EVH "Frankie" Replica to be at NAMM

[atomic charvel guy]

who wants to meet me at the corner of beach and edinger in huntington beach?
There's a BANK of America there that I've cased out, and I've got one more ski mask if you want to meet me. It will be fun, I guarantee excitement, but stop me when it's time to go because i'm a get everything in the safe kinda guy ya know. Anyone? anyone? we'll have the bread to pay for all 100 of these fukkers.

[atomic charvel guy]

and I'll sell them for 2k to everyone who gets in line. I'm laying myself out for you guys today, remember that if I don't pull it off. Are any of you lawyers out there?

[mattsmusiccenter]

Motorcycles, cars, guitars... Replicas are always way more expensive than regular production models.

[sonicsamurai]

yeah i mean think of how many guitars they might go through before they get one absolutely prfect exact impossible to tell from the original....i bet they'll have one fucking big bonfire after making this run...they probably lose so much wood and potential bodies on runs like this trying to nail these guitars exactly...and someone's gotta pay for all that waste...

[hippietim]

Its a guitar made out of wood, metal and plastic just like the Wal-Mart guitars to the one your talking about here.

Then why are you here at the JCF? Go get a Wal-Mart guitar and rock out if you think they are the same.

To many people $2000 guitars are incomprehensible, when a guitar 1/10th the price will work. Why pay 2K for a guitar with stripes, when you can buy a old guitar and some cans of paint and do it yourself for a few 100.

It is very unlikely that you can build a guitar with that attention to detail yourself any cheaper unless you place no value on *your* time. If you really think a $200 guitar is equivalent to a $2000 guitar, do you just play $200 guitars? If so, more power to you. If not, why not?

I will tell you why.
First, I can afford one of "those" if I really wanted to do it. I have the means, but the whole concept is incomprehensible to me.
It is a guitar made out of the same wood, paint, hardware, pickups, strings and skilled labor that would make a $2,000 guitar on the same bench, probably on the same day.

You are wrong. These replicas take waaaaay more time and effort than the production models. Sure they're made on the same bench with the same materials, big deal - what's that got to do with the level of effort that goes into something like this?

It is the false sense of exclusivity that drives idiots (some can barely play) to a material object while ruining it to the rest of the "average" player.

First, it is not a false sense of exclusivity. If there are only 100, that is pretty exclusive. Second, what makes you think they can't play? I've seen good and bad guitar players with all manner of gear - cheap/expensive/ugly/beautiful/whatever. Asserting that their budget somehow corresponds to their ability is asinine.

The differential in cost is not a true material and labor one, but one based on market willingness to pay. A market inflated and skewed for the "average" player by the fool who pays through the nose for a guitar that somehow will rekindle some memory of lost time.

They're not fools if they spend their money and it makes them happy. You are a fool if you think you understand their means, motivation, and ability.

Whilest there are 100 idiots snagging them as soon as they come out, FMIC will keep doing it and even raising the price.
I wonder how many of those 100 know how to even play the froggin thing.

I've never heard you play and really don't know what gear you have or hardly anything about you but I'd still bet some of them can play significantly better than you. And I'd also bet that some are not as good as you as well. Big deal.

People buy things all the time that they don't know how to use: guns, computers, DVD players, cars, hair spray, coffee machines, ink pens, etc.

[mattsmusiccenter]

Hair spray??? Doesn't it have directions right on it??

[Jack Napalm]

So does a Claymoore mine but that doesn't keep people from screwing it up.

[Downfall]

Don't knock it till you've tried it, but by the sounds of people on this board it sounds like they've gone through 4 of them and many hours spent on customer service phone line. I'm Very Intrested to see what it eventually comes out like, It may very well be worth the whole ten grand or it won't, but these guitars are more or less collectors Items that will Increase in Value due to it's limited avalability. And yes, the people who actually have that amount of money to buy a guitar are not stupid at all, they are just buying something that they think is worth every penney.

As for the 64-65 strat comment, I Could agree with you on that. But what if fender did a limted run then, back in the 60's, Do you think they would be more valuable than the standards? They would, and thats why in 40 odd years time, these Replica guitars will be worth alot more than what they originally sold for.

[hippietim]

Hair spray??? Doesn't it have directions right on it??

it does have directions but still somehow people manage to shoot someone with the potato gun anyhow

[mattsmusiccenter]

it does have directions but still somehow people manage to shoot someone with the potato gun anyhow

This thing??

[hippietim]

This thing??

You Yankees don't know nuthin' about nuthin'. This is a potato gun:

[Rupe]

That potato gun looks familiar. A buddy of mine in PA had one very similar to it. Besides potatos, he would fill plactic easter eggs with water and freeze them, ending up with a potato sized ball of ice. I personally watched him fire it right through the door of an old, rusted out firebird...funny stuff

[atomic charvel guy]

there's directions on a lighter. i wish on most it would say don't post, and then set your face on fire-lol
I'd love to have one of these bad boys, and I've got the butterfly knife and dynamite to pull it off. I can't believe nobody is with me.

[Joe_Steeler]

Zerb, you bring some excellent points.
Great post.

However, my stance has not been against a Frankie or EVH as a person. I do not envy anyone who might freehandedly spend money on guitars as I am a gear whore. I truly admire the art of playing and equally admire the art of building guitars as it is a craft. I'll be the first to jump on the car and go to the store if I hear one is up for display.

My stance has been against the sack FMIC displays in pricing these things and thereby create a headroom between those pieces and the rest of the custom shop stuff. Headroom eventually narrowed by pricing their CS stuff higher and higher.

It strikes me that some of the people going for this new run are the people that on the past have criticized Charvel pricing, something to the effect: "Yeah right... a one hum, OFR axe for $2k" or some of the ones not getting into a run like the ones we have done at Matt's because they determine those "limited 10 pieces" to be overpriced and they rather prey on the classifieds for a used one.
Yet, they come in here and say I am in on one of the 100 Frankies at +$20k.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what anyone thinks in here, FMIC will do whatever they think is right to maximize their profits. We are all entitled to our opinions and we can all spend our money as we see fit.

I see myself a heck of a whole lot happier if I spend those +$20k in: (3) Charvel CS axes with cool features and graphics, (3) Fender CS Time Machines and (2) Suhr Custom axes specd by me.
Instead of blowing my wad on one heavily distressed, one hum axe, but that is just me...

[Jack Napalm]

The one thing I would like to know is that in 20 years if someone sells one how will you know if it's mint? I mean if they get a ding or scratch in it it's not like you'll know.