Do you think the price of PRS guitars will go up in 2025?

[László]

I suspect that PRS is going to put themselves in a corner, eventually. I think a handful of things will come together close enough in time to really put the company in a challenging spot.

Every price point for real PRS guitars are getting high enough that even folks here are questioning the value. I think the order backlog masks this for PRS. At some point, more consumers are going to question buying a new S2 at prices that can get them a used Core. Core and WL prices are high enough that you can get a used PS for near those prices, or a very nice older guitar.

I suspect that the orders are going to taper off, from the low-end up. If I were PRS, I’d be watching the S2 and Bolt-On orders as a bell-weather.

For newer guitarists and folks without as much disposable income, I suspect SEs are going to move from an entry point to an end point. There’s a huge spread in price-points for the imports now. The marketing message from PRS has been pretty interesting—hey, DG is going to play an SE live. It’s just as good as a real one. That message doesn’t encourage moving up the product line.

And sooner rather than later, Paul is going to reduce his role, retire, or die.

I’d imagine that all of this will come to a head within the next five years.

Some of this debate took place in the late '90s or early '00s when PRS introduced the SE. There were plenty of dire predictions, none of which proved correct.

How many guitars does the average non-pro member here have?

Guitar players are passionate about their instruments and spend endless dollars on their gear for a variety of reasons. Hell, my 12 year old niece has 5 electric guitars, some of which were surprisingly pricy, and that's two more than I have, even though I make my living with music. While she loves her music, which is great, at this point she can play a few chords. Five guitars.

There are plenty of two-professional (mom and dad) families for whom $5,000 or $10,000 might as well be 5 cents or 10 cents. You wouldn't believe the number of older but nice houses they're tearing down to put up absolutely gigantic new mansions in my neighborhood, and I'm only in no-great-shakes Michigan.

Looking around the guitar universe, I'm seeing Gibsons selling for PRS Core money and in the case of a number of models, significantly more.

I noticed this horrid Fender Custom Shop Strat on the Sweetwater site for geez, $5,000 (!):

Fender Custom Shop '59 Stratocaster Heavy Relic Electric Guitar - Aged Daphne Blue, Sweetwater Exclusive

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Maple Fingerboard, and 3 Single-coil Pickups - Aged Daphne Blue

www.sweetwater.com

Point is, nothing surprises me any more when it comes to folks spending money.

 

[SinSir]

I suspect that PRS is going to put themselves in a corner, eventually. I think a handful of things will come together close enough in time to really put the company in a challenging spot.

Every price point for real PRS guitars are getting high enough that even folks here are questioning the value. I think the order backlog masks this for PRS. At some point, more consumers are going to question buying a new S2 at prices that can get them a used Core. Core and WL prices are high enough that you can get a used PS for near those prices, or a very nice older guitar.

I agree PRS is placing themselves in a challenging position. The key indicator being push back here at the koolaid jug.

I read PRS is in a backlog but are they really? Legit question. Theres plenty of new PRS at a wide range of dealers. Sure if we want a model in a certain finish from a specific dealer that causes a wait but that's our choice when we can find the same guitar from another dealer on discount. Is our preference more a backlog or PRS prioritizing production orders? We have to remember PRS in comparison to the big F&G is pretty small.

The buy used option is a dance more and more of us are doing. I know I do. A realization I came to and reminded of when reading posts like the other day. Buying a seCE but swapping bridge, pups, electronics, and even nut. Why? At that point you're in used US CE territory.

 

[Daryl Jones]

It seems people struggle to tell the difference between politics and economics. You can all tell the difference between an electric guitar and an amplifier - after all, they do visibly/audibly different jobs in the transduction chain - but somehow the differences between politics and economics present more of a challenge. As a somewhat-qualified economist (albeit only to degree-level), the differences look pretty clear to me.

Economics is (notionally, at least) an attempt to bring dispassionate analysis into the aggregate of our commercial behaviors. it looks long and hard at things like tariff-setting, and attempts to quantify its likely outcomes.


OTOH, if you think that politics is all about dispassionate analysis and quantifying outcomes, I have a bridge in Brooklyn available for your purchase (tariff-free, of course).

Well said man, well said. Politics is always fueled by passion. And not always in a good or productive way.
Passion creates drive and ambition, so I try to funnel that into my playing rather than dwelling on things I can't control. I may not get better at playing for it all the time, but it sure is more fun than getting bent out of shape over some idealistic doorknob's lamebrain plans.

 

[11top]

I am wondering if the prices for their guitars will go up (Core line especially) in 2025.

I certainly hope so.

 

[Bogner]

I Am Fine With Them Going Up So I Can Sell Off All My Stuff And Join Les's Accordion Band. When Prices Go Back Down I Will Quit Our Lucrative Band And Arena Touring Schedule And Buy More Amps And Guitars. I Will Make Tens Of Dollars!

 

[Revelation]

I just ordered a Core Custom 24 with a Black Friday sale. It will be here in a couple of days.

 

[opnoob]

The Fed prints money to pay for the consequences of printing money. Inflation is already baked into the very code that is the US Dollar. Of course prices will go up. Buy Bitcoin.

 

[Revelation]

I just purchased a Core Custom 24 with a Black Friday sale. $400 savings on a new guitar. i could not resist.

 

[archtop]

The Fed prints money to pay for the consequences of printing money. Inflation is already baked into the very code that is the US Dollar. Of course prices will go up. B̶u̶y̶ Roll the dice on Bitcoin.

Fixed

At least a PRS has utility and underlying value after an EMP wipes out the blockchain. I'm buying up guitars and waiting for the zombie apocolypse... the Tele's are reserved for self defense!

 

[opnoob]

Fixed

At least a PRS has utility and underlying value after an EMP wipes out the blockchain. I'm buying up guitars and waiting for the zombie apocolypse... the Tele's are reserved for self defense!

Hahaha life is calculated risk. Bitcoin is the least risky its ever been. The unique thing about bitcoin is that the more it goes up, the safer it becomes. As larger corporations put it on their balance sheet, institutional adoption (hell theres regulated ETF's for this now..), governments buying it up, and Trump's plans to further legitimize it and create a strategic reserve. We are beyond pure "speculation". You've been wrong for 15 years. There are fundamentals to BTC that you are not considering. But everyone chooses to spend and invest their money in the way they see fit. Its only a part of my portfolio, if you get it you get it, if you dont, there are other things that will also go up.

 

[archtop]

Hahaha life is calculated risk. Bitcoin is the least risky its ever been. The unique thing about bitcoin is that the more it goes up, the safer it becomes. As larger corporations put it on their balance sheet, institutional adoption (hell theres regulated ETF's for this now..), governments buying it up, and Trump's plans to further legitimize it and create a strategic reserve. We are beyond pure "speculation". You've been wrong for 15 years. There are fundamentals to BTC that you are not considering. But everyone chooses to spend and invest their money in the way they see fit. Its only a part of my portfolio, if you get it you get it, if you dont, there are other things that will also go up.

I haven’t been wrong, I’ve been concerned that the acceptance and ascension of BTC as a reserve currency is evidence of a growing lack of faith in the USD as the global reserve currency, and the growing perception that the global economy needs a reserve currency that isn’t linked to a single nation.

 

[opnoob]

I haven’t been wrong, I’ve been concerned that the acceptance and ascension of BTC as a reserve currency is evidence of a growing lack of faith in the USD as the global reserve currency, and the growing perception that the global economy needs a reserve currency that isn’t linked to a single nation.

You and I share that same concern. Especially with BRICS gaining momentum and no easy way out of our growing debt. Ticking time bomb.

 

[Simon Says]

Yeah and no, it's a little fun game called inflation

I've paid £3799 for my 35th Anniversary in early 2021. Its 4,598.11 adjusted for inflation today. Awarage cost of CU24 at the same dealer today is £4315, so more than I paid in 2021, but £250 less if you take inflation under consideration

Inflation calculator

Use our inflation calculator to check how prices in the UK have changed over time, from 1209 to now.

www.bankofengland.co.uk

Edit: no matter how you look at it; when buying new PRS you save money

 

[Revelation]

Hahaha life is calculated risk. Bitcoin is the least risky its ever been. The unique thing about bitcoin is that the more it goes up, the safer it becomes. As larger corporations put it on their balance sheet, institutional adoption (hell theres regulated ETF's for this now..), governments buying it up, and Trump's plans to further legitimize it and create a strategic reserve. We are beyond pure "speculation". You've been wrong for 15 years. There are fundamentals to BTC that you are not considering. But everyone chooses to spend and invest their money in the way they see fit. Its only a part of my portfolio, if you get it you get it, if you dont, there are other things that will also go up.

My friend works for Vanguard and is a manager there. He told me as Bitcoin is not regulated by the government, therefore it's a high risk and he does not recommend getting involved with buying and trading it. But do want you want.

 

[SinSir]

My friend works for Vanguard and is a manager there. He told me as Bitcoin is not regulated by the government, therefore it's a high risk and he does not recommend getting involved with buying and trading it. But do want you want.

You should ask him why his largest shareholder blackrock is buying up so much?

 

[opnoob]

My friend works for Vanguard and is a manager there. He told me as Bitcoin is not regulated by the government, therefore it's a high risk and he does not recommend getting involved with buying and trading it. But do want you want.

This is almost too wholesome of a comment to really argue with

 

[newfmp3]

Here in Canada, PRS have already put themselves over the top on the core line. I've talked to several dealers about this over the last few years. People just don't walk in off the road and buy 7- $8000 guitars, and sometimes that $8k guitar doesn't even have a 10 top. Our dollar is killing us but there is more going on here which is why it kills me to admit it, but I've been looking at other small boutique brands. My logic being if I have to pay 8 grand for a decent PRS, I may as well go get a custom guitar.

 

[veinbuster]

Here in Canada, PRS have already put themselves over the top on the core line. I've talked to several dealers about this over the last few years. People just don't walk in off the road and buy 7- $8000 guitars, and sometimes that $8k guitar doesn't even have a 10 top. Our dollar is killing us but there is more going on here which is why it kills me to admit it, but I've been looking at other small boutique brands. My logic being if I have to pay 8 grand for a decent PRS, I may as well go get a custom guitar.

The window for Canadians to buy core was 2009-2013

 

[opnoob]

Here in Canada, PRS have already put themselves over the top on the core line. I've talked to several dealers about this over the last few years. People just don't walk in off the road and buy 7- $8000 guitars, and sometimes that $8k guitar doesn't even have a 10 top. Our dollar is killing us but there is more going on here which is why it kills me to admit it, but I've been looking at other small boutique brands. My logic being if I have to pay 8 grand for a decent PRS, I may as well go get a custom guitar.

Dollar has been a silent killer for us on top of the rampant inflation. Its salt in the wounds. Luckily, most of my equities are in US dollars but it still sucks trying to buy ANYTHING these days. And 25% tariffs that were just announced by Trump today might literally break the Canadian economy once he assumes office. Pulling my hair out making sure I play my cards right.

 

[shinksma]

You should ask him why his largest shareholder blackrock is buying up so much?

Probably because BlackRock, one of the largest financial entities, doesn't need Gov't protections - if anything, Gov'ts need protection from it.

"BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager"

BlackRock - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Individuals who are not independently wealthy will be taking risks that are not otherwise protected if they invest in Bitcoin. To date it has performed well (I guess, I'm no big-money manager), but tomorrow it could all come crashing down like the tulip crash of 1637. There is nothing of inherent value in a Bitcoin, any more than any other currency, except all other currencies are backed by their national banks/finance systems, usually with ties to some form of gold holding. Nothing backs up the value of Bitcoin.