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Acoustics get expensive very quickly.......

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ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
in Acoustics tFB Trader
Pretty shocked to learn about Sobell guitars (typically £9k apparently and Monteleone Guitars (starting at £35k)... So i was wondering, who buys these? professionals? wealthy amateurs? Im shocked because people refer to PRS owners as dentists, this is one massive step above.

Has anyone heard or played any of these instruments? what were they like?

Are there any other brands that are similar? I'm really intrigued by the apparent workmanship.

http://www.sobellguitars.com

http://www.monteleone.net
Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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Comments

  • My favourite Sobell player (actually the only one I know but he's great).....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svS6MwQ5mBY

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  • jellyroll said:
    My favourite Sobell player (actually the only one I know but he's great).....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svS6MwQ5mBY

    I really enjoyed that
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  • mgawmgaw Frets: 5239
    NK Forster guitars
    Greenfield guitars
    Fairbanks Guitars
    any many others all conspire to relieve us of huge sums of money, You do pay quite a premium to the "established" builders, there is a Benjamin on here which i would bet is a corker for not a lot. Also i recently purchased a stunning J45 style guitar in Adirondack and Walnut from James Millman Guitars just up the road from me in Bideford.

    As good as most i would say. check him out
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    Around 34 minutes for Monteleone:



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  • BidleyBidley Frets: 2912
    My acoustic is insured for £5k. It was made for me and is the only one in the world, so that's where the cost comes from!

    Never played one of those though.
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  • BasherBasher Frets: 1198
    edited September 2017
    Sobells used to be seen about in the folk clubs - quite a lot of his mandolin family instruments too. They've never been cheap but I guess it's just about supply and demand. Martin Simpson played one for many years and, up close, it sounded utterly stunning!

    An observation I have made is that while high end electrics tend to be less expensive, it's not that uncommon to find people with a couple of PRS guitars, along with maybe the odd historic Gibson or a CS Fender. The acoustic guys, on the whole, seem to own less instruments but keep trading/selling to get "the one". Maybe the same disposable income gets spent on less guitars while the hand-made nature of upmarket UK and US acoustics keeps prices high?

    PS: a quick trip to TAMCO will show you just how much people are paying at this end of the market: http://www.theacousticmusicco.co.uk
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  • ThorpyFX said:
    Pretty shocked to learn about Sobell guitars (typically £9k apparently and Monteleone Guitars (starting at £35k)... So i was wondering, who buys these? professionals? wealthy amateurs? Im shocked because people refer to PRS owners as dentists, this is one massive step above.
    If you think of the boutique market for electric guitars there is one for acoustic guitars as well.  

    Acoustic guitars are generally more expensive than their electric counterparts generally as labour required to build an acoustic guitar (flat tops) is more than an electric.  Then you have arch tops e.g. the Monteleone which takes even longer, the hours required to carve a spruce/maple top for a jazz guitar, the hours really add up. 

    I made a visit to TAMCO and played quite a lot of guitars and the build quality of some of the guitars are amazing and even the high prices are representative of their quality.

    Btw, when you look at some guys pedalboards, amp, guitar rigs - I've seen some set up here which add up more than a Sobell.  


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  • Beautiful however imo no new guitar is ever worth 35k! 
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  • dtrdtr Frets: 1037
    Olson guitars are expensive too - start at $15k.   I guess for people a lot more discerning than me who can tell the difference from a $5k guitar.  James Taylor started using them, and I guess that association (and whatever it was that he liked) helps keep the demand up and price high.

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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    ThorpyFX said:
    Pretty shocked to learn about Sobell guitars (typically £9k apparently and Monteleone Guitars (starting at £35k)... So i was wondering, who buys these? professionals? wealthy amateurs? Im shocked because people refer to PRS owners as dentists, this is one massive step above.
    If you think of the boutique market for electric guitars there is one for acoustic guitars as well.  

    Acoustic guitars are generally more expensive than their electric counterparts generally as labour required to build an acoustic guitar (flat tops) is more than an electric.  Then you have arch tops e.g. the Monteleone which takes even longer, the hours required to carve a spruce/maple top for a jazz guitar, the hours really add up. 

    I made a visit to TAMCO and played quite a lot of guitars and the build quality of some of the guitars are amazing and even the high prices are representative of their quality.

    Btw, when you look at some guys pedalboards, amp, guitar rigs - I've seen some set up here which add up more than a Sobell.  


    Absolutely, I wasn't (hopefully) critical of the price, I was just shocked that it was an order of magnitude above my psychological limit for an instrument. That being said, I have multiples of the instruments that fit into that bracket so if i were to sell them and own only one Sobell that would probably make more sense. Although its never going to happen as I prefer electric.
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • I see quite a lot of people at local folk clubs who play Collings guitars and others in that sort of price range, and some of them have three or four. Most of them are competent players at best!
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    Stuckfast said:
    I see quite a lot of people at local folk clubs who play Collings guitars and others in that sort of price range, and some of them have three or four. Most of them are competent players at best!
    well, as long as they are happy. thats what its all about.
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • jellyrolljellyroll Frets: 3073
    edited September 2017
    ThorpyFX said:
    Stuckfast said:
    I see quite a lot of people at local folk clubs who play Collings guitars and others in that sort of price range, and some of them have three or four. Most of them are competent players at best!
    well, as long as they are happy. thats what its all about.
    Are BMW M4 drivers more competent than Skoda drivers?

    I have a Santa Cruz and a Collings. And I'm incompetent. But, I don't drink, I don't smoke**, I don't have a car and I'll lose at most a few hundred quid  if I ever sell the guitars. My money, my choices.....

    I enjoy my guitars. 

    ** I'm a barrel of laughs at parties
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  • Stuckfast said:
    I see quite a lot of people at local folk clubs who play Collings guitars and others in that sort of price range, and some of them have three or four. Most of them are competent players at best!
    They must be upmarket folk clubs that you are attending : >
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  • CHRISB50CHRISB50 Frets: 4287

    Have a browse through the custom section of the Acoustic Guitar Forum.

    There are guys on there with deep pockets, and some beautiful builds.

    A majority appear to be wealthy individuals or guys getting their 'the one' build made for them. There are a couple of pros who seem to have deals with certain luthiers.



    I can't help about the shape I'm in, I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin

    But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to

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  • slackerslacker Frets: 2216
    When the Bass Gallery first started, it was a little friendly place and Martin the owner would have a cup of tea with me. He would show me his bass builds. He told me that pattern was that amateurs would ask for exotic woods, one piece tops often with matched pickup covers, fancy inlays and custom electronics packages. The pro players would ask for the basic spec. 

    His view was that the amateurs treated playing as a hobby and the pros wanted something that got the job done. 

    I've never held with ability determining instrument purchases. I think that we as guitarists are too familiar with instruments and make judgements based on that knowledge. 

    I went to a folky open mic thing a few months ago, I made assumptions of the guitarists on the instruments they played. However there were two violinists, the woman had a brown violin and the man had a dark brown violin. He was competent and she was awesome. Did she have a better violin? No idea, it sounded better. 
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  • I'll have to read this thread. I do wonder just how much better a £kkkk acoustic is compared to a £1k model, for example. 
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    I'll have to read this thread. I do wonder just how much better a £kkkk acoustic is compared to a £1k model, for example. 
    Me too..... however having played a brook torridge at £2500 I’d struggle to exploit the benefit myself as I just don’t have the subtlety and nuanced ability. 
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • mgawmgaw Frets: 5239
    having owned a £5k guitar and now have a £2k the difference in this case is there, but not huge...mainly sweeter tone and incredible playability.  Worth a trip to one of the Boutique guitar parlours:) to try a range of eye wateringly expensive guitars.

    Personally speaking i think paying the same amount for a guitar as you would for a newish car is perfectly acceptable. and indeed should be encouraged, buy a banger and spend the extra £10-15k on a truly great acoustic!!
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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11789
    I'll have to read this thread. I do wonder just how much better a £kkkk acoustic is compared to a £1k model, for example. 
    they get  significantly better up to £3k new RRP, then it's personal taste beyond that. You can find a stunner for £3k that plays exactly how you want, but there are far more stunners at £5k, but plenty of £5k+ ones that I hate
    They vary hugely in the sound/response
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