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The guitar I gigged the most over the last few years was a Vintage AV2 which cost me just over a £100.
There are plenty of great quality cheaper instruments out there. But the house brand of a large multinational mail order company, made as cheap as possible across 20 factories staffed with people working in poor conditions strikes me as somthing I’d rather avoid.
Looking at the price differential and diminishing returns compared to Gibson’s (and others) is entirely reasonable, it is astonishing what you can get for so little. But it doesn’t change the unavoidable processes involved in getting a Thomann own brand from a tree in Asia to a guitar in the uk (after all taxes) at that price.
And thats before you look look at the impact of thomann themselves on local guitar shops.
Plenty of of other options out there, especially after you consider the couple of hundred extra for upgrades you’ll probably end up spending.
Recent ones for me have been a couple of well-worn Gibsons, an Eastwood Airline, a friend's 90s Danelectro and a Chinese Hamer doublecut with EMGs. They all put a big grin in my face for a variety of reasons.
Seriously, it can be anything at any time which clicks with me, price is almost irrelevant, even though it's more likely with a vintage Gibson than most.
I have never been fortunate to have the funds to buy a Porsche or similar, but if I did I know for a fact that the dealer is only interested in my ability to buy it - Not my ability to drive it to its limit etc
I've said today and many times before, that we are blessed today with the quality of well priced guitars from the far east - Better now than ever before - But I still have a passion for 'more elite' based instruments - And that is me stating that as Mark the guitar player - Not Mark the capitalist pig who makes a living selling such nice guitars - We can all buy what we like and as long as we are free to do so, then I'm happy for all concerned - I have a customer today looking at a 12K guitar who can barely play, but he has a passion for such guitars - I also have a very good customer, phenomenal player, who gigs regularly with an Epiphone thru' a Peavey Bandit and the tone he acquires 'out performs' the price tag of both products - I'm content and happy for both parties and certainly don't see the need or point to 'knock either
Yes many 'cool + odd ball' guitars have character and well worth playing them for what you can get out of them - I'm a fan of both Rory Gallagher and Mike Campbell and both had a 'cool odd ball collection that rivalled our own H7
There is one reason and one reason only that Thomann operate such a line and that is profit - Make it two reasons and add exclusivity, so no price matching - Factory to shop floor - No middle man - More profit - I'm not saying the product is good, bad indifferent, but the % of GP on such lines will be more than your best selling established brands - After selling 4/5/6 guitars and putting over £1K in the till, they will have made more profit than putting £1k in the till after selling a GIbson
I worked for an organisation 15 years ago that operated a similar guitar line, so factory to the shop floor - We looked at the option of working with a UK distributor, to buy say a Tanglewood or Vintage , but with exclusive colours or upgrade options - But the option of going direct to a factory and creating your own brand name, on popular shapes offered far superior profit margins
But my cheap guitars are every bit the equal of my higher end guitars. Yes I have rewired them and replaced shabby hard wear on a couple to make them reliable.
In some ways, I prefer to gig a cheap guitar. At the end of a gig when I'm anxious to get packed up, no one bothers me with inane questions about the Squier or the CoolZ.