Seven Reasons Guitars Don’t Have to Be So Expensive

If you’re ever wondering why some guitars are so expensive, you might assume it’s because of the wood, finish, inlays or pickups, or possibly because the guitar is a set-neck design.

But while some of those elements and features were once expensive for guitar manufacturers, that doesn’t necessarily hold true today.

In his latest video, Phillip McKnight looks at these and various other common features found on electric guitars that might appear to be costly but are actually very inexpensive for guitar manufacturers to create or add.

The seven areas he covers are:

  • Inlays
  • Exotic wood tops
  • Binding
  • Set necks
  • Pickups
  • Photo finish
  • Wood.

Take a look, and when you’re done, be sure to visit Phillip’s YouTube channel for more of his fun and informative videos.

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Christopher Scapelliti

Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar WorldGuitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.