Why Guitar Pricing is Divorced from Reality

[@souldreamer9056]

I find that the most interesting guitars are in the 600-1200 range. I’d rather have 3 guitar in that range over one very expensive guitar.

[@SoilentGreen666]

Very true got a Gibson les Paul Studio that cost me 700€ used and ive got a Ibanez RG1070 with a Crazy burl top and 11 piece neck for 1000€ with hardshell case and im so happy with both of them

[@aaronsinger]

And if you want to do a mod, no problem. Even if you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world. I wouldn't even want to adjust the truss rod of a $5K+ guitar.

[@ewenmac3127]

Yamaha for me - a Pacifica and a Revstar both at the lower end of pricing. Nothing flash about either of them - just excellent build quality. If you can't make music on them, then you can't make music.

[@AlanW]

Pacificas are the most underrated guitars, and have been forever. I was working at a guitar shop in the 90s and a used one came in (we didn't sell them new), and I was blown away with how good it was for how little it cost.

[@stevecastiglione8901]

right now, for your money, there has never been a better time to be a guitar player...

[@leokimvideo]

The very smart people make a killer profit picking off the right signature guitars, look at the prices of the Ace Frehley Les Pauls now Vs their release. Priced between $20K to $35K. Remember there is no law against making a profit

[@sandeepmortal]

Two years back, I bought the Fender Player Stratocaster here in India with all the added custom duties and taxes. It was expensive already. But if you see what the price of the Player 2 is going these days, you would be stunned. I think enough is enough. There are many well made guitars available these days at fraction of the price because they are from upcoming brands. My next guitar will be one such.

[@aaronsinger]

Yes, it is as if Americans were paying $15K for a $2K guitar.

[@aaronsinger]

OH and I didn't even add in the customs duties and taxes!

[@wagonet]

I like my budget guitars. 500 dollar range or so .

[@Vanta444]

Thats another problem, a "budget" guitar is a label so many people put onto something that immediately makes it undesirable, oh this is a nice budget guitar, that immediately makes anybody buying it feel like its a temporary thing, something not worth anything. Has no personal value. $500 is not budget, you can get a guitar that can play just aswell as a $1000 at that price point. It is not budget, its midrange. Budget is that cheap squier for $150 made of basically plastic.

[@montyellingsworth4982]

@@Vanta444 Have you played any of these Fessleys? Not plastic.. insane how good for that price

[@HarryK-HK]

Congratulations on your new to you guitar. 🎉 It's a great feeling to know when you have scored.

[@ministryofguitar]

thanks

[@John-hi2yi]

The last 4 guitars made in the USA I bought, used. All immaculate and all just about half price of a new one. They are all new to me and I didn’t get screwed.

[@lazvt8469]

Ditto here...and lefty....LSL Saticoy (sss and hss) and a Tbone......as good as my Fender Custom Shop. Voicing is absolutely delightful. LSL...superb quality/tone...

[@RNC_GSP_1969]

Bought an Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60's model for $600 new a few years back. It was really good out of the box but I spent another $600 and completely swapped out all of the electronics to included JP setup with coil splits and out of phase options. Additionally, put in some really great Wolfetone Marshallhead pickups and upgraded to Grover tuners. This guitar went from really good to great and sounds better than most of my friend's Gibsons LPs. Spent approximately $1200 all in which is less than half of what a new Gibson LP Standard 60s model would cost you. If you are willing to do the work yourself you can upgrade your guitar to be exactly what you want and not break the bank. Good video, thank you.

[@Neuroanalisis]

We have all fallen for it. Hear this man's words, you will save money in the long run.

[@Michel-r6m]

The nice thing about everything is that is when it is good you need not justify. Not status crap, I do not care for that, something you really like.

[@ratwynd]

I see a major difference between electric and acoustic instruments in regards to price to value. I do not even consider signature guitars to be a thing for me, I am not interested in groupie stuff. I like guitars a lot as 'things' but my focus is on making music. With acoustics, tonewoods make a huge difference to tone and sound, but are a major expense as in a 10 top for your PRS. For me, the sweet spot in acoustics is in the range of a Martin D18/28/35 or Gibson J45/50. Beyond that you pay more for bling than tone or playability. Bespoke acoustics from custom luthiers are a different animal entirely from production guitars. With electrics I go with how it feels and plays and does the body resonate nicely unplugged. An electric guitar is like a kit car to me. If I don't like the tuners or the switch or pickups those are all easy to change. I own some very high end electrics but I just don't take them off the wall all that often, even though they are beautiful and sound great without mods. 90% of my play time is on my Eastwood Rockerbox that I have heavily moded and added 3 custom-wound P90s with reverse polarity between neck and middle and master volume with treble bleed. But in the end, play what you have and enjoy that you can do it. Life is short.

[@gam1471]

Agreed entirely re. Martin and Gibson acoustics - but even here, in my experience one guitar which is the same model as another of the same make might sound different because wood varies in density and stiffness. I've tried a few acoustics from the likes of Santa Cruz, Gallagher, and Bourgeois but I don't feel that the sound (for me) justifies the higher price. Maybe I haven't tried 'the one' yet!

[@carloswhomusic]

Epiphone Les Paul Special with P-90 pickups $450 US new. That's the best value in the guitar world. (my opinion) I hate Gibson, but this guitar is the best deal EVER. Thanks for your great content.

[@Chimp_No_1]

Stimulating and thoughtful ! Thank you for sharing !

[@AlanW]

I feel like the Reverb bubble is real. Local deals are almost always so much better than the prices you find there. I got a 2000 core McCarty for 1300 USD a few years back from a private seller. The thing is, you will almost always pay more for that very specific instrument you are looking for. So unless you are looking for something very specific for your collection there are deals to be had!

[@dougversion2.0]

Looking for sellers that accept offers on Reverb is the key. I scored a 2019 McCarty Core in perfect shape for $2,250 before tax. Both the seller and I were reasonable in the negotiation. You see other similar guitars priced at $3k+ that sit there for months to years because of stubborn sellers. The best places to negotiate reasonable prices when buying guitars are OfferUp/Craigslist/FB Marketplace and pawn shops.

[@gam1471]

I enjoyed your post and comments - that's a beautiful guitar you have there, well bought! I'm an acoustic player, and I'd like to add something. At one time, a secondhand guitar was described by dealers as exactly that - but now the overused description 'vintage' is everywhere. 1970s Martins for example were made in their thousands - yet these are often offered at higher prices than new ones. Guitars of this age often need work - a 1970s Martin for example may well need a neck reset, a refret, a pickguard regluing or replacing and more. Yes, some old instruments sound exceptional and are a delight to play - but beware of 'vintage' guitars; in my view they're an easy way to lose lots of money when it comes to selling them!

[@BackToTheBlues]

Beginning in the early 90's (I think, though perhaps earlier) second-hand guitars of certain brands, if they were old enough, started becoming investments rather than instruments, and I've always thought that was a shame. In 1980 I was lucky enough to buy a 1966 Fender Telecaster, which cost me £200 (and which still comes with me to every gig I play). Bearing in mind I was taking home £50 a week from my job it wasn't dirt cheap, but it was certainly a more reasonable price than if I was trying to buy one from that era today.

[@dougversion2.0]

The most ridiculous example of artist-association gear inflation are the pre-lawsuit ESP EXs. Since the model was basically made famous by James Hetfield and ESP doesn't make them anymore, they go for $10K+ on the used market. His actual signature ESP guitars cost less than the used EX models!

[@samysaab]

1900 (!) is a steal. Good for you! I would have done the same. Congrats 🎉

[@Jeremya74]

Totally..like half price!...very rare to find such a nice guitar for that.. in the states anyway

[@georgeargon5113]

In the final analysis, an e-guitar is little more than wood, metal and eletronics. With a proper setup, it is up to the musician to produce "music." As you accurately point, the former artist/owner is just a footnote, an intangible variable best relegated off to the collectors' market.

[@adamdavis40208]

tonewood is BS, there's so much BS they use to "justify" high prices. 2500 made in Indonesia guitars, and they probably cost a couple hundred to make.

[@albertcoelho8313]

The fact that you can pay over a thousand for an overseas guitar is nuts now and you don’t get a case

[@adamswanson8216]

I totally agree with you. The Gibson prices are through the roof for a 59 VOS you’re gonna spend almost 5 grand and then some cases much more especially if it has Tom’s name on it lol I like the PRS guitar no doubt however I have been using Eastman, the T 59V and the SB 59V both with a hand rubbed Amber gold Violin finish. I have changed the pick ups out although they both came with Lawler. I have switched them to WHIZ beast after the beast less Paul Guitar pick ups in the solid body and a pair of crossroads pick ups PAF recreations from Eric‘s late 60s error With cream and the tea 59 the semi Hollow Guitar and I have not or could not be more pleased by the time I did the upgrades I have less than $2000 in each guitar the internation could not be any more perfect and they play equally as well. If not better than my collector choice guitars they look great too just ordering a gold top Myself with 90 pick up soon I love to upgrade the pick ups and guitars so often times I will now buy aftermarket or pro products and build my own parts caster type guitars as well. This way I can order the next specifically the way I want to my specs and I go with the old oil finish, this allows me to have a great deal of guitars and I focus my money on the pick ups and wiring and set up of the guitar again. The goal is Sound sometimes looks thanks guys. Cheers thanks for the video. 5:58

[@FrankyTempels]

You can have a 300 eu guitar ssh alnico pick ups Yamaha pacifica , you have every thing you need

[@AKJordansKids2009]

That is a great deal! Great deals are hard to find. I checked reverb and those guitars without the 10 Top are $700+ more.. your video is right on point about artist models. I encourage people to try the S2 line of PRS. Better than the SE line and much better price than the CE line. Thanks for the good work!

[@Davidpaitken]

Two years ago I walked into my local Guitar shop, for quick look, walked out with a used Gibson LP Studio for just over £600, the same price as a new Epiphone similar model

[@BackToTheBlues]

Keep that switch - as it has five positions it adds versatility, and it certainly adds mystery value - anyone looking at it will be thinking 'but where's the switch..?' 😄

[@stephman02]

Rolex, Ferrari, Gibson, Fender… what’s the chances they’re all following the same business models ? How many top end custom shop guitars can there actually be per capita before the whole thing comes tumbling down ? Particularly when one considers the quality of the competition and the quality of home made partscasters.

[@vorpalblades]

I don't know if Rolex and Ferrari are worth the $$, but they have insane engineering and craftsmanship. Fender and Gibson do not.

[@ToddH76]

Why would you have to buy a custom shop. The Fender American pro II line are incredible guitars.

[@Artefracture]

Generally a lot of people's experience is that a cheaper guitar may ultimately need more maintenance and could benefit from a number of upgrades which will raise it's cost, but not the resale price. Getting something a little more substantial right from the rip means a little less work and would probably have more specs built in that make it solid while mostly stock. Prices for everything are inflated now though so just because a guitar cost twice as much as another doesn't necessarily mean it's twice as good, I have two St Vincent Music Man guitars. While I am a fan of the act, it's the guitar I really love regardless (I just had to get used to the look of the headstock). I was lucky to get some pretty good deals on both. I travel with the guitar and perform regularly and can vouch for the durability, but Jesus Fuck the way Ernie Ball MMs can be priced whether or not they have an artist name attached is crazy.

[@petersouthwell5971]

When I say this... Im a fairly skilled guitar tech/luthier. I can do fret jobs, Roll the edges, my own leveling etc. etc. I have a room full of Fenders, Ultra Luxe, High end Carvin. Some boutiques customs 14 guitars in total. My favorite guitar right now is a used MIM Fender Strat, Just about $280 in parts, $450 for the guitar (MIM Player I standard used from Reverb). I gotta say it's my favorite guitar. And is also the cheapest guitar I own by far. The other thing is I feel better about playing it. My high end models (the most expensive guitar I own), I never play because it's more like a work of art to me then an instrument. I take the MIM guitar and something happens to it. no big deal. Any part on the thing is replaceable. And in ALL... Its not the biggest loss in the world if somebody stole it. It's just more practical I guess. Sound wise.. Man it punches up in the Pricey Expensive range IMHO all day long. It's a very comfortable guitar.

[@csharp57]

I feel this way about my Gibson inspired 355. It’s a china made guitar and it’s my favorite amongst all my American made. No need to worry about thief or damage. I could buy another one no problem. I’m still going after a LP gold top with p90s though. lol

[@rickclark4714]

I’ve got an old Peavey Predator. It’s great.

[@alexdenton6586]

Everyone has their threshold at different levels. For me, €4,000 is the limit. No guitar should cost more than that. Beyond this price, you’re not paying for better sound; you’re just paying for different woods, finishes, or perhaps limited-edition guitars.

[@nathaninostroza7655]

Those superb-latively gorgeous 8k Kiesel guitars are worth it. But thats how exclusive and high end artistry works. No one s missing a lot more on that when it comes to playing and tone, when it comes to the musical capabilities the guitar has been featured with. So yeah, more than 4K is insane and fairly unnecessarily pricey guitar, for a working man s and even in demand professional s wallet.

[@vorpalblades]

Once you hit $1,200 everything else is window dressing. That gets you great pickups, stainless frets, an Evertune, etc.

[@nathaninostroza7655]

@@vorpalblades true dat. Even if, lets say, i buy a not so great guitar with decent wood, and i cargo cult the shit out off that, upgrading the phuck off it and what not. 1200 or 1000 USD is more than enough to assamble a battle axe without going with that budget for a american standard or the likes of it. I mean that, for specs availability sake. Id never lend 3k for a guitar, i don't think i can find one at that price that suits My playing, unless i settle with that, wich we all do with built in series models. 1200 USD is enough in five continents.

[@philliplee1193]

The divorce proceedings are still in session - recent US Customs seizures telegraph the less than amicable dissolution of the relationship costing customers ever more.

[@tonedowne]

Depends on the artist and the brand. I like a lot of signature stuff where the player has had some real input into the design. PRS tend to do this very well. The silver sky is a subtly ergonomically improved Strat. The volume control is moved slightly, the heel is less intrusive, the cutaway is more friendly, they're generally a fair bit lighter. The DGT is a custom with 2 volume controls, really expressive pickups and a unique vintage style neck. The Nick Johnston Schecter is another real players guitar. The MT-100 is the 3 amps you actually want as an all round player, all in one. The EVH stuff is really on point. For sure the recreations of iconic guitars of the past are always wildly expensive, but arguably their primary function isn't as a musical instrument, it's to be collectable fan merch, aimed at fans old enough to have that kind of money.

[@tymanngruter1808]

That five way knob was a disaster.....

[@ToddH76]

Fender American pro II strats and tele’s are well under two thousand and les Paul standards are under three thousand. In fact you can get a les Paul standard 50s in cardinal red brand new for 1999.

[@mortonwilson795]

Congratz on the lucky find! Re: the 'Artiste Guitar' thing: I'd never heard of Jerry Cantrell but I tried the Epi 'Wino' and it felt a lot like my Gibson '68 Custom so I grabbed it and will bang in some Monty's Bethnal Greens at some point. Tremonti - the same . . . new one on me, but the plain Ebony SE with the whammy bar, Gibson scale neck is another candidate for serious modding at USD 500, so why not? (I have since googled these guys for a listen - 'respect', but I grew up listening to George Harrison / Peter Green etc.). I really want the Johnny Marr Jaguar, though - he re-designed the electronics and specified third party pick-ups etc. with Fender and it ticks all the right boxes for my playing style. Fortunate to live in HK because Tom Lee & Parsons have high turnover but are always getting new stock from the majors so some good stuff literally gets 'left on the shelf' - I picked up a 2019 Japanese made Gretsch solid body redued from USD 2,500 to 1,250 . . . half price to make room for the new China made ones - go figure 😅

[@soilsample]

Listen to Jerry Cantrell [Alice in Chains]

[@aaronsinger]

Jerry Cantrell peaked when you were probably in your 30s. No excuse! :)

[@mortonwilson795]

@@aaronsinger Point taken! 😄The fact of the matter is that from the mid '80s until the early 2000s I was working in the studio with a bunch of composers and artistes writing and producing all sorts of stuff, a lot of it commissioned by film-makers and ad agencies, and 'the brief' was usually a track they had decided suited their film or video and we had to come up with something original but in the same ballpark. I just lost touch with what was 'out there'. Flipping between studios in HK, SNG & Shanghai didn't help - there just wasn't much in the way of alternative radio or what have you so I wasn't exposed to a lot of left of centre stuff. I am remedying the situation now - The Smiths, Alice in Chains and others are on my home playlist - better late than never! Cheers.

[@aaronsinger]

@@mortonwilson795 Sounds awesome. I have done a fair amount of television music, so I know how all-consuming it can be, and of course listening attentively to music in off hours isn't really possible. An interesting life you've had. My music was also composed to descriptive briefs.

[@sjk254]

I prefer the knob.

[@Dad-Gad]

I just bought a Sonic Squier Stratocaster for £110 , best playing Strat I've ever owned . Price means nothing , feel is priceless imo .

[@andrewbecker3700]

I've got 2 of the new Adam Jones signature Epiphone Les Paul Custom Silverbursts. Paid the full retail price on both. $1299 for the Frank Frazetta "The Berserker" custom art edition. Then approximately 11 months later. The non art, Inspired By Gibson Customshop version came out at $1499. I didn't buy either one because of Adam Jones. In fact, both have different pickups in them now. Many times these signature models have unique specs that are only available on those models. Players who know what they want before its ever built, have that advantage. I definitely agree, that any association with an artist, shouldn't influence your decisions. Buy what you personally enjoy playing. If somebody else likes it too. Great.

[@hotrodchris805]

Jeff Becks guitars, or at least some of them, are up for grabs in January 2025, at Sotherbys I think.

[@garyt3hsna1l82]

problem is the signature models have the best paint and hardware, I love guitars that have tiger stripes, floyd rose tremelos, holoflash finishes, glitter, and other gaudy aesthetic choices, and most base models just don't cut it for me anymore. I've taken up painting guitars and modding them to my preferences which is almost an entirely serpate hobby from collecting or playing but I mainly enjoy the reaction of people at parties telling them _I did the work myself._

[@arvind-h1c]

I have a question. What will happen to your guitar collection after u die! I own 9 guitars only, and I’m worried. You must own hundreds..think about it. 😅

[@BackToTheBlues]

Although we buy things we don't really own anything - we're just looking after it for a while. I have 21 guitars (though perhaps only a dozen are worth very much - the others are quirky old things that appealed to me). I have plans to leave them to guitarists I know, who hopefully would appreciate them. And I really must do something about that will!

[@arvind-h1c]

@ one of the reason i will stop buying more is this. I dnt know what to do. My bro has one majesty Ernie ball and he takes great care of it and plays it on n off. The maintenance is low. Having more guitars is more time consuming. I had to change my guitar strings in more than one instrument once but I’ve been playing just one (strandberg) than the rest but I’ve had to do maintenance in all of them

[@orlandoalexandergomez1885]

I should say ... how divorced guitar features are from real mojo in a guitar.

[@benmcgurk1]

Fender and Gibson custom shop have gone off the deep end price wise lately. When it was 4-4500 you said maybe ok ish. Now some Les Pauls are 7-8000k and a Fender relic jobs 5500 plus. Mad stuff.Wayyyyyy too much. Before I might have saved for a Custom shop but now I'm out! They aint worth the price.

[@christianhertwig1593]

It is said: he is not a fool who asks for what he wants, but he who pays for what he asks for. And it is also said, if a cheap guitar is really good, very good, a much more expensive one that gives you the same is then worse.

[@TurbulentJuice]

In the last couple months PRS did another price increase. In the last year Gibson's prices remained or decreased. It seems like guitar companies are reaching into the stratosphere to see if anyone will buy their product. The new Charvel silver bengal super stock is a basic 1 pickup guitar they're asking like 1500 USD for it.

[@GoonSquadLifeMember]

The boutique guitars are what full-dress Harley Davidsons were a few years ago: status symbols for aging Boomer doctors & lawyers.

[@TSoneonetwo]

I love George Lynch, and I think his bones/J Frog guitar is the most badass guitat I have ever seen. However, it is not because it was George's guitar. I love that design. A completely unique guitar design. With that said overpaying for a les paul greeny, or adam jones Les Paul, or a production version of the frankenstrat etc etc etc etc is ridculous. This is where I say get a chibson.

[@RahulSharma_JaiMataDi]

Used guitar market is flooded now after COVID hangover

[@_Yep_Yep_]

Ive been pretty happy snapping up mint condition used but mostly new guitars for waaaay TF less than MAP or just timing new-new purchases around MAP-free times of the year/blowout sales.

[@CyberRabid.]

I've got my Les Paul (Epiphone Classic Worn) and I've got my Strat (Texas Roadhouse partscaster). Would like to pick up a Bromo AE somewhere along the way. But for now I'm happy 😊.

[@efx245precor3]

I was thinking you were saying the color fades on these PRS.

[@ministryofguitar]

Blues and Purples and Greens

[@martydibergi5228]

very happy for you great guitar

[@maxnits9556]

Hardware & pickups cost: between $300-400, wood cost: $100. Labor: $100. Guitar price: $2799. Mmmmmkay...

[@martintheguitarist]

What is a good place to buy used guitars in Singapore? Perhaps you could also recommend some stores in Hong Kong.Thanks.

[@martydibergi5228]

for some reason Toronto used prices are way overpriced still

[@tmaciol]

It’s a little bit hypocritical in my mind if he argues against the “artist-tax” or “vintage-tax” for that matter running up the prices for guitars while also confessing that he owns a few very expensive guitars. Expensive guitars are either expensive for their features (small numbers, expensive woods, high amount of manual labor etc.) or because they convey an emotion that makes the buyer feel good (like my idol plays this guitar so if I have the same guitar that makes me feel closer to my idol). Or they were made during an preferred era and are associated with a favorable tonal quality which - in my opinion - is the same very subjective emotional trigger as the idol thing. For instance is the custom double neck Gibson made iconic by Jimmy Page worth 50k? I highly doubt that. It’s all marketing and emotions. But as long there are rich people who can afford those “divorced from reality prices” there is a market and the guitar manufacturers will keep feeding that market to rake in profit. Me personally? I saved up and went to local luthiers and commissioned my guitars (one acoustic, one electric). The process alone is worth the price IMHO. I paid about the same as those midlevel guitars by the big manufacturers (less than 4500€) but with lots of features and individually tailored to me. They’re both one of a kind. And the connection to the instrument you’ll develop during the building process IMHO can’t be matched by any other guitar you’ll pick up in any store at any pricepoint. If you’re lucky enough to be able to spend about this amount of money for a guitar, I highly recommend finding local luthiers and talk to them. There you’ll get the most for your hard earned money.

[@CassiniProjekt]

Guitars are basically a bit of wood with pickups in them. You don't necessarily need the best tonewoods, just decent pickups, tuning stability and a smooth fretboard, which can be any guitar in the 500-1500 range. As for KZbin guitar influencers talking about their "creamy" and "rich" tones, yeah boring. If everyone ends up with those tones, they all sound the same, who wants that? Some of the best tones in rock history have been ugly and unique, not smooth, velvety roasted maple nut Michelin star food metaphors applied to sound.

[@JerseWhat]

Maybe the famous player bought or played the guitar because it sounded (and probably looked) good. There is more to a guitar purchase than its pure functionality or quality. An artist guitar will form a sub part of the branding. For instance in the car world, why would you buy a VW over a Skoda when they are both owned by VW ?

[@GoonSquadLifeMember]

That depends: Do Skoda vehicles constantly, but inexplicably, have the "Check Engine" light illuminated?

[@JerseWhat]

@@GoonSquadLifeMember Ha ha ! In all fairness to my VW, any light has only ever come on when it should have. Don't know about a Skoda as have never owned one (lol). I do like VW Golf's though !

[@lanceholland]

Congrats on the new guitar...and a great price. But....Ugggg.....I have the rotary knob on my early PRS Signature and have never liked it.

[@aipossas]

a famous person played "a guitar" argument is totally bullshit. Simply as it is, there is a big difference in some guitars and actually make them worth what they worth. If you can't listen to it is not the guitar problem.

[@sunnibird]

If you in Cda add $1000-1200 to all those prices.

[@torgomax]

I'm thinking about getting a guitar. What do you think about the Schecter Solo 2?

[@Haroun-El-Poussah]

The best guitar I played over near 40 years costed me €1050 and I bartered here sister for smth I paid €1150... And I had ORIGINAL signature models (belonging to the artist) and up to a €450,000 LesPaul 1960 in hands... none are a match... So, I own two over 46 BUILT Vigier Passion III-90/10... There are also 186 with a carbon neck which are also true marvels too but with a carbon neck, you forget about playing anything sounding "roots", it's more if you had a super-Steinberger, those with wooden wings, you'll do wonders for Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Holdsworth, etc, but it won't do to play old LedZep, blues, etc... Actually, I barterred my carbon neck one for a 90/10 (90% wood, 10% graphite) necked 2nd, we both had one of each, the 90/10 became my #1 over anything, the carbon one was his #1 and when your #1 is that rare, if you can get a #2, you better not hesitate as if anything happens, you're screwed: it took me 18 years to get one like this and 2 more year to secure the one I actually tried in 1991 !!! These guitars are impossible to describe in terms of what happens when you use them... Well, you have to fight against a Strat to make it sound. Here, the sound is so intense you have to fight to not enter into a transe! You can't use these as workmates : it's too much, you're at risk ending at the loonies' house. The only time I had such a psycho acoustic effect was by intending an Anne-Akiko Meyers concert where she used her $18m Guarnerius violin... Oh, BTW, they're neckthru, and with hippie sandwich wings in three equal layers, so there is one of alder between two of figured maple, then the neck is of maple too, the neck is full, and instead of a trussrod, 10% of the neck is a graphite bar (90/10 patent). The fretboard is phenowood based on Brazilian rosewood sawdust, the locking trem is a massive brass bell thing mounted on an axis with needle bearings (patented too). Have you head Santana or Oldfield playing the Gibson L6S, well, you get the same slappy bright powerful aggressive raucous violin-like sound, then, the alder brings you the balance and the mid punch, the phenowood brings the depth and warmth (fretboards are highly underestimated but they really bring a lot) then you have the 90/10 bringing you authority and cut thru the mix... The finishing on Vigier guitars make the PRS private stock look cheap, the master artisan varnisher does a totally insane job with 10+ layers in less than 1mm thick, it's like looking in a mirror, absolutely awesome, even if fancy finishes are not sought. Oh, BTW, if you heard about the best "Strat" ever that is Excalibur, in fact, it's the Vigier Excalibur, but Mike Myers couldn't obtain one : they weren't imported in the US at the time... Famous Excalibur users are Shawn Lane, Ron Thal, Ron Laster (James Brown), Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones), Guthrie Govan (Excalibur Surfreter, the fretless version), John Paul Jones (Surfreter). If there are Strats and Super-Strats, the Excalibur is the Hyper-Strat. Now the prices have started rising since Vigier decided to retire after 44 years at making some of the best guitars and basses on Earth for highly demanding clients, limiting the annual production to 500 units to sustain the flawless quality. Many famous bassists were clients too : Roger Glover, Geezer Butler, Alphonso Johnson, Glenn Hughes, Tony Sales, etc etc etc... I own 7 Vigier : two Passion III-90/10 (1991 & 1992), two Excaliburs (1993), two Arpège-I (1984, the walnut wonder!) and an Arpège-II (1987, carbon neck). Stanley Jordan only uses the Arpège-II, prepare to a shock listening to him playing the Hendrix songbook... But these aren't my only guitars, my backline is very diverse, I'm a huge fan of Leduc : he just created the best fretless bas ever for Alain Caron, which was also adopted by Abe Laboriel and Marcus Miller... and myself, but the U-guitar is as awesome. The patented floating table make these sound like they had a table 4x its size, so, despite its soldid body size, the U-guitar sounds like a high end Taylor when unplugged, but at low volume, which is perfect to practise in a hotel room, then, if you use the piezos, well, you definitively don't want an Acousticaster or Acoustasonic any more: you're really on par with full-size acoustics, but that's not everything: you have a pair of humbuckers too and you'll do as great in jazz, blues as at doing rock... Now, for the 335 lovers, I'd recommand to replace these Seymour alnicco-5 by PAF'57 handwound alnico2 replicas... It's not uncommon that to the two outputs, a GK one is added so you can play synthesizers too.. The U-guitar easily becomes your workmate as you don't need to plug it in an amp to get a gorgeous acoustic sound, and once plugged, unless you're into metal, she'll make your day at playing barely anything... When it comes to the U-bass fretless, gosh, just play this unplugged and all your body hairs straighten... Abe Laboriel called Leduc "the Stradivarius of the bass" on national TV and for good reasons. I also own the prototype of his Pad(auk) bass... You thought the Stingray sounded huge? You stopped thinking this once you gave a try to this bulldozer. When it comes to his Masterpiece guitars, oh... They are LesPaul/PRS killers. Leduc infuriated me when he did the Only For Ritchie (Blackmore) since he used up to 250 years old woods, while the oldest wood on mines is only a 1895 Brazilian Rosewood. The Honduran mahogany is from the late 50's, the padauk is from the 1920's... So I had my "revenge" by having my mahogany guitars built by another luthier, the late Xavier Petit (he did jobs for Vai, Satriani, Rondat and a few others) as he had a stockpile of ca.1905 Honduran mahogany. Most of Xavier's production were pure-player's guitars: rather basic finishes, but you had godamn woods and they were really well built. If you can get one of his mahogany guitars, you're a lucky guitarist, and to hell with the fancy finishes, you're in for the sound, posers are a pity, when, in 2008, you didn't even spent €1500 in a guitar that was better than a 1960 LesPaul burst and better ergonomics than a PRS, you freaking don't care how it looks or you're not a musician, period! Then, I own some awesome stuff that I got for cheaper than dirt, like a 1968 Hagström BJ-12: totally forgotten but... It's Bowie's guitar on Space Oddity, it's the 12 strings guitar with the Beatles, early Genesis, Cat Stevens... Start to play Wish You Were Here on this, you don't want to spend big in a Martin D12-28... Then, heard about Japanese lawsuit guitars in the 70's? Matsumoku released a copy of the Gibson J-200 under a dozen+ of brands! A brand new J-200 will cost you about €6000... Well, a 1975 Aria J-200 costed me €480, shipping included from another EU country... under more obscure brands, sometimes they may appear around €350... prepare yourself to a shock by A/B testing it against a real J-200... When it comes to guitar-synthesisers, we all unanimously agree that the Roland GR-700 tracking was really terrible... So you ended getting the G-707 guitars and sometimes the fully working synth with, for freaking cheap while in 1984, you could spend a full year of salary if not more in such a system... Guess what? The guitar was made by the Fujigen Gakki's custom shop, in other terms, the real Ibanez Japan CS... Nonetheless she has a freaking cyber-punk design straight out of Akira, but it's absolutely a great guitar and the sustain bow really works... I've sometimes seen the guitar alone for as low as €600-650 despite they're really rare. If the PUs are not your thing, well, get custom hybrid handwound ones... I highly recommand a bridge one that does a 54 Telescaster and EVH's own Frankenstrat at the same time, then a neck one that does the Telecaster and a PAF alnico2... Then there are 24->13 pins converters to use it with GK-2/3 compatible G-synths like the Axon which has the best tracking of all... All fun using hardware polyphonic analog synths, samplers, VSTis etc... In fact, the GR-700 could be great if used together with the GR-300. Alone, it was utter crap and Roland was really abusive: the GR-700 is a Juno, but there was no MIDI-in and the MIDI out had no pitch control! C'mon, 1 year of a basic worker's salary in countries like UK, France or Germany of 1984 and they were grifting like hell on the customer... Had they made it for half the price with the GR-300 integrated inside the GR-700, MIDI in to use it as a Juno expander and a MIDI out with pitch control, they would have achieved huge sales, actually, Gilmour was interested but rejected it due to poor tracking. With Pink Floyd's guitarist endorsing gear, everybody wants this stuff... Oh, BTW, there are circuit hacks that allow to install a MIDI-IN and send the pitch control thru the MIDI-out

[@rinkydinky-ob9pe]

Ive a mix of both Martin and fender and Gibson but my favourite is a mid range charvel , now I’ve been playing for 40yrs and stared with a cheap egmund acoustic, buy what you can afford andplay the heck out of them , life’s too short

[@bradwoods371]

These days I just buy used mint.

[@GiacomoVaccari]

I have 2 limited edition guitars for about 2.4-2.7k usd after mods. My other tele is 800$ and is 95% as good. Do with that info what you will

[@DMSProduktions]

You don't need to hurry the curry on guitars ah! \m/

[@nandakishore588]

u basically have some type of guitar for everyone . from ultra cheap to "pricey, but worth it" to stupid expensive stuff for collectors. still, a great guitar today is actually more affordable than it was in my teenage years 20 years ago

[@predigr]

What do you think about S2 Models? Are as good as Core? Just less beautiful?

[@gilberttorres8]

That is one way of thinking about it, in America capitalism is strong and marketing is important. Yes at its core it will be similar guitars and all but if someone has tons of money they won’t want what the other guy has. Just check out Kirk Hammets guitar collection vs yours or mine he owns guitars owned by his heroes even though it’s the same guitar but it was owned by someone special. It’s creates a market and money moves and that’s good for the economy.

[@davidtyler3116]

Truth!

[@predigr]

Signature models are not always that expensive. Personally, I don't like them because it is the guitar os somebody else. But all Fender artists guitars are not that expensive. I mean in comparison with other guitars. Any PRS from USA is twice+ the price.

[@onlyguitars]

Hey! I am interested myself on a 25th Annyversary. Congrats and fantastic price! A couple of questions. How are you liking the 57/08?? Always hear great things about them , very PAF like. And how is the Pattern Regular neck? The neck shape is what I'm not sure, cos I had an S2 with that neck and was just ok but I prefer the wide fat. I do like the wide thin though. Thanks!!

[@Haroun-El-Poussah]

The Donald Trump (MiC? MiI?) signature Les Paul at $11,000 is already sold out... Bolt on neck, Trumpbuckers, the American bald eagle with the US flag on the top and personally signed by the Mango Mussolini. BTW, he received a cease and desisdt from Gibson as they're not happy the DJT signature guitar ain't a real Gibson, but more likely a Chibson... I like the Make 'Murika Great Again inlays while it's obviously a cheap Chinese or Indonesian low end LP copy!

[@silverdragon0000120]

What do you think about the Donald trump guitar?

[@7171jay]

Unless you think all your watchers are in Singapore why wouldn't you reference U.S. dollars or Euros or Pounds or other currencies? It's not all that difficult for viewers to look up but you're just not going to connect with people as most have no idea what a Singapore dollar is worth and they probably won't bother to go track down the info. As to guitars it's difficult to get across the value of them to people in seven minutes of vague talk about artist guitars. I get your point sort of but it's really barely scratching the surface of what is truly a very deep and complicated discussion. There are plenty of good playable guitars around at even very cheap prices these days both new and used capable of great sounds if you have the knowledge to be able to get great sounds out of them Nobody needs to pay $4000+ USD to get a good playable instrument but for those who do and want say a USA built high end guitar there is nothing wrong with that as long as one realizes that quality is rather exponential and beyond a several hundred or a thousand U.S. dollars you are paying a lot for what are rather small gains in quality. Better wood, better quality metal parts, pickups that have special attention payed to them by builders, nitro finishes and better crafting when making the instrument are all luxury items that can be nice if you can afford then but are not at all essential unless one is playing at a rather high level and that stuff matters to you.

[@joshs.6608]

Are these guitars that are somehow overpriced are made in America, made in europe or made in Developing countries? Would the location of where the guitar is made matter in terms of price? Also, are you talking about like... Artist Signature guitars and even you know... that maybe 5,000-10,000 dollar guitar associated with a certain political figure that I mentioned before? Because there is a lot of these signature guitars out there, even Gibson give Slash of Guns N Roses a signature guitar.

[@carloswhomusic]

Signature Gibson guitars? If you DON'T have one ..... you're not a professional musician. Remember when signature guitars meant something? Now: Just another $$$ scheme from Agnesi and Gibson. COMING SOON: the Kim Kardashian SIGNATURE Les Paul. $30,000 US, but it comes with a HANDWRITTEN NOTE FROM KIM.

[@torgomax]

😁👍

[@ToddH76]

Total nonsensical post.

[@Haroun-El-Poussah]

The Donald Trump (MiC? MiI?) signature Les Paul at $11,000 is already sold out... Bolt on neck, Trumpbuckers, the American bald eagle with the US flag on the top and personally signed by the Mango Mussolini

[@ToddH76]

@@Haroun-El-Poussah if you believe those were actually made and then actually sold at all let alone at that price I would love to do business with you. The man is a lifelong grifting con man. If any were actually made they are probably plywood.

[@ToddH76]

@@Haroun-El-Poussah oh and also yea who ever made the prototype (rumored to be Esteban guitars). They were absolutely made in china with whatever the cheapest materials they could get their hands on.

[@Iohannes-Z]

It's well known that PRS guitars don't hold value. They're good but they are grossly overrated and when new grossly overpriced. So if you're fixated having a PRS collection (for some weird reason) always buy them "used".

[@searing7549]

For some weird reason? Have you ever played a core model? They are incredible!

[@MofiGoldCd]

I got $1850 for a Gibson AAA Wildwood LP Standard in trade. $2999 for a PRS core Sunglecut, non 10 top in trade. Gibson didn't hold it's value. Both mint 2023 models.

[@Iohannes-Z]

@@searing7549 Should one have 50-60 core PRS guitars? Aren't e.g. 2 enough? Why should one pay a fortune and still not have a collection of historically important guitars? It's not a good investment from any reasonable viewpoint. (I won't discuss PRS being "incredible" here - it's a really long discussion and the people involved should be technically savvy.)

[@searing7549]

@@Iohannes-Z Yes. Two is enough. Maybe three or four actually for pickup differences, but no need for more. Also, I am technically savvy, so have at it….

[@Iohannes-Z]

@@searing7549 I see we've met midway (as far as how many PRS's one should have in their collection) but I like your passion. Since you are schooled in luthiery, pls state why in your opinion a core PRS guitar is unbelievably "incredible". I guess you have either worked at their factory or you have dissected some of their guitars; so I am incredibly interested to listen to your points. Who knows? I might learn a thing or two on my favorite subject, so that this exchange won't be a complete waste of time.

[@Mytwocentsisallicanafford]

Good advice I would never pay for a signature series guitar people who bought Dave Groyl and Billie Joe Armstrong and others I'm sure will never recoup their money

[@Artefracture]

BJA maybe not, there is every possibility that prices will go apeshit for that Grohl at some point, though.

[@JokerCat9]

I love the MIM Fender Jim Root signature models. It's everything I'd want in a strat, tele, and jazzmaster. But I can't justify paying $1000+ for a used MIM Fender.

[@bbowjazz]

Would a 14-year old Gibson Les Paul, especially a Custom Shop be the kind of value that your PRS Custom 24 is on the used market? My guess is the Gibson has in 14 years, all other things being equal: condition, quality of electronics/woods, etc. has probably appreciated.

[@roycedot]

I’ve owned guitars as expensive as $7k including very nice jazz archtops, Custom Shop and vintage Gibson, Collings, …. My latest guitars are Guild semi-hollows I bought new for less than $300 each. No issues.

[@buffaloshite]

The guitar has a super mellow tone. Also, I ONLY buy certain vintage/used guitars. Better value, better materials - used player's grade can be the best out there *i.e. there are many non famous equivalents greenie out there that just need to be discovered and revitalized.