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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2016 19:31:59 GMT
I'm constantly looking at guitars. Guitars in magazines....guitars online....guitars in shops....guitars being played at our weekly open mike night and guitars being played by buskers (I chuck in a few coins so that I can get up close and have a look at what guitar they are using....it's rude to just stare). Now I've seen some nice guitars in a local shop. Tanglewoods, Yamahas, Faiths, Epiphones, Gibsons, Taylors and Martin's. All with varying price tags. And I wonder.....is a £2,000 guitar really £1,900 'better' than my £100 Tanglewood?
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Post by christoph on Jul 27, 2016 23:33:20 GMT
Very important? Maybe we should conduct a test!!
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Post by vikingblues on Jul 28, 2016 19:52:23 GMT
I think I recognise those symptoms. I don't think there's a cure! For me there is a cut off point where the extra price of guitars does hit diminishing returns and it ceases to be a linear relationship. I have not managed to find a guitar in the £1000 to £2500 range that's better enough than my collection of up to £600 cost guitars to feel it a worthwhile investment. Not that it stops me looking (and occasionally buying) when funds permit. If I was a better player I think the cut off point would be much higher up the price scale though. Mark
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2016 20:17:13 GMT
Diminishing returns! What a coincidence. In the section 'How to buy and sell guitars' tips, in a magazine that I bought today, the boss of one of the biggest music stores in the UK says that one of the most frequently asked customer questions is "why is guitar x 10 times the price of guitar y?". And he has to explain the law of diminishing returns. I still don't really understand the concept though. I can for coffee machines....but not guitars.
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leoroberts
C.O.G.
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Jul 29, 2016 5:11:20 GMT
And I wonder.....is a £2,000 guitar really £1,900 'better' than my £100 Tanglewood? Probably not, @stanleyaccrington - but your question structure might not bear scrutiny (can you tell I'm in 'marking mode'?) Into the cost of the instrument will be factored the scarcity of the wood, the quality of the hardware, the length of the production process, import duties, the name on the headstock, etc. A better question might (or might not) be to ask yourself whether the £2K guitar is 20 times better than your £100 guitar. And it probably isn't. But who cares? If you can afford a £2K guitar, and you THINK it sounds only 10% better then it might still be worth it. To you. And you are all that matters. As for the law of diminishing returns, I often have to tell my students when they are preparing their theses that, if they spend 50 hours writing it, it might be good enough. Spending 100 hours on it won't necessarily make it twice as good. Then I fail them anyway because they may as well learn that life is a bitch from me as from anyone else
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Post by lavaman on Jul 29, 2016 7:25:59 GMT
As for the law of diminishing returns, I often have to tell my students when they are preparing their theses that, if they spend 50 hours writing it, it might be good enough. Spending 100 hours on it won't necessarily make it twice as good. Then I fail them anyway because they may as well learn that life is a bitch from me as from anyone else Wish my school had teachers like you. Happy Birthday BTW
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Jul 29, 2016 7:43:53 GMT
The only way to find out how good these more expensive guitars are is to try them yourself, @stanleyaccrington! And it's worth trying a LOT of them
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Post by scripsit on Jul 29, 2016 8:00:13 GMT
I think your original proposition is faulty, about something 20 times as expensive having to be 20 times as good.
A better comparison would be between a chain hamburger out of a cardboard box and a sit down silver service dinner in an a la carte restaurant.
One is much more expensive than the other. To some people the sit down dinner is well worth the cost (if they can afford it), but it's silly to try and quantify the difference in food quality so as to match the monetary value. Eating doesn't work like that.
The quality of the experience is a personal matter, and for both food and music is largely determined by individual taste.
Kym
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brianr2
C.O.G.
Posts: 3,058
My main instrument is: Brook Lyn guitar
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Post by brianr2 on Jul 29, 2016 8:29:13 GMT
Much of the economy relies on the law of diminishing returns, and how much more people are prepared to pay for small differences, real or imagined.
Many are happy to pay a great deal for "designer" labels regardless of actual quality. Exclusivity carries a high cost.
If we were all truly economically rational, we should wear the cheapest of watches, rely entirely on "own brands", drive the most basic of cars without any add-ons, wear practical hard-wearing clothes, stay away from restaurants, absteem from all unnecessary stimulants (including alcohol!) and be financially smug in our miserly misery.
At the end of the day, anything is only worth what someone is prepared to pay. For many, me included, the joy of owning something that is well designed and executed, a delight to look at and which gives real added pleasure is worth paying for.
Brian
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2016 9:11:41 GMT
Some great replies. Thank you. I think my attitude to money and the price of things stem from where I have lived originally and where I now live! When I lived on Teesside I didn't have much money.....and now I live in Yorkshire, I don't want to spend it!!!
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Post by creamburmese on Jul 29, 2016 16:11:45 GMT
There may be no cure for not wanting to spend your money! My take on this is that we will pay what we need to pay to get the sound (playability, appearance, whatever) that we want (within financial limits). For me I'm constantly listening for the sound, and eventually I found for me it was necessary to pay way more than I thought to get it...but I haven't regretted it since. If on the other hand the guitar for 10x as much doesn't make you yearn after it - why bother? At least I am temporarily free of GAS - at least until I find the same guitar in a smaller size lol!
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Andy P
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Post by Andy P on Jul 29, 2016 17:24:53 GMT
When I had mid-priced guitars I use to get them out two or three times a week. Since I bought two fairly expensive guitars, I play every single day, and for much longer than I did, because I love playing them so much. They give me many times more pleasure. So in terms of "value" they're well worth it to me.
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Post by vikingblues on Jul 29, 2016 17:47:21 GMT
I can't find enough free time in the day to play the mid-priced guitars I've got! Bottom line to all questions about what [insert name of music gear here] should I get is whatever it is that makes you most creative. Cost, Brand, Tonewood, Size, Style, etc of an acoustic guitar being whatever they happen to be for that to happen. Mark
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Post by dreadnought28 on Jul 30, 2016 5:45:10 GMT
Reading this lot makes me think I must be a complete idiot.
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maninashed
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Post by maninashed on Jul 30, 2016 6:26:35 GMT
I used to hear people say if a guitar speaks to you, get it. I had no idea what they meant, no guitar had ever spoken to me! I have played quite a few guitars but never one I felt COMPLETELY comfortable with, there was always something I would like to change, however small, and I think it restricted my playing, maybe just to a small degree.
Then, a friend saw me looking over his Fylde Ariel and asked me if I wanted a go. I played it for 5 minutes and it felt almost like it was playing itself, it just felt so right for me, comfortable to hold, easy to finger and pick and with just the right response. And it sounded lovely even with my basic picking, such a rich and smooth sound. I still remember how it felt playing it that day, it was such a profound experience.
That was it, a guitar had spoken to me! I was in the very lucky position to be able to order my own from Roger the next day and after a few months, the big brown van arrived with it.
I couldn't be happier, it's still a joy to play every time I pick it up. It's made me want to play more and it's cured my GAS, I haven't thought about buying another guitar since, I've found the guitar for me. Still on the lookout for the perfect uke though....
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