I just saw this shootout. You can't believe these competitions when they are being held in a store that surely sells lots of Gibsons and would never disparage a $7K guitar for being overpriced. Which is what it is. $500 for ageing? Ridiculous. You need to have a true test using double-blind methods. This definitely wasn't it.
You could also do a test just on the audio, and I bet most listeners wouldn't be able to pick the Gibson as the best -- especially not at 3X the price of the Eastman. Money *does* matter to people who buy guitars. For musicians who use these as tools for their business, they can write off that Gibson from their taxes unlike the rest of us. Though I bet most gigging musicians don't have $7K sitting around to buy a relic'ed guitar that they can already relic in their daily routine. Nope -- that Murphy lab aged LP is for old, rich lawyers, doctors and other professionals who can afford the gear, but probably can't play worth a shit. It's for status and bragging rights and to make them feel good that they have a real Gibson that somehow has the magic of a 59 LP that Jimmy Page played. But definitely NOT because it is clearly a better sounding or playing guitar than other cheaper guitars.
At this price range, it's a Veblen good and it sort of reminds me of a Louis Vuitton bag. No way you could ever say the bag itself was superior to other much better designed bags for durability and real use. The LV bag is *designed* for status which is why it is priced so high.
You could also do a test just on the audio, and I bet most listeners wouldn't be able to pick the Gibson as the best -- especially not at 3X the price of the Eastman. Money *does* matter to people who buy guitars. For musicians who use these as tools for their business, they can write off that Gibson from their taxes unlike the rest of us. Though I bet most gigging musicians don't have $7K sitting around to buy a relic'ed guitar that they can already relic in their daily routine. Nope -- that Murphy lab aged LP is for old, rich lawyers, doctors and other professionals who can afford the gear, but probably can't play worth a shit. It's for status and bragging rights and to make them feel good that they have a real Gibson that somehow has the magic of a 59 LP that Jimmy Page played. But definitely NOT because it is clearly a better sounding or playing guitar than other cheaper guitars.
At this price range, it's a Veblen good and it sort of reminds me of a Louis Vuitton bag. No way you could ever say the bag itself was superior to other much better designed bags for durability and real use. The LV bag is *designed* for status which is why it is priced so high.
