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ORIGINAL: trivium91

Well the first thread was cedar vs spruce, my plan for a guitar was longer term so I wasn't buying anything at that point. This thread was me digging deeper into actually making the purchase as I feel with the state of world events I may not get another opportunity for a long time. Moreover the Euro is really low right now, who knows if that will change or not.

I will say this again though, regardless of my purchase choice the advice and knowledge has better educated me (and possible to others) so to anyone that feels their time was wasted, I can tell you it was not, instead it was very much appreciated.

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ORIGINAL: tri7/5

With all your worry about what other players guitars cost, how to convince your wife of financial purchases, and all your airing of comments/replies that are in no way beneficial you could have been playing guitar and finding out your own path. Your concerns and worries are heavily misplaced. Do you actually want to play flamenco guitar or not?

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ORIGINAL: Ricardo

This.

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BTW guys, trivium91 is not a troll - e.g. he posted his real name in his profile so maybe don't push too hard for now - he is just trying out the waters..

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ORIGINAL: Mitch

Congrats. I’m glad you’re pleased with it, and I hope it serves you well for a long time.

If you noticed in my praise of my friend’s guitar, I never added “for the money” or any other disclaimer. His is a great guitar without any asterisks needed.

Between us and our extended flamenco family, we’ve had many very fine, very expensive guitars, and his Camps impressed us both. If I could be honest with myself, it would be more than enough guitar for me. Luckily I can rationalize anything so I don’t need to acknowledge the reality of the situation.

Have fun with it. New guitar days are the best.

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That's awesome, I guess its hard to get out of the "you get what you pay for" mentality. Its not true with wine in my experience, it sounds like its not always true with guitars either. Thanks for the recommendation though on Camps, loving the new guitar. All being said though I've realized there is likely around 200 hours or more that go into making a guitar so if I put myself into a luthiers shoes, $4000 every month subtracting materials certainly is not making anyone rich. Camps must just have their factory formula down to a 'T' to make them as high quality as they do.

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ORIGINAL: Pgh_flamenco

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That's awesome, I guess its hard to get out of the "you get what you pay for" mentality. Its not true with wine in my experience, it sounds like its not always true with guitars either. Thanks for the recommendation though on Camps, loving the new guitar which is why I said they had the formula down to a T. All being said though I've realized there is likely around 200 hours or more that go into making a guitar so if I put myself into a luthiers shoes, $4000 every month subtracting materials certainly is not making anyone rich. Camps must just have their factory formula down to a 'T' to make them as high quality as they do.

There are luthiers on the Foro that sell their guitars for $4,000 or less. Why don’t you ask them how many hours it takes to build a guitar? I have a feeling you won’t stop talking about this factory guitar brand until you believe the entire Foro is on board with you regarding its quality and the wise decision you made in purchasing one.

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ORIGINAL: ernandez R

I wrote the following a few days ago over to the Delcamp:


Ive been thinking about this thread and what the OP is asking and also what they had not asked. I’m a beginning luthier but I don’t make traditional Spanish guitars or use traditional woods so I’m out of the running as it were.

But…. anyone in todays market asking for a hand made guitar for $2000-3000 USD, well its posable those days are done. I figure about 200-250 hours to build one of my guitars, most of my woods start with a , tree, log, or billet. Takes time to processes this wood, I’m not just buying tops or pre carved necks from LMI and in fact the only parts I do not make from something are the frets and the strings. Ok you got me, I don’t scrape the bug **** off the trees to make my shellac buttons or distill the alcohol to thin it with, I don’t even know what a linseed look like, and the envrimentslst in me just looks the other way when I’m squeezing the two components out of the epoxy tubes….

Ok, say I rock one out at 200 hours and agree for you to pay $2000, thats $10.00 an hour and we haven’t even payed for the shop rental electricity and heating oil, we suffer up here in Alaska without air conditioning cause, well cause we can.

Now, this 200 hour guitar is going to be a standard shape and scale, oh you want/need a shorter scale? Oh my, now all me pre cut pieces of wood don’t fit, my molds and bending jigs and binding strips, my fret slotting set ups, wow, that custom scale and neck etc just added another 20-50 hours.

Rosette? Custom? Ha ha haha hai haaaaa I’m going to the mad house cause I can’t afford to go to the poor house.

Ill tell you secret, I built my vary first guitar in fourteen days, twelve to sixteen hour days cause I’m like that, a little OCD, a little on the spectrum, a little bit country and a little bit rock-n-roll. Shhhhh, Today I could whip out a guitar in about sixty hours, probably forty, but you wouldn’t want it and I wouldn’t sign my name to it. Why do you think the cheap versions most of the luthiers who post here sell come unsigned? My latest guitar just went to the gallery at $5,600, I’ve probably have better then three hundred hours in her but who’s counting, the gallery takes their cut, at that rate we are talking about $15 an hour, I would make more washing dishes at my partners restaurant, get tips, and a free shift meal…

I see you are on the east coast- cull pepper, Northern New York , Andy Culpepper, this is the luthier you want, think a little more about your needs, woods and details, and yes even that ‘shorter scale’ then give him a ring. He is not new and up and coming but he is fresh and just might bend that little bit you need to meet somewhere in the middle of your playing needs and his empty luthier wallet.

And don’t get me wrong, If you were in the northwest or Alaska I would sell you one of my guitars like selling ice cubes to Eskimos…


HR

ps. I wrote this partially tongue in cheek ;) please don't take offense.