Ordered a CR neck 10/16 and an OFR w/ R3 nut -- mistake?
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vikingred
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Therefore, if I am not mistaken, the Ti Floyd is the most expensive bridge/nut/tremolo set currently available, and thus will produce the most phenomenal tone. Now to find a wood that it would look good on. What about unfinished swamp ash tung-oiled about 5 coats?
What about Ti machine heads? Anyone?
Now for pickups, if the same theory holds true, high cost = better tone, then I believe the most expensive/exotic pickups on the current day market are the Kloppmann's, specifically the SSH Errorhead set which is $514 plus about $50 shipping because they don't even sell them in the USA, closest retailer is in Canada.
What about Ti machine heads? Anyone?
Now for pickups, if the same theory holds true, high cost = better tone, then I believe the most expensive/exotic pickups on the current day market are the Kloppmann's, specifically the SSH Errorhead set which is $514 plus about $50 shipping because they don't even sell them in the USA, closest retailer is in Canada.
Cagey
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Seymour Duncan's Zephyr pickups are $1,195 for a pair of humbuckers or a Strat set.
vikingred
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Damn, dood. I'm not hearing the magic. I watched a bunch of yewtewb vids on the Zephyrs, and they ain't holding a candle to the Kloppmanns. Have you heard the Kloppmann soundbytes on his site? My gawd, they are seriously ultimate. Check it: http://www.kloppmann-electrics.de/en/pickups/strat/
Cagey
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The Zephyrs sound good, but I'm not sure they're anything to write home about. They're certainly not $1,200 good. The Kloppmans sound good, too - actually, better - but I don't do single coils. I have a fundamental aversion to 60 cycle hum. Makes me wanna smash things :icon_biggrin:
vikingred
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Yeah. To me, the best thing smokin' for my kind of playing is the EMG 57/66. Hum cancelling, and best of both active/passive worlds. Sound almost PAFish, and will smoke with some amp gain. Nuances of picking are so clear and the sound is just orgasmic. Yep. It simply is.
As much as I like the Kloppmanns (and they do have a humbucker now), I'm sticking with EMGs because that's what my momma said to do and if anyone has a problem with it, you can take it up with her.
As much as I like the Kloppmanns (and they do have a humbucker now), I'm sticking with EMGs because that's what my momma said to do and if anyone has a problem with it, you can take it up with her.
bagman67
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Interesting. The Zephyr pups were originally offered at about 950/set, if memory serves, and silver prices have trended substantially downward over the couple years the Zephyrs have been on the market (peak around $45/ounce in 2011 when the pups were introduced, now at around $14-$15 USD).
If one rationale for the high price is the cost of materials, well... yeah, I suspect the price point has more to do with marketing than manufacture.
THat said: Has anyone A-B'd a Gibson against an Agile on materials/workmanship vs. price lately? It's not as if there's anything new under the sun.
If one rationale for the high price is the cost of materials, well... yeah, I suspect the price point has more to do with marketing than manufacture.
THat said: Has anyone A-B'd a Gibson against an Agile on materials/workmanship vs. price lately? It's not as if there's anything new under the sun.
Cagey
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Bagman67 said:
You're kidding, right?
Just in case you're not, for my annual LP purchase I bought one of these about 6-8 months ago, the only difference being mine came with black chrome instead of chrome. $459 vs. $3,500 for the Gibson LP Custom, and this thing embarrasses the Gibson. The only reason I would even consider trading is so I could put the Gibson on eBay and buy 7 more of these. The quality, sound, playability and appearance is fantastic and superior to the Gibby. They mostly use the same woods and materials as Gibson, except where they use better stuff. How Gibson stays in business with competition like this is a mystery for the ages.
bagman67
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That would be my exact point, Cagey.
The marketing oomph and the irrational desire for association with a storied brand is, at this point, all that can justify the price difference between Agile on the one hand and Gibson on the other where the yardstick is "How good of a guitar am I getting?". Which I offered as an analogy to the Duncan Zephyr phenomenon - the only legitimate rationale I can see for a substantially higher price than an otherwise identical copper-wired pup is the comparatively high price of silver, which has gone DOWN precipitously over the four or five years the Zephyrs have been on the market, while, paradoxically, the retail price for the pickup has gone UP. The 2015 pickups are presumably nearly identical to the 2011 items, and inflation would not justify a 20pct increase in price even assuming constant cost of materials - so even if I wanted a Zephyr and could afford it, I'd still detect a funny smell where price is concerned. This may or may not be tangentially related to the Sturm und Drang brewing over in drewfx's thread about capacitor comparisons.
But anyway - I'm just some dude in a cafe with a laptop on the internet, so my opinion is worth pretty much exactly what y'all are paying for it.
The marketing oomph and the irrational desire for association with a storied brand is, at this point, all that can justify the price difference between Agile on the one hand and Gibson on the other where the yardstick is "How good of a guitar am I getting?". Which I offered as an analogy to the Duncan Zephyr phenomenon - the only legitimate rationale I can see for a substantially higher price than an otherwise identical copper-wired pup is the comparatively high price of silver, which has gone DOWN precipitously over the four or five years the Zephyrs have been on the market, while, paradoxically, the retail price for the pickup has gone UP. The 2015 pickups are presumably nearly identical to the 2011 items, and inflation would not justify a 20pct increase in price even assuming constant cost of materials - so even if I wanted a Zephyr and could afford it, I'd still detect a funny smell where price is concerned. This may or may not be tangentially related to the Sturm und Drang brewing over in drewfx's thread about capacitor comparisons.
But anyway - I'm just some dude in a cafe with a laptop on the internet, so my opinion is worth pretty much exactly what y'all are paying for it.
Cagey
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vikingred said:
I know. I live in Michigan, and it usually takes 7-8 days for Warmoth parts to get here. I get nearly everything I buy online these days, and they're the worst of the lot. It's like they strap your neck/body/whatever on the back of a mule and have it walk the thing over. When it gets within a mile or so of your house, the mule driver hijacks a UPS truck and drops your order off.
For as much as they charge for their parts and for as anxious as people are to get them, you'd think they'd do a better job of getting things out to their customer base. But, it's just UPS ground. Stuff changes hands a dozen times every three miles, giving them plenty of opportunity to wreck the package. Then, they don't charge actual shipping, they charge some tree-hugger rate based on order dollar amount instead of what it actually costs. It all just sucks. On ice. I say pack it up good, ship it best way, and charge me for it. I'm not afraid.
stratamania
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Patience...
and at least you won't have to wait for it to clear customs a few miles from you for a few days or more, and then get charged duty on the parts you imported and the shipping to import it.
and at least you won't have to wait for it to clear customs a few miles from you for a few days or more, and then get charged duty on the parts you imported and the shipping to import it.
vikingred
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Cagey said:
Oh, I know. I offered to pay UPS 2-day or hell overnight, I don't care. I even called UPS to see if I could pay them to upgrade to 2-day or whatever. NOPE. Sorry. This isn't about money this is about sound and tone and wood and feel. LOL @ "tree hugger rate". Heh. So............MONDAY can't come fast enough. Course then I'm too tired from work during the week to start building, so I'll just be pawing at it and taking pics, etc. till next weekend. Ah well.
Fat Pete
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Bit of different story receiving a Warmoth shipment via UPS here in the UK. Here's my latest parcel's route:
Puyallup, WA - Fife, WA - Seattle, WA (clears UK customs while still in Seattle) - Louisville, KY - Philadelphia, PA - Castle Donnington, UK - Tamworth, UK - Northampton, UK - delivered!
How many weeks did that take? Approximately 37.5 hours.
We sure pay for it though - and, as Stratamania says, our friendly customs & excise folk even charge tax on the shipping cost!
Then again, who cares? I've got a Warmoth delivery!
Puyallup, WA - Fife, WA - Seattle, WA (clears UK customs while still in Seattle) - Louisville, KY - Philadelphia, PA - Castle Donnington, UK - Tamworth, UK - Northampton, UK - delivered!
How many weeks did that take? Approximately 37.5 hours.
We sure pay for it though - and, as Stratamania says, our friendly customs & excise folk even charge tax on the shipping cost!
Then again, who cares? I've got a Warmoth delivery!
