Spudmurphy
Well-known member
I am working on that
- Thread starter GuitarHack
- Start date
Here's my take on all of this - to me, it all has to do with economies of scale.
On the one hand, you've got boutique custom guitar builders, many of which have an amazing reputation - in a way it's a bit of a problem for these companies (and their customers) because their reputation becomes so great that it would be impossible to actually match the expectations which are built. Not only that, but beyond a certain point with guitars, it becomes a case of diminishing returns and you really don't get much more for a $3000 or $4000 guitar than you do for a $1300 guitar - and what you do get (e.g. prettier wood, ornate binding and inlays) often isn't really of much use to most musicians.
Then you have the really big manufacturers, and of course there are only a few. These guys actually do make some really great guitars, but quality control becomes somewhat of an issue when your production numbers are so high. Not only that, but if you're pumping out 100x as many guitars as a smaller company, you're probably also pumping out at least 100x as many bad guitars. So you end up with a lot more people with bad stories to tell, and some of the stories are so bad, they get spread around a lot. And of course there are little things like having dozens of variations of the same damn guitar (which you see *everywhere*) which seem virtually indistinguishable except for price.
Then you've got the "smaller" companies, which I feel have the best balance of production volume. EBMM falls under this category, and is definitely one of the best. These companies generally do enough volume that they can source materials in bulk and employ production methods which are more efficient and drive down cost, but are still small enough that each guitar can be afforded enough attention to make sure the vast majority of issues are ironed out before the guitar gets out the door. Not only that, but they can still afford the kind of customer service that can satisfactorily and expeditiously take care of any issues that do happen to find their way to the end-user.
On the one hand, you've got boutique custom guitar builders, many of which have an amazing reputation - in a way it's a bit of a problem for these companies (and their customers) because their reputation becomes so great that it would be impossible to actually match the expectations which are built. Not only that, but beyond a certain point with guitars, it becomes a case of diminishing returns and you really don't get much more for a $3000 or $4000 guitar than you do for a $1300 guitar - and what you do get (e.g. prettier wood, ornate binding and inlays) often isn't really of much use to most musicians.
Then you have the really big manufacturers, and of course there are only a few. These guys actually do make some really great guitars, but quality control becomes somewhat of an issue when your production numbers are so high. Not only that, but if you're pumping out 100x as many guitars as a smaller company, you're probably also pumping out at least 100x as many bad guitars. So you end up with a lot more people with bad stories to tell, and some of the stories are so bad, they get spread around a lot. And of course there are little things like having dozens of variations of the same damn guitar (which you see *everywhere*) which seem virtually indistinguishable except for price.
Then you've got the "smaller" companies, which I feel have the best balance of production volume. EBMM falls under this category, and is definitely one of the best. These companies generally do enough volume that they can source materials in bulk and employ production methods which are more efficient and drive down cost, but are still small enough that each guitar can be afforded enough attention to make sure the vast majority of issues are ironed out before the guitar gets out the door. Not only that, but they can still afford the kind of customer service that can satisfactorily and expeditiously take care of any issues that do happen to find their way to the end-user.
AnthonyD
Well-known member
Well analyzed and well said...
And that is a gorgeous Black Cherry Burst AL!
And that is a gorgeous Black Cherry Burst AL!
Colin
Well-known member
I once had to explain to an Irish Bouncer that his tattoo was spelled wrong. Instead it of saying "No Fear, Losing is not an option" it said "Loosing is not an option"
GuitarHack
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2006
- Messages
- 981
10-4, Big Poppa. I had just had a wonderful experience with Dan in Customer Service regarding my Axis, and then my new Albert came, so I was feeling a bit smug about my EBMM guitars compared to some of the others out there.
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Warg Master
Well-known member
I own a couple of other brands... none of the Gs or Fs, but I always come back to the balls!!!!
I'm just a sucker for balls...
Uh... wait a second....
I'm just a sucker for balls...
Uh... wait a second....
Tim O'Sullivan
Well-known member
My iPod says 'Designed by Apple in California - Made in China'!
