So who do you think could become the next Gibson,Fender,PRS?

[webe123]

There is a DVD where Paul Reed Smith talks about his humble beginnings and how he went from a small guitar builder to the No. 3 guitar maker in the world. But now that he is in with the Big Boys..... (Fender and Gibson)(for good or bad)... who do you think will be the next guitar builder that hits it big?

 

I remember paul saying that Carlos Santana endorsing his guitars really helped him take off. Do you believe that a guitar builder needs endorsements from players that are well known? Or do you believe that a guitar builder is better off with word of mouth?

 

So who do you think has the best chance of becoming another Fender, Gibson or PRS?

 

OR..... do you even WANT them to???

[Guitarzan]

my vote goes for Godin.

and the right endorsement will give you exposure.

[webe123]

Originally posted by Guitarzan:

my vote goes for Godin.

and the right endorsement will give you exposure.

Yeah, I sometimes wonder if most of thsese companies are small because they have little exposure. I think if you get your guitar in some mega stars hands, it does go a long way in boosting your companies image.

[Wes from Wpg]

I also vote for Godin. I recently got one, and the quality is phenomenal. I'm already thinking about a second one. Hand-made in North America, for less than half the price of the other guys.

 

I just hope that if they do get the endorsements, and the demand for their guitars goes up, that the price doesn't go up with it.

[Gruupi]

If Carvin ever decides to market through music stores, look out. They make great stuff and sell it for less than others. It took me years of looking at the catalogs before I bought the kit guitar. If people around the country (and world) were able to pick up these instruments every day in a shop, they would be the #1 seller I bet. Marketing helps too of course but they do plenty of that on their own now.

Godin is nice too, I have a multac nylon that I love. I don't know if they make any entry models, which might be needed to get mass appeal.

[Guitarzan]

hell yes they make tons of entry level (in price only) guitars. the SD,SDxt, Exit 22, freeway classic, Lg sp90 and hmb are all priced low but made with pro quality.

[zeronyne]

Originally posted by webe123:

There is a DVD where Paul Reed Smith talks about his humble beginnings and how he went from a small guitar builder to the No. 3 guitar maker in the world.

Number 3? In what? Volume? Sales? Customer satisfaction? Number of bird inlays?

 

I can't imagine any list factors that would rate PRS as number 3, except in Mr Smith's own mind.

 

Anyone hear of Cort, Samick, Ibanez, BC Rich, Dean? I think these sell more in the worldwide market. I bet there's even more Rickenbackers sold than PRS guitars.

 

The only thing I can think of is retail markup, but then they'd be number 1.

 

I am not commenting on the quality of PRS guitars. The few I've played...even at guitar center, were nearly flawless. But I'm wondering what he was talking about when he referred to PRS as the #3 guitar maker in the world.

[Guitarzan]

i would guess 3rd in brand recognition.

[revolead]

Originally posted by Guitarzan:

i would guess 3rd in brand recognition.

Or in supplying to people who don't deserve them. Just look at modern rock and metal. Every guy who knows of a guitar seems to own one. Drives me nuts.

[JimK]

When I met Paul Smith he talked about being the number 3 manufacturer in the US. Maybe "the world" is a misquote, or maybe Paul has been spending too much time in the spraying booth.

[guitar god lol]

i didn't know there were any other guitar makers besides gibson.

[Darklava]

Originally posted by guitar god lol:

i didn't know there were any other guitar makers besides gibson.

Coz is that u?

[tiger85]

In terms of volume I think Samick is the world's largest, you know they build for other brands also ( imports).

 

Hey, are PRS guitars nice, great quality, great sounding guitars? Absolutely. Great value? No way! Kinda like Taylor ( except that Taylor does have a reasonably priced USA made guitar in the Big Baby).

[tiger85]

Oh yeah, I vote for Godin also.

[Bbach1]

Originally posted by Gruupi:

If Carvin ever decides to market through music stores, look out. They make great stuff and sell it for less than others. It took me years of looking at the catalogs before I bought the kit guitar. If people around the country (and world) were able to pick up these instruments every day in a shop, they would be the #1 seller I bet. Marketing helps too of course but they do plenty of that on their own now.

Godin is nice too, I have a multac nylon that I love. I don't know if they make any entry models, which might be needed to get mass appeal.

Carvin does indeed make some interesting stuff. I like neck-through-body designs so I have explored their product. I have emailed them on a couple different occasions. They don't respond to their potential customers unless you call their 'sales' line. Typical, probably, of companies that get too large for their customer sevice abilities.

[revolead]

From a business standpoint, I think Carvin can make a great product and sell it for cheap simply because they don't go through stores. I think if Fender and Gibson did exclusively factory direct selling, then a Les Paul or a Strat would be about 10-15% cheaper than it is. Maybe even as high as 25%. Anyone want to comment on this?

[Dave da Dude]

I think it could be either Godin or Carvin, whoever makes the right business move (endorsement, distribution, etc.) at the right time

 

Time will tell. All the guessing (here) in the world will not make one iota of differenc

[Shoes]

It reminds me of Snapple! ... PRS... HEY, WE'RE #3

just kiddin there ya bunch of guitar hatin' lunitics

 

Seriously.. Fisher Price moves one huge volume of guitars each year and is continuously overlooked.

 

The very fact that most of these "independants" or "upstarts" start to make it is because they can focus on quality without the accountant getting in the way.

 

Let's hope most of the fine small luthiers out there stay true to their roots and provide beautifully crafted instruments for years to come. Fact is... everyone who makes it eventually gives it all away...

 

go ahead ... toss a brick & I'll build monument to your ignorance

 

I'm feelin like Friday

[Guitarzan]

as for guitar makers i would hope the main goal would be to make great guitar. when you chase after world domination, recognition etc it clouds your vision and makes you forget what you are here for.

i like Robert Godins philosophy, he looks for ways to improve and still offer guitars for the working player. actually he has some big names in the endorsement area, but they are not only the "here today gone tomorrow" hit mtv gang.

Godin has done much for offering superior synth tracking and piezo equipped tools for real guitar players. all the synth access guitars are designed with that objective in mind, they don't just stick the extras on exsisting models. that is what building a guitar is all about.

Godins mission is not about being #1.

[Guitarzan]

Godin signifies thier factory second guitars with an "f" stamped after the serial number. i had a godin SDxt that was a factory second. i looked all over the beast and could not find a flaw. they are very fussy and seem to declare a guitar a factory second even when the flaw is very small.

i found a link to a Godin LG on ebay that has a small finish flaw and is marked as a factory second.

i have seen other brands with alot more wrong with hardware and finish that went for 2 grand and were not marked as seconds.

 

Quality control as it should be

[g.]

I am also pretty keen on Carvin and Godin. But I'm sure there are plenty of brands out there that deserve a bigger piece of the pie that Fender seems to be hogging ; }

[Shoes]

This sounds like a 12 step discussion for a bunch of guys with G.A.S. and the inevitable outcome is that we're going to drive ourselves right back to the sales counter.

 

Stuff is good.

 

I want a Fire-glo '76 4001 Ric. don't know why it's that which I want but it's what I'm aiming for. (yes 4 strings... daklander's got one so it must be okay to admit this obsession).

 

Remember this... Yamaha's profits in a single year could buy Gibson or Fender outright. Cash, done, over. For that matter Sony already owns a sizable portion of the U.S.A. and could buy the entire entertainment industry if it weren't for protectionist trade restrictions.

 

Like what you want because it's all made just for you. Mine was made for me and wouldn't make you happy.

 

... hmmmmm

[webe123]

Originally posted by zeronyne:

Originally posted by webe123:

There is a DVD where Paul Reed Smith talks about his humble beginnings and how he went from a small guitar builder to the No. 3 guitar maker in the world.

Number 3? In what? Volume? Sales? Customer satisfaction? Number of bird inlays?

 

I can't imagine any list factors that would rate PRS as number 3, except in Mr Smith's own mind.

 

Anyone hear of Cort, Samick, Ibanez, BC Rich, Dean? I think these sell more in the worldwide market. I bet there's even more Rickenbackers sold than PRS guitars.

 

The only thing I can think of is retail markup, but then they'd be number 1.

 

I am not commenting on the quality of PRS guitars. The few I've played...even at guitar center, were nearly flawless. But I'm wondering what he was talking about when he referred to PRS as the #3 guitar maker in the world.

I believe it is in sales.

[Hound Dog]

I think Carvin has already "hit it big". They've got Allan Holdsworth endorsing a model! And they make great stuff.