Quote:
Originally Posted by jonfields45
Assuming this isn't a Halloween Prank...
I doubt substituting a small amount of CF with fiberglass, some plastic or a decal in place of Ablam, or a bit of satin finish for gloss really made much difference in their cost of manufacture. But that is the art of marketing...
The unidirectional and random CF shard tops were the best looking prior to the spruce laminate. Maybe their future as shown to them by Emerald is more wood laminate and less pure CF. In which case just sell the best lookers.
Or maybe they've decided to simplify around the stuff that can be sold at a profit.
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That makes the most sense. A bunch of similar models, with minor changes, is less streamlined for production. Focus on what sells best. Make them great. Give good customer service. Seems like a good recipe for success.
Guitar makers come in all business models. Small production makers can be profitable. Then, there are the Taylors and Martins. I've seen discussion on this sub-forum about who makes the most CF guitars... as a guitar buyer, I am more interested in who makes the guitar that is best for me rather than who makes the most. And, it's good if that maker is profitable, so they will be around when I'm ready for another guitar.
I don't see this as "a sign" of anything at RainSong, other than a business decision. I have to say when they came out with their lower price line a while back, my first thought was: as a small manufacturer, there is a limit to how many guitars they can produce... and if the less expensive models cannibalize sales from the more expensive models, well that can't be good.
Unlike a manufacturer like Taylor, who is making more guitars in a week than CF makers make in a year (I don't know the numbers, that may be an exaggeration), we can't expect CF makers to have enough staff and resources to run a dozen concurrent lines.
We've seen RainSong drop the Shorty (a good seller) for the CH-OM (pretty much the same thing), so changes happen. I wish them well.