I play out in a band every Sat night, along with an occational Friday night. I've been doing it for at least 30 years, some of that time playing 6 nights a week on the road. It still blows my mind to walk into the Guitar Center and see all these new guitars in that $1000 to $3000 and up range. Amps too-a decent tube amp starts at about $700. Used gear is not much better pricewise. Even the good gear on craigslist and local want ads are going for outrageous prices. Who is buying this new gear for these kinds of prices? Sure, I like new gear too, but my Les paul is over 20 years old and my Strat is almost 10 years old. I can't imagine buying a new guitar for today's prices. Is it the collectors and the people who are willing to pay all the money buying this stuff up? I don't think the average weekend player is buying that high $$ gear. I acually saw a guy walk into GC, dressed to the nines in a suit-looked like he could of been a lawyer. He tried out a number of Strats and Les Pauls and PRS, couldn't play but 2 chords- badly, and walked out with a new $3000 PRS and a reissue Fender Twin, all on his American Express card. I guess they'll look nice in his living room as a conversation piece.
You don't get squat for your gear on trade in either. When is it feasable to spend that kind of money? Who's doing it?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

If you've been playing professionally for 30 years then you're in my ballpark, age-wise. Let me re-acquaint you with some general facts.

In 1968 the MSRP for a Fender Dual Showman Reverb amp set was $1000 -- $505 for the head, $495 for the cab (these costs quoted verbatim from the October 1968 Fender Dealer's price list).

In today's dollars how much do you think that thousand dollars is worth, indexing in the effects of inflation over the last forty-two years? By most currency models it's about four thousand bucks.

In 1968, quoting from that same dealer's price list, a Twin Reverb Amp ran $499.50. We'll call it five bills even for the purpose of this discussion. In today's money, that's right at two thousand dollars.

What's a new TRRI cost right now? It's under two grand. Thus -- as you can see -- the situation is nowhere near as bleak as you posit. Things cost more today simply because the dollar is not worth what it once was.

In '69 a brand-new loaded Chevy Camaro SS350 could be had for around $3400. I just priced a new 2010 edition at thirty-eight thou and change. Was the '69 worth the money? Is the 2010 model worth the money?

Good stuff commands good money and currency inflation is an undisputable fact of economics......it's as simple as that.

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I'm not for sure. The last brand new bass I got was 3 yrs a go, the VM, but that I traded with my Ibanez BTB for $0 transaction @ GC. Yes, $0 transaction. Other than my '99 and a few used Ibanez here and there, everything I bought have been brand new, some expensive (single days), some cheaper. Nothing in the $3g range tho. On the other hand, my best friend's LP was $1500 brand new in '87, LP Custom, now the cheapest you see it online is $3899.

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Rez(# 30916)
'89 Power Jazz Bass Special-BadAssIII, EMG P/J
Project PBass-EMG PX, Schaller BM Light Tuner
'05 Aerodyne JBass
'06 Spector Legend Custom Neck Through
VT Bass
Hartke TA5000 w/XL Cabs(210, 410, 115)

Yeah, I know all about inflation, the weakening dollar and things like that. I remember buying new Strats for $500 and Twins for $400 way back when. In the 80's I was buying all the Strats I could for $150-$200 in pawn shops. My point is I make about $400 a month playing in a band. I do it because #1, I love to play. #2, it's better than working at Walmart 5 nights a week for that $100. I guess I'm having a hard time convincing myself to part with $1000+ to update my gear, if I needed to. Like some musicians, my credit is crap, so I can't buy anything on time. I'd like a new guitar-I've had my eyes on a RW Strat, or a PRS for some time. I need a new amp-I'm frustrated with the solid state Marshall I'm using. But that $400 a month in playing money doesn't buy much when you stop and think it would take almost 3 months of saving every penny of that money just for a guitar or an amp. Forget trading in. GC offered me $200 on my Les Paul and $250 on my Strat against a new one. The amp-$150. That leaves a big margin to make up. I guess I just had to vent because I'm baffledand and amazed by the costs of quality gear.

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

Well I can't tell you anything about fiscal policy that you don't already know. And I can't even say I've "been there, done that" as my annual AGI for tax purposes is just shy of six figures. My "hobby playing" puts 10K-12K in my pocket each year which pays for my various "addictions".

But one way to beat the high costs of instruments and amps is to build your own. I routinely buy old-and-trashed vintage Fender amps, repair/refurbish them, play them myself for a while, then resell them -- usually getting 1.5 times what my investment in time and money is.

Something to think about anyway......

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

It's been already stated on this thread, but worth repeating: Inflation is the problem. If you are having a hard time spending $1000 on gear today, then you were having a hard time spending $380 thirty years ago. $400/month gig money in 2010 = $150/month in 1980. http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
Your $150-$200 pawnshop Strat in 1980 is $450-$530 today. You can get a decent used Strat for that money. I don't see the problem. Guitars are relatively cheaper today than they were 30 years ago, and modern production techniques make the quality more consistant.

If you want to move your old gear fast and get some different gear for cheap, then sell your stuff on ebay or craigslist and buy USED gear. Don;t sell to a retail store. Don't buy new and take the depreciation hit. Let someone else do it.

Do you know why GC (and all other guitar stores that wants to stay in business) only offer half the value of used gear?....It's so they can put a margin into the item and make a profit when they sell it. Every business does this that buys and sells used items. They can't give you $800 for your guitar and sell it for $800; there would be no profit. Sell it on ebay or craigslist or to a fellow musician. Good luck!

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Beside the profit margin, they must pay for the floorspace in the building that item occupies. Also it's kinda hard to sell a near new item over a new item for roughly the same amount. Which explains why the drastic devaluation of the items we buy.
Point here is that whatever you buy, you had better plan on hanging onto it for a good spell.
The musical instrument industry has got to be a bear of a racket to be in.
The only downside to used is you're not likely to find what you're looking for without some degree of compromise.

Yeah I think its all a bit to high myself... The manufactures and Retail shops will always charge whatever the market will bare. I also think that the shops could charge you less than what they are charging. My small guy here, is charging the same price on gear that Guiter Center is, I know that he spends around 90 thousand with "A popular Brand" IM also sure that GC spends a gazillion (thats a number) times more with the same manufacture. I would bet that GC is getting a much bigger discount... You all can daw your own conclusions... Are the prices "fixed"???

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Yeah, thats another thing. Ibanez are really cheap But really good. The bang for buck with an ibby is really good.

As for the rest, fender is probably a tad over priced but its nowhere near as bad as gibson. Gibsons overcharge really badly.

I remember someone saying that gibson puts stupid prices on its guitars to make them Seem better. Its a psychology thing.

As for PRS, they take a stupid amount work and time to make so that why they cost so much.

Thats why (I'll confess it here) Ive gone Japanese guitars. However fender still make some really cracking amps!

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"Oh, it's a windy and sunny day
And I can hear the faint sound of distant waves
The past weeks have been going by so fast
It's all the same, the bright sky and shining sun
I have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day"

It seems to me that there might be a little bit of (financial) class envy going on here...

You seem perturbed that a lawyer-looking guy (who couldn't play well) laid out several grand to pick up a good guitar and amp, seemingly without the financial angst most of us (myself included) would have.

That can be irritating, but for several years, while you were out learning to play your guitar well (or at least better than the lawyer), he was probably sitting in a class listening to some old windbag expound on the importance of a lawsuit that decided nothing of lasting importance; or perhaps he was studying his butt off about the ridiculously boring aspects of Organizational Management in order to afford that guitar.

...and now, he has to wear the pinstripes & wingtips, attend mind-numbing conferences and meetings, worry about every rise or drop of some imaginary number that his boss deems important...and you think it's not fair that he is equipping himself to do what you've been doing for 30 years...you've been living the dream of being a rock star while he was helping the Gross National Product Margin...and you're griping?

Yes, guitars are expensive. They were expensive when I started playing twenty-odd years ago; they were expensive before that, too...and the quality of a "budget guitar" in those days was highly suspect...but if you are patient, save your money and search hard, you can find good bargains.

Everyday we see somebody's new toy on this forum; whether they scrimped and saved or blew money they didn't have or worked their butt off or they were lucky & born rich, I don't begrudge them one bit...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
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