Set one of those up recently for an acquaintance. Showed up new with a doglegged fret that was lifting out of the slot. Absolute trashDone, it’s acoustic beginner, but if monoprice is a trendsetter, strats and Lps can’t be far behind
On youtube, guitar is alive and well.Some cost difference will be justified both by the “plain Jane” branding but also the increased scale brought by amazon.
But the largest point is - is guitar really dying if Amazon think they can sell those at scale? Seems while TGP’ers have been lamenting the death of guitar the last 20 years, there is a vibrant guitar scene happening somewhere. Perhaps it didn’t register here due to the lack of custom shop guitars and boutique TS variants.
;p
I totally dig what your saying but that horse has left the barn and its not going back in. At this point, certain categories of goods are just not going to have made in the U.S. options and those that do are just prohibitively expensive for some people. These are a great option for those that want decent, inexpensive pedals.I don’t want to sniff anything of yours; thank you.
It’s not elitist to want to work a simple job in assembly or manufacturing here in America.
I speak for myself only; I try very hard not to buy cheap crap out of China any longer. It’s like free/OP drugs… Seems like a good idea in the beginning… Fine, cheap stuff forever… Until the reality comes home and they own your soul.
I wonder what is taking Taco Bell, Exxon, Berkshire Hathaway, Kroger and The Red Cross so long to get their pedal lines out?
Yeah, Amazon sells guitars -- Squiers, Epis, Grote (?), Firefly (?), and many others. All those brands are available at alternate sources. Amazon is a supporter of slave-labor countries, run by a 20th-century robber baron.The booster has treble, bass, and drive, but no volume.
I wonder if guitars are coming next.
100%. If you don't do streaming, social media ie YouTube/IG, than you basically don't exist right now. The money isn't in the music itself, it's in selling experience, merch, and services to your fanbase. YT, IG, TikTok, etc... all there to build the fanbase that you can then start selling to.On youtube, guitar is alive and well.
Dave541 has millions of followers— and he is only a bassist.
People consume music differently. There are loads of guitar driven bands on Spotify that are great— who have never been close to a ‘radio’ or ‘MTV.’
TGP is a bunch of oldsters who are out of touch. My kids have never actually paid for music. And live shows in COVID times? Forget it.
They have already partnered to make an exclusive guitar for Amazon. Private label is only a step away.I wonder if Amazon might do a private branded guitar along the lines of Daisy Rock or Hello Kitty.
Ouch!he is only a bassist.
Just because it only costs Amazon that much to make pedals doesn’t mean the ones sold for $500 only cost that much to make...Regarding these Amazon Basic pedals. I absolute hate Amazon, and avoid them more than covid.. so least to say I won't be buying these...
BUT, it is a reminder to all... those $500+ boutique pedals you're buying cost less than a 10th of the purchase price to actually make sometimes.
I have a 16 pedal board with a controller on it, and I probably own about 40 pedals... most of those being higher end stuff ie Analogman, Moog, Strymon, Chase Bliss, Diamond, Empress, ZVEX, Drybell etc (with a healthy dose of EHX for balance).
Last pedal I bought was an EHX Attack/Decay because it did something very specific that I was looking for and could never find.... but before that it's been a few years since I bought a pedal.... mostly because I realized... we're throwing so much money at these things, many times just isn't worth it. 90% of the time we just get hooked in by the marketing and aesthetics.
Bingo. Paying people a living wage in the USA (or any developed country) necessitates a higher price than sweat shop labor overseas.Just because it only costs Amazon that much to make pedals doesn’t mean the ones sold for $500 only cost that much to make...
I have a Eur 15 RAT off Aliexpress. It's good enough to be an "always on" drive at minimum gain. Go figure."Man you guys killed it! Where are you pulling that amazing tone from?!"
"amazon basics."
Per the China argument...
It's throw away technology. Specifically designed to be the cheapest possible. If it can't be repaired, and is designed to be in a landfill a year later.. I pass. There's already more than enough trash out there as it is. If your cool with that, that's fine. I'm more in the quality over quantity camp myself.
I'm not sure if builders and companies are 'worried' right now, but is it cutting into their sales? Probably. US manufacturers used to laugh at 'Made in China', and they're mostly no longer around to laugh. I think many in the US are happy buying cheaper, and this is how it starts.
While we've been sitting here slamming these cheap embarassingly branded little pedals - about 2 dozen posters here have ordered all of them them, because - cheap pedals!
You know I'm not wrong on this. Bezos is laughing his ass off at American consumer behavior.