Guitaronomics

[CiscoKid]

An interesting article from Reverb.com

Guitaronomics: How Much Does it Actually Cost to Build a Guitar?
https://reverb.com/news/guitaronomi...ail&utm_term=0_5889ed6702-d16a09f90b-57114257

 

[Member 995]

I wish they had broken down the labor costs. X hours at Y dollars.

X varies based on the build type, Y varies based on skill.

 

[CiscoKid]

I wish they had broken down the labor costs. X hours at Y dollars.

X varies based on the build type, Y varies based on skill.

That would be interesting to know.

The quality to price point some of these brands are achieving is impressive imho.

 

[big_aug]

Makes sense. The cost of the even the most boutique guitar is probably less than $1000. There's so much that people forget about. I don't think a lot of people realize that guitar they bought actually had to get from Korea/China to the US, to the manufacturers US location, to the dealer, then to the consumer. Lots of stuff happens along the way.

 

[big_aug]

That would be interesting to know.

The quality to price point some of these brands are achieving is impressive imho.

Some of these Korean guitars are amazing quality. They have nice pickups, stainless steel frets, nice tops, locking tuners, etc all at $1000-$1500. An article like this puts it into perspective. They are making a lot less money on something like that I imagine.

 

[monty]

Very informative. I remember the EVH Wolfgang special getting a lot of heat when it was made in China with the $1500 price tag. Makes a little more sense now.

 

[peskypesky]

this is why I buy Squiers and other inexpensive guitars and then upgrade pickups (and nuts and tuners) myself.

 

[treble]

Great article, thanks for sharing!

 

[Guitarworks]

Yup...It's labor and people costs. Lots of people getting paid out of that one guitar's final price, between the time it gets sanded to the time it gets bought by the end user. This is why I have no issues with building guitars from scratch. To secure for myself the full amount or more of the author's top American mass-produced estimate of $1500, I'm willing to harvest the lumber, mill it down, square it up, glue it up, machine the body/neck/fretboard from the blanks, then sand, shoot, buff & solder. Everything after that is just setup.

This article also substantiates the idea that a $1000+ cost for partscasters is legitimate, especially if the partscaster company and their suppliers are all in the U.S. - someone has to get paid to manufacture, sand and finish those parts, then someone else has to get paid to supply hardware, and someone else gets paid to assemble the guitar and make it function properly. Those numbers are right in line with what a partscaster really costs to make.

 

[Jazzandmore]

Yeah saw this article earlier today, nice job.

There are excellent guitars being made across all price points which is great for us as guitarists. I personally have no heartburn with small builders pricing, they work hard and spent the time doing all the work. But overall I think a quality instrument can be had by all because there are so many choices available regardless of budget.

 

[mrpingua]

Great info. Thank you for posting OP.