#46
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It is a good thing he got out when he did. I just sent him an email explaining how lucky he is.
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#47
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Or you can do both. As long as human beings have passion to build a better mousetrap there will be builders and folks that want to explore what they are offering. Many people choose to buy things even if they don’t have the resources and we have built quite an industry around that for better or worse. I like choice and am aware that no matter the economic system, there are compromises with all of them. Best, Jayne |
#48
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Need?.. None.
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Guild DV6 (1998 Westerly) Guild GAD D140 Cordoba Acero D11 Yamaha FG 410A Cordoba Acero D9ce |
#49
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As many as the market can bear. It's called elasticity of demand. If it was controlled there may never have been Fender, Taylor, Eastman, PRS, Larrivee, etc. There would only be Martin and Gibson. Peoe like freedom and variety.
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guitarboy88 1992 Martin D-16H Silver Creek OOO T-160 |
#50
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How Many Manufacturers Do We Really Need
When I got into this game in the early-60's, there were comparatively few first-tier manufacturers on the market: Martin, Gibson, Guild, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Fender, and Epiphone (both Kalamazoo and the remaining NOS New York instruments still gracing dealer stockrooms)...
The student/intermediate/budget market was covered by Harmony, Kay, Favilla, Supro/Valco, Premier, Danelectro - along with their respective contract-production instruments - and a cornucopia of no-name jobber guitars, as well as the occasional Goya/Espana/Framus import (Hofner and Hagstrom were virtually unknown in the US, the Japanese guitar boom was just getting into gear, Korea/Indonesia/Taiwan were non-players, and there was no trade with China)... There were a few niche companies like Magnatone and Mosrite... A handful of individual luthiers here and abroad serviced the high-end archtop/classical/specialty market... The bottom line is that each one brought something different to the table - tone, appointments, design, production methods, ergonomics, value-per-dollar, company tradition, etc. ... Today I can buy an all-solid-wood sitka/EIR OM with a 1-3/4" nut, 25.4" scale, and vintage-style tuners for $500, $3K, $15K, or any price in between, from a couple dozen makers - the same goes for an S-type electric with three PU's, a 5-way switch, and bolt-on all-maple neck... While all guitars are of necessity variations on a common theme, in the not-too-distant past it was all about building the genuinely better mousetrap - now it's unfortunately become a matter of how much you're willing to spend for what amounts to the same mousetrap with a different brag factor... I love high-end guitars as much as anyone, but how many reproductions of a J-45/D-18/OM-28/Telecaster can the market take - at any price - and other than a certain very well-known company, where are the real innovators on the mass-market level? Let the games begin...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#51
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#52
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#53
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Neutral guitars sound a bit flat.
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#54
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Henry Ford allowed people to have a car in any color they desired as long as it was black.
Following that thinking (his all black model T being produced with few changes for many years) we should all be playing a working man's non-burst, all gloss Yamaha FG150 with the choice of Fender light, medium or heavy tortoise celluloid picks, National celluloid thumb pick and a Dunlop elastic capo. That would definitely separate players from buyers. |
#55
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Every government that wrote a five year production plan for their state owned industries has tried to do what you're suggesting. It is better to let the guitar buyers figure out what guitar buyers need. Who knows? We might only need 11. Or 111. Anyway, I have to agree with everyone else who has pointed out how nice it is to have a wide range of choices, prices, woods, craftsmanship, style, etc. I do think we are blessed to have so much choice. |
#56
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Way less, for sure. We don't even need this many models.
Let's see: I don't prefer mahogany so we'll get rid of those. I don't like cheap guitars so we'll have nothing under $4,000. No bursts, no cutaways. No dreads - too big. Hey, this is easy. No long scale or small nuts (those are for squirrels). Definitely no low sustain models. OK: Lowden, Dana B and Froggies, and I'll keep Olsen because I like James Taylor. Maybe high end Martin's, but I don't want to crowd the field.
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Keith Martin 000-42 Marquis Taylor Classical Alvarez 12 String Gibson ES345s Fender P-Bass Gibson tenor banjo |
#57
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Sorry I will not read through this...stuff. The only answer is: Whatever the market will bear. End of story.
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#58
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...that’s a shame...there were some very nice replies in this thread...
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#59
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It’s great to live in a world where we can follow our passion and if we are good at what we do we can be rewarded financially. The market is restricted by demand which means the best rise to the top. I’m sure there are many wanna be guitar manufacturers that can’t or didn’t make it for a variety of reasons. The ones that have become successful supply us with some great guitars at all price points. I’ll take more of that please.
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Martin GP 35E 2017 Gibson J-45 Standard 2019 Martin OM15 Custom 2019 |
#60
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How Many Manufacturers Do We Really Need
Many thousands more would be nice. A huge oversupply should cause prices to come way down.
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