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In 1970, Don Wehr’s Music City in San Francisco advertised any Stratocaster for $199, and at that time they were pieces of shit. Now they are selling for four figures, and are probably not much better. Two years later, I bought my first Les Paul Custom brand new for $360 with the OHSC. Of course, I was only making about $180 bucks a month at the time, so basically the Les Paul was two months wages. To give you an idea how fast prices increased, in 1978, I bought my second new Les Paul Custom from Guitar Center in San Jose for $600 with the HSC. Two years ago, I bought my third and last LP Custom for $2500. There are some economies of scale going on in addition to the cost of materials and labor. The price of the vintage market is definitely driving the prices of new instruments as people are being sold on potential collectiblity. idea
A three song demo of different styles is fine when you are shooting a demo out to an unknown group or venue. If you know the group and are familiar with their style and genre, try and limit the material in your demo to that style…their going to want to know you’ve got it down.
The difference between the American Standard Series Strats that currently go for around $950 through the discount distributors and the Mexican Standards, which are currently selling for around $400 are related more to cost of labor than actual construction issues. Both are made from CNC cut parts, both are assembled pretty much on the line.
If you’re looking for the perfectly fit neck, your looking for a Fender model that was assembled by a luthier in the custom shop. That’s where the difference actually exists, and you will pay for the luthier’s time to the tune of $2000+ for the hand fit neck joint. That’s the economics of guitar building.
Doc
I’ve played a phantom…but not the vox. I’d compare the phantoms to a high end dan electro…the sound’s okay and its comfortable to play.
Portland, OR was probably the place of import, but all the Lyles were ‘licensed’ copies of Gibson, they weren’t seconds. The acoustic guitars were built in Japan, with laminated tops and sides. Over all construction on the guitars was very good for the materials used. I gave my Humminbird copy to my son after playing it for 25 years, and he still plays it today. Unfortunated during that 25 years, I had to have the bridge reset 3 times due to the weakness of the laminated top. My luthier asked me why I didn’t just buy a Gibson or a Martin for as much money as I put into repairing that Lyle…I told him the tone was worth the extra expense.
I sold a Randall 100 head out of my pawn shop that had a similar problem. The guy that bought it was a techie and a friend, and in this particular case the problem was a capacitor.
If everyone participating in the act agrees where you are going and how you’re getting there then exploitation isn’t even an issue. If you’re wife’s not playing in the band…or supporting it, tell her to develop an interest outside your music and promise not to offer her advice in pursuing her own interests.
Well, Megadeth, you’re on your own with this question. Gibson’s quality has improved over the last few years, so whatever product you get, you’re likely to get an excellent product. I ordered my ’57 reissue black beauty on New Years Eve through an online dealer, and was very pleased. As some of folks who’ve replied have indicated, hearing the instrument is very important…particularly on a Les Paul. Prior to this one, I’ve owned two other LP customs I bought new…one from Guitar Center, which I was not happy with. There are a lot of different dealers, and you probably should check around and see if one will let you make a deposit before your drop the entire price of the instrument. Otherwise find a dealer that has a no fault return policy if you are not happy with the instrument.
