After some years of relatively flat, consistent prices, 2022 has seen numerous guitar companies pushing up their prices and we can expect more. What’s driving these increases? Or have guitar companies just gotten greedy?
“The biggest driver has been Covid,” states Gavin Mortimer, emphatically. For example, there was the price of a shipping container that ended up costing four times as much as it did pre-Covid. And during the height of Covid you were lucky to actually get a container on a boat because there weren’t enough people... because of Covid! Now, expand that one illustration across all the parts necessary to make a guitar either in the USA or Indonesia. Literally, the logistical costs fuel costs have doubled and raw material costs have all sky-rocketed. Magnets for pickups, for example, went up hugely because there was a shortage, just like any raw materials. Wood? The cost of maple rose, for example, because people weren’t able to fell trees; the cost of shipping mahogany from Africa or South America, on a boat rose to] four times as much to ship. Every which way you look, the cost of making a guitar has rocketed exponentially.
Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Guitarist.
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Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms