Yeah, but nobody has an Alembic! 

Yeh, and I have a $17,000 piano in my living room (that was the 1984 price, probably $1,000 today).
 
But I rarely play it and have never recorded it. It's a pretty piece of furniture, just like so many expensive guitars that end up being wall decorations. All the faux-pianos, ROMplers and synths I've bought since 1984 total less than the price of that piano. Would I pay 17 grand today for a piano? Not even if it had Keith Emerson's personal signature on it.
 
(That's another mystery to me: what makes a guitar with somebody's name silkscreened onto it worth an extra grand?)

bitflipper
 
(That's another mystery to me: what makes a guitar with somebody's name silkscreened onto it worth an extra grand?)

Royalties?

 

bapu

bitflipper
 
(That's another mystery to me: what makes a guitar with somebody's name silkscreened onto it worth an extra grand?)

Royalties?

He said WORTH, not cost.

 
I have to play this bass cuz I can't find a bass player. It's also the only bass I can play 
 

bitflipper
Would I pay 17 grand today for a piano? Not even if it had Keith Emerson's personal signature on it.
 
(That's another mystery to me: what makes a guitar with somebody's name silkscreened onto it worth an extra grand?)

I actually have a Martin 00-18SH Steve Howe limited edition (of 250) that indeed has Steve's personal signature on the label (and a nice inlaid version of same on the fretboard). While it was indeed more expensive than a normal 18-series Martin would have been, it wasn't a completely ridiculous price for a nice all-solid-wood Martin. So I guess it just depends on how greedy the maker is, how much they think they can get and what people are willing to pay. 
 
And in the case of the Martin signature limited editions like mine, they were doing stuff like this along with the artists to cover a not insignificant portion of the price premium:
 

A charitable contribution of $66.38 (on export sales) or $73.75 (on US sales) for each 00-18SH sold will be donated to the Save the Children Federation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making lasting, positive change in the lives of disadvantaged children in the United States and throughout the world.

 
Mine is just like this one:
 
http://www.mymartingallery.com/page-18sh.htm
 

Thundercat certainly has a nice sounding voice
 
Kenny

kennywtelejazz
Thundercat certainly has a nice sounding voice
 
Kenny

Agreed Kenny.