Gibson vs. Godin

Parker

Just wondering how Godin can make guitars in north america at thier pricepoint. Yet Gibson are so much more expensive. Any real reason why?

Jonathanthomas83

For one reason or another, Gibson will never be an inexpensive brand. Gibson have a history - rightly or wrongly, they charge for a piece of that.

p90fool

Gibsons range from glorious to terrible, Godins are always somewhere in the middle.

If you trust your own judgement there's no contest. 

Teyeplayer

I’m sure Gibson could too.

I’d have thought part of the reason Gibsons are not cheaper was that it wasn’t Henry’s way, as has been evident in the yearly price rises across all ranges. However, there are possibly a few variations in trade deal between the UK(EU)/US and UK(EU)/Canada which may impact import fees -though economics is not my thing so I may be well off the mark on that one!

Babones

Godin are like the well-built, sensible, reliable car, that hasn't got a fancy badge. Gibson, like Fender, adds a markup for its name.

tekbow

Babones said:

Godin are like the well-built, sensible, reliable car, that hasn't got a fancy badge. Gibson, like Fender, adds a markup for its name.

Godin are Volvo?

That being said, i rather like their Tele alike, especially in the seafoam-ish finish

Whitecat

Gibson does - in fact even lower sometimes - we just don’t talk much about their super low-end offerings. 

Gibson USA 2017 Melody Maker Electric Guitar - Teal (Amazon Exclusive) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LRWJPPU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_X7zXBbXN841EB

They otherwise charge more because they can. You pay for that headstock logo/inlay... and the price of anything and everything we buy in this world rarely has much to do with how much it actually costs to make. 

Three-ColourSunburst

Parker said:

Just wondering how Godin can make guitars in north america at thier pricepoint. Yet Gibson are so much more expensive. Any real reason why?

As with most goods one buys these days the actual cost of manufacture has very little to do with the retail price. Typically manufacturing costs are a very small percentage of the cost to the consumer, with marketing have a much greater role in determining the final price, both because marketing creates perceived value and because someone has to pay for all that advertising, sponsorships and so on.

There is also the phenomenon of 'Veblen pricing', where customers perceive something to be of high value simply because the seller places an inflated price on it. ('Prestige' Swiss watches are a perfect example of this, with watches such as Rolex selling for thousands despite being machine-made for a tiny fraction of that.)

It's not just Godin. Look at a company like FGN who make the prestige range of guitars for Ibanez. They do a range of LP-style guitars with top-grade materials and workmanship to put Gibson to shame, and yet despite paying high-cost Japanese wages and social costs and fitting expensive after-market pickups such as Seymour Duncan SH18s, (which currently cost almost £250 a set at Thomann), their top of the range model, based on a 59 original, goes for around £1600. Even this will have a lot of 'added value' compared to their cheaper instruments, which are constructed in exactly the same way and to the same standards but using plain rather than solid flame maple tops, poly rather than thin-layer acrylic finishes and in-house pickups. These list for about a grand and can current be picked up for under £800.

In these terms one is paying an awful lot of extra money to have the Gibson logo, especially if one looks at something like a R9, even at the recent warehouse clearance prices. (And going by what has been seen on here plenty of those are pretty shoddily made.) If you want 'period correct' plastic for your pick-up surrounds and go for a true historic, or want that Murphy guy to feck up the finish on the guitar for you, that will add several thousand more!

As The Goodies once said, 'There are four types of people, 'D' for dumb, 'C' for clever, 'B' for brilliant and 'A' for advertising men'.

Three-ColourSunburst

Short version. Because people are willing to pay more for the sizzle than the sausage.

p90fool

Three-ColourSunburst said:

Short version. Because people are willing to pay more for the sizzle than the sausage.

Perhaps, but no kid ever played a tennis racket in the mirror wishing it was a Godin, and no record producer ever said "What this middle eight needs is a Godin, go find me one!"

NelsonP

Whitecat said:

Gibson does - in fact even lower sometimes - we just don’t talk much about their super low-end offerings. 

Gibson USA 2017 Melody Maker Electric Guitar - Teal (Amazon Exclusive) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LRWJPPU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_X7zXBbXN841EB

They otherwise charge more because they can. You pay for that headstock logo/inlay... and the price of anything and everything we buy in this world rarely has much to do with how much it actually costs to make. 

This one is even cheaper
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LRWJPS2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_X7zXBbXN841EB?th=1

A genuine USA made, nitro finished Gibson for £349.

ArchtopDave

p90fool said:

Three-ColourSunburst said:

Short version. Because people are willing to pay more for the sizzle than the sausage.

 no record producer ever said "What this middle eight needs is a Godin, go find me one!"

He would if he needed a good nylon strung electric --- not only do Gibson not make one, but the Godin is an excellent guitar.

Jez6345789

The issue is there are loads of good guitar companies making guitars at every price range including Gibson. 
Godin also makes higher-end Les Paul style guitars for more than a Les Paul. 

As has been said its not so much what it costs to make that's just part of the equation. 
Henry J has been milking the Max he can out of the desirable parts of the brand for years. 

p90fool

ArchtopDave said:

p90fool said:

Three-ColourSunburst said:

Short version. Because people are willing to pay more for the sizzle than the sausage.

 no record producer ever said "What this middle eight needs is a Godin, go find me one!"

He would if he needed a good nylon strung electric --- not only do Gibson not make one, but the Godin is an excellent guitar.

You mean the idea they got from the Gibson Chet Atkins? 

TTBZ

Three-ColourSunburst said:

Short version. Because people are willing to pay more for the sizzle than the sausage.

Sounds about right. I've always lusted after a proper Gibson LP but all the shit quality control issues they seem plagued with really turn me off the brand. I'd sooner pay half the price for a better quality Japanese instrument with a different name tag - so long as the headstock shape looks ok! I do own a Gibson SG which is nice, but I don't really think it's worth the money I paid for it compared to some cheaper guitars. 

ICBM

Godin did have one properly innovative guitar - the Acousticaster. That was used on stage by several big names when it first came out, including Keith Richards I think.

But by and large I find them entirely generic and ordinary, quite well-made and functional but with no real character - including the more oddball-looking ones like the Radiator. How a guitar that looked like a cross between a Hagstrom and a Rickenbacker could sound so bland, I’m not sure.

Their acoustics - under their various brand names - do sound very good out of the box, but they’re not very well-made or finished, and fall apart quickly.

In fact the main comparison with Gibson is that in my experience they have the second highest rate of headstock breaks...

HAL9000

I tried one of their 'Strats' a while back. Lovely neck, great build quality, but completely bland sounding. I'd heard that pickups aren't Godin's strong point, and that's how it turned out. 

DB1

I like Gibsons -  a lot! They're generally my guitar of choice, whether new or vintage, they often look right, feel right and sound right to me. Not all of them, of course, and a few have passed quickly through my hands. I pretty well get all that I need from them. I have a couple of Fenders, but (I think) 16 Gibsons, and get this.... a Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin. I tend to like Godins, and one of the few guitars that I regret moving on is the extravagantly named Montreal Premier Supreme, or something like that. That was a nice - really nice - guitar. I've been tempted by their jazz model as well. 

I have a 1955 ES-125 and the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin is a bit of a clone, I guess - in their sunburst finish it looks really nice and, through the single P90, does more than a passable impression of the old 125. It can't quite there in tone (almost, though) and of course can't replicate the feel of a guitar that's 63 years old, so the old Gibson wins. The Godin Kingpin, for the money, runs it close though and is probably a little easier to play.

I had a Kingpin ii as well - now, that was crap. I think I was unlucky with that one. 

prlgmnr

I do fancy a glissentar

maltingsaudio

Interestingly no one has mentioned the fact that Godin are Canadian 

p90fool

maltingsaudio said:

Interestingly no one has mentioned the fact that Godin are Canadian 

"North American" means Canadian.