I still own a bit of Fender gear and still have my 72 Strat. I like a lot of guitars. I have 9 left that I like and no two are alike or the same style from one manufacturer. I played a PRS CE 22 In August last year. Don't know if it was old stock used or what, but it didn't impress me. To answer your question, I think most guys who start these threads are young or really only know Gibson and Fender as major manufacturers. It happens a lot. Most average musicians could never afford a higher end PRS, Gretsch, Guild, Martin etc. Same reason why in the amp section people think certain amps are the mutts nuts. There's no point of reference or knowledge of anything else. You'll get the same thing on the Gibson forum. Most guys here are brand loyal. I'm not. I've been playing too long and too many different styles of music to settle on one tool. Some guitars are better at some styles than others. Same with amps.

I'm not really as mistaken as you think I am.

Well, my bad then.

Come to think of it, I would have rather had this long thread over a couple of beers of some live music.

And there's nothing wrong with the CE having been a bolt-on, ok?!

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La vie est belle, le monde est pourri, make the most of it!

Like I said previously, I dont think gibson have a inherently bad guitar in their catalogue. I just dont see the price justification. I think their a long way off being the premier guitar maker they claim to be theres plenty of people doing it better. Their current pricing is way off, thats why they still feel so threatened by eastern builders and the likes of PRS. I mean forget relic's whatever you think of them, look at gibsons latest offerings. It's like going to a victorian freakshow.

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No no and no

A lot of guitars and basses seem to be a bit high in price. Trying not to say overpriced.

Niki, I definitely agree with you regarding the offerings of the last few years. They need to get rid f Henry J and get back to where they were before he came onboard.

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Current Gear: Ron Kirn Barnbuster Tele,
Marshall: 1971 SuperLead 100>1997 1960-TV, bunch of pedals
and a 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera coupe named Veronica

I suppose this is kind of like Gibbo's CBS era! They need a Bill Schultz. We have plenty of Bill's and a certain Mr Schultze here. Lets have us a takeover!

CC

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Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

Could that include me Jammin' some blues on my LP custom ?? I could get into some beers and my favorite guitar...

I swear the strings are so low I don't even have to press down on the neck...

I agree with mclmk8d 100% about getting rid of Henry J. but therein lies the problem.Dear Henry owns the lions share of Gibson and is the consummate autocrat,he removed any chance of opposition by dismissing the entire board of directors giving himself carte blanche to rule with his iron fisted policies and complete lack of business acumin.He is completely out of touch with the musicians he should be listening to and just plows through with his own agenda.The workers at Gibson are among the most disgruntled in not only the guitar industry but in the entire US work force according to business related polls in trade magazines and net surveys. As long as Juszkiewicz is at the helm Gibson will be headed for scuttling. With all the fiascos lately Gibson has lost a large amount of credibility and brand loyality and their business is suffering greatly due to letting quality dip to an all time low.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

A lot of brands are overpriced---including Gibson, but some Fenders are too, and PRS is definitely overpriced.

Although all three do have guitars that are more affordable and more worth it.

But Fender is probably best in that respect.

Both my Fender & my Gibson were on sale.
My Mustang was new (Although it was from an earlier year--it had spent some time unsold--part of the reason it was on sale--so a great deal for me.)
My Les Paul was used (& modded so I could afford it)

Who knows if such things will happen again?

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

"louis1", made me think about that guitar for a minute, if you even know how to play one you are making money with it and replacing it wouldn't pose an issue with cost, the question would be, are you making enough with what ever guitar you have now to support a Les Paul?

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

@CajunBlues: The more the merrier.

@CC: They had their CBS era when they owned by Norlin. Henry J came along when they were on sale for 2 or 3 years already and nobody wanted to touch them. They were reportedly within three months of going out business completely. Too bad history seems to be repeating itself. Kinda ironic that the man that once saved the brand is now burrying it.

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La vie est belle, le monde est pourri, make the most of it!

I dont know what Henry is doing, he seems to be like a crackhitler to work for. I for one want nothing more than for Gibson to return to their former glories. I dont for one think all the Norlin guitars were bad, the same as I dont think all CBS fender guitars were bad or all current modern Gibsons. I just dont understand why they dont offer a choice of spec on their CS guitars. Just because something was done a certain way 50 years ago doesnt make it right. Anyone with any knowledge of vintage fenders will tell you they have a certain je ne sais quoi but dont really stand up to modern production standards. And when I want to order a one off, I want the specs to suit my requirement. Not some CEO's. Is it too much to ask for a builder to listen to their customers once in a while.
The current Epiphone offerings are stunning guitars. If need be why dont they just expand that line to fill a niche like Fenders Japan and Mexico offerings. Instead of constantly treating epiphone like a little brother. Its got to be better for business than the robot guitars. One of my pet peeves about guitar mags is that you never see a bad review. Well the last bad review I did see was of those Tronical Powertune tuners that developed into the Powerhead tuners (guitarist Oct 2007).
I really do want Gibson to shake this off. The more competition and the more of a neck and neck race we have between manufacturers, the better it is for all of us.

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No no and no

Niki, i don't think Gibson will ever expand the epiphone line properly.

I am actually quite pleased and surprised with the high quality of them right now, I own a Dot.

back in the day Epiphone was Gibson's strongest direct competitor. They were oft times considered better guitars. I think Gibson bought the brand with the intention of killing it's prior reputation. they are quite happy with it now being associated with being cheap.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

The problem I had with the CE was I didn't like the way it sounded or played. It had nothing to do with the bolt on neck. But that's just my preference. It wasn't good for my style of playing.

Most of my guitars have bolt on necks. I don't have a problem with them. I'm not getting into a what's better debate. I like them both. What I'm trying to say more labor is involved in a set neck guitar. It takes longer to build so it costs more. You have gluing, clamping, glue drying tome ect. It just takes longer and time is money. You just don't screw them together and make a handful of adjustments.

IMO most guitars are under-priced considering the value of the dollar. Like I said, my Strat at $300 in 1972 equates to 12-1,300 dollars today. $300 was a lot of coin back then. I think we're all spoiled.