We complain about the price of guitars???

[duckbunny]

I just watched a TV show about how master-grade flutes are crafted.
This Boston craftsman makes three grades, one from sterilng silver, one from 14K gold, and one from platinum. Base prices range from 8 to 43K!

(FWIW, I'll bet Jean-Pierre Rampal hasn't got 200-300 flutes, ...then again he doesn't pull down McCartney money either!)


-db

[Flyin' Brian]

Saw the heading of this thread and was going to comment on the same program!

Saw a website for cellos. Price ranges were $20K and up.

Double basses are $5K and up unless you get a laminated one.

We actually do very well with guitars.

[lchyi]

Yea, I used to be a violin player. Talk about minimal return on tone. The average LA Phil's violin is probably 25k and the bow another 10k and they're like one out of 20-25 players in the section and maybe 50 in the ensemble...

[chris_d]

Yeah, i very badly want a harp, but i want a full sized one. They start at 15-17k and go up very rapidly. Sky's the limit at the top end, but one of those pretty guilded ones in standard production form will set you back about 75k. Brand new, not vintage. About $600 for starters for a set of strings. Eh. No.

If i hit the lottery, i'll get one for sure. Have to start playing the lottery first.

But yeah, it really puts guitar prices in perspective. Contrast a chinese telecaster copy for $100 to a decent student/starter lever harp at uh $5,000 or so... Yeah, harps and horses, don't let your kids know they even exist, folks.

-chris

[Baconator]

The shop that I bought my Suhr from sells Steinways - the one right by the door was priced at $80 G's. I didn't feel so bad about my Suhr after seeing the price tag on that. My wife had a good friend in university (some years ago now) from a lower middle-class family that had made it into the Toronto Symphony as a violinist. She bought a $20,000 violin to use in a job that paid little more than that per year. I can't imagine too many guitarists that have $20,000 worth of gear that make that have that salary.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by lchyi

Yea, I used to be a violin player. Talk about minimal return on tone. The average LA Phil's violin is probably 25k and the bow another 10k and they're like one out of 20-25 players in the section and maybe 50 in the ensemble...

10G's for a bow?!?! YIKES! Are the differences between a moderate versus high priced bow that obvious?

[Antero]

Considering it's an incredibly carefully designed acoustic instrument that spends its existence right next to your face, I'd imagine so.

[Long2Play]

I have no idea how many times I have pointed this out to guys complaining about great guitar prices. We get to buy world class, recording grade, heirloom quality instruments for $2-5K and whine like crazy doing it......

Awesome thread.......:BEER

[tildeslash]

I think my next guitar just got a justification to get purchased - thanks fellas.

[Cotton]

Its the same story when I go into a violin shop to look at fiddles.... I end up loving a late 1880's model.... of course, nothing is priced... and I try to maintain my composure when quoted a figure....

My everyday fiddle was made in Pasedena, Tejas by immigrant craftsmen. Rather than import Asian violins, violas, and such, the owner brought the craftsmen to his shop to do the work there.... And still, this everyday player is not inexpensive nor even near the tone/$ value I get from Gibson, Dr. Z, or Fender. The cheapest fiddle I've every had was a cracked top $400 road hog... $400 and it was in need of repair....

Cotton

[GuitarsFromMars]

Originally Posted by Baconator

The shop that I bought my Suhr from sells Steinways - the one right by the door was priced at $80 G's. I didn't feel so bad about my Suhr after seeing the price tag on that. My wife had a good friend in university (some years ago now) from a lower middle-class family that had made it into the Toronto Symphony as a violinist. She bought a $20,000 violin to use in a job that paid little more than that per year. I can't imagine too many guitarists that have $20,000 worth of gear that make that have that salary.

I can,but most of them have a day gig...

[cnardone]

I don't complain about the cost of gear. My wife does

I bet if our guitars started at 20 grand, not many of us would have the stable that we do. I know I wouldn't.

cmn

[Ben Furman]

I don't think it's a good analogy to compare a solidbody electric guitar with something made from brazed precious metals. The kinds of work involved, and the materials required, are not in the same ballpark.

If you want to compare a guitar to an orchestral instrument like a cello, then you have to compare something like a Benedetto made by the man himself - something fully carved and with extreme attention to every detail down to the tap tone of the bracing members. I think you're still looking at $20k plus.

That being said, there is definitely a sense of... I don't know, maybe haute couture in the violin market. That is to say the market is driven by names, social status, and fashion. Guitarists are a bit more pragmatic lot. Probably goes along with playing in bars vs. ampitheaters.

[dave s]

I was on an airport shuttle bus on the way to get a rental car and saw two distinguished gentlemen sitting across from me. One had a rather large hardshell case protecting a cello.

A couple questions about his instrument revealed he was holding a 300+ year-old instrument with a price tag of 'nearly priceless!' I sat back and imagined the people who have had their hands on that instrument over it's 3-century life. Definitely 'cool.'

Don't know the exact value of nearly priceless, but plenty more than I've paid for an instrument by a longshot!

Compared to many high-end instruments, guitars are a dime a dozen. Unless of course they are one of the few 'holy grail' 6-stringed beauties!

dave

[TDJMB]

Also, what I'm paying today for a Chapin or Koll is comparable to or less than what I paid for a PRS (adjusting for inflation). The same goes for my amps. My attitude is: do the best job you can and charge what you need to charge. Cellos are too damned big to carry around anyway.