hi, my name's andrew and i used to be a guitar snob!

[andi.j]

to set the scene, i've always placed a fair amount of stock in the name on my guitars, be it ESP, jackson, gibson etc...

so last week i had some time off work and i went down to brighton to see some friends...we meandered down to badlands guitars and i was forced to reconsider my ''names are important'' attitude.

there was a glossy black super-strat in there, mahogany thru' neck, string thru' bridge and splittable humbuckers...the price of which confused me (275 for that much guitar?!)

...after some discussions with the owner over manufacture, factory locations and the general nonsense involved in guitar supply we came to the conclusion that this guitar was likely made in the same factory as korean jackson, LTD and others

after some noodling around on it (proper spinal tap moment with the sustain it produced!) i was genuinely gobsmacked at the playability and after it beat me in a hard fought staring competition i took it home for sub £250.

So, can anyone here explain the phenomenon that is guitar pricing?  so gibson probably sounds better that cort but still, after playing this little gem the high end mark-ups seem like madness!

[TheIronBeast]

I think having the names Gibson, Fender, ESP on the headstock really knocks up the price of their guitars. Most of the time there are guitars made by other manufacturers such as Agile, Tokai etc that with some minor tweaking can sound just as good, if not better than a Gibson or Fender, and for a fraction of the price too.

[Twinfan]

It's all in the wood.  You can get great guitars at any price!

[Antag]

It's all in the wood.  You can get great guitars at any price!

Not quite all - a quality setup can make even a total dog play well.

But good wood + good setup usually = nice guitar... :)

[FELINEGUITARS]

So, can anyone here explain the phenomenon that is guitar pricing?  so gibson probably sounds better that cort but still, after playing this little gem the high end mark-ups seem like madness!

Just to clarify - retailers are not getting USA made Fenders , Gibsons , ESPs etc at the same prices they may pay for a chinese made guitar, and marking up the price by a grand or two (just in case anyone reading this would get confused)

Chinese and other far eastern guitars do offer outstanding value for money these days - especially as they are using CNC machines to cut and probably finish the guitars and they have gotten a good grip on quality control these days
Certainly way better than it was 20+ years ago

Cort guitars are particularly good value as they are the factory that probably make a lot of the low and mid price Epiphone, Washburn, BC Rich etc guitars and also make under their own name tag as well


It is the same old situation of American and European workers needing to be paid more  than Chinese workers (at this pint in time - could all change once China's manufacturing base evolves)
High rents and business rates etc here in the west probably add to the factory/ manufacturing costs whilst the economies of scale that huge factories can get when bulk ordering also reduce the cost of manufacturing....

But congrats on getting a cool guitar


+10,000,000 to what Antag said about a god setup helping

[Twinfan]

A dog that plays well isn't great - it's still a dog  ;)

[Matt77]

I say make the most of it whilst you can.
Chinese and other far east wages are rocketing at the moment and it's getting harder and harder to recruit as every man and his dog is setting up a factory over that side of the world.
There is some way to go yet.
There are some great bargains to be had.

[gingataff]

A dog that plays well isn't great - it's still a dog  ;)

Surely a dog that plays well is no longer a dog? ;)

[Philly Q]

Nobody else has said it yet, so....

Pics or it doesn't exist.

[andi.j]

i'll do some pics after work if you want... i've been meaning to pop some up of my nailbombed jackson too.

i was considering changing out the pups on the cort, but the stock motherbuckers actually sound pretty sweet thru' my practice amp :)

[MrBump]

+10,000,000 to what Antag said about a god setup helping

Was that a Freudian slip, Jonathan?

;)

[MrBump]

Who made the guitar, Andy?

[andi.j]

it's a Korean Cort kx 1 and  i'm told it's not current production so i'd guess a year or so old.
I can post specifics later if anyone needs.

i'm still amazed it plays like it does, guess i found a good one :D [insert smugness!]

[AndyR]

A dog that plays well isn't great - it's still a dog  ;)

Surely a dog that plays well is no longer a dog? ;)

And, of course, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

One chap's "dog" is another chap's "mmmmm... I say..."

:lol:

Good find there andi :D

[FELINEGUITARS]

+10,000,000 to what Antag said about a god setup helping

Was that a Freudian slip, Jonathan?

;)

Oops - rumbled!