I've just had a look at the new American Pro II series of strats and teles. Is there really that much improvement over the previous series? I love Strats and Teles but at £1600 I just don't think they are value for money anymore. When did they stop producing the American Standard and are these much different?
I saw this second hand EC strat whilst I was having a virtual window shop for the bargain price of £4k
:-(https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/pxp200929362550002-5686522--fender-custom-shop-30th-anniversary-signature-eric-cLooks exactly the same as my black Am Std strat I bought in the US in 1998 minus some paint but included a 2 quid bleed cap and resistor circuit. OK maybe a bit flippant but seriously. Is that worth £4k used?
Ian
Lowering my
expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Comments
Personally I don't know why anyone would pay over a grand for a guitar but then again I'm not that materialistic in that I only look at guitars as tools that I can use, I don't obtain any pleasure just from owning something whereas a lot of people do.
I think it's also quite possible that some people have a deep unconscious belief that the more expensive something is, the better it is. That there must be some reason it's more expensive and a disbelief that a company would just price something to make more money without there being a corresponding increase in features or quality.
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
So maybe in 1998 or whenever, they didn’t think they could get such a mark up for them at that particular time. Today they may think different.
The "it's just a tool" apotoach is interesting. I heard someone compare it to knives recently. A top chef may spend £1k+ on a top kitchen knife. Can you taste the difference in the food vs a £5 knife... no. Does the chef prefer using his £1k knife, yes. The same with guitars really.
A more appropriate analogy would be the top kitchen knife vs one with an equally good blade but a fancy Gucci ornate handle that was over 2k.
A chef would find either just as good to use to cut food with; some would get more pleasure out of owning the fancy one while others wouldn't see any point in paying a penny more for it.
You'll invariably find what you want in as new condition (or whatever condition you are happy to accept). Those that want the shiny new wall hangers generally look after them very well
If you can't tell the difference between the average factory line built guitar and the average Custom Shop guitar, then you'll be happy with the factory line model and good for you.
Anyway who cares. If you can afford nice things, why not enjoy them. I'm 100% sure it has absolutely nothing to do with being flashy.
If you can afford a 2k, 3k, 5k guitar go for it and enjoy it.
I suspect though there has to be an optimum price, beyond which you are not gaining any improvement or finesse, just an exclusive piece.