Gibson Pricing?

[Charvel_King]

Is it just me or do other people think Gibson price their guitars a bit on the steep side?

I played a 2013 Les Paul Standard "Tea Burst" w/ Flame Maple top. It's was really nice, set up was great and finish was perfect. But it was selling for £1899!!

I understand you're paying for a premium product made in a western counrty but still, you can get a USA Fender Strat for well under £1000.

For that money I could get the top speck guitar offered by most other companies, i could almost get a custom shop Strat/ESP/Charvel

The guitar itself was exellent, couldn't fault it at all, and im not here to flame Gibson because they make great instruments. I just think, compared to other copanies, you end up paying a LOT for a guitar.

I know i could get a Studio or Epiphone to save cash but if i was going to buy a Les Paul i want Gibson, i want a nice top and i want body binding. To get that i need to part with £2K

I don't think i can justify parting with that much money for a massed produced guitar, especially when my Jap Charvel plays every bit as good for 1/3rd of the price...

Food for thought

 

[ChadVanHalen]

Lol Gibson are too expensive?

Yes, yes they are.

But they wont lower their prices cause people buy them anyway, no reason to lower prices if you're making a profit at the higher price

 

[Tone Zone]

Oh, judging by your thread title, I was hoping you'd let us complete your thought:

Gibson Pricing.......IS RIDICULOUS!

 

[ChadVanHalen]

The reason Les Paul became so popular in the 70's cause THEY DIDN'T COST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

But now they can say "Page, Perry, Slash, Rhoads, Frehley, Aldrich, etc etc etc etc etc etc" and can justify themselves in raising the price, despite the fact that many of them wouldn't have picked up an LP back in the day if it was priced like that (Well, aside from the whole Gibson = humbucker thing)

 

[lespaul6]

The prices are a little crazy, especially for some of those historics with a nice flame top. I sold off all of my historics a few years ago and replaced them with some really great stuff from a small manufacturer in California. Basically, if gibson made what I have now I simply would not be able to afford it! Nicer tops and better paint etc...

 

[Steinmetzify]

Forget it. Buy used and save huge. You can score a 2 yr old R8 for that money easily, with change left over. I would never buy a brand new LP; it's like a car and loses value instantly, especially lately. Swear to God, if I had $15k I could buy one of every example of a Gibson I've ever wanted and still have cash left over for a used VH4, and I could do it today! There are that many low priced LPs out there.

 

[Charvel_King]

Thats what i though!

I mean they had some Customs that where £2.5K, a Duane Allman and a Pearly Gates for £4.5K and a 1959 re-issue for a MASSIVE £6,500! I mean they all looked impressive and the relic'ing is very convincing but jeez!

The one i played was the cheapest Gibson in the shop (excluding the studios).

But i hear what yout saying, if people will buy at that price then why sell for any cheaper!

I had a similar conversaiton at work about Ferraris, someone wondered why the didnt do a more affordable model.

There is a simple answer.

People like to have luxury products that not eveyelse can afford, with Ferrari only a handful can afford them so there is some exclusivity about it. If everybody had Ferraris then that would be ruined and people would stop wanting them as it would jsut become nothing special.

Bottom line, consumers like to be in a minority of ownership. Part of an elite group!

 

[ChadVanHalen]

Bottom line, consumers like to be in a minority of ownership. Part of an elite group!

You can say that again, but putting it in a music context as well

 

[rlord1974]

Is it just me or do other people think Gibson price their guitars a bit on the steep side?

I played a 2013 Les Paul Standard "Tea Burst" w/ Flame Maple top. It's was really nice, set up was great and finish was perfect. But it was selling for £1899!!

I understand you're paying for a premium product made in a western counrty but still, you can get a USA Fender Strat for well under £1000.

You can't compare the cost of a Les Paul to the cost of a Strat, as it is completely an apples to oranges comparison. Materials costs in a Les Paul are much higher than in a Strat, and production/labour costs are significantly higher as well (i.e., maple cap, binding, etc.).

I don't think the Traditionals and Standards are over priced at all. In fact, I think they are quite reasonably priced. The Historics?......that's another story.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Bottom line, consumers like to be in a minority of ownership. Part of an elite group!

Very true.

I've seen some gear on forums as it becomes more popular and/or obtainable is no longer perceived as desireable anymore by the original "elite" group that helped make it popular in the first place.

Historics aren't elite enough anymore hence the vintage/historic makeovers/high end knock offs market.

 

[TrueTone500]

I paid $540.00 (w/o case) for my '78 Gibson Les Paul Custom in 1978. Today a new Gibson LPC will cost you $3999.00 USD. That's nearly an 800% increase in price! Cumulative inflation rate from 1978 to 2013 indicates that the price of a new Gibson LPC should be $1934.69 USD.

 

[glip22]

I paid $540.00 USD w/o case for my '78 Gibson Les Paul Custom in 1978. Today a new Gibson LPC will cost you $3999.00 USD. That's nearly an 800% increase in price! Cumulative inflation rate from 1978 to 2013 indicates that the price of a new Gibson LPC should be $1934.69 USD.

Gibson is government owned. Obama bought it. He even offered them a bailout when the FDA fined them

 

[C1-ocaster]

YES. Gibson Les Paul pricing is crazy high.
For me, they aren't worth that much, not at all.
I've played a LOT of them new at GC, and I haven't played one yet that I thought was worth the asking price.

Gibson's prices don't reflect the construction, design, or playability.
They reflect the market and what the market is willing to pay for a
Gibson Les Paul, and clearly the market is willing to pay those prices.
So, you can't really call them "over priced", but you can make an argument that they aren't worth the price asked for them.

Too many other quality guitars available for me to waste my time trying to find an LP that even appeals to me from a playing standpoint, let alone dealing with the price if I were to actually find one.
Gibson has become a Kool-Aid flavor.

 

[steve_k]

Is it just me or do other people think Gibson price their guitars a bit on the steep side?

I played a 2013 Les Paul Standard "Tea Burst" w/ Flame Maple top. It's was really nice, set up was great and finish was perfect. But it was selling for £1899!!

I understand you're paying for a premium product made in a western counrty but still, you can get a USA Fender Strat for well under £1000.

For that money I could get the top speck guitar offered by most other companies, i could almost get a custom shop Strat/ESP/Charvel

The guitar itself was exellent, couldn't fault it at all, and im not here to flame Gibson because they make great instruments. I just think, compared to other copanies, you end up paying a LOT for a guitar.

I know i could get a Studio or Epiphone to save cash but if i was going to buy a Les Paul i want Gibson, i want a nice top and i want body binding. To get that i need to part with £2K

I don't think i can justify parting with that much money for a massed produced guitar, especially when my Jap Charvel plays every bit as good for 1/3rd of the price...

Food for thought

What food for thought? There is nothing to compare between a Les Paul and your Jap Charvel, or the Strat you mentioned above. Not siding with one over the other, but it's apples and oranges.

 

[C1-ocaster]

I paid $540.00 USD w/o case for my '78 Gibson Les Paul Custom in 1978. Today a new Gibson LPC will cost you $3999.00 USD. That's nearly an 800% increase in price! Cumulative inflation rate from 1978 to 2013 indicates that the price of a new Gibson LPC should be $1934.69 USD.

Gibson is government owned. Obama bought it. He even offered them a bailout when the FDA fined them

They were raided by agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, sent there by the US Justice Department.
Gibson claimed innocence in the media, but then settled out of court with the Justice Department and agreed to pay a fine and lose the wood they acquired and possessed illegally.
It doesn't appear that they were innocent, especially considering that they obviously took the deal given to them to stay out of court.

Gibson is quite privately owned, and it's owners are big conservative party supporters and donor's.

 

[C1-ocaster]

Is it just me or do other people think Gibson price their guitars a bit on the steep side?

I played a 2013 Les Paul Standard "Tea Burst" w/ Flame Maple top. It's was really nice, set up was great and finish was perfect. But it was selling for £1899!!

I understand you're paying for a premium product made in a western counrty but still, you can get a USA Fender Strat for well under £1000.

For that money I could get the top speck guitar offered by most other companies, i could almost get a custom shop Strat/ESP/Charvel

The guitar itself was exellent, couldn't fault it at all, and im not here to flame Gibson because they make great instruments. I just think, compared to other copanies, you end up paying a LOT for a guitar.

I know i could get a Studio or Epiphone to save cash but if i was going to buy a Les Paul i want Gibson, i want a nice top and i want body binding. To get that i need to part with £2K

I don't think i can justify parting with that much money for a massed produced guitar, especially when my Jap Charvel plays every bit as good for 1/3rd of the price...

Food for thought

What food for thought? There is nothing to compare between a Les Paul and your Jap Charvel, or the Strat you mentioned above. Not siding with one over the other, but it's apples and oranges.

I don't see how comparing these solid body electric guitars is an "apples to oranges" comparison.
It's not like a comparison between a Taylor acoustic and a Les Paul. That would be apples to oranges.
The difference between choosing a Strat or Les Paul or PRS is what flavor of apples do you like, such as Red Delicious, Granny Smith,
Golden, etc...

 

[Charvel_King]

Is it just me or do other people think Gibson price their guitars a bit on the steep side?

I played a 2013 Les Paul Standard "Tea Burst" w/ Flame Maple top. It's was really nice, set up was great and finish was perfect. But it was selling for £1899!!

I understand you're paying for a premium product made in a western counrty but still, you can get a USA Fender Strat for well under £1000.

For that money I could get the top speck guitar offered by most other companies, i could almost get a custom shop Strat/ESP/Charvel

The guitar itself was exellent, couldn't fault it at all, and im not here to flame Gibson because they make great instruments. I just think, compared to other copanies, you end up paying a LOT for a guitar.

I know i could get a Studio or Epiphone to save cash but if i was going to buy a Les Paul i want Gibson, i want a nice top and i want body binding. To get that i need to part with £2K

I don't think i can justify parting with that much money for a massed produced guitar, especially when my Jap Charvel plays every bit as good for 1/3rd of the price...

Food for thought

What food for thought? There is nothing to compare between a Les Paul and your Jap Charvel, or the Strat you mentioned above. Not siding with one over the other, but it's apples and oranges.

I was saying that comparing other guitar companies top spec models to Gibson there is a big difference in price that I feel us excessive.

I wasn't comparing to my Chatvel cost wise, as I said my Charvel plays every big as good as the Gibson I played that would cost me 3 times as much.

I think it's a valid comparison, they are all electric guitars when all is said and done.

 

[rlord1974]

Is it just me or do other people think Gibson price their guitars a bit on the steep side?

I played a 2013 Les Paul Standard "Tea Burst" w/ Flame Maple top. It's was really nice, set up was great and finish was perfect. But it was selling for £1899!!

I understand you're paying for a premium product made in a western counrty but still, you can get a USA Fender Strat for well under £1000.

For that money I could get the top speck guitar offered by most other companies, i could almost get a custom shop Strat/ESP/Charvel

The guitar itself was exellent, couldn't fault it at all, and im not here to flame Gibson because they make great instruments. I just think, compared to other copanies, you end up paying a LOT for a guitar.

I know i could get a Studio or Epiphone to save cash but if i was going to buy a Les Paul i want Gibson, i want a nice top and i want body binding. To get that i need to part with £2K

I don't think i can justify parting with that much money for a massed produced guitar, especially when my Jap Charvel plays every bit as good for 1/3rd of the price...

Food for thought

What food for thought? There is nothing to compare between a Les Paul and your Jap Charvel, or the Strat you mentioned above. Not siding with one over the other, but it's apples and oranges.

I was saying that comparing other guitar companies top spec models to Gibson there is a big difference in price that I feel us excessive.

I wasn't comparing to my Chatvel cost wise, as I said my Charvel plays every big as good as the Gibson I played that would cost me 3 times as much.

I think it's a valid comparison, they are all electric guitars when all is said and done.

Sorry, I had said it earlier and I agree with Steve here again. It is apples to oranges.....
* A Les Paul has a lot more to it than a Strat, making that comparison unfair. Not to mention, anyone can buy some Strat parts and put one together. Good luck building your own Les Paul.
* A Les Paul is built in the U.S., versus a Charvel that's built in Asia. The difference in labour costs make that price comparison unfair.

Find me another company producing their guitars in the U.S., with the same attention to detail (e.g., binding, maple top, glued in neck, etc.) that is selling their product for significantly less than Gibson. Then we'll have an apples to apples comparison.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

Too expensive is subjective and if whatever dollar value one spends it is up to them to decide if it was a good deal or worth it or not.....now having said that I fall into the camp that they are over priced but I'm a frugal mofo and usually let other people lose money on shit they buy lol. Someone paid between $5500 and $6500 for one of my LP's but I bought it used under $2500 . The 2012 Trad + I bought for $1850 when they were selling for $2200 new. Both are expensive guitars to me but I'd never pay those new prices...they are worth more that that to me however

if you must buy NEW guitar wait around for blow out sales or buy now and see it blown out $900 cheaper than you paid a month ago

Bottom line is don't let insane new prices turn you off.....for $1400-$1800 you can find you killer LP's left and right. There is no substitute to a Les Paul in my opinion, at least not one in a cheaper price range.

 

[glip22]

I picked up a barely used 09 R8 for allot less than new pricing. 09 is a good year as it is the first year of solid body. No swiss cheese, chambering or weight relief. Just good, lighter by Gibson standard, mahogany. 8 Lbs. 8 ounces which is right in the sweet spot. It was also the last year of the madgascar rosewood board. Its nice and dark and has nice figuring when you look close.I was expecting to flip it right away. The guitar is damn near mint, is built great, feels great, and sounds great. Fretwork is perfect. Neck is perfect. Great guitar. Worth every cent of the 2700 I paid. There are excellent Gibson's out there. Just have to find one for your money. I think a used R8 is the way to go. Steve told me to go this route when he knew I was looking. IMO the huge upcharge for a 59 is not worth it if you can find a good R8.