How I see it...

I like the way you see it and that's a very practical/realistic way of looking at it. Afer reading about and seeing all your fine work Michael, I would definitely ask you to build one for me than go through the consumer route........(of course, when I can afford it) :). Knowing the personalized/dedicated quality of workmanship that you put into a build, I'd rather give you those extra $$$ than give it to the stores that overprice a substandard build.   

I've been assuming that any product that is widely advertised has similar economics.

I completely agree and the OP simply proves this. I didn't look at it as you were trying to promote yourself, but rather that we are just lucky to know an experienced craftsman amongst us and doing some excellent work. I know you're a very humble man that doesn't like to get much praise, but c'mon mate......we've got to call it like we see it!! :). I personally have a problem trusting a lot of these "Big" companies that mass produce...... 
   

I guess I've assumed that the existence of $179 look and play a likes illustrates that the higher prices are probably higher than I need to pay.

Don't have dog in the ring. I can't remember which 3 guitars I bought as new... but I recall that I looked for good late models for years before I gave up and bought new.

Most of my guitars were purchased at their lowest value as used.

Older boys taught me to do it that way.

i've always known this, since about 1977, when i first started trying out 'off the shelf' guitars...
 
 
i've built 5 customs to order, two of which i still own and use...
 
and the ones i bought off the shelf:
Ibanez Artist;
Carvin DC200K....
 
were both in my opinion at least equal to the most expensive gibson or fender i ever played.
 
i don't know why, but i always bucked the norm, i guess.
 
it kills me to go see a band play, and a guy is playing a $4,000 les paul, and it's out of tune.
LOL
 

My attitude about it is that any high school kid ought to be able to bolt a cheap factory neck on a block of wood and be playing guitar a few days later.

Just like Les did.

mike_mccue
My attitude about it is that any high school kid ought to be able to bolt a cheap factory neck on a block of wood a be playing guitar a few days later.

Just like Les did.

Mine isn't.
To many things about building require special tools and there is a very big danger envolved.
 
My attitude is that people should inquire and seek information before spending large sums of money.
We live in a world that has many smart options if one takes the time to investigate.
 
I started this thread with the intention of sparking that prospect. It's not hard to find the answers but one has to know the questions first.
 
What can I do to determine what is the best that I can do if I have a large  amount of dollars to spend on a guitar?
The answer- ask a few well known luthiers. Their goal is to make a "real" guitar that will keep the player happy for a lifetime.
 
If you don't know of any well known luthiers to ask...ask who they are and how to contact them. Easy.

  There are a few companies out there I think I would be getting my monies worth from. One of those is Carvin. You can get a really nice well made Gibson look alike, probably better made. Not inexpensive but well made for the money. Ernie Ball comes to mind. 
 I have found out the hard way that buying name recognition isn't always a winner,especially if buying their mid range line. I did recently luck out though buying a lower end Martin that is well made and sounds as good as the higher end models to me. Kind of hit and miss sometimes trying to get a good guitar for a fair price. They all look good from a distance.

"My attitude is that people should inquire and seek information before spending large sums of money.
We live in a world that has many smart options if one takes the time to investigate.
 
I started this thread with the intention of sparking that prospect."

 
I like that idea.
 
:-)
 
I still dream about a custom Spacey guitar every day.

To me there is only one kind of guitar...the ones I'd never want to sell.
 
 
 
 
 
 
That is the thought that has started and finished every guitar I've built.
When it is not...I will quit.
I've also told every person that received one if they didn't feel that way...don't keep it. I'll take it back. 

spacey
To me there is only one kind of guitar...the ones I'd never want to sell.
 
 
 
 
 
 
That is the thought that has started and finished every guitar I've built.
When it is not...I will quit.
I've also told every person that received one if they didn't feel that way...don't keep it. I'll take it back. 

When I used to build bicycle wheels regularly I would finish each one and announce loudly "This.... is my greatest masterpiece".
 
Finally the guys said the joke was wearing thin, to which I replied "It's not a joke... that's the attitude I'm bringing to the table each time I build a wheel."
 
Years later one of my mentees showed up on my doorstep and explained that he now headed the custom race wheel department for a famous name bicycle parts manufacturer and he said "I just wanted to stop by while I was in town visiting my family and thank for teaching me about *attitude*".
 
Good stuff.
 
 

I think I will always buy guitars second hand. If the wood survives the first couple of years then it's likely to stay good.
 
Now I don't mean the expensive collectors items. But if you look you can find some well built second hand guitars for $ 300. For example Japanese guitar round 1980.
 
Maybe one day I would have I guitar built for me.......I ilke that idea.

My only comment on this thread is.
 
Thank you Spacey.

There are many things that are over priced. I paid about 60% of retail for my Gibson historic because I bought it used. As much as I agree with Michael, I do think that brand recognition is important when it comes to selling. G&L makes some great guitars that should be much better investments than Fender. If you need to sell it you'll find it hard to get any serious money. I don't know why but I've seen this many times.
 
If you can't go for a custom build, used is the way to go IMO. I know a guy that made some really nice replicas of a Gibson burst. He did everything right and used the finest woods. They are floating around the area and regularly sell for $6,000. A Gibson historic VOS burst sells for about the same. So what do you buy? The Gibson repro or the private repro. I've seen the aftermarket repro's priced as high as $20,000 and I think it's insane. Often people will tell you that they've used vintage parts and real PAF's but even those are being forged. Check out Crazy Parts in Germany for some sticker shock.
 
Based on the postings, Spacey guitars are a real cut above when it comes to build quality and materials. I like to think my amps are in the same quality bracket and have a lifetime warranty. They don't sell because I have no brand recognition and can't charge what they cost me to build. The only way it makes sense is if I give my time away for nothing. $500 in parts and sell the amp for around $1,200. Sounds good, but I had to design it and build it.
 
Making music equipment on a small scale is only viable as a hobby unless somebody big starts using your stuff and talking about it. If that happens it can be great. Look at Trainwreck and Dumble. Good stuff yes, but no way are they worth $20,000 to $40,000. It's crazy.

That's pretty much exactly the guitar I want. :/ Or one of them, anyway.  If for no other reason than sometimes in life, you must go after what you really want. 
 
I know that obviously I'd be paying more than what it's actually worth. 
 
That being said, the above guitar probably comes w/ some sort of lifetime warranty. I'm guessing that there are plenty of authorized dealers everywhere in America and elsewhere to help me sort any issue if I need the guitar serviced. And the fact that Les Paul passed away not too long ago doesn't change a thing to that. Gibson is still there to honor that warrantee, to manufacture pieces and all... That's also what paying for the brand means, imho. 
 
And if I pass away and my wife or kids decide to sell everything, they can easily figure out how much these can be sold for.
 
I guess that's also what you pay for - to have some kind of official grid, to keep it all within a certain set of boundaries, a reference frame, a market. Going custom takes you off that grid.
 
BTW, I know this is all theoretical. 
 
W/ all that being said, I'm very happy w/ my Epiphones - especially the newest one. The pickups on this baby just sing. From what I read, they're Epiphone's own version of Gibson's Burtsbucker 3 and '57 Classic. I wish I could replace the ones in my black LP w/ a couple of those.