El Dunco
Sock Supplier to RHCP
So? Doesn’t change how economics work.
$400 in let’s say 1972 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,835 in 2022, due to an average inflation rate of 3.99% per year.
Are Gibson prices the Crack of the guitar world ?
- Thread starter JMP/HBE
- Start date
So? Doesn’t change how economics work.
$400 in let’s say 1972 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,835 in 2022, due to an average inflation rate of 3.99% per year.
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Lead is weighed in Troy ounces which is heavier than traditional weight measurements so once again, you are wrong. The lead is heavier.
I was giving you an example of perceived value. You might not see the value in Gibson. Obviously many people do. So the price of the guitar is irrelevant. Some will see it as overpriced some will see it as a bargain. Someone that does not have the money to buy an original 1959 Les Paul for $500,000 could feel $9 - $10,000 to be a deal for a 1959 reissue.
JMP/HBE
Well-known member
eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
I remember buying gas for my go-kart at 35¢ a gallon, circa 1970.
At the time, I think a new LP Standard sold for about $350.
Today, gas is $4.50 a gallon.
So a new Les Paul could even have gone up to $4500.
That (kinda sorta) makes $2500-ish for a new one sound like a reasonable deal.
The plain fact is, though, today you can get a guitar just about as good for half that much.
Or one that's similar and fully functional for a tenth as much.
Bargain guitars generally are a lot better than they used to be, decades ago.
That makes the big names seem wildly overpriced by comparison.
And not just Gibson. $10K for a bolt-on CS Strat that's not even vintage?
That's almost incomprehensible to my 20th century brain.
In '82 people said I was crazy to pay $950 for my '63 Strat because it'd been refinished.
At the time, I think a new LP Standard sold for about $350.
Today, gas is $4.50 a gallon.
So a new Les Paul could even have gone up to $4500.
That (kinda sorta) makes $2500-ish for a new one sound like a reasonable deal.
The plain fact is, though, today you can get a guitar just about as good for half that much.
Or one that's similar and fully functional for a tenth as much.
Bargain guitars generally are a lot better than they used to be, decades ago.
That makes the big names seem wildly overpriced by comparison.
And not just Gibson. $10K for a bolt-on CS Strat that's not even vintage?
That's almost incomprehensible to my 20th century brain.
In '82 people said I was crazy to pay $950 for my '63 Strat because it'd been refinished.
I bet the prices would go down if they couldn't sell any at that price. Thing is, they are selling.
JMP/HBE
Well-known member
If they're selling why then did FMC just terminate 3500 employees ?
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
Were the 3500 employees working on 10K CS guitars, or pumping out lots of cheap production line ones?
Was it really that many?
JMP/HBE
Well-known member
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
We discussed this in another thread. The 300 were probably hired off the streets in the past two years to keep up with the pandemic demand for guitars. The market has now stabilized, and Fender is right-sizing their workforce. The people laid off were probably from the Executive Suite to the production floor and warehouse.
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um no not really. $400 in 1970 and $400 now is still $400.
Which weighs more a pound of feathers or a pound of lead ?
Answer : a pound is a pound.
Thread is O-fish-a-ly off the rails nao >
Only because you ignore reality, and when people disagree with the way you want the thread to go you take your bat and ball and go home.........
Truthfully this was never a good thread from the outset.
LLL
New member
Then go find some other thread to smarm in.
If Gibson would have always included some floyded Studios in their lineup I would probably have been a lifelong fan of the brand. Studios have always been such a good deal on the used market. Try before you buy of course, but some of those Studios are great deals. (including my first "real" guitar, a mid-80s white/gold Studio)
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Another thing to consider is lumber prices skyrocketed during the pandemic. I did not see that hike affect guitars the way it did home improvement products and construction costs. When you consider inflation, materials costs, labor costs, and the rising price of transportation/logistics, Gibson is doing well at keeping its prices consistent with their prices over time. However, I have seen some cost-cutting. The quality of the case that came with my recent Goldtop is nowhere near the quality of the case that came with my past Gibsons.
