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Rosewood Fingerboard Only Available on Higher Priced Gibsons Now?


bluesguitar65

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So you guys are saying the F&W raids were staged events? [biggrin]

 

No, I wouldn't say that. I would say an event like that could easily be made beneficial to both the regulatory body and the business, that's what I'm saying.

 

rct

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If i was CEO of Gibson i would reduce the prices of the guitars back to wat they used to be like, so poorer kids can get their hands on a prestige guitar at a low price

Lol and the headlines would read "Australian Kid Bankrupts Major Musical Instrument Manufacturer in Mere Months"

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When I took my 2012 '61 SG Reissue that was built in March to Guitar Center a few weeks back to see why it was not holding tune (another thread and problem fixed) the sales guy who I ordered it through said I had a rare one indeed as it was a rosewood fingerboard.

I'm pretty sure most of the folks at GC have no idea that Baked Maple exists. I got into an argument (albeit a quiet one) with 4 or 5 GC employees that the Classic Custom I was playing was in fact Baked Maple. They kept telling me I was wrong and it was Rosewood.

 

You might have the one and only rosewood fingerboard that was supposed to be BM, but I doubt it.

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My sales guy is the guitar tech for Queensryche, and before that he was one of the guitarists for them in 2009.

Anthony Bender...

 

 

 

 

It's very easy to tell baked maple from Rose Wood. The SG in your picture has a Rose Wood fingerboard.

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Lol and the headlines would read "Australian Kid Bankrupts Major Musical Instrument Manufacturer in Mere Months"

 

There is no way a Les Paul Standard could be the same price as a Burst' back in the late 50s.....

 

But, the prices for a Standard now are ridiculous! They should be around $1800 at the most.

 

A Les Paul isn't that complicated.

 

If only Ed Roman were alive now....

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My sales guy is the guitar tech for Queensryche, and before that he was one of the guitarists for them in 2009.

Anthony Bender...

Well he's probably more credible than me.

 

They are making the BM boards pretty dark now. MUCH darker than their pictures on the Gibson site. Now, can someone jump in here, I thought the new rosewood boards are layered on top of each other? I thought it had something to do with the fact that rosewood can only be cut so thick leaving the one of the mills or something so now they have to layer it on top of each other? I could be completely wrong, to which I am no stranger.

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There is no way a Les Paul Standard could be the same price as a Burst' back in the late 50s.....

 

But, the prices for a Standard now are ridiculous! They should be around $1800 at the most.

 

A Les Paul isn't that complicated.

 

If only Ed Roman were alive now....

In 1959, a Les Paul Standard was $265.00, and the case was $42.50.

In todays dollars, that equals $2095...or $2431 with a case.

 

Dollar value THEN/NOW

Speical: $195.00/$1541

Junior: $132.50/$1047

Good cases for above...$42.50/$336

Cheap case....$14.25/$112

 

More prices:

ES-335TD....$279.50/$2209

ES-335TDN....$295/$2332

LP Custom....$395/$3123

L-5CES....$650/$5139

 

So...it looks like that "$1800.00" that you feel a Les Paul should cost (and you can buy then all day long for that) is actually cheaper than what they were in 1959. You can get cheaper model LP's (like the "Tributes") for $850 or so...still a lot cheaper than the "Specials" of the day.

 

But it looks like for a lot of models, like Custom Shop stuff, ES-335, L-5, etc., will cost more in todays money than what they were in 1959.

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In 1959, a Les Paul Standard was $265.00, and the case was $42.50.

In todays dollars, that equals $2095...or $2431 with a case.

 

Dollar value THEN/NOW

Speical: $195.00/$1541

Junior: $132.50/$1047

Good cases for above...$42.50/$336

Cheap case....$14.25/$112

 

More prices:

ES-335TD....$279.50/$2209

ES-335TDN....$295/$2332

LP Custom....$395/$3123

L-5CES....$650/$5139

 

So...it looks like that "$1800.00" that you feel a Les Paul should cost (and you can buy then all day long for that) is actually cheaper than what they were in 1959. You can get cheaper model LP's (like the "Tributes") for $850 or so...still a lot cheaper than the "Specials" of the day.

 

But it looks like for a lot of models, like Custom Shop stuff, ES-335, L-5, etc., will cost more in todays money than what they were in 1959.

 

It is also a reflection of today's economy.

 

If the economy was better, the prices of Les Pauls (any guitar) would be better also.

 

New Leno bit: "The economy is so bad that you have to take a second mortgage out for a 335"!

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But, the prices for a Standard now are ridiculous! They should be around $1800 at the most.

Why? While I (and my bank account) wish fine guitars were a lot cheaper, why should Gibson drop $800 off the lowest advertised price of a standard when people are willing to pay the extra $800? It is important to note that the $2,599 price tag isn't the price that Gibson receives for their standards.

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It is also a reflection of today's economy.

 

If the economy was better, the prices of Les Pauls (any guitar) would be better also.

 

New Leno bit: "The economy is so bad that you have to take a second mortgage out for a 335"!

That should be a new Leno bit, as it's not very funny. :) I'm confused when you say the prices of Les Pauls would be better. Do you mean lower? Higher? I've done the math before like stein and yeah, around $2,000 for a 1959 Les Paul in 2010 dollars (case sold separately).

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There is one more zero on the price of a Les Paul today than in the 1959. There is also one more zero on your paycheck.

But...I'm pretty sure that taxes today are a higher percentage of your paycheck. The price of housing certainly is. When My Grandfather bought his house NEW in L.A. in 1950, it was roughly the same price as his annual wage. Now the average house will put you at about 5 or 6 times the average annual wage.

 

So my paycheck might be 1000 dollars compared to Grandpa's 100 dollars, but I think we both have about the same amount left over from it.

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But...I'm pretty sure that taxes today are a higher percentage of your paycheck. The price of housing certainly is. When My Grandfather bought his house NEW in L.A. in 1950, it was roughly the same price as his annual wage. Now the average house will put you at about 5 or 6 times the average annual wage.

 

So my paycheck might be 1000 dollars compared to Grandpa's 100 dollars, but I think we both have about the same amount left over from it.

Actually tax rates today are SUBSTANTIALLY lower. In 1950 the highest marginal rate was near 90% and the lowest was close to 20%. Now it's like 35% and 10% respectively.

 

Pretty interesting chart. It starts in 1913 when the 16th Amendment (Income Tax) was enacted.

Chart of Historic Income Tax

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New Leno bit: "The economy is so bad that you have to take a second mortgage out for a 335"!

I can see that comedy hasn't improved much. [flapper]

 

The comedic value is low on this one. But perhaps it would further in 1959?

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Actually tax rates today are SUBSTANTIALLY lower. In 1950 the highest marginal rate was near 90% and the lowest was close to 20%. Now it's like 35% and 10% respectively.

 

Pretty interesting chart. It starts in 1913 when the 16th Amendment (Income Tax) was enacted.

Chart of Historic Income Tax

Wow...that is interesting.

 

I wonder if that is taxes collected, or before deductions. Or also, how deductions might have changed throughout.

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Lol and the headlines would read "Australian Kid Bankrupts Major Musical Instrument Manufacturer in Mere Months"

Come on, i just want to make the prices back down to like entry level prices but a high quality guitar!!! I wouldn't bankrupt Gibson ><

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Wow...that is interesting.

 

I wonder if that is taxes collected, or before deductions. Or also, how deductions might have changed throughout.

 

 

It's just rates. No one paid 90% taxes because there were so many deductions and loop holes. The 90% rate was lower by Kennedy and then again by Regan. Many loop holes were also closed at this time resulting in revenue going up.

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Well he's probably more credible than me.

 

They are making the BM boards pretty dark now. MUCH darker than their pictures on the Gibson site. Now, can someone jump in here, I thought the new rosewood boards are layered on top of each other? I thought it had something to do with the fact that rosewood can only be cut so thick leaving the one of the mills or something so now they have to layer it on top of each other? I could be completely wrong, to which I am no stranger.

 

I believe the "layered rosewood" is the means to legally import Rosewood. They can't import it as a raw material, it needs to be a finished product. Once you cut the wood thickness-wise and glue it back together, it's considered a finished product, so they can import it.

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I believe the "layered rosewood" is the means to legally import Rosewood. They can't import it as a raw material, it needs to be a finished product. Once you cut the wood thickness-wise and glue it back together, it's considered a finished product, so they can import it.

Not quite. If this were the case, Gibson would just have India finish the blank to spec and ship it over; Henry doesn't want that, apparently. They are shipping over the wood as a veneer to get under the size limit, and then laminate that veneer to make a blank at the USA plant.

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