Gibson's final Insult to us....

[GPW]

   The thing is ... Not all guitars made are Good guitars , low end, high end , it doesn't matter... Regardless of Brand name or model , or price ...     And given the consideration that even sometimes a cheap guitar can accidentally be a Great guitar , happens sometimes.. The right stuff comes together ... perhaps by accident or coincidence... we don't know ..
  We've played many Very Free Ken Expensive guitars that were merely "pretty" and not Great guitars.. on the other hand I played the neighbors  Epiphone LP /Melody Maker ish' guitar that just blew me away ... and was light too ...  Every guitar is different ... You have to play EACH ONE individually to find out if it's a Good one , or not ...  It's the ONLY way !!! 

 Is there an Echo in here???   

[Parks]

 

[GPW]

  Yes , I know ...

[Mirichello]

From what i'm reading, my way of looking at this is a little different than most.

Its like the neighborhood kids who trash talk the doctor/lawyer/engineer up the street every time he drives by in his Porsche. He might seem like a jerk to someone less wealthy but if you had the money would you drive a '89 Toyota or a brand new Porsche?

In the same respect, yeah, these parts are over-priced but they're obviously not aimed at 16 year-old kids playing in Mom and Dads garage or even your more typical gigging musician.

Earlier someone mentioned that collectors will go nuts. Well thats the point - this stuff is meant for collectors.

True, SOMEONE will buy it. But Gibson aren't exactly doing themselves any favours. I don't know a single collector who's bought a recent Gibson VOS. The prices are too high and the quality seems half-arsed as a result.
PRS did a similar thing with that Dragon guitar they released a few years ago, but at least they had the decency to take a step back and take account. Gibson just seem to think they can keep churning out ridiculous models/ranges and get away with it. The Sammy Hagar model would sell better if it didn't have that headstock emblem, and the same with the Blackwater Les Paul if it wasn't a Chad Kroeger signature...
I'm actually pretty surprised Gibson haven't flooded the market with new tribute models since Les Paul died (like Dean/Dimebag Darrell). In a way I respect Gibson for it. But this vintage hardware is thing is a bit pathetic and unnecessary. Hence I wouldn't be shocked if they went belly-up within a year.

[son of gumby]

i gotta agree on the chicken foot headstock. beautiful guitar, but the headstock logo ruins every thing.

[SteveUK]

and to rub salt in the wounds, the new 70th birthday John Lennon guitar......: http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/info_1_00088624.html

Is it honestly worth that much money??

[SecretWeapon]

The worth of a signature model is dependent upon the person. I wouldn't buy a SRV or Dimebag signature model to save my life, but a Gibson Buckethead Signature would be worth every penny if I had the extra money laying around.

Also remember that while Gibsons may be more expensive than other brands, people still buy them. If Japanese (copies) guitars were all as good or better instruments for 1/10th of the price then companies like Gibson, Fender, PRS, Taylor, etc. wouldn't exist anymore.

There is a lot of everyday Gibson vs. diamond-in-the-rough knockoff comparing around here which is not really fair for the company that produces a quality instrument 9 times out of 10 vs. the company that produces a boat paddle 9 times out of 10.

[Adam]

The worth of a signature model is dependent upon the person. I wouldn't buy a SRV or Dimebag signature model to save my life, but a Gibson Buckethead Signature would be worth every penny if I had the extra money laying around.

Also remember that while Gibsons may be more expensive than other brands, people still buy them. If Japanese (copies) guitars were all as good or better instruments for 1/10th of the price then companies like Gibson, Fender, PRS, Taylor, etc. wouldn't exist anymore.

There is a lot of everyday Gibson vs. diamond-in-the-rough knockoff comparing around here which is not really fair for the company that produces a quality instrument 9 times out of 10 vs. the company that produces a boat paddle 9 times out of 10.

Buckethead's sig model is sexy 

And I'd rather buy a Japanese-made guitar and upgrade it than buy a gibson and upgrade it

Gibson's prices are ridiculous

[SteveUK]

Oh there's no doubt that Gibson make very high quality guitars and yes the Buckethead signature model is a stunner and I would play it to death but with the John Lennon guitar I fear that these will be bought and stored rather than bought and played.

[Franky G-String]

If Japanese (copies) guitars were all as good or better instruments for 1/10th of the price then companies like Gibson, Fender, PRS, Taylor, etc. wouldn't exist anymore.

From what I hear, this is exactly what happened with the Japanese Fenders in the 80's.  They were so good Fender stopped importing them.  I'm personally a huge fan of Japanese guitars.  Ibanez Prestige FTW. 

[Apopholis]

The worth of a signature model is dependent upon the person. I wouldn't buy a SRV or Dimebag signature model to save my life, but a Gibson Buckethead Signature would be worth every penny if I had the extra money laying around.

Also remember that while Gibsons may be more expensive than other brands, people still buy them. If Japanese (copies) guitars were all as good or better instruments for 1/10th of the price then companies like Gibson, Fender, PRS, Taylor, etc. wouldn't exist anymore.

There is a lot of everyday Gibson vs. diamond-in-the-rough knockoff comparing around here which is not really fair for the company that produces a quality instrument 9 times out of 10 vs. the company that produces a boat paddle 9 times out of 10.

You mean like Tokai?

And people still buy them because Gibson as a name is iconic. When I was starting out, I was told I had two choices, Fender or Gibson. The reason? All the famous guitarists use them. If Page, Slash, Young etc. didn't play them, they'd have become unpopular the moment they started cutting quality quite drastically.

I wouldn't say they're quality guitars anywhere near 9 times out of ten. Out of about ten Gibbos in a guitar shop near me, about 3 are unplayable, and only one is good enough to keep me coming back.

[SecretWeapon]

the company that produces a boat paddle 9 times out of 10.

You mean like Tokai?

Yep. The funny thing is that because people hear that a few people who bought one of their instruments actually got a nice guitar, they decide that they're better than companies who actually have Quality Control, regardless of how it has supposedly decreased.

I'd rather buy a guitar made by a company with little quality control than no quality control at all.

[Apopholis]

I'd rather have an 800 Euro Tokai than a 3k Gibbo personally, and I'd be more assured of getting a quality instrument.

But that's just me, I suppose.

[son of gumby]

every tokai i ever played was sweet as candy, but i have heard stories of ones that wouldn't stay in tune. 
i had a westbury deluxe (kind of an SG  with a carved top and hi output dimarzios with phase switching and coil taps) that was japanese, and i would put it up against any gibson i ever laid my hands on.
my current ax is korean, and is as nice as the LP i once owned, with the exception of the pickups. but at 1/4 of the price, i'm not complaining.
the LP i had was a really nice instrument, no question. when i bought it i had a huge wad of cash, and i always wanted a LP/marshall rig. these days, i don't have the kind of $$ i had then, but i find i can still get a nice instrument. seems like a win either way.

[FlyingVfreak]

Why not compare a guitar to a guitar? Why a US guitar, to a US guitar?

Japanese guitars are typically superior in craftsmanship, and price than American guitars. Much like their cars.

Sorry if my post came off as insulting. I was a little blunt, but I still stand by what I said.

The Japanese Jag-Stang was a bad ass mofo...I think some of the Jaguars are Japanese if I'm not mistaken. Nice instruments.