A couple of months ago I saw an ad Ibanez had filmed featuring what I can only describe as an "EDM band." The band members played synths or guitars that sounded like synths and it seemed like very little guitar playing actually took place. It was almost like they were props. Anyways, eventually one of the band members sits down to tell us why he plays Ibanez guitars, specifically the Iron Label RGN7XC8FHEFSKDGUGKLf. The script sounded like a composite of all the posts on SSO concerning string tension, scale length, chord voicings, etc. to the point it creeped me out. The entire ad was extremely "unnatural."
Fast forward...
Recently, I learned about one way Fender Musical Instrument Corporation does its market research. Fender basically creates a composite photo of the guitar playing part of the internet and filters through trending terms relating to their products and their competitions products. Long story short, if enough people write the correct things online, we will have Purple Telecasters with Maple fretboards next month, plus, a Limited Edition Green Telecaster with a Rosewood fretboard because they ordered too much Rosewood and need to sell it.
Now, was I naive enough to think this is how guitar companies operated? Absolutely! Most of them can not afford it, so I assumed all of them could not afford it. In some industries, I am sure this works really well. For example, Under Armour released their "Star Wars" themed line of clothes today. They sent me an email about it. What comes out on the 15th? Star Wars: Rogue One! They also have a lot of university-branded attire because theoretically people with a college education make more money and will spend $70 for a shirt with their alma mater's mascot. Or my favorite: "Average Bugatti owner:"
"The clientele between Bentley and Bugatti is remarkably different," said Wolfgang Dürheimer in an interview with Bloomberg. "The Bentley customer on average owns 8 cars. The average Bugatti customer has about 84 cars, 3 jets and 1 yacht." Since Bugatti only build 300 (?) cars, I think most of that information was volunteered by the clients of which there were far less than 300. (Some people own multiple Bugatti automobiles.)
So what is the problem Formerly Given To Fly?
The problem is analogous to writing a research paper using Wikipedia as your only source. Your paper may be accurate or inaccurate but you would not be able to explain which one it was or why. That is the production guitar industry right now as I perceive it. My perception may be wrong and it would not be the first time. Also, I am not giving guitar companies their due credit. They know more than I hopefully will ever know about the business side of the instrument, but I want to emphasize a point so I'm being a little hard on them.
So, have any of you noticed anything similar? A disconnect between manufacturer and consumer?
Fast forward...
Recently, I learned about one way Fender Musical Instrument Corporation does its market research. Fender basically creates a composite photo of the guitar playing part of the internet and filters through trending terms relating to their products and their competitions products. Long story short, if enough people write the correct things online, we will have Purple Telecasters with Maple fretboards next month, plus, a Limited Edition Green Telecaster with a Rosewood fretboard because they ordered too much Rosewood and need to sell it.
Now, was I naive enough to think this is how guitar companies operated? Absolutely! Most of them can not afford it, so I assumed all of them could not afford it. In some industries, I am sure this works really well. For example, Under Armour released their "Star Wars" themed line of clothes today. They sent me an email about it. What comes out on the 15th? Star Wars: Rogue One! They also have a lot of university-branded attire because theoretically people with a college education make more money and will spend $70 for a shirt with their alma mater's mascot. Or my favorite: "Average Bugatti owner:"
"The clientele between Bentley and Bugatti is remarkably different," said Wolfgang Dürheimer in an interview with Bloomberg. "The Bentley customer on average owns 8 cars. The average Bugatti customer has about 84 cars, 3 jets and 1 yacht." Since Bugatti only build 300 (?) cars, I think most of that information was volunteered by the clients of which there were far less than 300. (Some people own multiple Bugatti automobiles.)
So what is the problem Formerly Given To Fly?
The problem is analogous to writing a research paper using Wikipedia as your only source. Your paper may be accurate or inaccurate but you would not be able to explain which one it was or why. That is the production guitar industry right now as I perceive it. My perception may be wrong and it would not be the first time. Also, I am not giving guitar companies their due credit. They know more than I hopefully will ever know about the business side of the instrument, but I want to emphasize a point so I'm being a little hard on them.
So, have any of you noticed anything similar? A disconnect between manufacturer and consumer?