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Guitar talk: acoustic, bass, classical, twelve string? You name it! Pt II

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matthewr said:
So i am very close to buying an acoustic, but what does the panel think of the options?
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I’d certainly add the various Godin brands to the list: Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Art & Lutherie and Norman. They seem very well regarded and I think are all actually still made in Canada (Sigma are no longer anything to do with Martin and I think are entirely Chinese manufacture). I’ve played a couple of Seagulls and they seem very nice indeed. At least one of these Godin brands does a really nice ‘parlour’ guitar, which would likely be my size choice for home noodling.
 
Based on past experience of deciding on guitars based on reviews and brand name I’ve found the only way to find the one that is best for you is to spend a few hours in a guitar shop that stocks a wide range and try those around your price point, and a couple at a higher price to see what you may/may not be missing.

Most guitar shops have very knowledgeable staff so can advise on what to try based on what and where you want to play, skill level and budget and can offer good deals for trade ins.
 
^ Good advice. It almost seems it should go without saying - but I've bought far too many guitars based on the 'I want' principle and comparing specs on paper/online to shortlist and then scouring the classifieds. Despite what should have been an object lesson in the vast real world differences in the half a dozen Teles I sampled in the local music emporium before settling on 'the one' - I still find myself trawling the s/h ads for 'interesting' guitars that might be worth a punt.

Slow learner obviously :)
 
Thank you all, much to think on.

Note I am restricted in my mobility these days so getting to a shop is not generally possible. Although, having said that I will be in Surrey this weekend so a trip to Anderton's with my Dad might be possible.
 
I may have missed this earlier in the thread. But just in case it isnt here yet.

Anyone fancy a foldable guitar? That has to make it easier to fly, I would think.


I’m looking forward to a foldable tenor sax, but not holding my breathe !!
 
-alan- said:
Yeah. Don't know which is worse, the guitars not seeing the light of day for 30+ years or the tallest idiot simpering to camera. Close call :)
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Makes me wonder if "rarity" is being artificially reinforced?
 
The volume of desirable guitars locked away there was hard to believe. I'd say you're spot on - there's little doubt in my mind that Norman and other shrewd merchants like that have enough purchasing power to control a big percentage of the stocks of those rarer guitars - and enough clout and influence through their youtube marketing channels to create or drive up demand any time they want.

Somebody must have been down on their year-end 60s Fender solids and Gibson hollow-bodies sales target around the time that video was launched I reckon.. :cool:
 
It his pension ;) He explained that a lot of it was inventory from an old shop he had, plus a few choice pieces...
 

Here’s Gibson driving up the second hand value of the hitherto unlovable Firebird X to get them off the corporate books. Ben Crowe (Crimson) was justifiably highly upset/annoyed by the fact they didn’t even strip the hardware and donate it to schools, charities etc, or even donate the whole instruments (I only heard about this from his weekly ‘On the bench’ feature). Just utterly dumb anti-environmental thuggery and further evidence Gibson have totally jumped the shark. The pickups, bridges, stop bars, knobs, pots etc are all clearly perfectly salvageable and usable even if they felt the guitars and the crazy ‘robot’ tuners were unsellable.
 
Tony L said:

Here’s Gibson driving up the second hand value of the hitherto unlovable Firebird X to get them off the corporate books. Ben Crowe (Crimson) was justifiably upset/annoyed by the fact they didn’t even strip the hardware and donate it to schools, charities etc, even donate the whole instruments. Just really dumb anti-environmental thuggery and further evidence Gibson have totally jumped the shark. The pickups, bridges, stop bars, knobs, pots etc are all clearly perfectly salvageable and usable even if they felt the guitars and the crazy ‘robot’ tuners were unsellable.
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That's appalling.
 
Tony L said:
Here’s Gibson driving up the second hand value of the hitherto unlovable Firebird X to get them off the corporate books. Ben Crowe (Crimson) was justifiably highly upset/annoyed by the fact they didn’t even strip the hardware and donate it to schools, charities etc, or even donate the whole instruments (I only heard about this from his weekly ‘On the bench’ feature). Just utterly dumb anti-environmental thuggery and further evidence Gibson have totally jumped the shark. The pickups, bridges, stop bars, knobs, pots etc are all clearly perfectly salvageable and usable even if they felt the guitars and the crazy ‘robot’ tuners were unsellable.
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They've been doing the same to shop rejects too. A wicked waste as my Mum would say. They're not the only corporation that does this kind of thing by any means
 
Tony L said:

Here’s Gibson driving up the second hand value of the hitherto unlovable Firebird X to get them off the corporate books. Ben Crowe (Crimson) was justifiably highly upset/annoyed by the fact they didn’t even strip the hardware and donate it to schools, charities etc, or even donate the whole instruments (I only heard about this from his weekly ‘On the bench’ feature). Just utterly dumb anti-environmental thuggery and further evidence Gibson have totally jumped the shark. The pickups, bridges, stop bars, knobs, pots etc are all clearly perfectly salvageable and usable even if they felt the guitars and the crazy ‘robot’ tuners were unsellable.
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I liked the comment on Youtube abut Heavy - Relicing :)

I'm sure I've asked something like this before (perhaps on the watch-thread or similar) but..

- If you've misjudged demand to that degree, what is the financial argument for crushing them as opposed to discounting them / offloading through other channels ??
 
-alan- said:
I'm sure I've asked something like this before (perhaps on the watch-thread or similar) but..

If you've misjudged demand to that degree, what is the financial argument for crushing them as opposed to discounting them / offloading through other channels ??
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Beats me. I really can’t understand that level of corporate stupidity, especially as so many parts are common to other guitars (bridges, stop bars, pickups etc). As a second hand record dealer I chuck a fair bit of stuff away, but only that which is damaged or just unsellable (magazine CDs etc), and even then only after I’ve asset stripped any good inners, CD cases and separated out the sleeves, inserts etc into paper recycling. I can’t comprehend what Gibson were doing above and I find it hugely offensive from a ‘green’ perspective. I’ve lost any respect I may have had for them as a brand as at this point in time (climate emergency etc) that is entirely unacceptable behaviour.

PS I have seen much corporate waste, e.g. as an IT contractor in the ‘90s I was asked to dispose of countless obsolete but still usable computers etc, but even back then I tried to be a bit crafty about it and asset-stripped took anything I could make money on. During one big corporate IT roll-out I think I made £2k+ on the side one year from CEX in That London as I took them so much RAM, network cards, etc. Anything I could get in my bag that was otherwise heading for a skip really. It is where my trusty Model M keyboard came from, though I’m still irked by how many of those I’ve flung in skips along with their matching PS/2s (they had no value back then, I just recognised they were by far the best made computer keyboards so made sure I took some!). I wish I’d kept a complete PS/2 and monitor too!
 
-alan- said:
I liked the comment on Youtube abut Heavy - Relicing :)

I'm sure I've asked something like this before (perhaps on the watch-thread or similar) but..

- If you've misjudged demand to that degree, what is the financial argument for crushing them as opposed to discounting them / offloading through other channels ??
Click to expand...

Ultimately it was 'only' 350 guitars so on their scale (and in their way of thinking) it's insignificant. Dumping a large volume of seconds or surplus stock onto the market would just squeeze profit in the Epiphone line. Their factory facility is from the dark ages compared to, say, Framus in Germany, so they'll be wasting a lot - energy too.
 
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