ratherbwalkn Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Thanks for the charts Tom! IMHO Toda's new guitar prices seem spot on to me. Especially sine I haven't bought a new guitar in 30 years. I just as soon let them age a bit before I invest in tone and playability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Adios amigo...not the best way to even try to explain yourself so early in the program. You make it personal by insulting members intelligence, I dont think anyone was making it personal about you just what you said and the way you said it, but when you make a statement about members IQ level..then I have no reason to entertain your thoughts or postings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Capitalism will self regulate if it's left alone. Well, not always - consider the pharmaceutical industry. And socialism can deliver some real pluses - consider S.S. and Medicare. But in the world of guitars, I agree, the forces of capitalism will prevail. One of the key factors being, instruments are not a necessity of life. If people can't afford Gibsons, they won't buy them. If too few people can afford your product to make production sustainable, you've got to alter the game-plan at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard McCoy Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 In terms of buying instruments, you get what you pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 For the guy who only has $999 Gibson is coming out with the G 45 . There were still people in the 1930’s who couldn’t afford Gibsons and those people would buy Stellas .A lot of people who can’t afford a Gibson in the modern era think that by trashing the brand and saying that they are “overpriced” it will make Gibson magically lower the prices. If you want a Gibson start saving up . If you can’t afford a Gibson well there are other companies who make great guitars at more affordable prices. JC That's exactly correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Good call ksdaddy Yep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 When I was a younger man Gibson guitars were the unattainable dream of someday. I got by with a Samick, and a Martin that I found on sale, for 20+ years. But now as a "gullible, oh-so-exploitable, pension-cashing baby boomer", I'm finally able to fulfill that dream of owning a Gibson acoustic guitar or two. I never realized I had to be exploited and gullible to get to this point in life, but I'm happy to be here... :) 👍👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 In terms of buying instruments, you get what you pay for. Always true - and will continue as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Adios amigo...not the best way to even try to explain yourself so early in the program. You make it personal by insulting members intelligence, I dont think anyone was making it personal about you just what you said and the way you said it, but when you make a statement about members IQ level..then I have no reason to entertain your thoughts or postings. I have to agree. This is not the kind of forum that entertains nasty comments. Matter of fact, it's the kind of forum where guitar fans of SEVERAL generations congregate to avoid that kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Oh good lord, folks. I get that you have to drink the Kool-Aid to a certain extent to belong here, but the IQ of some of these posters might be dipping into the low-80's, from what I can tell. Anywho, I'll say my peace, before I bid thee all fond adieu: I'm not "trashing" the brand, nor do I want to return back to "1936 Weather", like Albert Einstein suggested before me. (Nor do I want to strip the good old Bozeman boys and their CNC machines of their healthcare benefits...what a strange comment to make). I just came to point out that, maybe, just maybe, Gibson guitars are overpriced. You can delude yourselves about the perceived value of these guitars until kingdom come, but, ultimately, as consumers, you are being taken advantage of. There is nothing magical or special about a Gibson guitar's manufacturing process that warrants charging triple of what Godin does. This is pretty much a cold, hard incontrovertible fact when you consider the Gibson lineup outside the Custom Shop. Granted, I'm not a fan of how Seagull guitars are voiced (a matter of taste), but, if anything, their existence proves that high-quality, solid-wood guitars can be made in North America at a fraction of what the big three are charging. I genuinely love Gibson guitars. I think they sound great. I even prefer them to Martin's and Taylor's. In fact, I love Gibson so much that I wish to see the brand survive after its bread and butter of gullible, oh-so-exploitable, pension-cashing baby boomers meet their end. It would be a shame if Gibson died out with them, having failed to tap into a market of young, burgeoning guitarists who lack the 1.5k needed to buy a decent-sounding, American-made, solid-wood Gibson guitar, at retail price. If you want to knock baby boomers, you're going to get better responses elsewhere. This is the only post I've encountered on this site that intentionally disparages people of ANY generation in an effort to defend someone's personal hobbyhorse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 (edited) Having a shot at everyone is a good start on the forum! What about buying used guitars? Why does it have to be new? Now from an Australian point of view, I say: buy all of them, here they are double to triple the price......you got exorbitant tax, Customs duty, delivery, and no way around it. But if a shop asks too much..... Now I will put an example up - I have NOT played either of these - this Gibson J45 Vintage torrefied top is going for Australian $7,599 at a shop here: https://www.acousticcentre.com.au/products/gibson-j-45-vintage-sunburst-acoustic-guitar The brand new Taylor 517e slope shoulder with torrefied top is going to be Aust $4099 when it arrives: https://www.acousticcentre.com.au/products/taylor-517e-builders-edition-wild-honey-burst (The Gibson J45 Vintage has sat on the rack for a year almost.....) Anyway....luckily for me, I prefer small body 00/OM/000/L-00/LG size guitars with 'mortified tops', not torrefied. So for example if I was to buy this 1937 Gibson L-00 from Reverb.com, it is going for US$4200. If I hit the 'buy' button, with delivery. customs, taxes, exchange rate, it will cost me at least Australian $6804 to my door, plus a fee from the bank for o/s transaction that seems to be a random %, CITES paperwork needed and a wait with a fee of US$150, I believe. ( a similar guitar from Elderly had that warning with it when I emailed them). So all up, let us say, AUST $7000. For a fabulous vintage Gibson, may need some works and it leaves me $500 in the bank from buying that instead of the new J45 Vintage. I win! The Better Half listened to my convoluted reasoning and had a funny look on her face then said: 'you're buying it then? Go move into the garage.’ https://reverb.com/item/20424515-1937-gibson-l-00-blues-king-black Even better for me would be if someone here had one for sale......nope, rare as rare that happens, but there was a guy that had all of the L-00s a few years back that lived about 400 miles away.........I'm there if you need me, Mate! BluesKing777. Edited March 23, 2019 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) Post deleted. I rose to the troll's bait. Edited March 23, 2019 by j45nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 You just invented Generation Discrimination. That has a ring to it, but I'm not sure I want credit for the invention 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Post deleted. I rose to the troll's bait. You're a class act, Nick! And I'm NOT being sarcastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 The 2 guitars may have the same specs as far as shape and size but they are made with completely different wood. And sound totally different. It's like saying the cheaper LP Studio and Standard are the same except for the better pickups, nicer finish, binding, flame top, ect. Bingo. That was my point. Gibson MAKES affordable, giggable guitars. Right now. They're not ALL expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 The stock answer for as long as I can recall to those questioning why guitars cost so much these days is that if you factor in COLA they actually are cheaper than at any time since at least the1950s. The reason I started off buying used guitars in the 1960s was I could not afford a new Gibson or a Martin. But back then $250 might as well have been a million bucks. What was once a necessity is now a habit I guess as I still have not owned a new guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 The stock answer for as long as I can recall to those questioning why guitars cost so much these days is that if you factor in COLA they actually are cheaper than at any time since at least the1950s. The reason I started off buying used guitars in the 1960s was I could not afford a new Gibson or a Martin. But back then $250 might as well have been a million bucks. What was once a necessity is now a habit I guess as I still have not owned a new guitar. What ZW sez. The only guitar I've ever bought new was a Martin Backpacker, maybe 20 years ago for $168 (just ran across the receipt). I've bought a half dozen other guitars that might as well have been new, as they didn't have a scratch on them. But I didn't pay "new" prices. Other than that, nothing but vintage guitars, although my original 1950 J-45 was only 16 years old when I bought it, which I guess should count as "used" rather than vintage. And it was really, really "used". And as ZW says, it was all I could afford, and I even had to borrow the $50 for that guitar from my sister. Unlike cars--and I've only bought one new car in my life--guitars don't become obsolete, or wear out as long they are cared for. A used guitar is often a perfect substitute for a new guitar, provided a warranty doesn't mean that much to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) One must keep in mind the affect of the vintage guitar marketplace on new guitars. If a new guitar sells new for $700, but as soon as it is a year old it sells for $2500, a new seller would be crazy to keep selling the item new at $700. Why not just sell it at the appreciated (as ppposed to the new price thinking the guitar will decpreciate rather than appreciate in value) Plus, in the new seller price quotient is if a 1965 guitar is selling in the vintage guitar market for $2500 and a new model is selling for $4000, buyers may instead buy the $2500 vintage guitar if the quality of the vintage guitar matches the new guitar’s quality. Since Gibson’s biggest competitor is itself in the vintage guitar market, it’s new guitar quality is always challenged to at least be as good as or better than its vintage guitars, which is a steep challenge. You’ll note that many new guitar fans often site new Gibson guitars have a warrantee and one does not have to risk some form of neglect on a vintage guitar. Believe me, I’m 1978, the common pre-internet complaint was that quality of new Gibsons was lower than used so why buy new. That narrative changed during the Henry era when even George Gruhn stayed that Gibson was in a new golden era of quality. One of JC’s challenges is to maintain that, so as not to make Henry era Gibsons more sought after quality wise than the Henry era or vintage era guitars. The aforementioned builds on what tbiii was trying to point out in his charts derived from Vintage Guitar Price Guide’s research. Another factor, though is that some guitar brands have no demand in the vintage guitar market even though they may be good well built guitars. And the vintage guitar market place is based on demand and the fickleness of collectibility which is an X factor that can not be predicted. Such as there is little vintage guitar collectibility demand for Segull, Taylor’s, or Gibson Mark guitars. Why is anybody’s guess and could change if the market place demand for a specific instrument changes. But, without having a new instrument having to compete with itself in the vintage marketplace, the vintage guitar completion factor isn’t there, so pricing could be less or even higher (as it is with some private luthier boutique brands.). But, that is a different discussion than Gibson’s pricing. Plus, another factor in Gibson’s pricing figures in. And, that is perception. If a guitar is priced low, some begin to view the guitar as a cheap made guitar even if it is a well made guitar. Epiphone has been countering this in the past years by raising prices on some Epiphones and enforcing the perception of quality in them such as in the Masterbuilt series, and in their archtop series. Yet, there are some non-Masterbuilt Epi’s in the line, such as the EL-00 and EL-00 Pro that is actually quite good quality, but still a lower priced guitar. But, those are equivalent to yesterday’s student guitars because of their size, but as anyone knows, years back’s LG student guitar were later considered high quality just lowered priced guitars to reach start up guitar players to keep them in the brand when they had more income available to spend. Plus, any well versed guitar owner of the EL-00 or EL-00 Pro models know that slight good set up changes, a good tight saddle, and regular playing and aging of it’s solid wood and X braced top gets it to be on par to being equivalent to yesterday 1960s LG guitars (though minus 50 years of aging at this point.) Another factor is matching the pricing of other high end hand made guitar makers. This is a delicate road as Gibson has been a leader with keeping two brands in separate niches while Martin and Fender are constantly challenged because they do not have Gibson’s cash cow of two viable niche brands. I would not like to see a Mexico or import made cheap Gibson brand guitar like Martin has to do or Fender has to do because they have failed to establish a separate niche of high quality lower priced guitars like Gibson has with its Epiphone brand. Martin Sigmas flopped. Squires are considered cheapies and Fender’s attempt to develop Guild as both a high and low end guitar, failed (no fault of Ren Ferguson.). Córdoba is doing a much better job with Guild’s Ren Ferguson’s approach for Guild, although he retired after laying the foundation for Córdoba.) Just my take on Gibson’s pricing in sync with Epiphone’s and the factors I’ve mentioned. Feel free to add to or discuss. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff Edited March 23, 2019 by QuestionMark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 When I started playing in 1971, I first bought a Yamaha FG-160, but soon began lusting after a higher quality instrument. By buying older guitars super cheap at flea markets & fixing them up (had ten in the house at one time), I was eventually able to trade my way up to buying a series of new Guilds, which at the time represented one of the best values in a new guitar. Within twelve years, I'd gone small body/short scale & settled on a 1965 Gibson B-25n, along with a 1970 Martin 00-18. It wasn't until my 50th B-Day in 2001 that I began seriously looking at new Gibsons & Martins, and also started getting hooked on electrics. At that point, I figured I'd earned it by still being alive & having somewhat retained my sanity - So I bought a J-100xtra, a J-150, a Les Paul Special, and a custom Martin. Many more guitars & amps were bought, sold, & traded after my daughter graduated from college, which freed up extra dollars. Today in retirement, I look at my collection as the culmination of a very worthwhile lifetime hobby. I suppose that's my point - it might take a good portion of a lifetime to get to where you can afford high quality non-essential items such as musical instruments. So simply buy the best guitar you can at any given point in time, and enjoy the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvi Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 if you want something you cant afford... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim G Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 They along with all American made guitars are pricey. I bought a new J200 in 1995 from elderly and I'm really glad I still own it. Sure you can buy a good guitar for much less but a Gibson and Martin and guitars of that level will retain their value much better if they are taken care of. Also just the fact that you own a guitar of this caliber makes you feel really good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01GT eibach Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 At the ripe age of 15 years old in 1981, I had saved up $350 to purchase a pristine used 1979 Gibson SG Standard for $350. Corrected for inflation, that becomes $910 in today's dollars ... exactly what you would expect to pay for a nice used SG Standard today. Oh, and I still have the SG, and it is still pristine even though I played the absolute crap out of it. I am not sure there is any point there. But I thought it was interesting ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) I can give some experience, but you'll need a time machine. Your best bet is to buy used Gibson -- 1900-1965. But only buy them from 1970-2000. If you did that, you would have some of the best sounding instruments ever made, and now you would be pretty well off too. Let's pick, -Tom Edited March 26, 2019 by tpbiii Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I can give some experience, but you'll need a time machine. Your best bet is to buy used Gibson -- 1900-1965. But only buy them from 1970-2000. If you did that, you would have some of the best sounding instruments ever made, and now you would be pretty well off too. Let's pick, -Tom Wouldn't we all love to have access to that time machine! You seem to have a surfeit of SJ's in your Gibson stable. But I guess there's no such thing as too many guitars, and you ae the living embodiment of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Also keep in mind that the car you bought at the same time as the nice guitar in 1970......... How is that poor thing going? 1973 Fender Tele, a few weeks back, bought in about 73 1/2, not sure but it has been to 95% of the gigs I have ever played including the second. The guitar from the first gig didn't make it: I had a (late 60s)Ford Zephyr Mk11 English build in 1973 - someone had painted black around the windows and it looked a bit like a bandit - it didn't make it to the end of 1973 BluesKing777. Edited March 26, 2019 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.