Grateful Dead Music Forum

There's not fight brewing, "pastor was simply a joke and meant to be taken that way.
I understand where you were coming from i just thought it should be stated that the other gentlemen posting here in my eye's showed no disrespect.

Thank you for the kind words, also thank you for the not so kind words. It is all good because I love the passion you bring to this table Doug Jerry and I built. We never had any idea we would need so many dam chairs to enable you all to sit at this table. So now lets all sit down and eat, drink and enjoy the music!
Lets move forward what its all about : expressing the human condition through music.
You can do this by using a guitar or singing to yourself in the shower, doesn't matter. Just as long as there is music in the air!

best,
Thomas

I don't know if my browser is not showing the links or what, but are there any clips of the ABC '10 guitar that is currently available for purchase?
Thanks,
pete b.

Lets everyone shut up and play that damn guitar...loud.
beautiful guitars Tom, one day I want to stop by your shop, I am a couple hours away and losing my jop of 10 years so I will have plenty of time.

I was thinking about this after a few beers last night and a rehearsal. Now this is along the lines of hypothetical but follow me here.

I think that I'd honestly spend 30K on a multi-guitar package but it would need to be:
- my most perfect guitar ever and never leave me wanting another
- a back-up included
- an acoustic that felt the same

Okay, carry on. Figure someone here would appreciate the mindflows of a post-rehearsal beered up dude

Drunk posting is a bad habit of mine!

jdsmodulus wrote:Drunk posting is a bad habit of mine!

I was sober when I posted that. Haven't been drunk before noon in a while

strumminsix wrote:I was thinking about this after a few beers last night and a rehearsal. Now this is along the lines of hypothetical but follow me here.

I think that I'd honestly spend 30K on a multi-guitar package but it would need to be:
- my most perfect guitar ever and never leave me wanting another
- a back-up included
- an acoustic that felt the same

Okay, carry on. Figure someone here would appreciate the mindflows of a post-rehearsal beered up dude

After some thought, I would not spend that. I'd have a nice Ducati instead if I had that kind of money to play with.

I recently found out that I sound almost exactly the same on a $500 bass as I do on a $2,000 bass. Compare tracks 1 and 12-14 with all the others. The difference is pretty subtle. http://www.archive.org/details/Fennario ... ll.Seasons

Rusty the Scoob wrote:

strumminsix wrote:I was thinking about this after a few beers last night and a rehearsal. Now this is along the lines of hypothetical but follow me here.

I think that I'd honestly spend 30K on a multi-guitar package but it would need to be:
- my most perfect guitar ever and never leave me wanting another
- a back-up included
- an acoustic that felt the same

Okay, carry on. Figure someone here would appreciate the mindflows of a post-rehearsal beered up dude

After some thought, I would not spend that. I'd have a nice Ducati instead if I had that kind of money to play with.

I'm not saying I will spend it or that I have the money (which I do not) but when I think of the amount of money I've spent on guitars already, how many guitars I won't sell since they offer me things others do not, and what I'll likely be spending down the road I think the amount I stated for what I described isn't as crazy as it may appear to be on the surface!

Or I was drunk.

If I had that kind of disposable income I would spend it in a heartbeat. First of all the quality, tone and appearance are a given that they are great.

My passion is music, and playing the guitar. It is not just a hobby for me it is a passion. So if I could fall in love with an instrument (there has to be some psychological term for it) and bond with it, it is worth the money. The bummer would be to get it and not bond with it. I have bonded with guitars in minutes. I have also played guitars worth more then $100K that I hated. I would only own them as a work of art or investment as a collectors piece.

All that being said, I dont have that kind of money!! So I am just dreaming.

Rusty the Scoob wrote:

strumminsix wrote:I was thinking about this after a few beers last night and a rehearsal. Now this is along the lines of hypothetical but follow me here.

I think that I'd honestly spend 30K on a multi-guitar package but it would need to be:
- my most perfect guitar ever and never leave me wanting another
- a back-up included
- an acoustic that felt the same

Okay, carry on. Figure someone here would appreciate the mindflows of a post-rehearsal beered up dude

After some thought, I would not spend that. I'd have a nice Ducati instead if I had that kind of money to play with.

I recently found out that I sound almost exactly the same on a $500 bass as I do on a $2,000 bass. Compare tracks 1 and 12-14 with all the others. The difference is pretty subtle. http://www.archive.org/details/Fennario ... ll.Seasons

FWIW, the difference out in the room that night was not huge either. Both basses sounded good. You and the drummer appeared to be having huge fun that night. You guys going to be back there sometime? It is as close to my house as the Luck Dawg.

----

Re: super expensive guitars - I think that any artist/craftsman should have available the ultimate expression of what they can do. This will always be something that is out of reach for most people, but it represents the ideal with no compromises. That is what Tom's "The Garcia" appears to be to me. I think it is really cool.

JonnyBoy wrote:For that kind of money, you could buy all the tools and get set up to make guitars easily at home when ever you wanted. But, there are people in the world where 30K is like $300 to them.

I am a carpenter by trade that makes hand made solid Mahogany leaded crystal glass front doors. My cheapest door I make is 2k. You can buy a pine 6 panel for $100 at the Depot. Most front door systems I make for new houses range from 6k to 10k up to 20k, for a front door only. And that's reasonable for hand made perfection. I totally understand upper price level catering , my statement came from the thinking of a do it yourself carpenter guy like myself, it did come off like I was saying he is ripping people off, which is not true . I have worked for people that 30k is like $300, that's my main point. He deserves his props totally, you are right. I am sure Thomas even agrees that's a lot of money ($30,000)!! Plus, All you other guys that would cut your fingers off with your mitre saw should give him a call and save yourself the $2500 (per finger) emergency room bill...$4500 is TOTALLY reasonable for that guitar from a luthier of his caliber, Thanks Thomas!!

In the last 3-4 months, I have played numerous guitars in the $2000-$4000 range, and they have generally been good guitars, but more than one of them has had some very noticable quality of build issues. Point being, I hear $4500 for a super-high quality custom build from a luthier with a great reputation like Thomas, and I don't think that price is out of line at all.

That said, I don't think someone looking for "The Garcia", with its associated $32,000 price tag is looking for the same things that I am. That customer is more interested in aesthetic details and replication of some other instrument than I am, and he should be willing to pay for that. Based on what Thomas posted, he wasn't upset or offended when people reacted the way they did to the price of The Garcia, because he knows way better than I do that those people posting that, aren't part of the market for that guitar.

Mick wrote:In the last 3-4 months, I have played numerous guitars in the $2000-$4000 range, and they have generally been good guitars, but more than one of them has had some very noticable quality of build issues. Point being, I hear $4500 for a super-high quality custom build from a luthier with a great reputation like Thomas, and I don't think that price is out of line at all.

That said, I don't think someone looking for "The Garcia", with its associated $32,000 price tag is looking for the same things that I am. That customer is more interested in aesthetic details and replication of some other instrument than I am, and he should be willing to pay for that. Based on what Thomas posted, he wasn't upset or offended when people reacted the way they did to the price of The Garcia, because he knows way better than I do that those people posting that, aren't part of the market for that guitar.

+1
I used to manage a music store and we sold some of pretty high end acoustic guitars in the $8-10k range. I'll use Taylor as an example. Their presentation series was in that price range. Their rosewood dreadnaught was about $2-2.5K. Was their a significant tonal difference? No. Was there a lot of really killer inlay work, very select wood, and zero flaws - yes. We sold a few of those and people who come into buy one don't flinch at the price and generally don't even haggle over it. Granted, there were tons of people who thought the price was ridiculous but they couldn't afford one. I don't think many people realize how many hours goes into building a piece of art like "The Garcia" I'm sure it's several hundred. He can't just crank out 3 or 4 a month - it might take him 3 or 4 months to build one. That doesn't work out to an insane price of you look at it that way. Most of us would love to have a guitar like that but what we need is the fit, feel, and functionality and that can be had for a pretty darn reasonable price if you consider what a new Les Paul costs and what you get for that money. Thomas is giving a great deal by comparison, as are the other custom builders who do that level of work. It would be awesome if you could get a guitar like that for $1,000 but that ain't gonna happen and it's not really fair to set those expectations of a builder.

tcsned wrote:It would be awesome if you could get a guitar like that for $1,000 but that ain't gonna happen and it's not really fair to set those expectations of a builder.

Yeah, it seems to be a part of human nature that folks like to think they should get tons of stuff for free. I'm sure I am no different. I'd much rather buy item A for $10 than for $20. But my unhappy experience with my last guitar purchase is a reminder that for the most part, you get what you pay for. Folks on this board told me that to get really good gear, I would have to spend $1000+, and I didn't listen. So, instead of paying for a guitar I really liked, I payed for a guitar I don't like and some education. I will be smarter this time. How much so remains to be seen.