It seems that fender bases its signature guitar prices on popularity. A good musician such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd gets priced $800, Yet a Dave Murray another excellent musician is more popular so it's over $2000. Why do you think that is? More effort was put in to the Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Though it's good for us that we get an awesome signature for a cheaper price.

I wouldn't buy a sig guitar anyway, well alright I did. But it's a Les Paul. But that's just me. But popularity does seem to be the case. Seems like Fender was putting one out every couple of months depending who was on the charts. I would build my own to MY specs and put my own name on it.

yes of course. can you say "Name Game"? or "Frills"?

I'm confused -- you're saying guitars for more popular artists are cheaper?

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I think he's proposing that Fender prices Signature models according to the "popularity" (as that could be measured) of the artist... the more popular the artist, the more the guitar costs.

He's come to this conclusion by observing the pricing of the KWS Sig guitar, which costs less than the Dave Murray Sig, even though the OP believes that the KWS Sig must cost more to produce (o that more effort went into it's design or something). Therefore, the only explanation is that the Dave Murray Sig costs more because Murray is more popular than Kenny Wayne.

Is that about right?

Popularity comes into pricing of all products. How far can you push the top price point and continue to be popular against simular products.

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He's not talking about the popularity of the guitars, but of the artists they're named after.

Oh, roger that -- I was misinterpreting ... thought the original poster was implying that KWS was more popular and hence his guitar was priced less. I need more sleep.

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I'm with you Brad... I never even HEARD of Dave Murray.

Popularty be it name reconition being associated with a guitar or the name of maker of the guitar all this comes into concideration when coming up with what you think a guitar will sell for. Adding the title SRV to a guitar raises the price for sure even if its not a better guitar. It is all marketing.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Having a special name for anything raises the price. Look at t-shirts for example, you could get a shirt of the same colour for a fraction of one with simply a brand name on the front.

So you guys are saying that you agree with the original poster and you think that the $1,200 difference in price (not "price point," BTW, which people in "marketing" know are not interchangeable terms) between the two guitars mentioned is the result of savvy marketers responding to the overwhelming popularity of Dave Murray?

Well, okay then.

There are tons of additional factors here that aren't being factored in -- i.e., the discussion is tremendously oversimplified. Again, though, I'm short on sleep so am going to keep my trap shut at the moment. LOL

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Director at Fender. Guitarist & guitar collector. All views/opinions expressed here are my own and not Fender’s.

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Brad is correct there are numerous things that go into the deciding a selling price not just name. Sure that adds something to the ability of marketing but not all. You have to look at features, materials may differ, labor, the availiblty of the product you are going to bring to the market. Even the timing when you do so.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

It probably has more to do with where they are manufactured. Some signature series are made in Mexico while others are made in US.

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The time has gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say.