Pieman Posted April 7 Posted April 7 New American Ultras and Player Plus models being discounted. Indication of things to come? 1 Quote
Dave Scepter Posted April 7 Posted April 7 https://www.davesguitar.com/collections/fender-american-ultra 1 1 Quote
LucSulla Posted April 7 Posted April 7 I don't know. I'm taking it in the neck on some stuff I'm selling myself. Lessons from my finance classes from years ago are starting to come back I guess. Quote
crunchee Posted April 7 Posted April 7 Looks to me that they're trying to move inventory while the sellin's good. Kinda. Maybe. Quote
RobB Posted April 7 Posted April 7 3 hours ago, Pieman said: New American Ultras and Player Plus models being discounted. Indication of things to come? Doubtful. It's common in retail to put sale prices on overstocked items. Quote
tbonesullivan Posted April 8 Posted April 8 Honestly, I've never understood the "american ultra" series. I rarely hear good things about the Fender designed "noiseless" pickups, and they probably were better when they were still using Lace sensors, IMHO. Quote
Pieman Posted April 8 Author Posted April 8 10 hours ago, RobB said: Doubtful. It's common in retail to put sale prices on overstocked items. Does an authorized dealer have to stick to the MRSP? Quote
velorush Posted April 8 Posted April 8 18 hours ago, Pieman said: New American Ultras and Player Plus models being discounted. Indication of things to come? Not trying to predict anything, but I have noticed the Reverb listings from the Gibson Demo Shop have increased dramatically of late (presently 376 listings!). I've wondered for some time if the Demo Shop is the modern equivalent of the "Second" stamps of the '70's, though the Demo Shop doesn't really appear to provide much discount if at all. I think Fender marketing has really erred over the past few years with so many overlapping variations. Gibson was that way before the current administration came in and I suppose there is always a tendency to try to reinvent legacy products with new variations. I think I try to keep up with the product lines, but couldn't even guess the differences between Ultra, Ultra II, etc. I just looked up the different models. It's no wonder I can't keep up (this is just Strats!): Best Vintage-Inspired Stratocaster Models Fender Vintera II Stratocasters Fender American Vintage II Stratocasters Fender JV Modified Stratocasters Squier Classic Vibe Stratocasters Best Contemporary Stratocaster Models Fender Standard Series Stratocasters Fender Player Series Saturday Night Special Stratocaster HSS Fender Player Plus Stratocasters Fender Player II Stratocasters Fender Player II Chambered Stratocasters Fender 70th Anniversary Stratocasters Fender American Performer Stratocasters Fender American Performer Timber Series Stratocasters Fender American Professional II Stratocasters Fender American Ultra Stratocasters Fender American Ultra II Stratocasters Squier Sonic Stratocasters Squier Affinity Stratocasters Squier Contemporary Stratocasters Squier Paranormal Series Stratocasters Top-Selling Superstrat Guitars Charvel San Dimas and DK24 EVH Frankenstrat and Bumblebee Jackson Dinky JS22 and American Series Virtuoso Fender Acoustasonic Stratocasters Best Fender Stratocaster Artist Models Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster NOS Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster in Olympic White Fender H.E.R. Stratocaster in Chrome Glow Fender Juanes Luna Stratocaster in Luna White Fender Bruno Mars Stratocaster in Mars Mocha Fender Cory Wong Stratocaster Limited-Edition Fender Custom Shop Stratocasters Quote
diablo175 Posted April 8 Posted April 8 (edited) Meh. Where the hell were the HSS/Floyded Strat Ultras when I was 17 years old? Not that I could have afforded them back then, mind you. 😆 No, I had my used '76 CBS Strat (bought for $350!) A year or 2 later, it got "super-ized" ala EVH with the micro-tilt mechanism removed and the neck shimmed, an added bridge position humbucker, a Floyd (with some pull up range) a Kahler finger-tite string lock, neck radius-ed to be a bit flatter (12 inches?) and a custom made pick guard for an additional $800 bucks! That was a good chunk of my summer earnings from landscaping that I was suppose to be saving up for college that Fall. Edited April 8 by diablo175 2 Quote
Dave Scepter Posted April 8 Posted April 8 2 hours ago, diablo175 said: a Kahler finger-tite string lock, Love those... wish they still made them👍🏼 Quote
RobB Posted April 8 Posted April 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dave Scepter said: Love those... wish they still made them👍🏼 They do. I put one on my ProtoII. ETA: I recently did some maintenance on my ProtoIi. I dealt with Gary Kahler via email and he was very accommodating. Kahler has some new products coming up and the word is the Spyder tremolo is coming back. Edited April 8 by RobB 2 1 Quote
Dave Scepter Posted April 8 Posted April 8 (edited) 2 hours ago, RobB said: They do. I put one on my ProtoII. ETA: I recently did some maintenance on my ProtoIi. I dealt with Gary Kahler via email and he was very accommodating. Kahler has some new products coming up and the word is the Spyder tremolo is coming back. Very cool... I added to my cart, Thanks a bunch👍🏼 Edited April 8 by Dave Scepter 1 Quote
crunchee Posted April 8 Posted April 8 (edited) 12 hours ago, Pieman said: Does an authorized dealer have to stick to the MRSP? MSRP = Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. IIRC, unless there's some other kind of legally binding agreement between the dealer and the manufacturer, then 'suggested' just means that--suggested. Edited April 8 by crunchee Quote
shankyboy Posted April 8 Posted April 8 20 hours ago, tbonesullivan said: Honestly, I've never understood the "american ultra" series. I rarely hear good things about the Fender designed "noiseless" pickups, and they probably were better when they were still using Lace sensors, IMHO. I have a USA Buddy Guy and I have never been a fan of the Lace Sensor pickups because (to me) they are too brittle sounding. That subsides when I kick in the mid-range boost. I recently inherited a newer Jeff Beck Strat with the Fender Noiseless pickups and was surprised at how much better they sound. Along with that Strat, I also got the James Burton Telecaster with Fender Noiseless pickups and that guitar kicks butt! The S1 switch really fattens things up when I want to step on the gas. 1 Quote
stonge Posted April 8 Posted April 8 The dealers usually have to abide by MAP (minimum advertised price) for new products; they can sell gear for whatever price they want, but they can't advertise it below a certain price. Dealers also label stock as 'demo' or 'open box' to they can advertise a price below MAP. Manufacturers can also allow lower prices on overstocks; Dave's has been selling a lot of PRS SE guitars as open box - I bought a PRS SE 20 acoustic that was labelled as open box but I'm pretty sure it was still in factory packaging. ProAudioStar also seems to have a lot of 'open box' gear and almost everything I've bought from them looks to be new (I have received one or two Squiers that appeared to be factory seconds or returns). Some of the Fender/Squier/Charvel overstocks seem to end up with MIRC (they cover the original serial number with an orange label with their own serial number and stamp the guitars 'used'). There are lots of ways to clear overstocks lol. 4 Quote
tbonesullivan Posted April 9 Posted April 9 6 hours ago, shankyboy said: I have a USA Buddy Guy and I have never been a fan of the Lace Sensor pickups because (to me) they are too brittle sounding. That subsides when I kick in the mid-range boost. I recently inherited a newer Jeff Beck Strat with the Fender Noiseless pickups and was surprised at how much better they sound. Along with that Strat, I also got the James Burton Telecaster with Fender Noiseless pickups and that guitar kicks butt! The S1 switch really fattens things up when I want to step on the gas. Maybe I'll have to look into them again, thoug honestly I'm not a big fan of SSH strats. I've never been able to get along with the bridge single coil. 1 Quote
HSB0531 Posted April 9 Posted April 9 21 hours ago, velorush said: Not trying to predict anything, but I have noticed the Reverb listings from the Gibson Demo Shop have increased dramatically of late (presently 376 listings!). I've wondered for some time if the Demo Shop is the modern equivalent of the "Second" stamps of the '70's, though the Demo Shop doesn't really appear to provide much discount if at all. I think Fender marketing has really erred over the past few years with so many overlapping variations. Gibson was that way before the current administration came in and I suppose there is always a tendency to try to reinvent legacy products with new variations. I think I try to keep up with the product lines, but couldn't even guess the differences between Ultra, Ultra II, etc. I just looked up the different models. It's no wonder I can't keep up (this is just Strats!): Best Vintage-Inspired Stratocaster Models Fender Vintera II Stratocasters Fender American Vintage II Stratocasters Fender JV Modified Stratocasters Squier Classic Vibe Stratocasters Best Contemporary Stratocaster Models Fender Standard Series Stratocasters Fender Player Series Saturday Night Special Stratocaster HSS Fender Player Plus Stratocasters Fender Player II Stratocasters Fender Player II Chambered Stratocasters Fender 70th Anniversary Stratocasters Fender American Performer Stratocasters Fender American Performer Timber Series Stratocasters Fender American Professional II Stratocasters Fender American Ultra Stratocasters Fender American Ultra II Stratocasters Squier Sonic Stratocasters Squier Affinity Stratocasters Squier Contemporary Stratocasters Squier Paranormal Series Stratocasters Top-Selling Superstrat Guitars Charvel San Dimas and DK24 EVH Frankenstrat and Bumblebee Jackson Dinky JS22 and American Series Virtuoso Fender Acoustasonic Stratocasters Best Fender Stratocaster Artist Models Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster NOS Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster in Olympic White Fender H.E.R. Stratocaster in Chrome Glow Fender Juanes Luna Stratocaster in Luna White Fender Bruno Mars Stratocaster in Mars Mocha Fender Cory Wong Stratocaster Limited-Edition Fender Custom Shop Stratocasters With all the variations and colors and limited editions, it's a gamble for a music store or chain to know what to order. The amount of variations on an original theme that both Gibson and Fender offer is insane. I have an idea: Authorized Dealers will have mini Gibson/Fender 100% robotic/AI factories with CNC routers, drills, sanders, paint booths, hardware and more, in a sealed-off room with a big window. The customer orders the exact model and finish from the onscreen menu and a week later the guitar is soup to nuts done ready to pick up. Um.....No 1 Quote
HSB0531 Posted April 9 Posted April 9 13 hours ago, shankyboy said: I have a USA Buddy Guy and I have never been a fan of the Lace Sensor pickups because (to me) they are too brittle sounding. That subsides when I kick in the mid-range boost. I recently inherited a newer Jeff Beck Strat with the Fender Noiseless pickups and was surprised at how much better they sound. Along with that Strat, I also got the James Burton Telecaster with Fender Noiseless pickups and that guitar kicks butt! The S1 switch really fattens things up when I want to step on the gas. When I worked at Sam Ash in the 1980's, we got in a few of the Eric Clapton Strats with the Lace sensor pickups and none of the guitar sales guys liked them. 3 Quote
velorush Posted April 9 Posted April 9 1 hour ago, HSB0531 said: With all the variations and colors and limited editions, it's a gamble for a music store or chain to know what to order. The amount of variations on an original theme that both Gibson and Fender offer is insane. I have an idea: Authorized Dealers will have mini Gibson/Fender 100% robotic/AI factories with CNC routers, drills, sanders, paint booths, hardware and more, in a sealed-off room with a big window. The customer orders the exact model and finish from the onscreen menu and a week later the guitar is soup to nuts done ready to pick up. Um.....No I actually love this idea. Probably not for artisan-created objects like guitars, but for normal production items. Franchised 3D printers and CNC mills could permit a company to outsource production to their franchisees. I see guitar building to be outside the realm of possibility due to the art involved (ref: Shishkov "What's Been Going On In The Shop" thread for extreme evidence), but for less subjective produce this could be really cool (as well as efficient). 1 hour ago, HSB0531 said: When I worked at Sam Ash in the 1980's, we got in a few of the Eric Clapton Strats with the Lace sensor pickups and none of the guitar sales guys liked them. BITD I didn't like the Lace Sensor pickups at all, but I am amazed to read on the Strat Talk forum how many people really like them now. I haven't had occasion to play any for more than twenty years, but I would be curious to try them again as I'm thinking now it may have been a case of me listening with my eyes. 1 Quote
HSB0531 Posted April 9 Posted April 9 15 hours ago, crunchee said: MSRP = Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. IIRC, unless there's some other kind of legally binding agreement between the dealer and the manufacturer, then 'suggested' just means that--suggested. Then there is MAP: Minimum Advertised Price that the Manufacturer sets which is always the List price you see on their website. Quote
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