What makes this guitar $8,000+?

[imwjl]

I'm a day trip from Dave's so get to see pretty much all the makers' special runs and special stuff. A search for an ES-335 or similar that lasted a few years meant hands on with a lot of stuff. First, some but surprisingly little special Gibson stuff is made better but remains a joke compared to Collings, PRS and Fender Custom shop. Second and most important, it looks like a lot of limited edition stuff gets bought because people are very tribal, have strong brand loyalty, and some will be guitar editions the way some buy limited edition plates or coffee mugs.

All this gets interesting if you're searching for a super quality instrument more than a brand or model. When I finally pulled the trigger I sat in a circle of wonderful instruments. The superb and superior by build Collings guitars were in the middle of Gibson prices.

[fuman]

Well, unicorns are pret-ty rare.

[stephenT]

If it's $8K retail, then Gibson sells it to dealers for $4k give or take, and it becomes a $5k-$6k guitar. Still way too much.

[Doxastic]

First off, maple is always the top on an LP. So ALL LPs will have a maple top no matter if it's a 10k CS or a 1k studio. However, the quality of maple does vary, like with all woods. Same with the 'hog.

This is $8k because it's a "signature" model, which means the artist gets some money. And since it's a CS the wood is high quality than a regular LP. And they put a little more time into building it. Plus, there's the collector effect.

Will it sound better than a regular CS '59... that depends on your ear. If the "monster" sound is what you're looking for, $8k will get it.

[Halvy15]

My 2 teenagers and I took 2 Mexican strats with excellent necks and frets and replaced bridge, tremolo, and single coils with quality aftermarket parts. Total cost was $450 for new guitars, about $250-300 for new parts, and $75 for professional setup including intonation, fret dressing, truss and nut adjustments, etc so that for a little over $800 plus time we have amazing electrics almost as good as custom shop strats that were $4K and $5K. The one with rosewood neck and lollars is a mind blower, the one with a custom shop configuration of 3 vintage Fender single coils is almost as good. But if you want that one to say "Greg Fessler custom shop" you will have to pay between $5 and $6K to get one the same except for nitrocellulose instead of lacquer finish. My boys are taking these hot rodded guitars to market for about $1200.
You will not be able to match tone or playability in that price range anywhere, a long winded explanation why we would never pay eight grand!

[Eric_M]

Originally Posted by Halvy15

My 2 teenagers and I took 2 Mexican strats with excellent necks and frets and replaced bridge, tremolo, and single coils with quality aftermarket parts. Total cost was $450 for new guitars, about $250-300 for new parts, and $75 for professional setup including intonation, fret dressing, truss and nut adjustments, etc so that for a little over $800 plus time we have amazing electrics almost as good as custom shop strats that were $4K and $5K. ...

My boys are taking these hot rodded guitars to market for about $1200

Unfortunately I've found that mods tend to add relatively little value, no matter how high-quality the parts, and more often detract from resale value. I mod my guitars because I like tinkering and optimizing my instruments for my needs, knowing that it's doing very little or nothing to boost resale value.

I've been following this thread and wondering where the $8K figure even came from; can't find much info on this guitar online (at least in English). That Gibson was a limited edition of 25 instruments meant for the Taiwanese market. Did someone convert from Taiwanese currency? Is someone trying to sell one stateside?

But as far as the price, we live in a world where this went for $25K:




And y'all are shocked by $8K?

(fwiw big VH fan)

[Drubbing]

Originally Posted by Halvy15

My boys are taking these hot rodded guitars to market for about $1200.
You will not be able to match tone or playability in that price range anywhere, a long winded explanation why we would never pay eight grand!

I'd be surprised if anyone pays that. Informed buyers will simply not pay for a Mex or Squier with high quality mods on it, no matter how well done. Non informed buyer probably aren't looking in that price range to begin with.

People who mod usually do it to get a guitar the way they like it without spending the sorts of money you mentioned. To expect the market to then pay a premium for that, and your time doing it, is probably over optimistic.

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by Halvy15

My 2 teenagers and I took 2 Mexican strats with excellent necks and frets and replaced bridge, tremolo, and single coils with quality aftermarket parts. Total cost was $450 for new guitars, about $250-300 for new parts, and $75 for professional setup including intonation, fret dressing, truss and nut adjustments, etc so that for a little over $800 plus time we have amazing electrics almost as good as custom shop strats that were $4K and $5K. The one with rosewood neck and lollars is a mind blower, the one with a custom shop configuration of 3 vintage Fender single coils is almost as good. But if you want that one to say "Greg Fessler custom shop" you will have to pay between $5 and $6K to get one the same except for nitrocellulose instead of lacquer finish. My boys are taking these hot rodded guitars to market for about $1200.
You will not be able to match tone or playability in that price range anywhere, a long winded explanation why we would never pay eight grand!

I have a 2006 Greg Fessler Masterbuilt Rosewood Tele .
Fine guitar and a true one of a kind .
Worth every cent I paid .
I even got to meet Greg at The Music Zoo and found him very gracious and humble .
By the way , the pickups in this guitar are truly something special . At least , this is what I keep hearing from others .

[Tazz3]

I would never pay 8 grand for any guitar

[Herrick]

Originally Posted by Drubbing

I can hear the sustain from here...

"Listen. Just listen to it. The sustain, listen to it."

[ronbo]

Naw...It's the Haunting Mids!

Take a sidetrack over to The Gear Page Forum, and you might even find someone that has one, and might even say they feel it is worth it! Hey, wasn't there some Martin Eric Clapton Crossroads acoustic guitar going for $50K and $12K last year after NAMM? Guess you really gotta like the Artist and the guitar!

I actually feel the same as the OP when I see a guitar around here for $2-3K, but I am a legendary cheapskate! I 've seen 'old' (vintage) guitars here for sale for as much as this guitar, and they get sold eventually. Actually wish that kind of thing was within my economic realm,....

[Psalad]

Originally Posted by redir

It's called marketing

I build mostly acoustic guitars but I've built at least 15 electric guitars over the years and I don't believe the wood has much influence on tone, no where near as much as an acoustic for example. There is something there when considering the density of the wood which will give you more sustain and a different attack and pickups do have some microphonics that might actually 'hear' the tone wood but it's more about what pickups you choose, what pedals or electronics you have on the floor or what amp you are using then anything else.

You hear all kinds of mystery and voodoo on both sides of the electric vs acoustic isle and I would suggest you take a lot of it with a big fat grain, er block, of salt. If you put good picups in a Epi you will absolutely notice the difference.

That's my 2 cents and I'm stickin' to it

It's a freakin plank with pickups on it. There is one born every minute.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by Eric_M

...But as far as the price, we live in a world where this went for $25K:



(fwiw big VH fan)

is that the one of the replicas? i remember the original cost eddie something $150 to buid, and the replicas were super expensive.

[Mr. Scott]

You guys are right, it is mainly marketing. But I think we would all agree that the materials used to build an instrument have an effect on the final sound and that anything you change will effect the sound too.
I've played Gibson and Epiphone guitars and, yes, there is a difference. But with Epis you get a good bang for your buck, with Gibbos probably not so much. And I don't think I would pay 8000 for one of those.
But there again, I can't afford to!

[Dru Edwards]

As nice as that guitar is, if I'm going to spend $8k on a Les Paul I'd get 3 standards with different pickups. That would be sweet!