Composite Guitar Prices
 

2-1/2 to 3 years ago, I purchased a small composite guitar for $1000. Today, the least expensive version of that guitar is a bit over $1,600, for a 62% increase in cost over 3 years. Adding a customization increased this year by 28%. I’ve seen this happening with 2 of the composite manufacturers that I follow.

I’m quickly going to be priced out of the composite market if this trend continues. I haven’t seen a lot of discussion about prices, so maybe I’m the only one who questions price increases that are even higher than my health insurance increases. ;)

Or perhaps I’m just that old guy that complains, “Guitars these days cost more than my first house!” :D

Several of my friends, after playing my X20 wanted to order Emeralds, one wants a Chimera, but they hesitated. Now with the price increase, shipping cost, etc., they still want them but the price is holding them up some. They all say I got mine just in time. I agree. I made the jump last July and part of my 'reason to believe' was noticing that the increase in discussions and improvements in technology was 'probably' going to result in price increases. I was right. At the same time, unless the market takes a dive, you could be wishing you bought in June 2018 because the price in June 2020 is so much higher.

Just glad I got mine, and I hope you can get yours.

Some of the best sounding RainSongs ever put out (in my opinion) have actually gone down in price. Then there is the used market where you can pretty much find a deal on any manufacturer- and those guitars almost always sell, so resale value does not seem to be an issue with CF. I think many enter the market that way... and then they are bitten by the CF bug that keeps the rest of us clicking back to here :)

Yeah, I forgot about Rainsong. It’s odd they added a lower cost line, and held prices while some others are significantly raising theirs.

I think it's smart of Rainsong. There are going to be a lot more buyers of a $1500 CF guitar than a $2500 one. They will still sell about as many of their other lines, but I will bet that their CH line outsells every other CF guitar by a country mile.

Yep, it was. Roof was Western Cedar, the back and sides were Rosewood. The bass was on solid ground, and in a beautiful midrange neighborhood. Loved that place. Shoulda never sold it, but you know... HAS :D

I bought my Composite Acoustic GX for $1, 600 six years ago. Now the same guitar and model is $2, 999.99!
When I bought mine it was just Composite Acoustic now Peavey owns it.
I love this guitar for playing on stage, it has become my favorite as I own Gibson Hummingbird and a Guild D140 CE

Just checked the classifieds and see there are not many carbon fiber guitars for sale. In the first 10 pages I checked, there were only 3-4 Rainsongs for sale and no Emeralds for sale at all. No Blackbirds listed except a WTB notice. Didn't check all the other brands.

For those concerned about price increases and waiting to find used, it may be tough going and a long wait.

However, buying new doesn't seem a poor idea at all, unless you are prone to sell your guitars quickly. The current price increase for Emerald was not insane, and I suspect there will be increases in the future again as needed. Waiting will only make it more painful.

Most CF guitars end up being as much good investment as they are enjoyable guitars.

There are fairly frequent sightings of pre-owned cf guitars for sale on the AGF, and some at pretty good prices. Heck, I sold two of mine (a Blackbird L13 and a Rainsong P12M) for crazy-low prices in the past 4 months - both for $1.5k or less for mint condition guitars. Others come up, for as little as $1k (again, for mint guitars just a few years old). They don't languish, for the most part, so one needs to keep an eye open, and jump on the deals that come up.

The low re-sale prices I've seen/experienced suggest buying a new cf guitar is not a brilliant investment, in most cases. :(

Emerald is raising prices as part of an upmarket strategy, which is great for them, given their success to date. I'm not clear that's inherent to cf guitars though. Rainsong is the opposite, as noted. McPherson keeps expanding their cf line. Others may get into the game....(I'll bet Kramster knows who...)

Composite Guitar Prices
 

I was lucky enough to get a used 2018 Emerald X20 a few months ago. I had been looking for a while. If you see one jump on it because if you don’t someone else will.

The scarcity of used CF Guitars keep the prices high. Yes you’ll occasionally get a deal but that’s the exception not the rule. You’ll get a better discount on a used wood guitar than on a CF guitar. CF manufacturers are raising their prices due to demand.

I saw an X7 Opus just went for $729. on eBay. THought that was a pretty good deal.

Rainsong's Concert Hybrid series is probably the best thing to happen to CF guitars in years. Such a great value for such great guitars. The rest of their line has held pretty steady, and their quality has remained top-notch.

I know a lot of the other guys are going for flashy veneers and customization, so that probably explains the Emerald/Blackbird side of things. And CA... I just don't care for the way Peavey runs their brands/company.

CA went bankrupt. Peavey having to raise prices to break even or make a profit should be no surprise. The new Emerald models look like they cost more to make (bigger and more curves). Maybe they are all part of an up market move given their cheapest instrument is not going to be a high volume product. Or possibly, like many small businesses, they discovered they were barely covering their bills and needed to change something. In general, CF as a raw material, has got to be getting cheaper (or at least stable), as it's scale of application across all things has grown enormously which attracts new suppliers and competition.