John Hyatt don't need no stinkin' custom!!

[MattM]

John Hyatt on his Gibson guitars in the latest AGM: "No custom stuff. I like proletariat guitars, not this s*** that nobody else can have."

[Kevin A]

Originally Posted by MattM

John Hyatt on his Gibson guitars in the latest AGM: "No custom stuff. I like proletariat guitars, not this s*** that nobody else can have."

I guess I'm more of a "bourgeoisie" guitar guy than comrade Hyatt...

[Dukester]

Originally Posted by MattM

John Hyatt on his Gibson guitars in the latest AGM: "No custom stuff. I like proletariat guitars, not this s*** that nobody else can have."

Yeah!!! Like those $2000-$3000 Gibsons that everyone can afford! Not those elitist high-falutin'$2000- $3000 custom luthier built guitars! Thank God we have Martin and Taylor and Gibson to make $3000 guitars we can all afford!

[bdadad]

A couple of years ago, I was speaking with Stan, the owner of Mandolin Bros., which maybe one of the finest acoustic guitar stores in the world. Anyway, with all the world class instruments that pass through his shop, he only has 1 personal guitar. It is a Santa Cruz Tony Rice Pro. He selected that guitar because it plays and sounds great, but also because it is readily replaceable so he doesn't have to worry about it. There is a lot of logic to this.... at least to me.

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by Dukester

Yeah!!! Like those $2000-$3000 Gibsons that everyone can afford! Not those elitist high-falutin'$2000- $3000 custom luthier built guitars! Thank God we have Martin and Taylor and Gibson to make $3000 guitars we can all afford!

I started a similar thread earlier in the week and had the same sort of responses from people who did not even bother to read the entire article before commenting.

First, he plays J-45s from the 1980s and 1990s that were right off the line. And he plays a J-200 that his tech found in a shop about 12 years ago.

So much for the $3000 Gibsons.

Secondly, if you can find a luthier who will make you a custom guitar for $2,000-$3,000, I will show you someone who is not even making minimum wage.

Jim

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by MattM

John Hyatt on his Gibson guitars in the latest AGM: "No custom stuff. I like proletariat guitars, not this s*** that nobody else can have."

Matt,

I posted the same quote earlier in the week. Be ready for responses from people who think that buying expensive guitars is more important than learning to play them.

Jim

[SteveS]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

.......
Secondly, if you can find a luthier who will make you a custom guitar for $2,000-$3,000, I will show you someone who is not even making minimum wage.

Jim,
You got that right! Some people have not idea about that.

[gtr4me]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

Matt,

I posted the same quote earlier in the week. Be ready for responses from people who think that buying expensive guitars is more important than learning to play them.

Jim

I'd be very interested in seeing a quote from a post that suggested that buying expensive guitars is more important that learning to play.

[Dukester]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

I started a similar thread earlier in the week and had the same sort of responses from people who did not even bother to read the entire article before commenting.

First, he plays J-45s from the 1980s and 1990s that were right off the line. And he plays a J-200 that his tech found in a shop about 12 years ago.

So much for the $3000 Gibsons.

Secondly, if you can find a luthier who will make you a custom guitar for $2,000-$3,000, I will show you someone who is not even making minimum wage.

Jim

I will show you a great many high quality luthiers who build guitars at that range, many of whom have been mentioned a number of times on these boards. Or, you can pick up some high quality preowned customs at that price as well.

You confuse two concepts: If he's saying that he plays off the line guitas v. custom made because the off the lines are easier to replace, or he likes the commonality of them, that's fine.

But if he's saying that he plays them because they are affordable to the "proleteriat," and are guitars for the "common man," that's a rediculous statement. A J-200 goes for bewteen 2-3K. And a good new J45 comes close to 2K. If the guy was playing a Seagull or Blueridge or a number of other reasonably priced good quality guitars, I'd take that statement more seriously.

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by Dukester

I will show you a great many high quality luthiers who build guitars at that range, many of whom have been mentioned a number of times on these boards.

And I will repeat...If you have a luthier who is selling custom guitars in the $2,000 - $3,000 range, that luthier is not making much money.

Originally Posted by Dukester

You confuse two concepts: If he's saying that he plays off the line guitas v. custom made because the off the lines are easier to replace, or he likes the commonality of them, that's fine.

'

I am not confusing anything. I read the article and know what he said. Here is the complete quote from AG magazine:

'Hiatt’s main acoustics are Gibson J-45s: “Two that I’ve gotten from the Bozeman factory in the past five or six years and two that I got out of the line back in the ’80s, circa ’87 or ’88, after Ren Ferguson first came back to Gibson—a couple that Ren kept his eye on as they went through. No custom stuff. I like proletariat guitars, not this **** that nobody else can have.” He also plays a Gibson J-200 that his guitar tech found in a shop about 12 years ago, and a 1992 Taylor Leo Kottke model 12-string.'

He was talking about guitars that anyone can buy. He did not say that anyone can afford.

Originally Posted by Dukester

A J-200 goes for bewteen 2-3K. And a good new J45 comes close to 2K. If the guy was playing a Seagull or Blueridge or a number of other reasonably priced good quality guitars, I'd take that statement more seriously.

The prices you give are for those guitars now. Hiatt's guitars are 12-20 years old.

Jim

[Brent Hutto]

The quote is quite pretentious and is invalid on its face. Even assuming he bought his guitars by walking into the local Gibson dealer and grabbing one off the wall (not likely, especially given his specific reference to Ferguson) to somehow hold that up as "proletariat" is simply populist posturing.

How many working-class schlubs out there have a personal contact with an insider at a guitar manufacturer who can "keep an eye on" a guitar as it is being built? In fact, unlike Mr. Hiatt I don't have any way to procure a hand selected Gibson guitar to my liking but I can pick up the phone and have a custom guitar built any time I like.

Anybody in the world with the requisite cash can buy a stock Gibson model like he plays. But then again anybody in the world can order any custom Gibson they can afford. And anybody with three grand in their pocket can order a custom guitar from one of a hundred different builders out there. Of course half the population of the USA can't afford any of the above and I guarantee there aren't many "proles" playing even a $2,000 Gibson guitar.

Now for all I know the quote was taken entirely out of context. Maybe he was putting on airs and laughing it off as he said it. But as stated in the article it is a ridiculously self-important comment.

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by Brent Hutto

Now for all I know the quote was taken entirely out of context. Maybe he was putting on airs and laughing it off as he said it. But as stated in the article it is a ridiculously self-important comment.

It's amazing to me how few people get his point. He is talking about custom guitars...not affordability.

JIm

[Brent Hutto]

I'll tell you what I hear him saying, see if it's the same as your interpretation. He does not like the sort of blinged-out, one-off, highly recognizable instruments that many entertainers prefer. I share that opinion with him. He doesn't want his own personal stamp on the appearance of the guitar. Neither do I unless you consider a total lack of decoration to be my personal stamp.

But if he gets a guitar that looks just like one you can buy off the shelf except that his was walked through the production process by a friend inside Gibson, it in fact is not a guitar that just anyone can own. Ren Ferguson won't take a call from me asking for special attention to make sure I get a good guitar that suits my specific needs.

It is fine by me if he doesn't like custom guitars, doesn't like non-Gibson guitars, doesn't like anything he cares not to like. But "custom" and "anyone can buy" are not mutually exclusive concepts yet his stated (as quoted, at least) says that they are. It's a false dichotomy.

[jwsamuel]

It's his preference. Why are you so upset by it?

What an overreaction. You did the same thing when I posted this last week, Brent. That's why I deleted the original message and said it is just not worth posting anymore.

You are just making it not worth posting in this forum anymore. It's best for me to just put you on my ignore list. Have fun.

Jim

[Guit Hacker]

I feel really dumb. Who's John Hyatt?

Does he own those nice hotels? Or is he that Slow Turning, Smashing a Perfectly Good Guitar, Hiatt guy?