything I wanted I was met with "No we don't do that." and then given a price of close to $7000! The heck!

[Shaw]

I made this Les Paul-ish tone machine from a Warmoth body and neck.  Absolutely done to my spec.  Here are some of my “improvements”:


- Seymour Duncan pickups
- custom wiring replacing 3 way toggle with blend pot giving me 100% bridge pickup, 100% neck pickup, or any combination in between (not just the 50-50 you get with a toggle witch)
- PRS tremolo bridge
- locking Sperzel tuners
- Mahogany tone wood
- single cut away for easier reach of upper frets
- chambered body for better resonance
- flatter neck radius (fits my playing comfort)


With a little skill, you can build yourself a better guitar than you can buy off the rack.  And if you have a local luthier who can do some finishing touches for you (clear coat, fret dressing), you can make a superior instrument.

[LoboLives]

I made this Les Paul-ish tone machine from a Warmoth body and neck.  Absolutely done to my spec.  Here are some of my “improvements”:


- Seymour Duncan pickups
- custom wiring replacing 3 way toggle with blend pot giving me 100% bridge pickup, 100% neck pickup, or any combination in between (not just the 50-50 you get with a toggle witch)
- PRS tremolo bridge
- locking Sperzel tuners
- Mahogany tone wood
- single cut away for easier reach of upper frets
- chambered body for better resonance
- flatter neck radius (fits my playing comfort)


With a little skill, you can build yourself a better guitar than you can buy off the rack.  And if you have a local luthier who can do some finishing touches for you (clear coat, fret dressing), you can make a superior instrument.

Hmmm it might be worth looking into in regards to some type of luthier course. I just don't have the skill to do that right now.

[BobTheDog]

Gibson prices to me seem pretty mad and getting worse.

I have a couple of pretty expensive Gibsons and they are not that good for the cost, compared to a prs of similar price they are sadly lacking.

I’m a fan of G&L, for half the price of a USA Gibson you can get a great guitar, Brian Moore guitars are the same, you can get a really good guitar from them custom built for less than an off the shelf crappy USA Gibson.

[LoboLives]

Gibson prices to me seem pretty mad and getting worse.

I have a couple of pretty expensive Gibsons and they are not that good for the cost, compared to a prs of similar price they are sadly lacking.

I’m a fan of G&L, for half the price of a USA Gibson you can get a great guitar, Brian Moore guitars are the same, you can get a really good guitar from them custom built for less than an off the shelf crappy USA Gibson.

Are Brian Moore guitars still around? I heard they went out of business.

[BobTheDog]

Nope they are still around, mostly custom builds now.

http://www.iguitar.com