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For £37k it better be a mother of pearl...
https://www.guitarswest.net/listing/november-of-1971-rickenbacker-12-string-light-show-model-33112-ls-with-ohsc/5118918
Sigh.
better is a subjective term, but i get what you are saying. notice i did not say expensive booze tastes "better".
I spend a lot of time drinking some of the "best" beers in the world. I get why they are really good representations of their style, it doesn't automatically make them taste great.
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Never wanted my money back once.
In fact, first one, I knew exactly what I'd spend the money on (and I did, it was that guitar I fell for)... and the second one (like twice the price), I walked in, saw it, asked to play it unplugged (My Gibson R7) then within 5 minutes, bought it. (Okay, it was the 2nd Gibson I played that day, having just played on an R9 somewhere else close by before this, this R7 ticked all the right boxes, so I bought it).
I used to go look for Gibson Les Pauls (of a certain price and headstock) and any other nice guitars. A lot, sometimes 5/6 nights a week.
I love how my guitar I got in 2011 came from there and looked like the other Gibson Les Pauls I liked all over with that same headstock I adore with the same machine heads I adore on that headstock I like... I used to stop and stare and gaze at those from 2014 - 2016 looking at these guitars like I did my Gibson Les Paul at home, then go home, and look at my Gibson Les Paul in the same way... Now I've got two... I love it... I love just looking at them, to be honest. - As well as playing them/how they sound etc etc.
Then I saw that there is recently available an Epiphone version that comes with the Gibson pickups as standard and some other minor Gibson hardware..........interesting
Gibson £3680 v Epiphone £760 ..............ie ;a whopping £3,000 difference.
Fast forward to an hour to kill in Guildford and a back to back test in Andertons;
The Epi was reduced to £660 as it was ex-display........not that you would have noticed
Results ;
Fit and Finish ............no real difference
Ease of use /Playability ........none
Looks ............Top on the Gibson was nicer figured but not especially of significant difference
Sound .........identical to my ears but some might have said the Epi was brighter .....play alongside drums and bass and you certainly wouldn't notice no matter how good your ears
Resale Value.....The Gibson will hurt you but the Epi will probably lose £200 maximum
Difference.......the Gibson neck definitely felt nicer in the hand and very slightly larger
I would leave others to form their own conclusion but it simply seems to me that Gibson are confident enough of a cult following that their own market research suggests that the Epiphone model will not eclipse their premium line product.
I would disagree on that point based on the huge price difference of £3000 .
It is quite sobering, in reality, when you look around the shop and see that for the price difference you could walk away with the Epiphone TOGETHER with a Duesenburg and a Morgan AC20 amp ......or standard Tele and strat and a handful of Strymon pedals or even a spectacular Les Paul plus pedals.
Does a "slightly nicer" feeling neck warrant such sacrifice ?
What they do know is that once you've made a purchase decision your brain can physically change to endorse that decision. Strange but true.
Personally, I tend to sway towards price value over high end or brands, and I'll justify that to myself and others post purchase.
Other people are different, they want the top named brand regardless. I think you just need to work out what it is that you value, and go there.