The Guitar Player Thread.

Johnny Utah said:
Also to compare custom builder guitars to their non-custom shop isn’t really on par.
Click to expand...
When their non custom shops cost the same as a handmade custom guitar from a builder then it’s worth comparing. I said before, my go to workhorse guitar is a 2004ish Les Paul studio. I just don’t like where the company has gone since then both politically and in build quality. Last time I was in GC I picked up a base model standard and it felt like a cheap knock off…
 
Captain Brainstorm said:
It’s great and all that he’s into the classic shit, most metal-heads are also into the classic stuff, but he plays in fucking Lamb of God. It’s not like they play 12-bar blues.
Click to expand...
I think he just mellowed out big time with age. After he got sober, started a family, and moved deep into the mountains he seems like a total hippy outside of LOG. Willie and him always shared writing duty but I feel like the new stuff might be a little more “willie.” Now I gotta listen to the new album again 🤘
 
jimvreeland said:
Interesting story, my walnut RG was built in the Gibson Workshop.

I'm interested to see where Gibson ends up, they have to do something because their target audience is aging out and the kids want nothing to do with them.
Click to expand...
I think their target market is the middle age to older person who will fork up the cash (30-60 years old) - hence the recent heavy marketing with:

- Dave Mustaine
- Jerry Cantrell
- Kirk Hammett
- Tracii Guns
- Noel Ghallagher

They are also pushing collecting - as opposed to decades ago where a player may only have one guitar. This is pedestaled with their online Gibson TV series “The Collection” which I love.

Their brand is not to make affordable guitars, they do that with Epiphone. They limit quantity and sell for a higher price. If you want something real nice you go custom shop. If that’s not nice enough you go Made to Measure.

The custom shops are near $7-10k. Look at what high end bikes for now - pretty much the same or more but the bike will not hold anywhere near the value. If you are used to riding a high end bike and ride a $2-3k offering these days it is not the same.

The Gibson customer pays for the story and the marketing that brought them in.
 
Soundguy said:
It really is all sentiment because for half that you can spec out whatever exotic woods you can think of and all top tier components from a master luthier.
Click to expand...
A custom guitar will have minimal resale value compared to the Gibson name if it generally costs less than said Gibson. Are there scenarios where this is untrue, yes but the amount of buyers for a small luthier are minimal and will need to be a fan boy of said luthier.

I can understand buying from a custom luthier if you are the type that holds on to your guitars, some people flip on the regular - like myself. Granted I have ones I would not sell, But when I do flip I generally do not loose money (the COVID market was fabulous). I subsidized my income in grad school by buying and selling Gibson SG’s, Les Pauls and 335’s as those were the models I knew and the market was very receptive to them.

And 100% - there is a ton of sentimental value with the Gibson brand, which is why they can charge what they do for them - there is demand. People know what they are buying. Are there bad years - yes. Are there bad examples in good years - yes. But with the Gibson name you know you are 85% there for the majority of the purchases you make, even if you buy them blind from an online site.

I sold these two during the COVID hype but both them both from eBay.

- 93 Les Paul Custom Premium Plus Top
- 14 Les Paul R9 Aged - Pre Murphy Lab

Both guitars were fantastic and could outperform me but I tend not to collect guitars

9E81879C-E0CC-4024-8693-274BC772DDC7.jpeg
 
clarkenstein said:
The Harley Davidson of instruments.

It’s really about making guitars that are “investments”… which sucks.
Click to expand...
Why does it suck? I don’t mind owning a monetary instrument that plays music on my couch. It’s a lot more fun than some of the stocks/investments I own.
 
Soundguy said:
When their non custom shops cost the same as a handmade custom guitar from a builder then it’s worth comparing. I said before, my go to workhorse guitar is a 2004ish Les Paul studio. I just don’t like where the company has gone since then both politically and in build quality. Last time I was in GC I picked up a base model standard and it felt like a cheap knock off…
Click to expand...
If I were going to pay for a “custom” model in that Les Paul, shape, I would 100% get an ESP custom USA model.

Johnny Utah said:
I think their target market is the middle age to older person who will fork up the cash (30-60 years old) - hence the recent heavy marketing with:

- Dave Mustaine
- Jerry Cantrell
- Kirk Hammett
- Tracii Guns
- Noel Ghallagher

They are also pushing collecting - as opposed to decades ago where a player may only have one guitar. This is pedestaled with their online Gibson TV series “The Collection” which I love.

Their brand is not to make affordable guitars, they do that with Epiphone. They limit quantity and sell for a higher price. If you want something real nice you go custom shop. If that’s not nice enough you go Made to Measure.

The custom shops are near $7-10k. Look at what high end bikes for now - pretty much the same or more but the bike will not hold anywhere near the value. If you are used to riding a high end bike and ride a $2-3k offering these days it is not the same.

The Gibson customer pays for the story and the marketing that brought them in.
Click to expand...
Every single one of these guys is over the hill, and I grew up with Metallica, Megadeth, and Alice. I was a hard-core fan back in the day.

clarkenstein said:
The Harley Davidson of instruments.

It’s really about making guitars that are “investments”… which sucks.
Click to expand...
Harley is a perfect analogy, over paying for 60’s technology.
 
jimvreeland said:
Gibsons are the S-Works of the Guitar World. $5,000 added to the price just to brag amongst your Dentist Friends as it hangs on the wall unused.
Click to expand...
The high price keeps it desirable, make fewer goods at a higher price for the same profit as double the goods for half the profit. Once the price goes down the desirability does as well.

Do S-Works suck then Jim? Are you telling us Specialized is overpriced junk and we should go buy a smaller in house brand?

Do I really need electric shift when my Peasant cables work fine? Different strokes for different folks.

The good thing is the dentists guitar on the wall will appreciate in valuable - well hopefully. Maybe DT will invest in them.
 
Johnny Utah said:
A custom guitar will have minimal resale value compared to the Gibson name if it generally costs less than said Gibson. Are there scenarios where this is untrue, yes but the amount of buyers for a small luthier are minimal and will need to be a fan boy of said luthier.

I can understand buying from a custom luthier if you are the type that holds on to your guitars, some people flip on the regular - like myself. Granted I have ones I would not sell, But when I do flip I generally do not loose money (the COVID market was fabulous). I subsidized my income in grad school by buying and selling Gibson SG’s, Les Pauls and 335’s as those were the models I knew and the market was very receptive to them.

And 100% - there is a ton of sentimental value with the Gibson brand, which is why they can charge what they do for them - there is demand. People know what they are buying. Are there bad years - yes. Are there bad examples in good years - yes. But with the Gibson name you know you are 85% there for the majority of the purchases you make, even if you buy them blind from an online site.

I sold these two during the COVID hype but both them both from eBay.

- 93 Les Paul Custom Premium Plus Top
- 14 Les Paul R9 Aged - Pre Murphy Lab

Both guitars were fantastic and could outperform me but I tend not to collect guitars

View attachment 205015
Click to expand...
That custom is sexy. I could never try flipping guitars the way you are talking because I’d end up wanting to keep that one.

I feel like I need to clarify I love Les Pauls and 335’s. I just don’t have a ton of respect for their business strategies.

Anyways, these are the only guitars I have currently. A custom build and the trusted LP… best of both worlds.
1673888311504.jpeg
 
Johnny Utah said:
The high price keeps it desirable, make fewer goods at a higher price for the same profit as double the goods for half the profit. Once the price goes down the desirability does as well.

Do S-Works suck then Jim? Are you telling us Specialized is overpriced junk and we should go buy a smaller in house brand?

Do I really need electric shift when my Peasant cables work fine? Different strokes for different folks.

The good thing is the dentists guitar on the wall will appreciate in valuable - well hopefully. Maybe DT will invest in them.
Click to expand...

Neither of them suck. They just both are attractive to folks that talk about it instead of being about it. I can care less how much better an S-Works is if you only ride 200 miles a year.
 
Soundguy said:
That custom is sexy. I could never try flipping guitars the way you are talking because I’d end up wanting to keep that one.

I feel like I need to clarify I love Les Pauls and 335’s. I just don’t have a ton of respect for their business strategies.

Anyways, these are the only guitars I have currently. A custom build and the trusted LP… best of both worlds.
View attachment 205016
Click to expand...
Very sweet!

I miss both those LP’s but sold them to fund my V.

There are a ton of guitars I sold and wish I still had, they were all Gibson and now go for way more than what I sold them for. One of the reasons I like the brand, if I buy them used or in a special release I can generally get my money out or make money.
 
Johnny Utah said:
Very sweet!

I miss both those LP’s but sold them to fund my V.

There are a ton of guitars I sold and wish I still had, they were all Gibson and now go for way more than what I sold them for. One of the reasons I like the brand, if I buy them used or in a special release I can generally get my money out or make money.
Click to expand...

That’s a seriously major benefit, especially if you play it. My Fender Jazz Bass wouldn’t sell for a couple hundred bucks. Sentimental value is through the roof so I will never part with it, but in the market it’s a beat up average Fender.
 
Johnny Utah said:
The high price keeps it desirable, make fewer goods at a higher price for the same profit as double the goods for half the profit. Once the price goes down the desirability does as well.

Do S-Works suck then Jim? Are you telling us Specialized is overpriced junk and we should go buy a smaller in house brand?

Do I really need electric shift when my Peasant cables work fine? Different strokes for different folks.

The good thing is the dentists guitar on the wall will appreciate in valuable - well hopefully. Maybe DT will invest in them.
Click to expand...
This strategy has an expiration date though, look what happened to Harley. At some point your target audience will be aged-out, you need to go after the young guys if you want to survive.
 
Captain Brainstorm said:
This strategy has an expiration date though, look what happened to Harley. At some point your target audience will be aged-out, you need to go after the young guys if you want to survive.
Click to expand...
Correct, and then they pay/sign new artists like they just did to capture their target audience.

Ten years ago the Jimmy Page/Pete Townsend Gibson models were all the rage. These have been replaced with the previously noted artists models.

The question becomes - how long does the guitar remain relevant? The electric guitar is not even 75 years old. Will it stand the test of time to make the millions of guitars produced valuable, or will it become another trinket like the pager or Walkman? Time will tell.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom