Are Gibson guitars overpriced?

It’s possible to buy cheaper guitars than Gibson… but apparently not from American manufacturers.

Before we get into the meat of this post, let me first make clear that I’m not referring to the mid or higher tiers of Gibson’s product line. Nor is this one of those vague questions that is answered with “value is subjective.”

Here’s the background context:

Gibson has a reputation as being an expensive brand, to a degree that I don’t see applied to Fender, PRS, or other manufacturers.

And this got me wondering: why is this?

Here’s my summation:

• Every Gibson guitar is made in the USA, whereas Fender and PRS put their logos on guitars made overseas. This means people will see “Fender” stamped on a guitar, see a lower price tag, and associate Fender with various price points including under $1,000.

• Similarly, the claim that Gibson is expensive is usually in comparison with other guitars made in cheaper countries.

• In addition to this, I often see people refer to Gibson as though the Les Paul Standard is the cheapest guitar they make — as though if this model is too pricey, there’s no way you can afford any of the others. In reality, there are Les Paul models roughly half the price of the Standard.

But how much truth is there to this?

As I mentioned, all of Gibson’s guitars are manufactured in the USA. So while it’s true to say that you can buy cheaper guitars from other brands, that doesn’t mean Gibsons are “overpriced.”

After all, it’s vital to remember that the reason manufacturers opened factories in Mexico and Asia was specifically to enjoy the lower labour costs to make guitars at lower prices. And the reason they had to do this was because they couldn’t reach those same price points within the USA. If you moved those same workforces to America and paid them local wages with associated workplace benefits, those guitars would suddenly become more expensive.

This is why I’m of the opinion that if we’re going to accuse Gibson of being overpriced, we need to compare it with other American manufacturers. That’s the level playing field. Otherwise it’s like saying an American dentist is too expensive because the dentists in Mexico are cheaper.

So how does Gibson fare against American brands?

Very well.

I published the following video discussing this same topic, and showed examples of guitars from other brands.

The first thing to mention is that Gibson has electric guitars starting from around $1400 or $1500. So does Fender. These two brands have models at more or less identical price points — including, yes, Fender’s Ultra Luxe at a similar price to the Les Paul Standard. And, of course, both brands have Custom Shop guitars.

Here are screenshots from Anderton’s to demonstrate this price parity:

The other big brand to mention is PRS. If you’re unfamiliar, PRS has the SE line, which is manufactured in Asia. Its S2 line is assembled in America but with material overlap with the SE line. The “true” Made in America line is the Core, and these guitars are priced in the same area as Gibson’s Custom Shop ($5,000+). Then there is PRS Private Stock, which is far more expensive again.

Immediately, then, we see that Gibson is not an outlier when compared to the other big brands.

Ah, but how about smaller brands?

Believe it or not, these are routinely more expensive. Some, like Kiesel, have guitars that are priced similarly to the Les Paul Standard, but not with sticker prices that put them cheaper than Gibson’s more affordable models.

Otherwise, the smaller builders are more expensive. Suhr, for example, has starting prices over $3,000. Meanwhile Collings guitars are priced in the same region as Gibson Custom Shop.

So what’s the score?

As far as I can tell, it seems that if someone is in the market for a Made in America guitar, the cheapest brands are Gibson and Fender.

If they want a different brand to make it, they’ll need to dig deeper into their pockets.

Again, this doesn’t mean the guitars are “better” and it’s not pretending that cheaper guitars from other countries don’t exist. But we also can’t pretend that companies operating in America aren’t financially affected by higher costs — salaries, workplace benefits, and overheads.

The lack of smaller builders operating alongside, or below, Gibson and Fender’s entry prices suggests that they haven’t found a way to make it financially viable. This, in turn, suggests the only reason we’re able to see American-made guitars for around $1500 is thanks to the economies of scale of these bigger brands.

Let’s also not forget to give credit to Gibson’s manufacturing process. When you buy that Les Paul, you’re getting a set neck, nitro finish, hand-sanded tops, and in many models binding on the body and/or fretboard. I’m not claiming these make the guitars superior, but they do make for an overall longer and more expensive build process than guitars with a bolt-on neck, poly finish, and slab body (like Fender).

Have your say

What do you think?