Is this the equivalent of the 1970s for PRS as a brand ?

[Asimauve]

Got the chance to sit down and talk gear with someone who services guitar techs like Jez Webb and a few others. He's been in the business for over 50 years.

As someone who recently transitioned to PRS I was curious in getting his input on adapting the guitars to my Amps and Pedals ( made me swap all my tubes to Tung-Sols and although I was very skeptical at first, it did the trick and brightened things considerably)

I got to get some input from him on where the brand sits with a lot of 'touring musicians' right now. It was fascinating to say the least. He mentioned a few big names he knows who instruct their techs
to grab any '10 tops' or early production models they can grab as values are currently low 'the way you could get late 50s Fenders in the early 70s for a bill'. He mentioned Ash starting to get wiped by out by 'asian beetles' and how prices are going to rise dramatically on tone woods in the next 10 years and manufacturers pushing hard for cheap guitars becoming the norm industry wide to avoid bidding wars on wood.

Anyhow, just wondered what you guys thought value on PRS guitars might be heading, as someone who does a fair bit of Studio work he convinced me to grab two more guitars in the short term to avoid being PRS-Less so I might have another Cu24 and McCarty on the way to join my 2 main PRSi.

My guitars btw !

 

[solacematt]

It's really a players and collectors vs everyday player frame of mind really. For a longtime many saw PRS as a bit too high end, boutique, less approachable instrument for the local guy. Thanks to players like a Mark Tremonti, Mike Einziger, Dan Estrin, Dan Donnigan, Chris Henderson, and Adam Gaynor to name a few in the early '00's, as well as credit, more musicians who took their craft seriously were picking up the instruments and not just collectors and the big boys. There will always be a market for high end, well made guitars, it's just a matter of how much players really want them as opposed to a well made budget guitar

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Welp... Disco's back so maybe you're on to something.

 

[John Beef]

I rode the South Phoenix real estate roller coaster for several years there. Man, I learned a lot. Material objects are only worth as much as their usefulness. The only way to make money is to earn it. If you're trying to find the shortcut to wealth, you'll only find it if you're lucky. Money itself isn't worth anything until you trade it for something useful.

So, collecting guitars solely to try to make some mythical future profit? No thanks. That's all a figment of ones imagination.

 

[HANGAR18]

Money itself isn't worth anything until you trade it for something useful.

I like that. I'm going to use that sometime.

 

[NomadMike]

Wait, there are touring musicians making enough money to buy guitars?
Not sure how someone becomes PRS-less if they already have a PRS.

 

[László]

Wait, there are touring musicians making enough money to buy guitars?

In the upper echelon of touring musicians are stars making loads of money.

Business is slower for the average session guy or mid-level touring pro, but the financial situation in the business is pretty complex, and there are big winners still out there.

 

[NomadMike]

For sure, the fortunate ones (and I knew that Les, I only pretend to have just fallen off the turnip truck ). I have several friends who were Nashville based touring pros and it's a tough gig economically even when your working steady.

My son is into finance and he's been trying to learn about the music business after watching the 30 Seconds to Mars documentary and one about Bob Gruen (Rock n' Roll Exposed). To say he's been surprised by the entire thing would be an understatement.

 

[László]

For sure, the fortunate ones (and I knew that Les, I only pretend to have just fallen off the turnip truck ). I have several friends who were Nashville based touring pros and it's a tough gig economically even when your working steady.

My son is into finance and he's been trying to learn about the music business after watching the 30 Seconds to Mars documentary and one about Bob Gruen (Rock n' Roll Exposed). To say he's been surprised by the entire thing would be an understatement.

I knew you weren't on the turnip truck.

Speaking of the 30 Seconds to Mars documentary, my son Jamie was the music supervisor on the project, and also appears in the film because it was shot when he was just starting out in LA as an assistant engineer.

To truly understand how the music business makes money, your son must understand the ins and outs of copyright law, because the ownership and exploitation of the intellectual property are the source of the income.

 

[NomadMike]

I'll have to watch it again and look for Jaimie, Les.

The business is pretty interesting, but not in the way most people would think.

 

[garrett]

The true handmade guitars before 1985 will always be the holy grails.

I think the Annapolis-built guitars will be sort of the "pre-CBS" equivalent. Everything from Stevensville will maintain a decent amount of value because everyone knows what high quality instruments they are. Goodness knows what will happen when Paul steps down someday (that time is far, far away let's hope). It's funny to me how 70's Strats are going for bigger money nowadays, even though they're largely duds.

10 tops are generally the most desirable, but they're also very common. Same thing with bird inlays. They were a factory upcharge, so that translates in to them staying a bit more expensive than the non-10 guitars with moons. Non-10 and moons is rare, but there's not much demand for that, so the prices stay down.