A New Gambit at Gibson - SG Sp $ 699

[boris bubbanov]

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/gibson-sgs-new-pricing-508/

This is not across the board, mind you, but is this Gibson's answer to Fender's price increase and generally lousy sales in the last 12 months?

A price like this, when you still have an opportunity to dicker, puts Fender in a manky position, no?

 

[SpaceyBen]

if they would remake the sg classic with the p90's at that price point I'd snap one up in a second and live out my Live at Leeds fantasies

 

[Rooney]

I SG Faded has been their cheap model for a while now so I'm not really suprised but yeah I think it could be in response to Fender. I feel like I read a while back that Gibson was thinking about discontiuning their Faded series but I guess not. Or maybe it was just the Flying V and something else.

 

[Mik]

Gibson's street prices on budget USA models, I'm thinking the faded series, and I don't like the incomplete and rough finish, have been 600-800 bucks for the last several years, the standard SG is $1649 at MF.

A good value but the pricing strategy or tactic is nothing new for Gibson.

 

[boris bubbanov]

I felt, playing the regular SG Special and the Faded back to back that the Faded was going out the door "undercooked" to say the least.

The crux here will be, will the SG Specials remain a step above in fit and finish or will they morph into a Faded with a hard finish?

I agree, a P-90 is really what is called for here if they want more conquests.

 

[Mik]

Boris,

Remember the faded series LP Special with P90s? 50s style double cutaway, I guess Gibson discontinued it a couple of years ago.

 

[tiktok]

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/gibson-sgs-new-pricing-508/

This is not across the board, mind you, but is this Gibson's answer to Fender's price increase and generally lousy sales in the last 12 months?

Do we have hard figures that sales have been "generally lousy", or is this just anecdotal information?

 

[SMPTE]

I'm on my 3rd SG now (Robot Special, 61RI, Faded), and I never thought the playability or the sounds coming out of the faded were compromised at all. I would have liked a hard shell case for it, but for the 600$ I paid I never felt like it was a rip off. It simply played great.

 

[boris bubbanov]

Do we have hard figures that sales have been "generally lousy", or is this just anecdotal information?

Just anecdote. I don't expect to get numbers from these manufacturers any more. Given the reduction in discretionary spending info coming from Commerce, I would be shocked if the actual numbers were anything but down substantially.

I also don't see any business sense in dropping the prices if the sales are still good.

 

[boris bubbanov]

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-Les-Paul-Studio-Electric-Guitar?sku=517030

$ 799 gets you the faded version LP.

I've often wondered if the reason FMIC didn't follow Gibson so closely in the past with price increases is, they were concerned about this very sort of gambit.

Hopefully this puts to rest that conjecture on the part of some folks that FMIC, Gibson and PRS conspired to raise prices in unison.

Hey, the big reason not to want this bogey around your neck if you ARE one of those 3 companies is the spectre of a court order obliging you to release your sales numbers. I've often thought that Ford and Chevy could've held Honda and Toyota off indefinitely IF they too had never released their own sales figures. Many customers are gutless lemmings and they just buy the brand they think is #1 in sales - and they vote for the candidate they are told is expected to win. What cowards.

 

[SpaceyBen]

I've seen all the les paul fadeds and such ... real cool guitars... I feel in love with P90s cuz of my R6 Goldtop, my fave guitar I own now, and often thought the SG Classic would be cool or the Les Paul JR that has the doublecut body and single P90 but I can't justify spending that much on a plank of mahogany with one screaming pup attached... they could seriously make them at a much lower price and just don't

 

[tiktok]

I also don't see any business sense in dropping the prices if the sales are still good.

Dropping the price on your entry level guitar is a good idea if you want to have a strong presence in all price points, even if it means lowering profits in some sectors. If someone wants a "real American guitar" with a pedagree, Gibson has something for them at a price below Fender. And once someone has a plain-Jane SG, when they get a hankering to upgrade they might want to go for a more expensive SG.

 

[whitecat]

I'd bet that it's absolutely an aggressive market-share grab attempt against Fender.

It's still not the cheapest US-made Gibson, mind you - the Melody Maker has that honour at $599 in the US I think, but the MM is even simpler.

 

[tiktok]

The SG has serious pedigree, the Melody Maker doesn't.

 

[studio1087]

The SG has serious pedigree, the Melody Maker doesn't.

The Melody Maker has no pedigree?

If a simple slab of tone wood with a hand rolled neck and hot single coil hand potted pickups has no pedigree then I guess that Telecasters have no pedigree.

I love my Melody Makers.

I love the Faded Guitars. Gibson hardware, Gibson pickups, hand rolled necks and a one hour paint job rather than a 14 + hour paint job. The hands-on time saved in the painting process is the only thing that separates a Faded from a Standard. Lots of time and money goes into a high gloss Gibson paint job.

If Gibson offers a Faded SG with real P-90's under $1000 I'll pinch pennies all summer and sell a couple things on ebay to add one to the woodpile.

My Les Paul Studio is the Faded Studio model and next to it is the Faded SG with chrome pickup covers added. Love'em.

image removed


John

 

[JayFreddy]

Remember the faded series LP Special with P90s? 50s style double cutaway, I guess Gibson discontinued it a couple of years ago.

I wanted one of those badly, almost got one... When I went back to the store with the cash, they had sold out. Been watching them on eBay ever since, but I don't want to pay $700 for a used one, when I could have got a new one for less than that...

It's interesting to note that the $699 SG's are made in the USA and come with a gig bag. The $549 MIM Teles on the internet appear to come with a gig bag, but my local GC has been adding the gig bag as an upcharge...

 

[rangercaster]

i want a made in USA Gibson SG with a single bridge P90 for $400 ... and i don't need no stinkin' tone control ...

 

[JayFreddy]

I want a Les Paul doublecut with two P90's and two volumes and two tone controls... If I didn't want both volume and both tone controls, I'll just stick with my Tele, thanks.

 

[Viva]

Gibson actually lowered all their prices in the past and actually found they suffered losses.

Somehow that makes sense. Something about brand prestige and image.

 

[Diceman]

I want a Les Paul doublecut with two P90's and two volumes and two tone controls... If I didn't want both volume and both tone controls, I'll just stick with my Tele, thanks.

They've been making them - although I don't see them currently... There is a new one at my local Gibson dealer for $800 or so.

_____

I don't think that the low priced SG has anything to do with a direct attack on Fender's market... Gibson is just selling a low priced model - if anything to make up for their own huge price jump several months ago, just before Fender's.