Just Strum Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 We can talk Epi, but it really applies to any guitar. We all know prices are going up on just about everything that we buy. No one likes it, but unfortunately it's a fact of life, especially right now. Seeing the competition that is out there (and they do) it is not in their best interest to raise prices if it reduces their market share. So at least some of the increase is needed or justified. Anyway, just curious on what you would like to see Question: What would you rather have guitar manufacturers do, increase the price or cheapen the product? Cheapen the product in material as in wood, hardware, electronics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 No, that is the American way and not the Japanese way (so I'm not patriotic on these things). If you want a good handgun, you'll pay more for a Sig Sauer or an HK, not buy an American handgun and have a gunsmith bring it up to snuff for an additional $150. Since Elitist has gone bye bye, I'm looking more at Heritage (despite that awful headstock) and Tokai. The Heritage I like right now is $2,400, and I'm sure it is better than a Gibson at $3,400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Strum Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 Jeffery, Don't you think all or most of the guitar companies are going to do the same thing - change material or raise the price or both? It's a serious question, not a smart a-- response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Another thing I'd be curious about, is just what IS the "Real" market, for guitars, now? Is it still rising, or has it peaked or leveled off...is it dropping? Are they going to ask more, for less, to offset any of that? Will Gibson finally become so "elitist" that only the very "well heeled" or "famous" will truly be able to afford them? OR, will all of this level off...as demand starts to fade? After all, with "digital," the future may be NO instruments, at all...only endless "sampling," or "virtual" artists. Who knows? I certainly hope that's not going to be the case... I love "Live" music with real musicians, too much. But, people can (and have) gotten used to stranger things. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Jeffery' date=' Don't you think all or most of the guitar companies are going to do the same thing - change material or raise the price or both? It's a serious question, not a smart a-- response.[/quote'] I'm not trying to be a smart a__ (sorry). I think that some guitar makers will keep the quality up and charge more (Heritage), and some others will try to hold a line on prices and send the jobs to China (Epiphone). How that changes me is that I can no longer afford to get these $400 guitars on a whim just as an impulse buy (which gave me a very undesirable Ibanez). From now on, I read a lot of reviews and bug a lot of people on forums before pulling out the Visa card. Sorry if I sounded cavalier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judybat Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I think that Gibsons are pretty expensive. But I think that most of the offshore-made guitars are in some way under-expensive. I mean a year or two ago your could get an Epiphone Les Paul Standard for $400 or so new. To me that's pretty amazing. And if you look at what electronics cost; the prices continue to drop precipitously and performance keeps going up. Gas (until 2 years ago) was crazy cheap, especially if you account for inflation over the last 30 years. And food was even really cheap, although that's gone up in the last year. I think that we've been lulled into little price increase for a number of years due to the unusually low interest rates, rates of inflation, and effects of NAFTA over the past 10-15 years. Some of the price increases we're seeing now are sort of bringing some of this stuff back into line a bit. Don't think we're not feeling pinched too, but anyway that's my $0.02 for the moment. I bought a used Korean-made Strat in the early 1990s, and paid about $300. Now you can find a new one for $99. Admittedly I might've not gotten the best deal back then, but still..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Question: What would you rather have guitar manufacturers do, increase the price or cheapen the product? Cheapen the product in material as in wood, hardware, electronics... For me it depends. There are some guitars that I want and expect to be high quality and if I have the money then it's not a big issue. The problem is I usually don't have the money because I have 3 kids and you know they want things for Christmas and such. If I was going to buy a new Les Paul I would expect it to be built with fairly high quality materials. On the other hand, I like buying something cheaper where I can have fun modding it out. In this case I'm not concerned with the materials that much especially electronics since that is my favorite thing to mod on guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custer Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I'm not happy about the price increases either, however, if i have to pay more for a Gibby or Epi I will. I'll just have to save longer. No way am I jumping ship, because the bottom line, for me, is that I will pay for what I want. And what I want are Gibbys and Epi's. OK I'll get off my soapbox now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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