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RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Andy, I just noticed one of your guitars for sale at GSI in California.
They have a lot of nice things to say about it but what I also noticed was that the price seemed to be quite low to interest other players with more money to spend.
Sometimes people have a hard time judging quality with pricing.
Price can be a good entry level but when it comes to raising prices, it has a tendency to get in the way of making a higher level of acceptance. I ran into this situation more than once when raising prices.
Bob Ruck did this with his ability to master options on his guitars but it took him quite a long time to accomplish it.
GSI meant well but for them to say where you came from and then put a low price on the guitar; I think this is somewhat condescending for your art.
Personally; and I have done this before, by writing a replacement post, sort of a retraction with a little more favor-ability for what you do, and then ask them to post it in place of what they have written.
I don't blame GSI for this, as they operate with a lot of entry level guitars but is this fair to you? I think there needs to be a better balance, and most companies will welcome positive information that will help them sell guitars.
I may get into trouble for saying this but GSI seems to be rather pointed in a direction of having to support their own guitar manufacturing business in regard to all of the other builders who need to move merchandise.
Sometimes this can interfere with being fair toward others who need more positive input to sell their product.
It's easy to see why GSI sells the old master builders but this business has developed into myriad competition for the almighty dollar with not enough market potential for it.
Personally, IMHO, I think Yours and Andy's guitar art is worth more than GSI's factory Cordoba line of guitars but you are going to have to deal with their family first.
One can certainly understand why they need to sell their product.
Have I covered the whole story here?
No, not by a long shot. But if a guitar maker is interested in having his art sold by music companies, then these are things he needs to consider.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
But their guitars aren't even in the same league as Ethan and Andy. Their guitars are entry level in price, Andy and Ethan's are a class(multiple classes really) above, I can't imagine someone saying "I was gunna buy a luthier made instrument but maybe I'll just buy this entry level factory instead..."
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Leñador)
I priced one of the Cordoba series at about $3,500 retail; not the highest in price, but up there to where Ethan's and Andy's guitars are priced, and I agree that a luthier made instrument should compete easily with factory prices.
However, sometimes the more heavily advertised birds get the worm.
I have no idea what business transactions are being made today but I never send any instrument to a music company currently without it being prepaid. But there are all kinds of deals being made so I'm of the opinion that whatever is agreed upon by both parties is fair.
So, it's a competitive business and there are many ways to prosper if you keep a level head.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
I hear you but I don't get the idea that they push their guitars over others. Either from their search algorhytms or even when you go in to the store. The guys that work there are very upfront about their relationship with Córdoba if you ask and they just like talking about guitars in general, I never saw a bias. In fact they profile all different builders in their weekly emails, I've never seen them profile Córdoba or Loriente. They may be a bit over priced sometimes but they really are just guitar enthusiasts over there.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Thanks for the kind words about my work Tom. The main issue right now is that my waiting list is not very long. So they can't charge $5000 for my guitar because then any buyer would just put in an order with me and wait a few months to get one at my price. And I don't want to raise my prices right now, until my waiting list is a bit longer.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
quote:
New Spruce negra, one of my best I think. Powerful sound.
Very nice and I wish I had the economy to purchase one of your guitars. You and Ethan have a certain affinity to keep tradition alive. I like the way you guys strive to build and improve on tradition.
Posts: 503
Joined: Jun. 14 2014
From: Encinitas, CA USA
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Andy,
Sounds great, wish I could afford to add a negra like that.
_____________________________
Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Here's something a little different... Spruce/Padauk flamenco guitar with a shallow florentine cutaway, soundport, scalloped fingerboard and asymmetric neck carve. Think Yngwie Malmsteem in Andalucia
To be honest I was shocked how much easier the scalloped fingerboard makes barre chords. You never realize how much the edge of the fingerboard gets in the way of barring.
Started shellacking today.
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Wow Andy! No matter what everyone else says that is a sweet guitar....I like the concept very much. AWESOME job. Would love to see the finished product....
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Love scalloped boards on electric guitars and played them all the time back in the day. Bending and vibrato control were unbelievable. Would be interesting to try with nylon strings. Definitely have to keep the touch even lighter to not push the strings sharp.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Thanks Lorenzo! Haters gonna hate
@tri7/5 The bending/vibrato element was way less than I thought it was going to be. I thought it might be a challenge to play in tune but with nylon strings being so much thicker than electric it's actually pretty difficult to get any vibrato at all. The main benefit is really the comfort, especially with barre chords.
Sure Ethan, I scalloped the board before hammering in the frets but after gluing it on. I started each one with a round rasp, then went to a medium round file and then a finer round file, then finished off with a dowel with adhesive sandpaper and a scraper. I tried to leave just enough of a shoulder on each slot to let the fret lay flat. My shoulders were a little sore the next day
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
So Andy, I noticed scalloping appears not to be too pronounced...which is a good thing. Do you have some additional close up PICS you could share of the higher frets? Please feel free to PM me PICS also and more info on cost for a similar guitar...I have in mind something even more radical but I am shopping right now
Printable Version
AWESOME job. Would love to see the finished product.... 
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