tjmangum
Senior Member
I brought up James Olson in another thread and thought I would take a look at his web site to see what's new. Here's a nice guitar that flew off the shelf for 40K! http://www.olsonguitars.com/available.html
Recession must be over
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taabru45
Enlightened Member
Pretty thing though............choke, choke.....
tjmangum
Senior Member
Yep, it's a beauty. Bet it plays like one too. If I had that kind of change laying around in the kitchen coin jar, I'd order me up one!
killdeer43
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Sold!
guildman63
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The stats I heard yesterday are that salaries nationwide have declined by an average of 3% over the last 5 years, and among the lower income earners the decline has been nearly 5%. That said, there have always, and will always be those among us with unlimited funds. I am not one of those, however. :grief:
rampside
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It's definitely worth the time to tour Jim Olson's site. Amazing to say the least.:hypnotysed:
killdeer43
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That's one helluva volute!
walrus
walrus
$40,000 would buy a LOT of Guilds...
davismanLV
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Let's say you bought a REALLY nice guitar (pick your maker, style, and size and trim level) for $5K. Do you suppose this Olson sounds $35,000 better? Of course not, but I'm sure it's an amazing guitar and sure is a pretty thing. I can admire it.
tjmangum
Senior Member
In researching my earlier comparison of Olson and Gurian, I came across this old post by "Airguitarro" on AGF. He hasn't posted in a number of years, over there, but he says it far better than I can.
"After Jim Olson stops building and James Taylor stops performing, it is an open question how long Olson guitars will be remembered. I suspect that 25 - 30 years from now, his guitars may well only be remembered and valued by guitar buyers in the same way as Gurian Guitars and Mark Whitebook guitars are remembered despite their quality from an objective point of view. And this is the most optimistic projection IMHO.
Once production ceases and unless the effect of a cult following arises (e.g,. for vitnage Martins or D'Aquisto and D'Angelico archtops) to inflate demand despite loss of production and promotion of the brandname, time will eliminate eventually the effect of star artist endorsements and promotion and return the brand to obscurity. However, unlike the First Golden Age of Lutherie when the number of independent luthiers were far fewer, the Second Golden Age of Lutherie will end with a virtual and veritable sea of quality guitars made by hundreds if not thousands of skilled and gifted luthiers. Therefore unlike the case in the past when the quality of a D'Aquisto clearly lifted such guitars above the few true competitors that it had, an Olson would have to contend with thousands of Ryans, Hamblins, Traugotts, Manzers, etc etc which would clearly at least equal an Olson in objective build quality.
Not to mention the luthiers who would be working 30 years from now (if the wood does not run out)."
"After Jim Olson stops building and James Taylor stops performing, it is an open question how long Olson guitars will be remembered. I suspect that 25 - 30 years from now, his guitars may well only be remembered and valued by guitar buyers in the same way as Gurian Guitars and Mark Whitebook guitars are remembered despite their quality from an objective point of view. And this is the most optimistic projection IMHO.
Once production ceases and unless the effect of a cult following arises (e.g,. for vitnage Martins or D'Aquisto and D'Angelico archtops) to inflate demand despite loss of production and promotion of the brandname, time will eliminate eventually the effect of star artist endorsements and promotion and return the brand to obscurity. However, unlike the First Golden Age of Lutherie when the number of independent luthiers were far fewer, the Second Golden Age of Lutherie will end with a virtual and veritable sea of quality guitars made by hundreds if not thousands of skilled and gifted luthiers. Therefore unlike the case in the past when the quality of a D'Aquisto clearly lifted such guitars above the few true competitors that it had, an Olson would have to contend with thousands of Ryans, Hamblins, Traugotts, Manzers, etc etc which would clearly at least equal an Olson in objective build quality.
Not to mention the luthiers who would be working 30 years from now (if the wood does not run out)."
rampside
Senior Member
Coincidentally, I'll be spending some time in the close vicinity of James Olson's shop next week. However tempting :stupid: it may be to pretend to show a serious interest, I will NOT be contacting him to make an appointment to visit his shop just so I can take one those puppies for a test ride.:sneakiness:
What always amazes me is the cost of new items and the levels of quality associated with them. What makes a BMW $20-30K better than the closest Honda? I am sure there are differences, but are they worth that much? For guitars, there are tone and playability differences between makes and makers, and one should be justified in paying extra to get the right fit or the right tone or the right quality….but using Tom's example of the $5K guitar, can one really be justified to pay for a "better" item that is 800% more?
davismanLV
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Yup, at that price point, you're obviously paying for more than sound and quality. Or using Ridgey's auto example, driveability and performance and quality. Obviously. I've said before, the difference between a $200 guitar and a $1000 guitar is quite significant. The difference between a $1000 guitar and a $5000 guitar is far less so. The difference between a $5000 guitar and anything upwards of $5K is going to be rather miniscule. Generally speaking.....
Great insights Teej.
Great insights Teej.
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killdeer43
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Which is better....a $5K apple or a $40K orange? (Someone has to come in with a lemon.)
Slight veer, but for some reason, this price comparison thing reminds me that when my brother was 18 and I was 12, we didn't spend much time together; when he was 32 and I was 26, we were best buddies.
Ponderables aplenty here,
Joe
Slight veer, but for some reason, this price comparison thing reminds me that when my brother was 18 and I was 12, we didn't spend much time together; when he was 32 and I was 26, we were best buddies.
Ponderables aplenty here,
Joe
We had a nice discussion about the "value" of high-end guitars previously. Here's the link:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?157419-High-end-guitars&highlight=high
walrus
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?157419-High-end-guitars&highlight=high
walrus