Posted on 08/29/2023 10:08:17 AM PDT by Drew68
If you think that’s bad some guitar companies are charging more for electric guitars made from special kinds of wood. They claim it improves the tone. Of an electric guitar. Lol. There’s one born every minute.
If you want an expensive hobby, start picking up pedal steels.
Good point. Even a Squier Bullet runs about $200 now.
Starter (or practice) amps retail in the $80 range, and figure wholesale is a fraction of that. I’ll bet they sell twenty 10 watt amps for every twin reverb.
Had a 70's era Jag, wish I still had that too, not to mention the 3/4 Gibson Melody maker.
Tell me you don't know anything about electric guitars without telling me you don't know anything about electric guitars.
Wood has a great deal with how an electric guitar sounds. Maple-topped guitars are brighter, as are guitars with maple necks.
Leo Fender used ash and alder because they were readily available and sounded good. Pine electrics are light but have a different sound. Solid maple electric guitars are extremely heavy.
Unfortunately, a lot of "old-growth" hardwoods are scarcer than they used to be and we're seeing in increase in alternative woods from Asia such as basswood. Brazilian rosewood and ebony from Madagascar used for fingerboards is now much harder to come by and can run afoul of CITES laws (what Obama pummeled Gibson over). We're even seeing in increase of fake wood like Richlite (super compressed cardboard + epoxy resin) enter the manufacturing process.
Type of wood used in electric guitar manufacturing contributes to tone, sustain, durability, and weight and matters a great deal.
The worst “Covid-Fad” was people getting animals out of shelters “So they wouldn’t be home alone” only to dump them when the restrictions were lifted.
Sure it does. However the tone control does a heck of a lot more. Or a programmable amp will make it sound any way you like.
I would agree. Played a new AmPro2 tele recently. Really nice!
Hella pile.
I bought and sold guitars starting in the 70’s, far fewer in recent years. I used to aspire to owning many.
I’ve sold off all my truly vintage ones, a ‘57 Strat, a ‘60 Strat, a ‘64 Strat and a ‘65 Jazz Bass. They just started to represent too much money to keep around, and most of them needed work (beyond what I can do) and I needed the money. They very notably allowed me to bring money down through time.
I don’t play enough any more to justify owning more than the three I still have. Actually 5, two are put-together pieces of junk.
They just need to wait until mid September when Brandon brings back the lockdowns.
Guitar prices coming down fast!
Yep! This is the best time ever to buy a quality "barely played" used guitar.
I wish I'd sold my 100 watt Marshall stack at the peak of the boom. It's just too big and too loud for my quiet suburban life these days.
I read this among recent press releases from Fender. Just laughable.
Apparently, there is a new series of Fender guitars called “Streetwoods” So these guitars are yer standard Strats and Teles except the bodies and necks are made from woods ‘harvested’ from American streets. In other words, the woods come from tree-service woods, LOL. And they start at $9K. Which is at least partially crazy because oak and walnut, fairly common “streetwoods” are not good guitar woods. Oak just completely sucks, Walnut is heavy as hell.
So there’s some reason I guess to believe a $9,000. Strat made from that narly old walnut tree cut down from in front of aunt Edna’s house is built better than a regular Mexican Strat (which have gotten really good) for $500 or an American Strat for $1200..... Because these come out of the “custom shop” and are “master built”.
https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/fender-launches-new-collection-sustainable-guitars/
Yeah, totally ridiculous, as well as the black "Frankenstrat" pictured upthread.
However, the days of the $500 Mexican Standard are well behind us. I've been eyeing a Jason Isbell signature Tele. Not that I'm a huge Isbell fan, I just really like the specs. It's Mexican-made and nearly $1700 retail.
I will say the Mexican-made Fenders are really great instruments, even at their newly inflated price points.
Dude, Man! I thought I had an extensive guitar collection, but yours drawfs mine. Did pickup a beautiful Gibson Dove acoustic a couple of months ago. Beautiful instrument, both cosmetically and tone quality. Play on!
Back when I played bass I listed after a Richenbacker.
L
Yes. Well an electric guitars sound is 95% pickups and only a tiny portion comes from the wood. People have made great sounding guitars from glass or plastic. Almost anything you can attach pick ups to will do. One guy has sound charts of pickups screwed to a tree. It sounds just like a guitar. YouTube has dozens of videos on this subject.
“However, the days of the $500 Mexican Standard are well behind us. “
I’m certainly out of the loop on current retail prices, I go more on Craigslist pricing and you would appear correct on $500 Mex Strats. Frankly, I can’t recall ever buying a brand new guitar in 50 years. True, you do not get to go to Guitar Center and pick from among 3-6 examples, but I’ve never bought a brand new guitar from a music store that I can recall!
I play bass now, and I lust after a Rickenbacker. Can’t justify the $2000, though.
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