Werner Carstens wrote
Hi guys, do you really think that they will be worth the $5000 price tag?
I didn't see the pricing on the PRS site. $5000 is a lot of money for a new acoustic - so if that is the price I would think that this must be the model with all the options.
What can you buy new for USD5K?
1) Pretty much any Larrivee (plus, in most cases, you'll have at least enough change to buy a 3-series for taking to the beach).
2) Most Collings - probably only the ones with Brazilian rosewood will take you over the 5K mark
3) Any 10,22,23,25 or 32 series Lowden
4) Many different Martins
5) Most Santa Cruz - again excepting the models with Brazillian rosewood
5k is up in the high-end for a new flat top not from a boutique maker. I'm sure PRS have done their homework before deciding on their pricing.
I was knocking around Denmark Street in London last July, and then spent an hour, maybe 90 minutes talking to Roger Bucknall who makes the well regarded Fylde guitars. My Morgan would retail for somewhere around $2500 in the USA. I played several guitars that were retailing for that many pounds. Without exception they were all beautifully made - fantastic workmanship. But for that price you'd expect that (thought a "regular" Lowden comes in at about 2000 pounds and doesn't have a gloss finish).
Judging if they were "better" or not than the Morgan was very difficult, and I can only conclude that once you're up in the price range it becomes a matter of your own subjective judgement and what you are willing to pay. I played more expensive guitars that I couldn't fault in terms of playability or construction but that I just plain didn't like. Mostly this was down to subjective issues around the sound.
Better players than me might be more appreciative of very subtle nuances. I do believe that top quality acoustic guitars are a game of diminishing returns. The 4000 dollar guitar is not twice the 2000 dollar guitar. The 8000 dollar guitar is probably not twice the 2000 dollar guitar etc etc.
