Legionnaire
Help On The Way
Horribly run company. Henry has driven it into the ground. Gimmicks and QC go down while the prices continue to rise.
I'm not very in touch with current music, but it seems like every time I see all these "indie" or alternative bands, they're playing Fenders.
I've seen the point being made a few times that the guitar industry is dying off and fewer people are playing guitar, which misses the mark - new guitar sales may be down and industry giants slumping, but the second-hand market is thriving. People are still buying guitars, they just don't want to pay dealer and manufacturer mark-up.
I'm in a similar position to you. I also love the sound of Les Pauls and hated playing them. I'm not a gigging musician, so I play sitting down, and it's such an uncomfortable guitar to play while seated, it takes all the fun out of it for me.I love the sound of Les Pauls but always hated playing them. My stubby hands make playing high on the fretboard difficult, compared to SG's with the double cutaways.
Those are beautiful pianos. A little less portable than a guitar when it comes time to get rid of it.The big problem is that the guitar has gone through the guitar boom and now it's coming to a close. It's very reminiscent of the collapse of the piano boom at the start of the 20th century. My parents still have a 1904 Armand upright that they got second hand back in 1990 for $250.
I think this is reasonable. Anything in that price range will usually be made offshore and people are pretty used to it by now. Guitars made in Korea are every bit as good as Gibsons priced under $2k. They've almost caught up with Japan. China is also getting a lot better with their QC - have you ever tried an Eastman?And honestly, you want your "standard" models priced at $800-1000. Synth, viola, guitar or what not. Only the special guitars should be priced at $2,000-5,000.
Wow it's crazy to see it actually happen.....but it's really not all that surprising considering the way they've been operating the last few years.
The thing is there was a guitar boom in the earlier 2000's with artists like The Strokes and White Stripes + Guitar Hero. Guitars were selling like hot cakes which gave these companies incentive to gauge the customer......but now all that has died and Gibson never readjusted.
Where is your source on that?? I know companies like MusicMan have cut way down on their production.....I would bet money guitar sales were way higher during 2005-2007 then they have been the last couple years. If acoustics are selling at that much of a higher rate that's interesting for sure, but I'm not buying it as being a healthier market for guitar makers.This doesn't really paint an accurate picture of the industry. Guitar sales are higher in the US today than they were before the recession, which hit pretty hard.
Where is your source on that?? I know companies like MusicMan have cut way down on their production.....I would bet money guitar sales were way higher during 2005-2007 then they have been the last couple years. If acoustics are selling at that much of a higher rate that's interesting for sure, but I'm not buying it as being a healthier market for guitar makers.