Love this channel. The business side of music and gear is fascinating to me. And I always appreciate the shoutouts to Paul at Music Villa in Bozeman, MT. Casino is on my MLB ballpark-style list of shops I need to visit.
Here’s the problem with your assumption…. Our money is losing value so these rice hikes are really just mirroring inflation. It has nothing to do with greed and everything to do with idiotic monetary policy and spending from the Fed and democrat law makers respectively.
@@josephperrigo7008 because there are so many big time instrument company CEOs keeping you down. Cost of lumber tripled in many areas, supply chain issues, cost of fuel increased, and potential conflict between nations in a major manufacturing region? What could possibly be driving prices up? It’s those CEOs.
I paid cash through Sweetwater for a ES-335 in Natural figured 7 month's ago and it looks like next year before I get it, It's ok because I have waited my entire life to have a guitars like this. I will be my second ES-335 because I couldn't wait and traded 5 guitars for a Figured burst and it was just what I wanted. The paradox is now hoping the natural will be as good as the burst. All coming from a guy with mostly Strats and Tele's 5 each and 2 Les Pauls 2 gretsch and 4 warmouth build's . I'm a Lefty so Mick Jagger said you can't get everything YOU want.. Wanna bet Mick!
Same here with my order for a Fender American Professional Jazzmaster which I ordered last December, with delivery quoted as a few weeks out, and now it won't be until this coming December! Fortunately, I have a Strat VG that I love playing, so no big deal on having to wait for the JM.
I think another reason mid level guitars have slowed down is pricing. Just a couple of years ago, you could get a Fender Player Series in the high $600-$700 range. I bought two of them back then. Now they are pushing $1000 or more. With that kind of price hike, I will not buy the Player Series anymore.
I believe the player series (strats and teles at least) were $649 when they came out (2018?) and are $849 now for the base models, and the vinteras are running $1100+. Crazy
Yeah, When they replaced the standard strats that were 499.99 they were 629.99. Thats was ok because of the upgraded pickups, trem and block. Then they jumped to 649.99, 679.99, 729.99 and now and 849.99.
Mid teir guitars are now way too expensive if you want a certain name on the headstock. Even the alternative brands are raising their prices, this has to stop at some point. Anyone who has been lucky to have bought a good collection of guitars before the prices went crazy should think themselves lucky, i do. As the future, i am sitting it out, who knows what even food will cost if things don't get resolved soon. So big sellers canceling orders makes a lot of sense.
I don't know that it either "has to" or will stop. Everything is increasing in price. Guitars aren't exempt from the forces driving that, they're like any other consumer product. Cost to produce goes up, so does the price.
It is going to get worse before it gets better. When you look at the Cargo ships parked over in Asia, That is going to have a huge effect on the supply chain. Import Guitars will be untouchable to the ones who would have purchased them.
@@jgmopar This is why i am not buying anything that is not essential Who knows what price rises are still to hit us just for the basics of life. The days of low cost good gear is gone for good.
Yeah its weird how people will say that taxes are theft. But then when the world uses that money to help people they say its “not free money” whichever side makes the world think the democrats did it. The whole world is ruined now because of trump. Not just America. I used to want to move somewhere else on earth but the whole thing is screwed. If conservatives didnt fight covid so hard maybe we wouldnt be in this mess and a million people would still be alive and helping the economy? Just a liberal opinion that everyone hates. Thats why i say it out loud. It makes them mad
There never was any "free" money lmfao ! The rise in wages and the assistance given by the government was quickly sucked up by the unrestrained corporate GREED,which has continued unabated to this day
I watch these videos for the off subject discussions....This one did not disappoint! You two are hilarious and crack me up almost daily. When next I am in the market for another guitar (aka...the wife is looking the other way), I wanna buy through Casino Guitars. Thanks for the laughs and keep it up guys!
So what the hell is replacing the American Original and Road Worn series guitars? I want nitrocellulose guitars but not at Custom Shop prices. What is Fender doing with these lines?
Steve from Boston did a video Friday about it. It's probably going to be called the American classic line. 57 strat with hand wound pick ups and a 62 tele and a couple other guitars.
If you want to move it you have to drop the price 30% to 40% lower than what you paid for it new before the price increases. Luckily in my case, most that I bought were used, so atleast I broke even or made 10%. If you bought a guitar new before the rip off price increases you will have a rude awakening when you list them because they won't sell unless you are willing to take a 30/40% bath.
You nailed it right on the head, "the free money has dried up" I have a few friends in the business and after light arguments about how things were going to continue to go crazy, they are eating a little black bird now and are honestly worried about their jobs, for a couple years the pickings were really slim with you might have to wait a year for this or that, to now the shelves are full and the customers are few and far between.
With higher prices and economic uncertainty, I’ve decided to not make any purchases and enjoy the excess gear I bought during the good times. A decrease in funds is a good way to cure GAS.
I noticed you showed the picture of Johnny Marr moving his low E string tuner while playing How Soon Is Now. That is rock gansta-ism move at it's finest. It's a video worth watching. And I prefer him singing it also.
I ordered a Fender American Pro II Jazzmaster back in December 2021 from a major retailer and delivery was supposed to be in a few weeks, but kept slipping a few weeks at a time until now delivery is delayed until December, 2022!! Very frustrating, but I will not cancel. Fortunately, I have my faithful Strat VG that I still very much enjoy playing. There are a few used ones available, but they are close to or even more than what I am paying for a new one.
Interest Rates, Delivery Issues and Costs, Inflation, Recession all make buying a Guitar Secondary at best to survival and Big Box stores that want to stay alive during these times have wisely decided not to Risk it all, when the cost of Food and Fuel, Especially Diesel most use to get those guitars has went through the roof. Then Rent, Mortgages are prohibitive to making Luxury purchases like a Guitar and Gear. You need to Have Sean start Building Casino Pedals so no supply chain issues but for the Parts
I’m lucky that I no longer have the gear bug/ G.A.S. For over a month anytime i started to fall into the RU-vid gear rabbit hole I’d make myself learn a new riff or song. I’m down to one guitar one amp, a nobles, a tuner and a looper.
Now I hear about the itchy T-Shirts. I just bought 2 when I was there on a trip from Michigan. Oh well. I'll scratch with pride wearing my Casino shirt.
The real story seems to be that the guitar explosion is cooling, especially in the range the manufacturers raised most dramatically. Don’t let “free money” (guitar sales exploded before there was “free money,” and it ended for most people up to a year ago) or inflation (and the record corporate profits to go with it) be a smokescreen. You could say that Gibson and Fender were inflating before inflating was cool.
Johnny Marr is hands down my favourite player. Really nice guy with a social conscience. Could he be perfect? Possibly. Highly recommended his autobiography on audiobook as he reads it. He's from Manchester; not far from Liverpool but way, way different in terms of type of place and accent.
Interesting that I pre-ordered a Yamaha Revstar RS620 and was told April, then May. Yesterday I followed up and was told it's now estimated for September.
I ordered the RSS20 the first week of March with a delivery date of April 15th and now June 15th. ha I don't care, Im waiting, because there is no guitar out there with this many amenities for 800 bucks. Ya know damn well after these backorders are fulfilled the prices will go up 200 bucks.
Morning guys! Great points here and this will def boost the lower level lesser known guitar brands..what is needed imo is a lower tier builder who is still hand made as much as can be to keep guitars affordable as well...hand made boutique builders putting out $750-1000 range of quality instruments is a successful recipe for success it would seem...there are brands everywhere building quality 1000 dollar guitars...seems to be the direction to go?
@smth 9021 true I agree w that as well..there are kits and jigs and tops and blanks available that are unbelievable quality for the money..u actually have a 2020 player strat in limited edition candy red burst that's pretty great..got the tweed case for it as well so I have 1200 in it w case..I could build a beautiful guitar for half that I'm positive..if I was a guitar builder..but these kits allow anyone to put a guitar together...I go all out if u do something so I'd be looking to build best axe not save $$
I'm glad I have my guitars I'm not waiting 9 to 12 months for anything but custom drums (or more, because it always took a long time to get them) and I'm not even bothering with anything limited that sells out and is instantly scalped for 2x,3x,4x prices
The only people that get rich/richer during a recession/depression are the scumbag rich elite at the top. That's when they replenish their tax free bank accounts.
Always interesting to hear your take on the business side of having a guitar shop. I work in boat sales and seeing a slow down over here as well from an extremely active market the past two years. Amazing how many people have been paying cash for 100k plus boats.
Lots of people scammed the fuck out of the paycheck protection program. It also inflated the dollar into the spiral we are seeing now, so now no one can even finance anything with the intreat rates. At least raising interest rates is a step in the right direction towards righting the economy
Yeah, I live near a lake that are now seeing those 100k boat running around, and now they have to fill up those big gas tanks with increasingly expensive fuel. I can remember back in the early 1980's when a I lived in California, a friend had a 17' open bow tri-hull and traded it in for a MasterCraft ski boat and complained about now having $200 dollar weekends!
That interest vs margin is why I prefer to send a check if the store will allow me. Ooo, I thought the Music Villa long sleeve t-shirts are great And warm.
hack. would you like the PRESIDENT to nationalize manufacturing so that he can actually control it?? what are you a communist? i buy gas from Exxon. i buy guitars from Heritage, Gibson, Fender etc. the last time i saw people so partisan it was the Soviet union. shut off hannity man.
We’re picking up tons of X series and Road Series guitars 2-3 months early at Martin. If you do the math, big chains surely must be canceling orders… how else could production suddenly be so ahead of schedule?
I just want a 62'/63' 3tone burst lefty fender strat. y'all have a custom shop on the site but it can't be bought online help me out plz lol. seriously thinking bout buying a mod shop from fender but I know that custom shop is what I want.
You saw the same boom in other collectables (cards, video games, comics, toys) and the same is happening to all of them. Some are a lot worse than others. Collectibles are not good in times of inflation and rising interest rates.
Which could result in bargains for used luxury items. Boats, second homes etc. so many bought second homes to air bnb and if travel slows down those air bnb will go on the market
GOOD! Lower demand will only lead to lower prices. For Fender that Cleary means scaling back those price hikes on the Mexican made instruments and perhaps even Gibson can find a way to push the make the Tribute series a little more accessible.
I was at the monster mom & pop in the state (Manchester Music Mill) yesterday picking up a new keyboard (YC73). I asked the Pro Sound manager "I heard guitar sales are finally slowing down." "Not here. Still just as crazy as ever." Maybe it's a delay effect (hehehe punny). Up front it's always busy, out back (separate building) where the keys/drums/lighting/audio are is dead. I actually met a group of kids walking into the back building. Had flashbacks to my band days.
Two weeks ago I went into the Manchester Music Mill wearing my Casino Guitar t-shirt. I'd have purchased a MMM t-shirt but they were out of stock. I did purchase a Taylor Builder's Edition K-24. I worked with Eric, nice guy.
@@chadb5959 I work with Peter out in the back building (there are two buildings if you weren't aware). I haven't bought a guitar in awhile. Was on a tear for quite awhile, but turned around and sold everyting except for my Gretsch & Squier CV Jazzmaster which I intend to keep. (Always have a humbucker and a single coil at hand!). The main store has all the guitars/amps/bass/acoustics/etc of course. The building out back is insane with the pro lighting/audio/drums/keys/vintage.
Interest Rates are going UP. So, credit purchases will slow down. Plus the 40 year high in INFLATION RATES & it's going to get worse. There's no way out, IF, our gov't continues to be the source of financial instability. And, obviously, they will, because, well it's their plan. .I was a stockbroker when average Americans we were being crushed by Jimminie Carter.
It seems clear to me that there's a downturn in discretionary spending across the economy and the guitar biz isn't an exception. It'll be interesting to see whether and how the big retailers adjust after two record-setting years. Retailing tends to be all about same-store numbers.
This is especially true since 1) purchase decisions for multiple extra guitars were generally so easy (fun, accessible purchases) for previous two years, simply for something to do and 2) those excess guitars were all bought assuming they’d be easy to re-sell and 3) unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea and were also buying excess guitars. So retail will for some time be competing with a huge secondary market of new-looking guitars people have no need and are eager to move on from. The spike of gains of past years will be offset by losses and pricing adjustments. Maybe this will kill some in-store retail experience that we’ve enjoyed for many decades, since nobody wants to risk holding flukey assets and carrying overheads at a loss. No margin, no mission… less gear in fewer stores, manufacturers have to struggle for recognition.
The problem with guitars VS say cars is budget and storage space may be unlimited, so we go full overkill. Guitars are an exceptionally satisfying hobby.
You do have great t-shirts, but you need to offer them in "big boy" sizes, too. Haha. Maybe a few choices larger than XXL. I'd appreciate that very much.
Inflation has happened many times in the past 50 years. So it's not the only reason for price increases. There may be shortages from parts suppliers, but that's not the real reason to raise prices either. They'd just have to wait to get their parts. They're not producing guitars any faster by raising prices and making you wait longer are they? You're not getting more by waiting longer, you're just paying more to wait. The guitar manufacturers have been riding on the this for over 2 years now. They had so many orders they couldn't keep up. Why raise prices unless their corporate investors are demanding more profits? The factory workers aren't getting any more money than they made before. The only legitimate reason to raise prices is the cost of shipping, that they can't control. A lot of people got tired of waiting for months for their guitars to come in and canceled them. The corporations shot themselves in the foot by making it things worse when they had a good thing going.
These big companies get MASSIVE discounts from UPS/FED EX because of the volume they ship. Even guitar center was able to get out of bankruptcy after this two year boom. Solvent companies like sweetwater, zzounds and a half dozen others are flush with cash. Now they are screwing their customers. Great way to thank us. HA!
Real estate, auto sales, and guitar sales are at the front end of economic trends and thus are good indicators of what’s to come for everyone else. IMO
The midrange has become unaffordable with quality issues especially from Fender and the American Junk Series I collect expensive axes but the true value now is below 1000 I bought an epiphone LP custom for 729 set it up and it's a monster every which way Round
Guys - people are freaking out about the cost and availability of sort of basic stuff like food and fuel, and its just starting.....their next guitar? - not so much.....you ain't seen nothing yet.
It’s frustrating. I’ve seen guitars and effects that I’m interested in trying out and potentially buying. I’ve seen ads and RU-vid clips. And then no one has them available. I’ve been hearing about the new Revstars for a few months. Everything is still preorder. Originally I hear they were to be readily available in early April and yet…. Not so much. Cratjj I’m by a buzz is good. But if they can’t get the goods in the shops…. Manufacturers are potentially losing sales. Buyers will do with what they have or find alternate items.
And I thought only Trogley had run out of sh$t to talk about! I mostly watch because my exact stage rig is featured behind you. The red 355 (only with Bigsby) and a hand wired Bluesbreaker.
stopped in at about one minute in. Shop i stopped by and gear from since '72 said sometimes band rentals is what kept the shop going, This late '90s. The what ever is happening now don't mean jack to me but hope it don't hurt the Mom and Pop shops. The ebb and flow is nothing new.
Mid level guitars were questionably affordable for me 3 years ago last year it was b stock now prices are sposed to rise on prs se again My income has gone up about 130 a month over those 3 years my rent is up 30 percent my utilities are about 25% percent more so i like most people have less money cause prices outpace income rise. I used to sell my old stuff on my local marketplace when i upgraded but people want stolen prices now
Hunker down with the gear you already have and make some music! We're not short of subject matter for some gritty songs right now! Let's tell 'the man' we ain't happy 💥
I'm not a fan of Guitar Center, but sometimes you're forced to go in there to get something quick. I was in there the other day and was surprised to see how few quality guitars they had on the wall, the acoustic room was pathetic. I don't know if this is a product of they're business failings, or a shortage of quality instruments. I hate seeing this, they're kind of a necessary evil if you want to pick up a guitar and play it before you buy it if you live out west.
