completely fair price
the american standard stratocaster is excellent sounding guitar
for the money
the les paul standar which is 1000$ more
sounds no better than high quality epiphone copy in
my opinion and i've had three les pauls
an epiphone a studio and classic (gibson)
i kept trading up and spending more money
till my final trade for an american deluxe and blues deville 4/10
praise The Lord I saw the light
to get the same quality from another manufacturer you must spend way
more so i think the standard strat and tele for that matter
(my next purchase) are still fair prices

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1956 Gibson CS Lemon Les Paul
1957 Fender CS Aged Cherry Strat
1958 Gibson CS Pg 85 Les Paul
1960 Fender CS 3tsb Strat
1961 Gibson SG Wildwood Pelham blue
1966 Fender CS Firemist Metallic Silver Strat

I'm a "serious" fulltime working studio and live musician and I play Squiers exclusively. I've blown people with their $3000. Fenders right out of the studio doors never to be seen again. Tone is in your hands.

We pay about $2800 for a MIA strat down here- a 40w deluxe amp is $1800.

Due to our volitile dolla here- its safe for retailers to keep them at a premium to avoid loss.

Currencys are different for all on here- but its dollar for dollar, dollar for pound, and pound for dollar. i.e- you pay the same for normal goods here in dollars, as you would in the UK in pounds.

We tend to pay 3 times the pound, twice the euro, 1/2 the greenback in $NZ in exchange (apprx). So when I see a les paul standard going for NZ $5199- I have to chuckle when you all complain about strat prices- Thats half a house deposit here, or half the price of a used car.. or maybe a trip to New York from here- accomodation and spend money.

Have you noticed any rise in petrol or grocery goods in the last 18months?.

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The originator of this thread is a well known troll. He just likes to stir things up and play puppet master.

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James Burton Upgrade Telecaster
Hot Rodded Am Fat Strat Texas Special (now featuring Kinman Traditional II pickups)
Fender Blues Jr.
SWR California Blonde
Pedals Pedals Pedals

Anyone who thinks Fenders are overpriced can run a little experiment.

Fenders are amongst the easiest types of guitars to build (designed to be that way). So go build one from the ground up - a perfectly achievable job and lots of fun.

Then add up how much it cost you - even before factoring in your time at a sensible rate of pay.

At that point you might decide that after all Fenders are stupidly good value for money. At any price point in the catalog.

Cheers - C

But, Big Jay... that assumes that price was "fair" in 1972.

When you look at the quality of a 1972 guitar (on average), THOSE were overpriced! That makes a modern Strat an even BIGGER bargain.

Hi Jay: we definitely need your input on this.

I've looked at your inflation figures on Strats before. I don't for a second doubt your numbers, and yet I feel they somehow understate the difference between then and now.

In my recollection Strats (and other gear) seemed even more expensive then in relation to what earnings would buy, and maybe in relation to other goodies.

Obviously, that's because price inflation and wage inflation are not the same thing.

I have a foggy memory of hearing an economist talking about this issue, and saying people in your line of work sometimes use alternative "currencies" to make these points more clearly. He was particularly talking about Mars bars, I seem to recall. Or should we make that Hershey bars?

You'd be the very gentleman to tell us how many Mars/Hershey bars a Strat cost back in the day, and compare it to now. Might make your point even more starkly than mere cash - help some folks to focus on how well we're doing on these things today!

Not that I'm trying to set you a project - but you genuinely are the expert on this!

Cheers - C

Ceri more people own Merc's beemers and jags than did in the 70's too. All caused by more easily available credit. Hopefully coming to a end now with the bank reformations.

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No no and no

For certain.

But not only do we have vastly more purchasing power now than we did in the '70s (obviously - d'uh), we have far more than our parents did back then, credit or otherwise. I'm certain a Strat was a far bigger chunk of a month's wages then than it is now - and much more than the mere inflation figures imply.

And that's before we even think about the quality of instrument we're getting.

Jol Dantzig (Hamer) says there has never been a better time to make, buy and play electric guitars than right now. And I'm sure he's right.

Cheers - C

It depends on if you can afford it and how bad you want . If you think it overpriced then don't buy it and spend less on another that you are happy with. Value is determined by what one wants to spend for any given item that is not a necessity.

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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

All I know is that I'm satisfied with my guitars and the price paid. Now the old lady, that's another story!