BOSS and EVH Collaboration - SDE-3000EVH

[Nitro Express]

I like a Les Paul Standard with a 60’s neck. The 50’s neck is too big and I don’t care for the modern asymmetrical necks.

[Nitro Express]

Les Paul’s are great. My first real good guitar was a 72 Les Paul Custom. Wish I still had it. I’ve owned Gibson’s since 1977. Never had a head stock break or any other major problems. If you baby them and keep them in a case they are fine. If one comes inside from cold temperatures you want to let the case warm up. Exposing a cold Gibson to heat can crack the lacquer finish.

[Mushroom]

I took a tour of Gibson when I was in Nashville. The guy who over saw the production of the Wolfgang guitars at Peavey and was overseeing Gibson’s production. He was very knowledgeable about guitars.

He said the Gibson headstock breakage problem could easily be fixed by making a joint at the top of the neck and changing the wood grain direction. Gibson makes their necks and head stocks out of one piece of wood. This is actually more expensive than using two pieces because you waste more wood.

PRS was very well aware of that headstock breakage so their headstock angle is less. Basically, lay the guitar flat on its back, the top of the headstock does not touch the plane. Gibson won’t fix that. But once that headstock is broken and properly fixed, it’s stronger. I heard some people intentionally break it to fix it. With that said, I still want a Les Paul.

[Nitro Express]

They definitely don’t have the name or history like Gibson. The most valuable models are from the 80’s, and the singlecut models before the Gibson lawsuit, or private stock. I own two customs from 1999-2003. I can sell and make a profit, no idea about profit margin. But they would be too expensive to replace today, perhaps a little overpriced. But a very good Gibson Les Paul seems way overpriced to me; the name being the biggest factor.

I took a tour of Gibson when I was in Nashville. The guy who over saw the production of the Wolfgang guitars at Peavey and was overseeing Gibson’s production. He was very knowledgeable about guitars.

He said the Gibson headstock breakage problem could easily be fixed by making a joint at the top of the neck and changing the wood grain direction. Gibson makes their necks and head stocks out of one piece of wood. This is actually more expensive than using two pieces because you waste more wood.

He said Gibson can’t change anything because the customers complain. They want old school guitars that break easy and have laquer finishes that fade and crack. They want hand wrapped binding that the paint has to be scraped off by hand.

You can actually make a more durable guitar cheaper using modern manufacturing techniques. Gibson does that over at Epiphone in China. In Nashville they are going to build an old school guitar warts and all. Then charge more. They were busting ass to keep up with orders. So somebody still wants them. They make their acoustics just north of here in Montana.

It really boils down giving your customer base what they want and that might mean making overprice, outdated shit to someone who’s desires are different.

[Mushroom]

PRS makes great guitars but they don’t hold their value. They don’t have the nostalgic mojo. They don’t have the history. You are going to lose money on a PRS.

They definitely don’t have the name or history like Gibson. The most valuable models are from the 80’s, and the singlecut models before the Gibson lawsuit, or private stock. I own two customs from 1999-2003. I can sell and make a profit, no idea about profit margin. But they would be too expensive to replace today, perhaps a little overpriced. But a very good Gibson Les Paul seems way overpriced to me; the name being the biggest factor.

[Nitro Express]

Life is just a bunch of games.

[Nitro Express]

PRS makes great guitars but they don’t hold their value. They don’t have the nostalgic mojo. They don’t have the history. You are going to lose money on a PRS.

[Nitro Express]

From the 80's or 90's? When did they start making signature models?

Fender was about to go tits up in the 80’s. They had become a dated brand like Gibson. What can bring a brand or style back is a popular player. Slash made Les Pauls cool again and Stevie Ray Vaughan being popular motivated Fender to make a signature model. It puts your brand back in style. If someone wants the high end guitar you offer a cheaper alternative. But the motivation of the cheaper purchase is the high end.

It’s all marketing strategy. I own several Gibson’s. Are they better playing than cheaper guitars. Not really. I have a Charvel San Dimas I picked up for $500 on sale years ago and it plays and sounds great. I will never lose money on my Gibson’s. I have two acoustics that have increased in value. Pretty well.

So if you enjoy nostalgia, can afford it, you can get a Gibson, play around with it and get your money back out of it and maybe come out ahead. You can play that game but there is a higher cost of entry.

[Mushroom]

Brass nut, special stacked pickups, scalloped neck, nitrocellulose lacquer finish. It’s a Fender Custom Shop guitar. It’s US made so that right there adds to the price and the fit and finish is immaculate. It’s a higher grade guitar than a player Strat made in Mexico. Now I have a few Mexican Strats and they are pretty good but not in the same craftsmanship and fine tuned setup as the Yngwie model. If you play and compare them it’s apples to oranges.

From the 80's or 90's? When did they start making signature models?

[Nitro Express]

What was different about Yngwie issue? Scalloped fretboard? Pickups?

Nowadays, it seems any artist signature equipment is way overpriced with a huge mark-up just because it has the artist's name, and it's barely (rarely?) better than the regular issues.

Brass nut, special stacked pickups, scalloped neck, nitrocellulose lacquer finish. It’s a Fender Custom Shop guitar. It’s US made so that right there adds to the price and the fit and finish is immaculate. It’s a higher grade guitar than a player Strat made in Mexico. Now I have a few Mexican Strats and they are pretty good but not in the same craftsmanship and fine tuned setup as the Yngwie model. If you play and compare them it’s apples to oranges.

[Mushroom]

I have an early Yngwie Malmsteen signature Strat and it’s a collector’s item now. I could sell it for more than what a new one would cost. I did buy a new one. Better pickups. The old one sits in the wine cellar.

What was different about Yngwie issue? Scalloped fretboard? Pickups?

Nowadays, it seems any artist signature equipment is way overpriced with a huge mark-up just because it has the artist's name, and it's barely (rarely?) better than the regular issues.

[Romeo Delight]

i used those pickups to upgrade a Kramer Focus 3000. Awesome pups!

[Nitro Express]

I have an early Yngwie Malmsteen signature Strat and it’s a collector’s item now. I could sell it for more than what a new one would cost. I did buy a new one. Better pickups. The old one sits in the wine cellar.

[Nitro Express]

When I first started playing, it was just before signature models and gear started hitting the market. You'd have players endorsing a line of guitars or amps or gear but it was along the lines of so and so uses these strings or Fenders or Marshall amps. This was, like, 1981 or so.

The first one I sort of remember being tied to a particular player was the Charvel Jackson take on the Flying-V which Randy Rhoads used, in that I think after Rhoads' passing it was named...was it the Rhoads V...something like that.

Like, obviously one could call Fenders or Gibson Les Pauls or Marshalls or Floyd Roses signature gear referencing the names of the manufacturers, but it wasn't until the mid to late 1980s that I remember, say, Fender putting out an Eric Clapton model.

Fender was about to go under and some investors bought it and put a focus on the brand’s nostalgia. The Custom Shop was started and you started to see signature models.

Signature stuff sells well and you can charge a premium.

[Nitro Express]

My first real good guitar was a 72 Les Paul Custom. The music store had a whole rack of used Les Paul’s and they were cheap because nobody wanted them. I picked up a silver faced Fender Champ and then got an overdrive pedal. Actually it was a good setup. That Les Paul was a boat anchor. The Champ would be worth $800 today. The Les Paul would probably fetch around $3,000. Not a bad hobby when what you buy goes up in value. Wish my skiing equipment did that.