Will acoustic guitar prices ever top out????

freddie · July 8th, 2008, 02:07 AM

Hi All,

My wife buys me Acoustic Guitar magazine every month and I admit I'm shocked everytime I open it. Not only are the classic brand acoustic guitars getting more expensive, but now the cheaper brands are putting out 1,500.00 - 4,000,00 (in every countries money) models???????? Where is all this money coming from lol... I have a '99 cedar Taylor 712, which is now about 3,500.00 list price. I don't understand how the guitar companies can keep raising the prices to this extreme. Shouldn't the acoustic guitar market have topped off by now?????

freddie

urizen · July 8th, 2008, 02:19 AM

Nope.

Thekillertree · July 8th, 2008, 02:19 AM

Well I guess with a rough economy, and good wod getting more rare, it will naturally go up. I know my Takamine natural Ean40C cedar has gone up a lot in price since I first got it.

urizen · July 8th, 2008, 02:21 AM

That last might have sounded flip---but I'm a fan of L5 style archtops, and look at look at archtop prices---$4,000 is nothing (in relative terms, of course).

boris bubbanov · July 8th, 2008, 08:32 AM

By all rights, newly built acoustic prices are too high. The economy is weak; it simply may take longer for those in dire need of funds to start putting their older acoustics up for grabs. When this starts happening full force, the sale of new ones should all but stop. Electrics are as good now as they've ever been, but older well played in acoustics are often far superior to newly minted ones.

Buckocaster51 · July 8th, 2008, 10:13 AM

Not if they have solid Brazilian Rosewood back and sides.

Tim Armstrong · July 8th, 2008, 10:38 AM

Acoustic Guitar magazine had an article last year about the imminent demise of Sitka spruce. Good wood is harder and harder to find, and more and more expensive to harvest. Add the increasing shipping costs (shipping takes oil!), and the generally increasing cost of, well, everything, and I don't think there's gonna be price reductions anytime soon.

Another thing to consider: a dollar today ain't worth anywhere near what a dollar used to be worth. For example, a dollar today has the buying power of 60 cents in 1990...

Cheers, Tim

charlie cash · July 8th, 2008, 12:43 PM

Tim is right; availability and price of wood is the biggest factor. Not just the spruce fot tops. Suitable wood for one piece mahogany necks is getting rare. Mahogany and Rosewood trees take 300 years to mature before they can be used for guitars.

Yoni · July 10th, 2008, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Acoustic Guitar magazine had an article last year about the imminent demise of Sitka spruce. Good wood is harder and harder to find, and more and more expensive to harvest. Add the increasing shipping costs (shipping takes oil!), and the generally increasing cost of, well, everything, and I don't think there's gonna be price reductions anytime soon.

Another thing to consider: a dollar today ain't worth anywhere near what a dollar used to be worth. For example, a dollar today has the buying power of 60 cents in 1990...

Cheers, Tim

at this point I can see solid wood guitars being a very custom market in about 10 years. I have a luthier friend who is building me a guitar and is being nice enough to charge me his original price but he has to constantly change his prices due to the supply of wood and the cost of shipping it.

July 8th, 2008, 02:07 AM	#1 (permalink)
freddie Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Portsmouth, U.K. Age: 44 Posts: 173	Will acoustic guitar prices ever top out???? Hi All, My wife buys me Acoustic Guitar magazine every month and I admit I'm shocked everytime I open it. Not only are the classic brand acoustic guitars getting more expensive, but now the cheaper brands are putting out 1,500.00 - 4,000,00 (in every countries money) models???????? Where is all this money coming from lol... I have a '99 cedar Taylor 712, which is now about 3,500.00 list price. I don't understand how the guitar companies can keep raising the prices to this extreme. Shouldn't the acoustic guitar market have topped off by now????? freddie

July 8th, 2008, 08:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,144	By all rights, newly built acoustic prices are too high. The economy is weak; it simply may take longer for those in dire need of funds to start putting their older acoustics up for grabs. When this starts happening full force, the sale of new ones should all but stop. Electrics are as good now as they've ever been, but older well played in acoustics are often far superior to newly minted ones. __________________ Bubban0v

July 8th, 2008, 10:13 AM	#6 (permalink)
Buckocaster51 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Iowa USA Age: 56 Posts: 4,959 1 Photos	Not if they have solid Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. __________________ "If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all." - Thumper the Rabbit "An awfully lot of time can be wasted waiting for the right time." - Gunsmoke's Doc Adams

July 8th, 2008, 10:38 AM	#7 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 8,388	Acoustic Guitar magazine had an article last year about the imminent demise of Sitka spruce. Good wood is harder and harder to find, and more and more expensive to harvest. Add the increasing shipping costs (shipping takes oil!), and the generally increasing cost of, well, everything, and I don't think there's gonna be price reductions anytime soon. Another thing to consider: a dollar today ain't worth anywhere near what a dollar used to be worth. For example, a dollar today has the buying power of 60 cents in 1990... Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

July 8th, 2008, 02:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
urizen Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SoCal Posts: 298	Nope.

July 8th, 2008, 02:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
Thekillertree TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: United States Age: 27 Posts: 63	Well I guess with a rough economy, and good wod getting more rare, it will naturally go up. I know my Takamine natural Ean40C cedar has gone up a lot in price since I first got it.

July 8th, 2008, 02:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
urizen Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SoCal Posts: 298	That last might have sounded flip---but I'm a fan of L5 style archtops, and look at look at archtop prices---$4,000 is nothing (in relative terms, of course).

July 8th, 2008, 12:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
charlie cash Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Aspen, CO Posts: 308	Tim is right; availability and price of wood is the biggest factor. Not just the spruce fot tops. Suitable wood for one piece mahogany necks is getting rare. Mahogany and Rosewood trees take 300 years to mature before they can be used for guitars.