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  #1  
Old 09-13-2017, 01:09 AM
rodmeister rodmeister is offline
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Default Clapton Says Maybe the Guitar is Over.

http://www.musicradar.com/news/eric-...guitar-is-over

Personally it's irrelevant if the guitar is dead or dying as a popular music instrument. There will always be a minority who likes the sound. And I have my collection of guitar based music from the 60's and 70's, and my J-45 to sustain me.
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Last edited by rodmeister; 09-13-2017 at 01:33 AM.
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  #2  
Old 09-13-2017, 02:07 AM
colins colins is offline
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I'm with you Rod. I like it. My family likes it

I also wonder if Fender and Gibson are losing turnover not because of a smaller market but because of greater competition from other suppliers?

Col
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  #3  
Old 09-13-2017, 02:26 AM
Tico Tico is offline
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Oh Noes!
The guitar is over!

Time to throw mine away.
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Old 09-13-2017, 03:26 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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That's what they said in the '80s with all the keyboard and computerised stuff.

I confess that I know diddly squat about what "music" the kids buy/download nowadays but I bet there aren't that many two gutar, bass and drum acts in it.
Of course there might well be session players in the back ground tracks but if you don't see 'em , they don't exist.

As far as acoustic guitars are concerned, I still think that the majority of buyers of higher level pieces are the old guys - Baby boomers, and we all know what's happening to us.

I truly think that we are at saturation point for fine acoustic guitars - hence the sudden emergence of marketing ploys ike torrification, and "reliced" finishes.

About the only guitar guy that gets on the front pages is Ed Sheeran and his guitars aren't exactly a big deal.

If Martin, Collings, Bourgeois, and Taylor, all stopped making now - there would still be a whole load of good stuff used to meet demand.

Rosewood guitars will become progressively more difficult to sell across borders, and other woods will follow shortly.

The guitar will never die, but I think that there will be less and less demand over the next ten years.
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  #5  
Old 09-13-2017, 03:32 AM
Long Jon Long Jon is offline
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I have just this week ordered a brand new customised guitar.

So, I think that pretty conclusively blows ol' Eric's theory out the water.

Take THAT Clapton !
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  #6  
Old 09-13-2017, 03:46 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
That's what they said in the '80s with all the keyboard and computerised stuff.

I confess that I know diddly squat about what "music" the kids buy/download nowadays but I bet there aren't that many two gutar, bass and drum acts in it.
Of course there might well be session players in the back ground tracks but if you don't see 'em , they don't exist.

As far as acoustic guitars are concerned, I still think that the majority of buyers of higher level pieces are the old guys - Baby boomers, and we all know what's happening to us.

I truly think that we are at saturation point for fine acoustic guitars - hence the sudden emergence of marketing ploys ike torrification, and "reliced" finishes.

About the only guitar guy that gets on the front pages is Ed Sheeran and his guitars aren't exactly a big deal.

If Martin, Collings, Bourgeois, and Taylor, all stopped making now - there would still be a whole load of good stuff used to meet demand.

Rosewood guitars will become progressively more difficult to sell across borders, and other woods will follow shortly.

The guitar will never die, but I think that there will be less and less demand over the next ten years.
Sorry Andy, but I must take issue with your contention that torrefaction is a "marketing ploy". This technique has been used in guitars for 10 years now, since Yamaha introduced it, so 'suddenly' is not really the adverb I would choose. It works, and I would suggest that a corporation as huge as Yamaha has no need of 'marketing ploys' in order to sell guitars and remain profitable. Furthermore everyone in the business of making money uses advertising and marketing techniques to some extent in order to sell their stuff. Otherwise we would learn of nothing other than by word of mouth. I believe that your preferred Collings guitars also offer torrefied tops to some models.
Moving on to the 'relic' phenomenon; whilst it isn't to my taste Fender have been selling their expensive relic models since 1995, and successfully at that. If the consumer didn't want the product it would quickly disappear.
A quick Google search will reveal that acoustic guitar sales are, in fact, on the increase. We can thank the likes of Sheeran and Mayer for that.
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Last edited by AndrewG; 09-13-2017 at 04:17 AM.
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Old 09-13-2017, 04:11 AM
Cabarone Cabarone is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Long Jon View Post
I have just this week ordered a brand new customised guitar.

So, I think that pretty conclusively blows ol' Eric's theory out the water.

Take THAT Clapton !
Long Jon>Clapton...
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Old 09-13-2017, 04:29 AM
Scootch Scootch is offline
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Ill always have my ukulele as a backup.
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Old 09-13-2017, 04:33 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scootch View Post
Ill always have my ukulele as a backup.
You'll be delighted to learn that Uke sales are rocketing then
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Old 09-13-2017, 04:33 AM
lowrider lowrider is offline
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It looks, to me, like this is the first Eric heard of this and he was just being agreeable.

“My belief in music is it’s all good. It’s all good. Even stuff that doesn’t appear to be so, it’s all good. I don’t know. Maybe the guitar is over.”
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  #11  
Old 09-13-2017, 05:03 AM
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Bob Womack Bob Womack is offline
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From the original story:

“I’m out of touch. I mean, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know where it’s gonna go either."

Bob
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  #12  
Old 09-13-2017, 05:24 AM
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I first heard that guitar based music was over right after Blood Sweat & Tears and The Chicago Transit Authority had their first hits. Even if it's now true about the new music, it doesn't matter to me - I play old music.
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Old 09-13-2017, 05:25 AM
Silurian Silurian is offline
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When this topic comes up, I just think of Dick Rowe.
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Old 09-13-2017, 05:28 AM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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You know what.... I wouldn't surmise that issue one way or another... but what I know are these two truths: 1) there's nothing more soothing to my spirit than the reverberations of my instrument as my fingers manipulate the strings. 2) and where there is music and a voice there will always be an audience that appreciates it!
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  #15  
Old 09-13-2017, 05:41 AM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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I can't speak to the sales numbers but I think there has been a recent upsurge in the interest in acoustic guitars and acoustic playing among my grandson's (age16) generation and the one just after him. This may be due to folks like Sheeran and Mayer but there is an underground scene of very fine artists not to mention the "new country" stuff.
I think the 60's and 70's bubble is about burst as we the boomers, fade away.
I do believe the sales of guitars at $2500 and up will slide dramatically over the next decade.
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