One thing I've always wondered

[mullyman]

How is pricing determined on a lot of these items? Case in point...

This body is $995.00

And this body is $725.00

Now, my original question above may be verging on asking private info and I'm surely not meaning it like that. What I want to know is WHY is the first guitar so much more expensive than the second one? I understand that the first one has a very even pattern etc... but the second one is equally as gorgeous and to be honest, regardless of price, would be the one that I would choose. Color has nothing to do with my preference here. I just prefer the grain pattern of that second one. If the prices were like 50 bucks different, cool, but there is almost a 300 dollar difference between these two.

The neck on my white Strat has that ebony fingerboard with the yellow grain pattern in it. If I remember correctly that neck was cheaper than a lot of the other ones and the only thing I could think of was because of that grain showing in it like that. Again, everyone that has seen that guitar has commented on how killer looking that fingerboard is. So why was it cheaper than a straight black ebony board?

Now, don't take any of this as complaining, I'm just curious about things like this. No other meaning behind this post besides my curiosity.
MULLY

 

[Nando Vallart]

I'd shoot that is the level of Quilted, in my opnion the first one is 5A and the second is 3A or so

 

[Mor Paul]

Right, what Nando said. Even figuring, somewhat large, and other factors make the quilt more desirable to the majority of people. Your ebony neck had markings that are not looked for on ebony, so it counted as a defect in the wood.

 

[Cagey]

One of those might be chambered. That adds a bit. Also, the grade of the curly maple might be different. I don't know how that's determined.

 

[Red Rocks]

Look at the quality of the quilt, big difference. Look at the color on the back, black is typically used to cover up knots or ugly wood. There's where your price difference is.

 

[hannaugh]

The first one is quilt maple, the second is wild maple.  I personally prefer the wild maple because it looks more interesting and unpredictable, but a lot of people would rather have a more even pattern like quilt or flame. 

 

[DangerousR6]

The first one is quilt maple, the second is wild maple.  I personally prefer the wild maple because it looks more interesting and unpredictable, but a lot of people would rather have a more even pattern like quilt or flame. 

How I do love quilted maple, I'd agree that wild maple is sometimes more appealing because of it's unique patterns. However that 2nd one, although it's wild maple is quite symmetrical, even the dye.

 

[Kostas]

First body:  4 lbs, 1 oz chambered
Second body:  5 lbs, 15 oz solid

Chambered LP is $22 more expensive than solid LP if you place a custom order

First body is Double Laminate Quilt, not "¾” thick Quilt

Wild Maple is not mentioned on the pricing table, we don't know how much they charge for it

Both are expensive IMHO

 

[taez555]

Wouldn't it be funny if the true answer was they just throw darts at a big board with prices...

"Bullseye!!!  $995"

 

[dudesweet157]

Also, after a body has been the Showcase a while, they start to drop the price.  That's how I got my purple flame Strat body.  I remember when it first hit the Showcase, it was something like $450.  I followed it for almost a year until the price hit $320, and that's when I snagged it.

 

[Kostas]

Also, after a body has been the Showcase a while, they start to drop the price...

Unfortunately this does not happen with the majority of the showcase items. The red LP is almost a year in the showcase. It "survived" the big sale too...

 

[bendeg]

My tought is :

Is it possible that the first pattern is less often seen when the tree is cut. I mean, there're less "chances"  to obtain the first pattern (chances between quotes because I prefer the first one...just a matter of taste) than the second one, maybe it's that simple, second pattern occurs more frequently when cutting the tree...

In a nutshell, rare=expensive.

For tree cutting techniques : http://www.bchardwood.com/glossary_sawn.html . Pattern will look differently if cut in a different way (sorry, my english isn't very good...).

 

[Red Rocks]

Yes it is true that sometimes prices will drop, but that is usually not the case for exceptional pieces. Ken and I were looking through the showcase and saw the 995 LP body it's the oldest body on the showcase and we both agreed that 995 was a deal for such a rare piece. If you have not noticed showcase prices have dropped significantly, especially exotics and standard figured woods. The exceptional pieces will not be discounted, they are what they are and if it takes years to sell an exceptional piece then so be it. We are really taking a hard look at the showcase and evaluating what moves and what does not. We are also working on some exciting changes to the web site, which is in a constant state of evolution, think virtual configurators integrated with the catalog. We also have a ton of new product that will be introduced sometime this year, I know it's taking forever but some of these products if not properly explained can lead to mass confusion, but they are coming. With the new pricing structure for the showcase you are not going to see the gradual price reduction that has existed in the past. We have cut showcase prices to the bone at this point so I would not hold out for a better price. Hope this removes some of the mystery and speculation.

Thanks,

Sean

 

[mullyman]

Yes it is true that sometimes prices will drop, but that is usually not the case for exceptional pieces. Ken and I were looking through the showcase and saw the 995 LP body it's the oldest body on the showcase and we both agreed that 995 was a deal for such a rare piece. If you have not noticed showcase prices have dropped significantly, especially exotics and standard figured woods. The exceptional pieces will not be discounted, they are what they are and if it takes years to sell an exceptional piece then so be it. We are really taking a hard look at the showcase and evaluating what moves and what does not. We are also working on some exciting changes to the web site, which is in a constant state of evolution, think virtual configurators integrated with the catalog. We also have a ton of new product that will be introduced sometime this year, I know it's taking forever but some of these products if not properly explained can lead to mass confusion, but they are coming. With the new pricing structure for the showcase you are not going to see the gradual price reduction that has existed in the past. We have cut showcase prices to the bone at this point so I would not hold out for a better price. Hope this removes some of the mystery and speculation.

Thanks,

Sean

Well, regardless of what you do with prices I can tell you that you have a loyal customer here in Japan. The only way I'll ever buy a stock guitar again would be if it was something I couldn't make from Warmoth. A Zakk Wylde signature Bullseye comes to mind......although I doubt I'll ever buy one of those. The 2 guitars I have now are the best guitars I've ever played and have convinced me that Warmoth is the way to go.
MULLY
Although, there is a Fender Strat on Ebay right now that was owned by Brad Whitford of Aerosmith that I'm really thinking hard about.

 

[Cagey]

I understand Joe Perry has a huge guitar collection that he's going to start liquidating. I think what I read was that the collection is just so big now he doesn't really even know what's in it and can't appreciate it. So, since having his name associated with a guitar adds some collector value to it, he'll get more money than normal, which he intends to donate to some charity.