Posted on 06/22/2017 4:29:03 PM PDT by Drew68
The convention couldnt sound less rock-and-roll the National Association of Music Merchants Show. But when the doors open at the Anaheim Convention Center, people stream in to scour rows of Fenders, Les Pauls and the oddball, custom-built creations such as the 5-foot-4-inch mermaid guitar crafted of 15 kinds of wood.
Standing in the center of the biggest, six-string candy store in the United States, you can almost believe all is well within the guitar world.
Except if, like George Gruhn, you know better. The 71-year-old Nashville dealer has sold guitars to Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift. Walking through NAMM with Gruhn is like shadowing Bill Belichick at the NFL Scouting Combine. There is great love for the product and great skepticism. What others might see as a boom the seemingly endless line of dealers showcasing instruments Gruhn sees as two trains on a collision course.
There are more makers now than ever before in the history of the instrument, but the market is not growing, Gruhn says in a voice that flutters between a groan and a grumble. Im not all doomsday, but this this is not sustainable.
The numbers back him up. In the past decade, electric guitar sales have plummeted, from about 1.5 million sold annually to just over 1 million. The two biggest companies, Gibson and Fender, are in debt, and a third, PRS Guitars, had to cut staff and expand production of cheaper guitars. In April, Moodys downgraded Guitar Center, the largest chain retailer, as it faces $1.6 billion in debt. And at Sweetwater.com, the online retailer, a brand-new, interest-free Fender can be had for as little as $8 a month.
What worries Gruhn is not simply that profits are down. That happens in business.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Hubby has a telecaster and just acquired a 2016 Les Paul. He says it helps keep his hands moving from the arthritis.
What a joke. I’ve bought three guitars since I turned 70 a couple of months ago. Of course none of them were new. Got a Mexican Strat made in the ‘90’s for $150. A 2009 USA Les Paul for $550, and a Chinese Epiphone Les Paul Special for $80. All of them play great. The other two electrics I have are a 1996 Korean Fender Telecaster and a 1962 Gibson ES 355. The latter is worth a fair amount and would be right up Gruhn’s alley. The used electric guitar market is doing quite nicely. If I live long enough, there’s some new models out that I might consider at a fraction of their current MSRP in maybe ten years.
With all due respect to my acquaintance George, this is a standard lament of an “older” guy to the state of the market today. If you go to a NAMM show and look at the guitars, you can barely escape the conclusion that there is no way for the world to absorb the numbers of guitars on display.
Almost forty years ago when I first met George, he despised the idea that a Candy Apple Red Strat (electric guitar) 1: sold for twice as much as a regular sunburst one, and 2: Sold for more than a finely made acoustic guitar, say a Martin D-18, simply because it was spray-painted a different color.
In the meantime, George has bought and sold guitars including CAR Strats up to the point where they command $25,000, still substantially more than regular sunburst ones.
Today, Fender (and most other makers) produce “relic” guitars which look like they are really old, really well used ones. At the same time, the tech to make modern electric (and acoustic) guitars has advanced massively. I used to have a medium sized vintage collection. I sold them and bought newer guitars that are mechanically far, far superior and cost 1/10th as much as those older ones are worth. Yes, they sound a bit more sterile. Run it through a fuzz box, I can’t tell.
Anyway, those beat-up-from-the-factory looking guitars sell for 3x what regular models sell for.
There will always be a fetish people chase. There will always be guitar makers who go out of business. Offshore made instruments are almost as good as domestic ones, the real vintage ones are fiendishly expensive (and with YouTube and ebay NOBODY does not know what they are worth any more) What Mr. Gruhn laments is, the loss of intermediation = his oppty to profit, to make a living. That is true of all things, pretty much.
I never really had guitar heroes.
For a band to meet my minimum standards it had to have a balance of instruments beyond drums and guitars even if rock was the style.
Rock and roll has all but come and gone...I’ve heard all the greats songs of the 60s 70s a thousand times each and most everything that followed were versions of what I’ve heard over and over and over for decades. It’s just not the same...
Eh. There’s still a freaking million guitars being sold each year. So some dealers and companies will go under. Welcome to the real world. Gibson may go under just because of the awful quality control.
Another thing that’s hurting them is the rise of decent quality cheaper brands like Epiphone and Squier. Some of those guitars are very nice at a fraction of the cost.
Sure an American Fender may be nicer than Squier. But $1000 nicer? Not really. Plus a few upgrades will make that cheap Epiphone play and sound as nice as any Les Paul.
It’s a tough world out there. Get complacent and things can go south very quickly.
Tribute to George Harrison, in which Prince plays a stunning guitar...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y
“The British Invasion is frequently credited with firing the fatal torpedo (in the form of the electric guitar) into the hobby industry”
Do you mean coin collecting, model building and so forth?
“Less interest in guitar. The demographic that played the guitar is getting old and dying off.
“
Here in th US, Maybe. But not in the rest of the world. My best friend, Neil Zaza tours constantly in Eruopre and specially in Asia. Thet are not so entralled with Rap crap. His concerts sell out! I record with him sometimes, and I play Pedal Steel!
Pedal steel on this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puov93SDltM
Lap steel on this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAY1WKouT18
Hipster music is pure garbage.
Generally, I think popular music today absolutely sucks. It all sounds the same, just one singer after another, auto tuned and backed by a recorded track, who is chosen and marketed more for their looks and image than for any musical talent. Most are studio creations that either can't credibly perform live, or who sound pitiful when they do.
I miss real bands and real musicians. Some of my favorites were Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Kansas, Boston, etc. The pathetic drivel that passes for "music" today all sounds exactly the same, is boring, and pales in comparison to the groups of the past. Sadly, I think it's just another symptom of the shallowness of today's culture.
Re: The demographic that played the guitar is getting old and dying off.
Went to a jazz concert a few years back. Nearly everyone in attendance was over 50. AARP should have had a booth.
Thus, the death of the garage band. There arent any anymore.
Good point. Played many garages as a teen in the 80s. Today I have no doubt the cops would show up after about 10 minutes.
And here’s a new LZ-ish band of - well - children! But it’s darn sure pretty good rock.
Greta van Fleet
https://youtu.be/aJg4OJxp-co
The point being, there are some getting into the old stuff, and making new stuff.
Is he really that good? It takes a lot more than just technique to make a great guitarist.
Whatcha got? Post a YouTube link, maybe of something live...
A parallel development is the dying out of the teenage car culture, which went hand-in-hand with guitars and rock ‘n’ roll. Modern computer technology doesn’t enable the tinkering kids used to do with cars.
.... Looks like the world of “let’s pretend” on hand-held electronic devices is returning the favor....
Let’s see them do something comparable to Voodoo Child (a slight return) on one of those.
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