Why are Fenders so much less expensive than Gibsons?

[SteveGangi]

Gibson hasnt raised their prices that much since 1959.
If you would compare the prices on les paul standard in 1959 and a 2010 lp standard you would see that the prices are still roughly the same.

That is pretty much true, if you make adjustments for inflation. Today's dollar is cheaper than a 1950's dollar. Inflation.

 

[The Refugee]

Not according to the video.

I had a feeling someone would say that

 

[voodo child]

im not sure if i got what you meant?.......
they were like $500 back then?

According to the official gibson pricelist from 1959 lp standards cost 265 so if you make adjustments for inflation you would see that gibsons arent that much more expensive now.

 

[colchar]

According to the official gibson pricelist from 1959 lp standards cost 265 so if you make adjustments for inflation you would see that gibsons arent that much more expensive now.

Here is an interesting old catalogue:

http://www.acousticmusic.org/userfiles/file/pdfs/historical-data/Gibson/Gibson 1960 Catalog.pdf

 

[hellraiser_666]

According to the official gibson pricelist from 1959 lp standards cost 265 so if you make adjustments for inflation you would see that gibsons arent that much more expensive now.

Ahh I apologies, thinking about it again, you are right
damn, and Im a finance student, thats embarrassing

 

[FrankieOliver]

Thanks, everyone.

 

[GuitarToneFreak]

Tell that to Stevie Ray, Eric Clapton, Dick Dale, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler, John Frusciante, John Mayer.........

I'm sorry, who?

 

[pedersenkirk]

Put an American Strat and a flame-top LP Standard next to each other and just look at the damned things.

You'll find your answer pretty quickly.

I've had both. Kept the Strat, sold the LP. Best decision I ever made.

 

[AleisterCrowley]

According to the official gibson pricelist from 1959 lp standards cost 265.

I was doing some quick web research and found this! Also found unconfined web source that strat's in 1960 cost $250-$300 depending on color and trem options.

In 2010 dollars they are roughly

1959 Les Paul - $1928
1960 Strat - $2000

I was not around in 1960 but have heard from players that were that Fenders were still Professional level instruments, simple and utilitarian yes, but more for pro's than amateurs, that is what Kay and Silvertone were for, yes?

 

[zep]

my mexican made strat sounds better, than my buddys traditional les paul...
SUCK IT!

 

[The Refugee]

my mexican made strat sounds better, than my buddys traditional les paul...
SUCK IT!

But that is all perspective, is it not?

You might think it sounds better, but to someone else listening to the two guitars yours might sounds like donkey poo poo compared to his.

I'm glad you like your $500 tone better than his $2000 tone though. Pics?

 

[Syrus]

Here's a good one for ya

Tele/Strat = flat slab of wood

Les Paul = handcarved top

Set neck vs bolt on

Single coil winding vs double coil winding time/price/cost

magnets, copper, plastic?
Pots?
Switches
Tuners?
More Wood?
Paint?
layers?
Burst?
Binding?

And so on.

In my eyes, the average Gibson guitar is a far more refined product versus a mass produced easy to copy to perfection Strat/tele.

 

[voodo child]

Ahh I apologies, thinking about it again, you are right
damn, and Im a finance student, thats embarrassing

Nah everyone makes misstakes

 

[SteveGangi]

In my eyes, the average Gibson guitar is a far more refined product versus a mass produced easy to copy to perfection Strat/tele.

With the advent of CNC machining, the ease of copying is irrelevant. Punch the numbers in, and you're good to go. Then you just replace the bits as they wear down, adjust for the hardness of the material, and do occasional maintenence.

But that is all perspective, is it not?

You might think it sounds better, but to someone else listening to the two guitars yours might sounds like donkey poo poo compared to his.

I'm glad you like your $500 tone better than his $2000 tone though. Pics?

You do realize that for some types of music one will sound more appropriate than the other, regardless of price? You also realize that often the price is driven by market forces (what people will pay) rather than any cost of manufacture or actual functionality/quality?

 

[KP]

Here's a good one for ya

Tele/Strat = flat slab of wood

Les Paul = handcarved top

Set neck vs bolt on

Single coil winding vs double coil winding time/price/cost

magnets, copper, plastic?
Pots?
Switches
Tuners?
More Wood?
Paint?
layers?
Burst?
Binding?

And so on.

In my eyes, the average Gibson guitar is a far more refined product versus a mass produced easy to copy to perfection Strat/tele.

You do realize that the "first" LP was a 4 x 4 and that the fancy bodywork was only there for cosmetic reasons. So all your fancy wood and carving are superfluous.

 

[SteveGangi]

You do realize that the "first" LP was a 4 x 4 and that the fancy bodywork was only there for cosmetic reasons. So all your fancy wood and carving are superfluous.

And it was called "The Log", if I recall

 

[KP]

And it was called "The Log", if I recall

You are correct.

Photo by John Peden, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Les Paul Log
Les Paul
Around 1940
During the 1930s, inventive individuals experimented with guitar bodies made from a solid piece of wood rather than soundboards over a hollow chamber—partly for ease of fabrication, partly to prevent feedback.
One of the most prominent innovators was Les Paul. He made this guitar by taking a 4x4-inch solid block of pine, fitting it with two homemade electronic pickups, and then gluing on the halves of a hollow-body guitar to make it look slightly more conventional.
Around 1946, Paul took his "log" idea to Gibson. Although the company did not use his design as a prototype, it did work with him and use his name to promote its first line of solid-body guitars in the 1950s.

 

[CA-8-5799]

I had an 82 MI Japan strat with a brass nut that was hardcore.I got pissed at something and threw it in a barrel and burned it.They are pretty fire resistant.I found a tele body in a trash can when I was little and Danny Armstrong helped me put a neck on it.It was to this day the ugliest guitar I have ever seen.I was embarassed to play it.Still hate Tele,sI got an early 60,s Harmony strat in my pics I'll never part with.

 

[strat]

there are a hell of a lot more fenders than Gibsons in circulation

 

[H.E.L.Shane]

Maybe this has been said before.....

but.. the whole idea behind the founding of fender guitars was to make guitars more efficiently and cheaper than gibson.....

really...

look it up....

They took Henry Ford's idea of the production line and applied it to guitars... bolt on necks make production and finishing of the guitars MUCH speedier and efficient.

I'm not going to argue which is better, thats down to personal opinion and a bit to do with musical tastes ( single coil strats v/s humbucker LP's)

The profit margin on a fender sold at the same price as a gibson witht he same hardware... SHOULD be freakin HUGE.... HUGE...

warranty work on a fender SHOULD be MUCH less costly than on a gibson.. (oh the neck twisted.. bolt another neck on it....)

when you get right down to it.. however.. i doubt fender sees much more profit if any per unit sold than gibby.. greed is universal..... and employees cost money..