Some of you may have seen my recent NGD post with the Phoenix 1000.
Fear not, the guitars good!
But in that post I said I was curious how this guitar is a 2020 year of make (serial numbers a 2019 so early run) and among the first in the Uk yet already on an epic deal with Andertons having only 3 in stock in the vintage white.
It was also labelled limited edition which I mentioned being confused about because there is no limited edition of the new Phoenix’..
It had its own separate listing too.
So there were 2 ‘Pages’ for the vintage white Phoenix’s (one full price and available to order), and the other page was for the epic deal ‘limited edition’, 3 in stock.
Then the Cherry red and black metal versions had their own page.
Bought one and it arrived a week and a half ago.
Anyway fast fwd to today and Andertons put up an Epic deal video which the Phoenix features in (as sold out) so pretty pointless.. but they have one in the video.
Thought I’d watch it.
At 16:12 into the video the cap’n reveals all..
Turns out Ltd made a very small batch of these Vintage White Phoenix’ whereby they were not happy with the colour.
(Yeah it is yellower than an off white/vintage white), but I never paid it much mind tbh.
Anyway Andertons etc bought them, obviously cheaper, and thats how they came to be.
Guitars fine, I like it, nothing wrong with it.. Its staying.
But.
I can’t help feeling a lil annoyed about the marketing.
The 3 they had were effectively rejects. B stock maybe? As classed by the manufacturer. No actual physical flaws though just too yellow in colour.
No mention of this in the Ad regarding the colour difference and hence reason for the price.
And with a limited edition banner on it lol..
I can see what they were going for but is that a little underhand? But I can also see the flip side in that the colours just a shade off and other than that its not exactly a huge deal.
Kennys have them as B stock and mention the colour:
It made me wonder.. I thought Epic deal were just hey, we bought bulk or end of line products etc.. now I think hmmm..
I dont know why it annoyed me, because I wouldnt exchange the one I’ve got for one in whatever the right shade is supposed to be, if it was offered me lol.
Whats your thoughts on that?
I’d really like to see a ‘normal’ one in the flesh to see the how big the difference is tbh, because From what I can see I’m surprised that Ltd would have even bothered with mentioning it as its not wildly off.
I’m sure they could have either not said anything and no one would notice, or just say hey, colours vary slightly!
There aint many pictures of these in the wild yet. But I got curious to try and get a comparison between the shades.
Theres not much in it and tbh some look exactly the same as mine so who knows...
Heres mine:
The esp promo vid:
Sweetwater stock:
Random google image: same shade no?
Interesting!
Edit:
Looked at the Guitar as pictured on Esp’s website and held it up next to my own.. Legit wouldnt have noticed had nothing came to light lol.. dunno why they even mentioned it!
Comments
Would I be slightly miffed that I was sold a guitar that the manufacturer deemed not right for them?
No, I be stoked that I have an ultra rare limited run colour, and then dream about it being released as my sig model in NAMM 2030...
I think the real takeaway from all of this is that you shouldn't buy any more guitars ever, as you're clearly the unluckiest man on the planet. In future when you're after something what you should do is give me the money: I'll buy it for you, play it for a couple of weeks to check it's all okay and then let you have it
Yeah, one could get annoyed at the slightly sharp marketing tactics, but why waste time and energy on that - life’s too short, just [shut up and] play yer guitar.
I don't know that I'd consider it B stock in this circumstance. Just a superceded colour
Let it go .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
But I have a matte black Ltd already so was a bit sameish.
But I see the Vintage white come up at the price it did so went for it. I do like it, alot.. I think its because all my guitars are kind of bland though haha..
I feel like I need something blingy.. quilted maple in purple or something and abalone everywhere. Haha.
https://i.imgur.com/Z3dWCoU.jpg
Calling it a limited edition was a bit out of order, but if the price was right and you're happy with it.... seems all good to me.
My Kelly hung more to the left on a strap than my Les Paul style guitars, back when I was gigging; maybe that's why it's making the neck feel long?