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Anything over - say 5k is for other reasons and nothing to do with making great music.
And yeah, the Darrel Scott masterfully thrashing away on a for 'fingerstyle' guitar to many overtones holy grail box is sooooo funny - evidencing that you simply need good technique to control those Sobell excesses.
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I have a relation in a successful 'functions' band - corporate bashes and so on, he hasn't personally paid for any of his kit for yrs and he's got some of the best (keyboards etc) on the market.
So ya get a lot of that, with some 'guitarists' it's part of their brand ID, though only of interest to a niche audience.
various things at play here including the amateur player who has considerable expendable income.
But it is good for 'luthiers' as they get to build exclusive instruments in the best materials - some of them introducing 'must have / be seen with' features - I think their having a bit of a laugh really, what can we encourage them to 'desire'.
I agree with the point about expensive guitars not being needed/used on famous records.. I think the same about amps and effects and even mixing/mastering...
@AuldReekie is the Larry the "worst" of that bunch?
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But then when you get up into the acoustic price fuckoffosphere (ignoring guitars which are expensive because of crazy adornments etc) you find innovative bracing patterns, body shapes, different scientific approaches to rigidity, double sides etc, in the pursuit of delivering things that traditionally patterned guitars don't. Maybe that's the tone, characteristics of the note attack and sustain, or consistency of timbre from the bottom to the very top of the neck across all strings etc etc. And then the build is about using whatever techniques and materials are needed to bring the design to life without compromise. It's not hard to see how the $$$ rack up really.
However, you might also like Furch/Stonebridge when looking for VFM, playability and a decent sound.
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When I started working for Sobell in the late 80's a guitar from him was £880, or was it £820? I forget. Yes, the guitars got better as the years went by, but more importantly, the demand for his work increased. This allowed Stefan to steadily increase his prices.
Price is the only tool a maker has to control demand.
Neither Sobell and Monteleone are young men anymore. Both have done well from instrument making and have made many fine instruments. Unless they have been foolish with the money they have earned, neither should be under any financial pressure nor feel the need to compete in the current market. I imagine that both have reduced the supply of instruments compared to when they were younger. If the demand stays the roughly the same, their prices will reflect this.
There often comes a point when a maker hikes their price up specifically to cut demand down. If you're in your 60s or 70s or older, you've no debt and money in the bank, it makes sense to stop making so much stuff and just make a handful of instruments a year, and get paid well for them. Monteleone is a good example. I believe he charges around $45,000 for a mandolin. It's quite possible he doesn't get many or even any orders at this price, but even if he gets one a year, that's a nice reason for him to put an edge on his chisel.
Likewise, my prices have risen steadily since opening my own shop. Not by as much as I'd like, but then there are a lot more makers around than you could ever have imagined. But they've gone up nonetheless. Demand for my work has outstripped supply. Ten years ago my Model C was about £3250. Now they are around £5500.
But if you look at the "fancy" guitar market in general, you'll see prices have gone down. I was talking with one of the main US "boutique guitar" dealers last year - he pointed out that the average price he sells a guitar for is exactly the same as it was ten years ago. $5000. So taking inflation into account, that's a price drop overall. But then there are a lot more makers and more guitars available used than there ever has been. At the same time, those with the buying power - the "baby boomers" are quite literally dying out. Yes, some younger players are buying handmade work, but they don't buy as many as the older generation or spend as much. So it'll be interesting to see how the handmade guitar market changes in the next few years....
Nigel
www.nkforsterguitars.com
Played some great guitars at @AuldReekie's tonight (and he is a great player - good alternative tuning work - proper acoustic player!). In terms of acoustics... was it the two Forster's near the window? The one on the right... was the best guitar in the room, in pee-brock tuning. Highly resonant. I forget the guitar that was in open-C (???) behind the door but that sounded great.. Dreadnought too big for me - best for strumming. And not a slight to any of the higher-end models but the Larry held it's own. When he played my own Larry, it still sounded like music to my ears. And I learned something.... unless my ear needs to develop, I do believe I prefer the sweet highs/mids of a mahogany guitar. I think mahogany is best for fingerstyle while warmer/bassier rosewood is best for strumming (the opposite of what most folk say).
Fancier woods I've tried on other guitars... none made too big an impact on me. But when I picked me OM-02... and played another mahogany guitar with spruce top recently.. the sounds really resonated with me. I've yet to try cedar top (which I understand ages quicker, getting to a more developed sound quicker). And as stupid as I may come across for saying this, I never realised before that a guitar top will darken over time. It's almost a shame as I like the colour my OM-02 is right now!
I also realised recently that whilst I initially thought I'd prefer a cutaway in an acoustic... I've found I actually do not prefer that at all. I love the OM shape, full-body, 14 frets, and think I have a decent grip on the sort of woods I like (though I've not been to an acoustic super-store...).
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