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Post by rodders on Oct 23, 2022 19:34:12 GMT
To give a bit of background, once upon a time I bought (and sold) a lot of guitars in search of ‘the one’. Or ‘the two or three’. I’ve owned lots of acoustic guitars, but over the last 10-12 years kind of lost interest.
As things stand I’ve got a Francis Milsom parlour (which sits next to me in the lounge or living room), and a Recording King cheap-ish OM thing that I hardly ever pay any attention to.
I’ve just started playing more and it’s making me think about investing in a larger bodied guitar, but looking at the price increases over the last 10 years - I’m not sure I can justify it.
The price increases of Lowden, Fylde, Brook, etc, seem to be completely out of kilter with everything else, and out of the realm of people who are willing to spend a ‘bit more’ for something quality.
Not sure what point I’m trying to make, just wondered what your thoughts are?
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Post by rodders on Oct 23, 2022 19:38:13 GMT
Oh, and if anybody has a suggestion for a reasonably priced deep bodied acoustic, please let me know
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leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 24,645
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Oct 23, 2022 21:19:24 GMT
Oh, and if anybody has a suggestion for a reasonably priced deep bodied acoustic, please let me know I guess that depends on your parameters for 'reasonably priced', rodders
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gwmpy
Strummer
Posts: 42
My main instrument is: 12 string guitar, B bender tele's c'hammer banjo
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Post by gwmpy on Oct 23, 2022 22:19:35 GMT
Hi, Depending on what genre of music you want to play.....but in the last year I have bought two Alvarez Masterworks dreadnoughts (the bluegrass models), and love them. If you can inspect them before buying all the better, but to be honest, they punch well above their weight and I have had some really high end guitars over the years. If you are not prejudiced against guitars made in certain countries, there are some great guitars out there for reasonable prices IMHO, but I must stress, it's best to check them out first, especially for the dreaded rear bridge gap :-) I also always take a long straight edge ruler to any potential guitar purchase to check the neck angle. Also, again for not a lot of money(and I say that out of great respect as I know that in todays climate, things are hard for people) the Sigma J45 copy is also terrific value. I have the all solid version which again, I love. Hope this helps, G
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Post by rodders on Oct 23, 2022 22:32:49 GMT
Oh, and if anybody has a suggestion for a reasonably priced deep bodied acoustic, please let me know I guess that depends on your parameters for 'reasonably priced', rodders Well, it would seem that £2k ten years ago is now £5k? £2k is still £2k for me.
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Post by rodders on Oct 23, 2022 22:43:57 GMT
I guess that depends on your parameters for 'reasonably priced', rodders Well, it would seem that £2k ten years ago is now £5k? £2k is still £2k for me. Very helpful, thank you
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gwmpy
Strummer
Posts: 42
My main instrument is: 12 string guitar, B bender tele's c'hammer banjo
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Post by gwmpy on Oct 23, 2022 22:51:27 GMT
wow, 2k is way out of my ballpark :-)
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Post by rodders on Oct 23, 2022 22:54:51 GMT
Oh, and if anybody has a suggestion for a reasonably priced deep bodied acoustic, please let me know I guess that depends on your parameters for 'reasonably priced', rodders Less than five million quid
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Post by rodders on Oct 23, 2022 22:56:16 GMT
wow, 2k is way out of my ballpark :-) Oh, absolutely, I’m just comparing old prices to new
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gwmpy
Strummer
Posts: 42
My main instrument is: 12 string guitar, B bender tele's c'hammer banjo
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Post by gwmpy on Oct 23, 2022 23:00:31 GMT
If you want to check out my Alvarez Guitars, you are more than welcome. No problem. G
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leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 24,645
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Oct 24, 2022 3:45:15 GMT
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Post by otis1960 on Oct 24, 2022 5:48:19 GMT
I think that the price increases of the small volume makers probably just reflect the realities of their situation; none of them make vast sums out of the business, and if you want a hand-built guitar made with great skill and patience from top-quality materials then the individual prices need to reflect that. Commercial pricing is another matter entirely, as the big names have large commercial enterprises to support. Whether the retail price of Martin, Gibson, Taylor, and now Lowden (who seem to be moving to more volume manufacturing) actually reflects the value of the input work and materials is a different discussion entirely. Sourcing something at a lower price point depends on whether you are insistent on a new guitar, or whether you are up for something pre-enjoyed. There are some relative bargains to be had in the low- volume market, as the majority of folks just don’t know much about them, and perusing the classifieds here can be very tempting. If you want something new then the ‘quality value’ seems to come from Far East manufacture: Faith and Eastman offer some guitars that are way better than the prices would suggest, and Auden have a hybrid construction system that also gives great value for money. All of these have a final check and setup operation in the UK, or Netherlands for Eastman, so you do not get something straight out of a container. I have an Eastman E20D that cost less than half the price of a Martin D28, and the D28 is nowhere near twice as good. Furch/Lakewood and Alvarez also have some really good mid-price guitars, and there must be others that I have forgotten.
Sorry, this turned into something of an early morning rambling post. I agree that prices have gone bananas, although the small makers probably have no choice if they want to stay afloat, and I think that some (Fylde, McIlroy, Adrian Lucas immediately come to mind) actually offer pretty good value compared to the industry giants.
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Post by grayn on Oct 24, 2022 6:14:29 GMT
There are some really good acoustics that come well within your 2K budget. Dreads and mini jumbos would seem the style you may be looking for. Eastman, upper end Yamaha, lower end Taylor, some Guilds or perhaps a 15 series Martin etc etc. Good luck with your search.
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Post by rodders on Oct 24, 2022 6:46:29 GMT
Thanks chaps. I've just had a look on the wayback archive and the likes of Lowden, Mcllroy, etc, haven't put their prices up that much over the last 10 years. Big apologies to George Lowden and his mates.
However, a Martin D-28 (standard), has gone from £1799 in 2012, to £3450 in 2022. Almost a 100% increase.
I will teach them a lesson by not buying from them
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Post by delb0y on Oct 24, 2022 7:08:19 GMT
Thanks chaps. I've just had a look on the wayback archive and the likes of Lowden, Mcllroy, etc, haven't put their prices up that much over the last 10 years. Big apologies to George Lowden and his mates. However, a Martin D-28 (standard), has gone from £1799 in 2012, to £3450 in 2022. Almost a 100% increase. I will teach them a lesson by not buying from them Yes, I remember looking at a D-18 in my local music shop back when it was around £1800. A lovely guitar but way out of my price range then. Was looking at something similar recently and was staggered to find they've doubled in price. I guess everything has gone up a lot, so I shouldn't have been staggered, but I was.
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