Oh really? How much does Fender sell their Masterbuilt Limited Edition Replicas for? Or Gibson their high end reliced player replicas? And the last Fender run (Clapton Blackies) sold out in what, 20 minutes?
It is rumored that these will be the ultimate EVH frankenstein replica, and that EVH will hand test (or already has considering the current date) every one to make sure they feel exactly like the original. The idea is that even he shouldn´t be able to tell the difference. If true and it´s actually accomplished, that in itself is an absolutely awesome feat of luthierie that no player will EVER truly understand and value accordingly. But that alone I would honestly value at around 20K, just in my invested time and labor. And I or most other smaller luthiers probably couldn´t do anywhere near the kind of job these guys can becasue their resources are limitless in comparison (Including direct, hands on access to both the actual guitar and the artist themself, something NO other replica maker can offer or ever could) :saeek:
Just because some players don´t see the merit in a product (that was never targeted at them anyway) doesn´t make it any lower in quality or less labor intensive than a product such as a PRS Private Stock or similarly ultra-eye candy guitar that is essentially still a basic guitar with more bling. Making a perfect replica (or as close as humanly possible) of ANY heavily played guitar is equally as tedious and masterful as building a guitar with more bling than West Coast Customs. In many ways it´s even more difficult, because when adding random bling you can mess up and say it was on purpose if it still looks good. There´s no room for that on a replica.
Interesting Side notes: John Walker of JCMI and now FMIC has apparently been collecting real 1977 quarters ( or ´71 or whatever, I´m not one of the screw counters) for over 2 years. And IIRC he was also sourcing outrageously expensive (thanks to EVH fans) old cans of Schwinn bicycle paint for the longest time. I think that alone says volumes about the attention to detail that is going into these and resulting price. Or he collects quarters and has a few old Schwinns he wants to restore :laugh2:
There are also pics out of the Jackson CS from a few years back that show a few guitars that seemed to be exactly this, with reflectors on the back and all. Now that of course begs the question of "were those guitars scrapped, or have they just been working on them all this time?"
I think it will be very interesting to see what happens when these are introduced at NAMM (assuming it really happens). AFAIK they´re already sold out, anyway.
