yea that's how much custom jackson's can run. which is why if you have a custom jackson, or any guitar made, you're best to keep it forever, or make sure it's something really cool so it has re-sale value at the price point you paid for it. craftsmanship on a custom jackson will be better than that of a regular usa select, but that's not saying much considering how well made usa select's are.

 

Stories like this are exactly why I get all my custom guitars done by private, local luthiers (well...one by warmoth): "I called company X or Y and they said that changing some pickups and binding around makes the guitar cost double what it would otherwise". For me, $4500 covers all 4 of my guitars with enough left over for a nice combo amp.

Yes, woods are priced differently and inlay work and all that stuff, but I absolutely agree with your judgement of 4500 as theft. Other people in this thread will likely say a bunch of things to justify the price tag, but I'm just comparing in my head to what I know I could get for that money (and additionally, what anyone else with a credit card and internet access to browse custom shops websites can get). For my taste, i'm agreeing with ya and saying that 4500 is indeed rape.

 

.....a local luthier..... that has a full time job and only builds for pocket change. Doesn't have to pay for commercial space, heat it, power it, pay employees wages, workmans comp, benefits, advertising, and the rest of the very long list of business expenses, not to mention the brand name is just worth twice as much as his no name no reputation, minimum. Yet people compare a company built custom guitar to a private one like it's a fair comparison in price.

And people whine about Ibanez opening a custom shop, when the price structure would be nearly identical.

 

I totally understand what you're saying, and for the most part I agree. And I'm not gonna start a long debate about this here. The bottom line of what I was saying isnt that the $4500 can't be justified by the company in terms of employee wages, advertising, and all those other business expenses - I understand that this is how business works. It's rather that I, for my money, would rather spend 1/4 of that and still get the exact guitar and exact quality I want in every way (plus a personal touch you don't get from most companies, and in my case tons of other things on the guitar that "brand companies" won't offer). And the whole "brand name worth twice as much as the no-name local guy" thing, well...this is again just my personal case but when I get custom guitars built I don't care about the name on the headstock, because I don't plan to resell it. I care about the quality, the options, and the service.

Again, not trying to start an argument or a long discussion here. Just my opinion .

 

thats about right Rich. although at least in my case I do not have a fulltime job, well, other than building guitars anyway
I had yesterday a guy come to me and complain of exactly the same thing..
he specced his custom jackson RR1T on the jackson website and its was £3000 - needless to say I was a lot cheaper but as I pointed out to him... from me, its not a jackson.

 

having said that, its not a jackson from jackson either - its a fender...
Grover isnt allowed to write his name on anything but cheques nowadays

 

Grove is irrelevant; Mike Shannon is the one that matters and he is still running the show.

 

I think it's way cooler to not have "the name." Don't get me wrong I love slinging around my Ibanez RG. Bit to have that sleeper like effect on people when they can't quite place what guitar your playing and then bam, it blows their mind.

 

I'm with ya kotor. I gotta admit I quite enjoy it when they read the headstock inlay/logo and ask what company that is and I get to tell 'em it's my nickname, lol.

There are tons of great guitars that I've owned and enjoyed over the years, but in the end having something entirely your own is for me an unmatchable experience.

 

The way companies like this control their demand is by increasing the price, when you do this kind of work, you don't want to turn down potential clients, it is better to use a high price to dissuade the less serious ones. Just the nature of this kind of work, Jackson obviously gets higher demand than a local luthier, so they raise their prices higher.

ESP jacks their prices even higher for custom work because they want to keep a faster turnaround going. They have gotten a few endorsements solely for that reason.