Can someone tell my why a guitar is worth 3k? I have been looking around at some of the custome shops, i came a cross the Wanye Charvel site. I know who he is, by what makes a guitar put together by him worth the money. I have an 80's Charvel that was no where near the price he wants now. It is just not him, all the of custom shop are high. I don't see a lot of custom from the custom either, maybe they should a special order shop.
I have check the site site that sell bodies and necks and I can put one together for a lot less.
I don't want to sound cheap, but I don't want to buy a name just to say I have the name.

http://www.wayneguitars.com/watch_wayne.html

Notice it's not a machine...

I'll never understand why CNC is looked down upon by custom guitar aficionados. I mean, really, does it matter if a guy cuts out the body shape, or if the machine does it? Either way it's a "cookie-cut", to quote the favorite expression by the nay sayers.

I'd rather have a body and neck cut to within thousands of an inch by a machine (especially neck pockets and bridge routes) than by hand. Does someone running a jig saw on a slab of wood make the body better somehow? They are all sanded by hand after being cut, regardless of the process used to make the shape.

I just never have bought the argument that CNC "cookie-cutting" is better than jig-saw "cookie-cutting", because a template of some sort is used one way or another to cut the initial shape.

Ryan

Check out the ESP guitar, they say on there site the customer shop guitar are cut in korea and put together here. So, why are they twice the price? It is still a blank of wood cut to shape. Are the custom shop using a higher grade of wood? I can buy bodies off warmoth with any setup I want. Is this a custom body cut by CNC?
If I pay 3K for guitar, I want a great guitar like no body else. Not an OK guitar with someone name on it.
I don't mine spending money, ask my wife on this point. I just can't see the reason for the high cost of guitars. Is the custom going sound better than the mid line OTF guitar?

I'm all for the CNC machine. The difference between a hand cut guitar and a CNC isn't worth the difference, and the CNC is way more precise.

Totally agree - ofcourse using precision engineering machine tools is better than some dude who's been 'building and playing guitars for (insert suitably impressive period of time)' who is carving/cutting by hand. But many people get a kick out of the thought of things being 'hand made' even if it is in fact inferior to a machined job. It's much the same story with cars and motorbikes. To those who buy into that kind of stuff they would describe to you how it gives the product; 'soul', 'character', 'mojo' and 'je n' sais quoi'.... allegedly.... These imaginary attributes are far more important to them than any area of design - the guitar can have terrible balance, be heavy overall, go out of tune easily, have none existant upper fret access and have many other blatant imperfections but these all just get described as 'character and soul' and the owner will slag your ibanez off for being 'clinical', 'bland', 'souless' and 'uninspriing'... How something can be criticised for being better is beyond me. Particularly when those meaningless and annoying words are used!

That said, machining tolerances have varying degrees of quality depending on the factory and how well the technicians involved set things up before the machine cuts anything. My jap RG for example, has a sloppy neck pocket - this is its only flaw but it is a significant one none the less. i've shimmed it now and to TBH it was never a problem from a playing point of view but my sabre doesn't have the problem and i'm quite fussy and want perfection!!!

As for why customs are so expensive even though they aren't actually real 'built from scratch' one offs (like matt bellamy's manson guitars for example), which to me is the only way something really qualifies as 'custom'. I guess its just for the sake of having a custom guitar and whatever the maker is charging, someone somewhere will pay it to have that prestige. I admit that i want a j custom ibanez, not because its fret board, electrics, trem system or body design are better than what i've got, because i know my prestige RG is as good as it gets already. I just want a j custom because i'll get a kick out of owning it and others who understand what j custom means will be jealous. Human nature i'm afraid.