Pickup prices over the years

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daenius

New member
Came across from an older thread when I was looking into the oh-so-rich Custom family, and I couldn't help but notice this:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=78354&d=1486750172

$70 for a JB in 1979, and now $75.95 for a JB in 2017... If you calculate the inflation... Holy crap, kudos to Duncan that the pickups have actually gotten CHEAPER over the years!

According to this inflation calculator, it would have been like spending $240 for a JB today! http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=70&year=1979

Sure the JB was all hand wound by Seymour back then, but if you take the price of a Custom Shop pickup today (which runs about $160), it's STILL cheaper today! Put in all the increased parts and labor costs... damn, they're doing something right
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

It would be thanks to dimarzio for providing the competition and reason to keep costs down. :15:
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

Thanks to Asian manufacturers for supplying parts ��
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

It's called Economies of Scale, guys..... The more stuff you make, the cheaper you can make it. You are buying increasing amounts of raw materials (wire, magnets, screws, etc.), and get discounted prices from the supplier. The maker (Duncan), can then pass on his savings to the consumer, and be more competitive in the marketplace.

This is why boutique pickup makers wares are so much more expensive. They buy less and pay more...
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

ICTGoober said:
It's called Economies of Scale, guys..... The more stuff you make, the cheaper you can make it. You are buying increasing amounts of raw materials (wire, magnets, screws, etc.), and get discounted prices from the supplier. The maker (Duncan), can then pass on his savings to the consumer, and be more competitive in the marketplace.

This is why boutique pickup makers wares are so much more expensive. They buy less and pay more...
Click to expand...

Certainly the scale at which they buy parts really helps drive the cost down of that department down. I agree with that's why more boutique brands are selling pickups for about double the cost of a Duncan. I'd still expect the Duncan price to go up more than $6 over the years given the much higher labor and other operating costs these days though!

In any case I'm not complaining! There are also pickup makers out there that I think are also large but still want to charge you an arm and a leg and keep the change for a giant margin. Definitely appreciate the fact that Duncan keeps it very affordable for a great win-win situation of happy consumers and they get to be extremely competitive and sell more pickups!
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

Also imperfect or unequal competition actually helps because manufacturers are forced to keep as much quality for a lower price in order to keep customers as opposed to a monopoly were people will more than likely buy from the monopoly any way and there would be no incentives to keep cost reasonable, of course I'm talking in general and about no specific manufacturer. Just being free market implies pressure to considerate customer in terms of purchase. It's just economics, not stating any view one way or the other.

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Re: Pickup prices over the years

I remember when I first ventured into guitar modding: Wanted better tone, but couldn't afford new guitar. I was really surprised how cheap even the top-end aftermarket pickups were. When professional line guitars cost +2000€, who average guy would guess you can replicate that with an investment of few hundreds...
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

ICTGoober said:
It's called Economies of Scale, guys..... The more stuff you make, the cheaper you can make it. You are buying increasing amounts of raw materials (wire, magnets, screws, etc.), and get discounted prices from the supplier. The maker (Duncan), can then pass on his savings to the consumer, and be more competitive in the marketplace.

This is why boutique pickup makers wares are so much more expensive. They buy less and pay more...
Click to expand...

It's also because the boutique guys are successful at convincing a number of people that they have somehow sprinkled faerie dust on their pickups that give them more mojo than mere production pickups. After all, who could ever play a GIG with a production pickup? Bah...

This trick also apparently works for $300-$400 boutique effects pedals.
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

ICTGoober said:
Please define this concept... ^^^^
Click to expand...
When two or companies selling the same class of product exist they will make them differently and their quality is geared towards different traits or to equality in this case. Different customers go to different companies and to appeal to those customers they will have to change designs and continues advancing design for versatility or Demamd while not neglecting loyal customer base. Pickup companies excel at this usually. Since sales competitions aren't isolated they become different or unequal, while they may not be in game of one using each other, they do try to keep busting g out new and better products which,at growcustomer base across other companies without firming monopolies.

In fact if products were forced To be the ultra similar or were from monopoly then customers would not have options and production standards and innovation would go down(general statement of product/physical goods industries vs intangible product/services) or at least slowly stagnate to a stalemate. But meeting a variety of ends while being able to produce in mass keeps business going and as they try to appeal to different taste while remembering their products roots and standards allows for maintaining innovations and freedom in product production while minting good standard of production.

If everything is similar then choice and customers are neglected and reason to produce quality at lower prices stops as they would have to buy anyway.

Sorry for the longwindeness I took basic economics and basic accounting. It's just variety and Choi e in products creates appeal vs being forced to go with one company over the other. To innovation in how to get good products at a fair price continues, not just in product production itself. And I mean to restrain this comment to economics, note pressing other opinions.

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Re: Pickup prices over the years

When two or companies selling the same class of product exist they will make them differently and their quality is geared towards different traits or to equality in this case. Different customers go to different companies and to appeal to those customers they will have to change designs and continues advancing design for versatility or Demamd while not neglecting loyal customer base. Pickup companies excel at this usually. Since sales competitions aren't isolated they become different or unequal, while they may not be in game of one using each other, they do try to keep busting g out new and better products which,at growcustomer base across other companies without firming monopolies.

In fact if products were forced To be the ultra similar or were from monopoly then customers would not have options and production standards and innovation would go down(general statement of product/physical goods industries vs intangible product/services) or at least slowly stagnate to a stalemate. But meeting a variety of ends while being able to produce in mass keeps business going and as they try to appeal to different taste while remembering their products roots and standards allows for maintaining innovations and freedom in product production while minting good standard of production.

If everything is similar then choice and customers are neglected and reason to produce quality at lower prices stops as they would have to buy anyway.

Sorry for the longwindeness I took basic economics and basic accounting. It's just variety and Choi e in products creates appeal vs being forced to go with one company over the other. To innovation in how to get good products at a fair price continues, not just in product production itself. And I mean to restrain this comment to economics, note pressing other opinion
Click to expand...

Maybe you need to take communication class.... 'cause I didn't grasp your explanation at all.
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

ICTGoober said:
Maybe you need to take communication class.... 'cause I didn't grasp your explanation at all.
Click to expand...
True, maybe. Any way it's a long-winded way of saying that having options in not just product, but company is a good thing. They sharpen eachlther even if not immediately needed, it helps in the long run, or Tha scale main theory In economics anyway.

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Re: Pickup prices over the years

To simplify RandomToneGuys definiton of the concept:

If everything is similar then choice and customers are neglected and reason to produce quality at lower prices stops as they would have to buy anyway.
Click to expand...

This condenses the main point. It's exactly what has happened with consumer electonics: Try to buy a good quality TV or cellphone today, you have very little, if any options. Because everyone is building same cheap crap, customers are that used to it, and prices of them, they don't care if it's pain to use and breaks down within 5 years. There are no competition to force companies to improve. Very few companies (if any) can build good quality consumer electronics and survive, only thanks to good branding.

When you go into professional gear (like amplifiers or power tools) it's not that bad, because customers are much more aware what they are bying.
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

Jacew said:
To simplify RandomToneGuys definiton of the concept:



This condenses the main point. It's exactly what has happened with consumer electonics: Try to buy a good quality TV or cellphone today, you have very little, if any options. Because everyone is building same cheap crap, customers are that used to it, and prices of them, they don't care if it's pain to use and breaks down within 5 years. There are no competition to force companies to improve. Very few companies (if any) can build good quality consumer electronics and survive, only thanks to good branding.

When you go into professional gear (like amplifiers or power tools) it's not that bad, because customers are much more aware what they are bying.
Click to expand...
Thank you, that's pretty much what I wanted to say. And that it's alot more rare with tools, pickups, and amps is a good point that I should have made more clear.

And yeah, it's hard to get a good TV for cheap, we're at the pint where people think screen size and price are all that matters.

But thank you for condensing my statement.

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Re: Pickup prices over the years

This is why when I was starting out (1983 or so) I was in AWE of anyone who had aftermarket pickups in their guitar! It's also why I chose my guitars very carefully based on their pickups, because I could not afford to replace them with anything better. It's also why I swapped the same pickup into 3 or 4 guitars in a row, selling the old guitar with the original pickup from the new guitar. It's like those things were made of solid gold as far as I was concerned. They cost as much as I was paying for my entire guitars (used).
Now, I don't even care about the pickups because I will happily swap out any pickup if I like the rest of the guitar. I have way more to spend, and the pickups themselves are so much cheaper relative to everything else. I desperately wanted a Carvin M22 back then because of their ads in Guitar Player, but they were $50 and that was just too much for me to spend on a pickup. I bought one last year. It cost me less than $50 new. (Turns out I did not love it, but still...)

I see the same thing happening with guitars. I know you can spend thousands on a LesPaul or a PRS if you want to, but there are also SO MANY "decent" guitars available brand new for just a couple hundred dollars. My first couple years playing out would have been so much easier with all of the used mid-range guitars floating around today. Back then I made due with horrible crap because it's what I could get for $100 or so. Now I walk into a local shop and they have an entire wall full of used Strat copies for $25-75 and most of them are better than the one I had back in the day.

These kids today, they have it so easy I tell ya...
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

Had a client bring a used Epiphone SG to me last week - his first guitar.
He said, "I hear Seymour Duncans make good pickups".
I said,"Yeah, a bunch. Which model were you thinking of?".
"They make more than one kind?"

Had a buttload of Hot Rodded sets in stock.... gave him a good deal.
He's happy now.
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

I would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven with thone pickups in that guitar when I was Starting! I had a Korean les paul copy with horribly weak pickups and frets so soft you could gouge them doing a bend. (And I was glad to have it!)
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

ICTGoober said:
Had a client bring a used Epiphone SG to me last week - his first guitar.
He said, "I hear Seymour Duncans make good pickups".
I said,"Yeah, a bunch. Which model were you thinking of?".
"They make more than one kind?"

Had a buttload of Hot Rodded sets in stock.... gave him a good deal.
He's happy now.
Click to expand...

If it weren't for the Hot Rod Set we wouldn't be talking here today! We also owe decades of great music to it!
 
Re: Pickup prices over the years

So true. And the guitars that cost @$400 new now can be had for $200 used and can be used professionally with a few tweaks, pickups being one, fret level probably being another. Times have changed.

Dave Locher said:
This is

I see the same thing happening with guitars. I know you can spend thousands on a LesPaul or a PRS if you want to, but there are also SO MANY "decent" guitars available brand new for just a couple hundred dollars. My first couple years playing out would have been so much easier with all of the used mid-range guitars floating around today. Back then I made due with horrible crap because it's what I could get for $100 or so. Now I walk into a local shop and they have an entire wall full of used Strat copies for $25-75 and most of them are better than the one I had back in the day.

These kids today, they have it so easy I tell ya...
Click to expand...
 
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Re: Pickup prices over the years

Buzzin_Cousin said:
So true. And the guitars that cost @$400 new now can be had for $200 used and can be used professionally with a few tweaks, pickups being one, fret level probably being another. Times have changed.
Click to expand...
Most of what I buy is mid range. Although maybe Twice a year.

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