Waterloo Price? Opportunism? Fraud? Just high prices?

[pagedr]

Originally Posted by jontewright

AFAIK Collings are still producing the Waterloo line. They did strip back production during/post pandemic but they are still knocking out 3 or 4 a month maybe more.

Closer to one per month

[Dwight]

I thought $1800 was a lot for a Waterloo when they were introduced and had opportunities to buy them daily for even less. So much for the don't invest in guitars crowd.

[Br1ck]

Guitars aren't overprices, people are just underpaid.

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by jontewright

AFAIK Collings are still producing the Waterloo line. They did strip back production during/post pandemic but they are still knocking out 3 or 4 a month maybe more.

A luthier friend told me he was talking to someone at Collings who said the same amount of labor goes into a Waterloo as does in a Collings. They don't make too many because there's not enough pay-back.

[29er]

Originally Posted by Marshall

A luthier friend told me he was talking to someone at Collings who said the same amount of labor goes into a Waterloo as does in a Collings. They don't make too many because there's not enough pay-back.

That is interesting. I was always under the impression that the time spent on the Waterloo line was much less (not cleaning up glue run-out and the time consuming finishing process) than the Collings line. From what I've seen the fitment of the plates are just as good with Waterloo as Collings.

[pszy22]

I bought one of the early ones for $1730. The original sales pitch was Waterloo's were meant to be guitars built with quality materials but cut production cost by not taking time tidying up things which don't effect the integrity or sound.

I was expecting the inside of mine to have glue drips, a few paint splats, maybe a coffee stain, and a few wood shavings. First thing I did when I got mine was to peer down the sound hole - it was clean and neat as a whistle.

I decided to keep it in spite of it missing some beauty marks.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by 29er

That is interesting. I was always under the impression that the time spent on the Waterloo line was much less (not cleaning up glue run-out and the time consuming finishing process) than the Collings line. From what I've seen the fitment of the plates are just as good with Waterloo as Collings.

There's clearly less time spent. Glue aside, not doing a high gloss finish is a huge labor saver. Mine was one of the few which had hand rubbed varnish but they quickly stopped doing that. Some parts don't get pore filled. There's no chance a Waterloo takes as much time as a standard Collings and that can be proven in the finish alone.

[phavriluk]

Originally Posted by BluesKing777

So if you got $7,500 like those other Waterloo Reverb ads above, that is approx 319% markup on your new price?

If all my stuff gets that price, I will be moving to the beachfront! And my 2 Waterloos will be under armed guard....

No, it is just extreme scalping - should be reported to the fraud squad people.

BluesKing777.

What fraud? Nobody's getting mugged or cheated. The folks who pay that kind of price might just be showing a lack of perspective, maybe, but that's not any kind of crime. And it's voluntary.

[scotchnspeed]

Originally Posted by phavriluk

What fraud? Nobody's getting mugged or cheated. The folks who pay that kind of price might just be showing a lack of perspective, maybe, but that's not any kind of crime. And it's voluntary.

Yeah - fraud is a word bandied about far too much on this forum, and I think a little reckless on this thread. Nothing fraudulent here.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by phavriluk

What fraud? Nobody's getting mugged or cheated. The folks who pay that kind of price might just be showing a lack of perspective, maybe, but that's not any kind of crime. And it's voluntary.

Originally Posted by scotchnspeed

Yeah - fraud is a word bandied about far too much on this forum, and I think a little reckless on this thread. Nothing fraudulent here.

Welcome to 21st century America. Anything that annoys you is a crime.

[jontewright]

Originally Posted by pagedr

Closer to one per month

They sent 3 out in April according to their Facebook page.

[Woolbury]

Originally Posted by jodygc50

Woolbury - I like your stage of guitars. Not to hijack the thread, what strings did you end with for the Waterloo? Thx

I had Retros on for awhile, I like them when I first put them on, but miss the the brightness of PB after awhile. I have a set of Martin T Emmanual Soft Core now. Liked them the first couple days, ready to pull them in less than 2 weeks. I got a pack of Stringjoy PB's I'm about to try, looking for more volume and brightness. If I played with a pick or fingerpicks, some of these other choices would be fine, but kind of dull with flesh/nail. I don't have this compulsion on my other guitars, my LG2 is great with Retros, Collings great with John Pearse PB's. Looking for a magic bullet for the Waterloo.

[joeappel]

Originally Posted by jodygc50

Woolbury - I like your stage of guitars. Not to hijack the thread, what strings did you end with for the Waterloo? Thx

I've tried D'Addario NB's and EJ16 PB's on mine. I've settled on Straight Up Strings PB's. They sound really good on this guitar and seem to last.

FWIW, my other two acoustics have D'Addario XS's on them.

[iparkforfree]

I like thomastiks on my MH WL-12.

[Woolbury]

Originally Posted by iparkforfree

I like thomastiks on my MH WL-12.

I use them on my Collings some of the time. Are you using Spectrums 54-12?