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[AyushPresley]

....why these bloody Gibsons are freaking expensive.

when i wrote rip people off i meant making quick profit

[Nelson]

....why these bloody Gibsons are freaking expensive.

when i wrote rip people off i meant making quick profit

 

All of the above-and with the exception of the idea of a quick profit, which is the main reason Epiphones exist,- The lack and reverse of all of the above is why Epiphone are priced as they are. See? you get what you pay for...you buy a Gibson and you get a Gibson...you pay for an Epiphone and you get an Epiphone..and you never pay for an Epiphone and get a Gibson or have to pay for a Gibson to get an Epiphone...easy...except of course to those enjoying delusions of there being a different reality.

 

Nelson

[Thermionik]

If one guitar is built by poorly payed workers on a production line using off the shelf components sourced by cost, and the other is hand built by well payed artisans using bespoke components sourced by quality, which would you rather own. Not which is better, or even better value, but which would you rather own.

 

Now put the cost into the argument - one costs a week's pay, the other costs a month's pay.

 

You now have to put them side-by-side and decide how to spend your money.

 

It's your choice based on your perspective.

 

If I were a wealthy man, I would have a luthier of reknown build a guitar to my exact specs, or hunt down one of those really special guitars that was great when it came out of Kalamazoo or wherever, and has just got better ever since.

 

Since I am just a poor boy, and a long way from home, my Epiphone Sheraton keeps me happy.

 

However AyushPresley, I take issue with one point. Gibsons are not expensive per se. Aircraft carriers are expensive. Stealth Bombers are expensive. Wars are expensive. The loss of a family member or friend in a foreign land fighting for you, that's expensive. Pick up your guitar and play.....

 

We'll be fighting in the streets, With our children at our feet,

And the morals that they worship will be gone

And the men who spurred us on, Sit in judgement of all wrong,

They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution, Take a bow for the new revolution,

Smile and grin at the change all around.

Pick up my guitar and play, Just like yesterday,

Then I'll get on my knees and pray, We don't get fooled again

[ef_in_fla]

Gibson prices are not out of line with other American guitar makers. There are plenty of other $2,000+ guitar models out there from various makers. PRS, Taylor, Martin, EB, Parker, etc. Maybe the QC has dropped in the last 20 years, but if you think Gibson is the only place that's happened then think again.

 

If (when) they start doing the assemble-in-Mexico thing, you might see some decent Les Pauls for $500.

[Big Norm]

Gibson prices are not out of line with other American guitar makers. There are plenty of other $2' date='000+ guitar models out there from various makers. PRS, Taylor, Martin, EB, Parker, etc. Maybe the QC has dropped in the last 20 years, but if you think Gibson is the only place that's happened then think again.

 

If (when) they start doing the assemble-in-Mexico thing, you might see some decent Les Pauls for $500.[/quote']

 

that's right...+1

And you could add Fender that have a lot of Strat and Tele selling over $2000...

[JefferySmith]

Anything of high quality that is made in the US is expensive. This also explains why GMC vehicles aren't all that expensive.

[TWANG]

I hate to even post.

quality is what with a guitar?

How much longer an expensive piece of mahogany will last versus a less expensive piece?

No difference that I'm aware of.

So it's what. looks? makes no sense on solid color guitar.

Tone?

I've been over this and over it. Tweak your epi and nobody blindfolded is going to be able to tell the difference.

many tweak their gibson.

playability, some actually prefer their epi neck.

whatcha gonna do about personal subjective preference? pass a law?

Not buy the records that have epis on them?

 

Neck and body.

the rest wears out doesn't it? pots go bad, pickups weaken. tuners wear out. chrome wears and flakes.

paint gets scratched.

 

You're paying for the name. You're paying for the bragging rights. You're paying your fellow americans.

You're getting a good guitar, and you get some resale with your gibson.

After that, it's up to you. Happy? good. Congrats.

 

What you can't buy is the right to say someone else's choice is wrong. Or less.

And you shouldn't need to. After all, what would that say about you?

 

Les Paul, last I knew, prefers the all mahogany body. Doesn't he know tone? Is he 'old' and the 'old' guys wanted some lesser tone?

makes no sense. Whatt makes sense is he's got what he likes.

You should get that, too.

 

There are many gibsons I'd like to own. But there are many epis I'd like to own.

And other brands. Some costly.

I'd love to have my Ricks back, but I doubt I'd play them as much as I do my epi.

 

Not included in the choices are many things that help that cost increase. EPA standards. Shipping of wood. Care and storeage of wood.

Right on down to the last part, I'm sure these things cost more.

 

It IS patriotic to buy american. It has to be. Because it pays americans and supports america, more directly than any other way.

 

The weakness is in the system which has to allow world participation. We can't close everything up and shut the blinds.

So Epiphone, made elsewhere, is still an American Company.

 

The trick, if I may call it that, is to keep American Gibson guitars at the top of the chain. To keep being able to afford them.

To keep their reputation as the standard for anything one might call best.

I'm fine with that.

I'm also fine with Epiphone. and the best guitar for me is not just the one I can afford, (fairly evident since I own twenty), but the

one or ones that give me the most value for MY money, for my ears, for my hands.

And that's irrefuteable, so far as I've been able to tell in here or anywhere else.

 

It's a little bit american, too. eh? After all, freedom of religion is not choosing the best religion, but the best for you.

Catholic? Anglican? Jewish?

Same with sneakers, and t shirts.

 

Gibson prices help the others.. they set a standard.. this is what a great american guitar should cost.. they dictate that as best they can.

And others are able to start their companys, and/or keep their companys running because Gibson gets what they ask.

That's not a bad thing.

It spurs competition, at all price ranges.

 

But this incessant urge to call something the best, to lord it over other guitars.. seems silly to me. It seems entirely personal.

Why do we never bring up 40K telecasters? Because we have to know that AS GUITARS they aren't worth that. Only as

collectible historic items.

And there goes the argument... suddenly that piece of cheap alder is just as good as that maple capped mahogany.

But would you rather have 40K worth of contemporary gibsons, or one 40K tele?

 

Is the tele owner wrong then?

 

It's not just about what you can afford, but what you choose to spend your money on.

and I've yet to see a bad player with an expensive guitar that didn't prove that.

And I've yet to see a great player with a cheap guitar that didn't prove that.

 

Gibsons are expensive for reasons that run well beyond the instrument itself.

Nice that it's also so damn good, isn't it?

 

TWANG

[snookelputz]

Very good thoughts, Twang.

 

Thank you for expressing them.