Why do we pay so much $$$ for gear ...

RunDown said:
All my guitars use faux mahogany. faux rosewood, Sharpie faux ebony fret boards for the record. :)

Also faux curly maple, faux spalted maple, faux ziricote, faux lacewood, faux sapele. Come to think of my house and garage are all made of faux douglas fir. I don't think I have any real wood. :rolleyes:
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Supposedly Gibson is going to use laurel wood...
but a real shame because mahogany has such great sustain and sound quality.

Meanwhile....
the influence-rs are out in force trying to convince everybody that
"wood doesn't matter"
"the sound of the electric guitar comes only from electronics..."

Which of course, it doesn't. The type of wood is of course the most important part by far....
but they are doing anything to convince you otherwise.

It's like telling Stradivarius to build violins from particle board., :BH: .............................

So what we really need to do here is get busy, and find a more viable non-endangered wood that has excellent sustain characteristics and easy wide affordable availability:
such as Bamboo or teak or whatever we can use to get a good sound / to take the place of mahogany without losing the sound quality and sustain.

Which is why I suggest Teak, which is plentiful and cheap in many parts of the world.
 
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DirtySteve said:
Now that I could finally afford it I'm willing to pay more for the gear I've always dreamed of rather than to go with a less expensive choice even tho it may be just as good. It wasn't always like that, when I first dreamed of the gear I wanted the brand name mattered because others were indeed inferior at the time. Even though now cheap gear is better quality than ever before and there's so much more on the market to choose from, I still chose to fulfil my life long dream of owning the gear I've always dreamed of.
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I feel the same way. 12 years ago, I bought a guitar that new cost more than my car. I found a NAMM show demo from the maker when I went to buy it that was 700 bucks less than my car cost. I have never regretted it, as the guitar was my lifelong dream guitar ever since I was thirteen. But that guitar aside, I've never spent that kind of money on a guitar ever again.

1/3 of my guitars are expensive. I have 39 at present. About another third are mid priced from 800 to 1500 dollars, and the other third are below 800 dollars. One of them was a Firefly LP with 3 pickups, locking tuners, and stainless steel frets for $199 new.

Unless a guitar is truly special to me, I usually buy mid priced stuff between 800 to 1200 dollars. That price range to me seems to be where I get the best value and features vs cost. But I find a lot of guitars between 200 and 500 dollars that I like as well, and have several. The best 335 clone I've ever had is my current Indio and it was $189.00 new. It's better made than the Epiphones I've had in that model.

There's good and bad in all price ranges. I just buy what I like and don't worry about the word written on the headstock
 
willmunny said:
Dang, that Epi is expensive.
I had an Epiphone traditional pro 3, that I upgraded everything, including a bone nut and stainless steel frets.
It ended up being a solid player, but it never grabbed me, even after the upgrades.
I made a fortunate trade for a 2010 Gibson Les Paul Studio. I had 600$ on the guitar I traded.
As soon as I picked it up, it was like a lightning bolt, felt good in my hands, plays as smooth as silk and sounds fantastic.
I sold that Epi, and don't miss it all.
I have one really expensive guitar which, at my playing level is not justified. But that was a smoking deal too.
Just my 2c
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I've had multiple Gibson and Epiphone LP's. My favorite and best for me to date has been my Epiphone Greeny. It was so much better for me than my Gibson LP that I sold the Gibson. But if I find a Gibson I like again, I will buy another.
 
BFT Gibson said:
Have noticed this..Last few months FB & CL. If you got cash , high end stuff is able to be got cheap, The market is so saturated & nobody is liquid like they used to be. This is the most backed up i ever seen it. Holding my last chunk of gear that is going towards Christmas to sell.
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Exactly how I got my used White Falcon for $1750. And it came with a $200 bridge upgrade and the original in the case. To buy that guitar new is just a penny under 4 grand
 
RunDown said:
All my guitars use faux mahogany. faux rosewood, Sharpie faux ebony fret boards for the record. :)

Also faux curly maple, faux spalted maple, faux ziricote, faux lacewood, faux sapele. Come to think of my house and garage are all made of faux douglas fir. I don't think I have any real wood. :rolleyes:
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Oh yeah…… well I’m a faux player….. so there. :cool:
 
LiveeviL2000 said:
This topic came up in the Budget Gear thread.
Why do we pay so much for gear? For example: Pedals whos parts don't equal more than the parts of a $10 computer mouse.
Are the sum of the parts worth all that $$$?
Does it make sense to buy top name brand or is it better to buy the knockoff?
Lets see if we can answer some of these questions collectively.

Here is an example. I chose this example because I own the Gibson version.
Going by the specs below.
Is the mark up between the Gibson and Epiphone justified?
What makes the Gibson cost $1500 more than the Epi?
Now you might say, "was it worth it to you?" My answer would be, "I bought it because I always wanted a Gibson LP and this silver burst caught my eye."
So did I pay an extra $1500 for a logo? Sure there are some differences, but is it $1500 worth of difference?

and don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings if you think I'm nuts for buying it ... I think I'm nuts too so we are all on the same page!:)

Gibson Adam Jones Les Paul $2999
  • GENERAL
  • Number of Strings6
  • Left-/Right-handedRight-handed
  • BODY
  • Body TypeSolidbody
  • Body ShapeAdam Jones Les Paul
  • Body MaterialMahogany
  • Top MaterialMaple
  • Body FinishGloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
  • ColorAntique Silverburst
  • NECK
  • Neck MaterialMahogany
  • Neck Shape'70s Rounded
  • Neck JointSet Neck
  • Radius12"
  • Fingerboard MaterialEbony
  • Fingerboard InlayMother-of-Pearl Trapezoids
  • Number of Frets22
  • Scale Length24.75"
  • Nut Width1.695"
  • Nut MaterialGraph Tech NuBone
  • HARDWARE
  • Bridge/TailpieceTune-O-Matic Birdge with Stopbar Tailpiece
  • TunersGrover Rotomatics with Contemporary buttons
  • ELECTRONICS
  • Neck PickupBurstBucker 1 Humbucker
  • Bridge PickupDC High-Gain Humbucker
  • Controls2 x volume, 2 x tone
  • Switching3-way toggle pickup switch
  • MISCELLANEOUS
  • StringsGibson, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig BagHardshell Case
Epiphone Adam Jones Les Paul $1499
  • GENERAL
  • Number of Strings6
  • Left-/Right-handedRight-handed
  • BODY
  • Body TypeSolidbody
  • Body ShapeAdam Jones 1979 Les Paul Custom
  • Body MaterialMahogany
  • Top MaterialMaple
  • Body FinishGloss Polyurethane
  • NECK
  • Neck Material3-piece Maple
  • Neck ShapeAdam Jones Custom Profile
  • Neck JointSet Neck
  • Radius12"
  • Fingerboard MaterialEbony
  • Fingerboard InlayMother of Pearl Blocks
  • Number of Frets22
  • Scale Length24.75"
  • Nut Width1.692"
  • Nut MaterialGraphTech
  • HARDWARE
  • Bridge/TailpieceLockTone Tune-O-Matic and Stop Bar
  • ELECTRONICS
  • Neck PickupGibson Custombucker Humbucker
  • Bridge PickupSeymour Duncan Distortion Humbucker
  • Controls2 x volume, 2 x tone
  • Switching3-way toggle pickup switch
  • MISCELLANEOUS
  • StringsGibson, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig BagHardshell Case
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WOW, is the $1499 EPI the MSRP or the actual price at a guitar store?

I got a $359 EPI LP Std back around 2010. I had to put some repairs into it ( post inserts were lifting out of the body on the tailpiece)
Had a luthier install a bone nut and set up, I also installed a set of GIBSON T Top pickups from 1979.

If I have $830 into this guitar ( my cost with upgrades) I feel that I definitely got my $359 + tax worth out of this "knockoff. " Likewise goes for the $400+ in nut and pickups.

Counter that with my 1979 Les Paul KM, If I remember right, it might have cost me $3K and had I waited and opted for an unmolested one instead, I may have had to part with another $2500-$5000 as that is the going rate for these here in 2024. Other than it missing the Les Paul KM Truss Rod Cover, 1 Double White T Top in the bridge, it is all there serial number wise to place it as being made on the 219th day of 1979 as the 69th guitar at the Kalamazoo factory. Granted. I wish it was my first guitar 1970's Ebony LP with T Tops. I bought it used in 1983 for $375 instead of almost 10x that much, for this one. I feel that this KM ranks up there with today's $2500-$10000 s Pauls as far as I am concerned.

Which reminds me, I should get smitty to give her a test drive and see what he thinks.

1718451100797.png
 
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dirocyn said:
Lots of gear out there is not worth what they're charging. Not to me anyway.

In 2021 I went guitar shopping, I had a $2000 budget. I went into Guitar Center and I played every guitar in the shop. I tried a $2000 Gibson Les Paul. It was okay. I tried an $800 Strat (Player Plus), it was a bit nicer than my $300 MIM but not enough better to be worth buying. I tried an $1800 Am Pro II Strat, and struggled to find a reason it was more expensive than the Player Plus other than the S1 switch. Note to self, I still want to add an S1 switch to my old MIM Standard.

I tried a $470 Les Paul copy (PRS SE245). It felt better in my hands than the Gibson. It sounded like the sounds in my head. The finish is a gorgeous high gloss clearcoat that makes every other guitar in the shop look cheap (though it's hard to photograph well). Yeah, that's the one that came home with me. I am absolutely convinced that I bought the best guitar they had in the store that day.

View attachment 100633
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I got a beautiful PRS Santana SE from a PRS employee. He had done the QC and set up on it and I was happy to get it for the $400 we agreed on. MY one of 2 - 24 fret guitars, my Jackson RR3 V being the other.

1718451298596.jpeg
 
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Amp Mad Scientist said:
Supposedly Gibson is going to use laurel wood...
but a real shame because mahogany has such great sustain and sound quality.

Meanwhile....
the influence-rs are out in force trying to convince everybody that
"wood doesn't matter"
"the sound of the electric guitar comes only from electronics..."

Which of course, it doesn't. The type of wood is of course the most important part by far....
but they are doing anything to convince you otherwise.

It's like telling Stradivarius to build violins from particle board., :BH: .............................

So what we really need to do here is get busy, and find a more viable non-endangered wood that has excellent sustain characteristics and easy wide affordable availability:
such as Bamboo or teak or whatever we can use to get a good sound / to take the place of mahogany without losing the sound quality and sustain.

Which is why I suggest Teak, which is plentiful and cheap in many parts of the world.
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Not Plywood?
 
I have owned several US-made and vintage guitars over the last 35 years. I still own a great 1980 G&L F-100 and a fantabulous 1992 Fender US Vintage ‘62 Stratocaster…both are amazing, pro-level instruments that I love and (if possible) will keep for the rest of my life and pass down to my daughter or any kids she might have in the future (if they play guitar).

Having said that, if the house were on fire and I only had one time to grab one guitar, it would be my 1995 hecho-en-Ensenada Fender Special Tele.

Imagine that—a guitar of “lesser” pedigree—made in Mexico at a factory in an era that wasn’t really highly touted—supplants all my other good-to-great-to-awesome guitars.

It doesn’t matter where or when a guitar is made—if it’s good, it’s GOOD!

1721306045298.jpeg

Full Disclosure:
It’s kinda a weird guitar—some not-normally-touted specs and features—but the instant I picked it up the first time, I realized it was something special.

There were some features I didn’t like—the coil-tapped humbucker (neck pickup) was very meh and uninspiring. I prefer rosewood or ebony fretboards (this one has maple). I prefer brighter or more garish finishes, and this one is called “Vintage White”—I’d call it vanilla.

But every single time I pick it up, it feels spectacular…I modified and customized out everything I didn’t like on the guitar, and now it sounds and looks just as good as it feels.
 
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Glad I have more than enough quality gear for my modest ability. I can't seem to buy a lot of imported stuff gear-wise. All of that buy American mindset. A Boomer thing?

Bought two new Martins in the mid-oughts, one was a bucket list item. Was proud of supporting the fine people at the factory I have been to four times.

My two electric assemblies were mostly US parts for the price of a new import. I'd never buy a Fender branded guitar when I can choose the parts and wiring I want and the satisfaction of the build.

I personally could not buy an "almost Gibson" Epiphone. Has to be a Nazareth Martin.

LiveeviL2000 said:
The question is, are products overpriced for what they are?
And I’m talking about gear in general. Not just guitars.
I’m talking cables, pedals, straps, picks, strings, etc…
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Big items are too pricey. Stomp boxes are quite bad. Small bits are reasonably priced unless you insist on a brand name.
 
To the original post. No. The Gibby is not worth the extra money. I’ll take a maple neck rather than mahogany. A SD bridge pickup over a mystery Hot Gibson pickup. And I don’t care Nitro vs. Poly. And for Gibson money, I expect a bone nut.

LiveeviL2000 said:
are they gouging us for what amounts to a few dollars of better hardware and a name?
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Yes.

After all that.., What did I buy last year. Gibson.

The ol’ adage ‘a fool and his money…’
 
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