tegs07

My only contribution to this debate is having spent 20+ years in tech, the lack of technical literacy and outdated workflows in pretty much every organisation I have ever worked in means productivity is always far below its potential. I’m not surprised that the Far East have taken over.

Alright Mr Musk 😂

grow your own - martin harley

april skies - jamc

july tree - nina simone

cars and girls- prefab sprout

Im sure there’s an element of “greedflation” from the manufacturers but if commodities like electricity, oil, gas, wood, electronic components are all going up in price then I would expect those costs to be passed on to the consumer. Some of these costs may be transitory depending upon geopolitics (labour excluded). OPEC and Saudi, Sanctions and Russia, Taiwan and China, the US $ and interest rate hikes etc etc Similarly if a manufacturer wants to borrow money from a bank to expand and increase their productivity (or just modernise, repair and maintain) then those costs are also increasing which will also be passed back to the consumer. Commercial property is also subject to financing linked to bank lending rates. As the lease rolls over the cost will increase. Staff will want higher pay. This is unlikely to be transitory unless the two decades of QE stimulus is continuous in which case any physical good will be a better store of value than the money it’s bought with. All this stuff is interlinked. Prices of instruments are not in some hermetically sealed bubble. I suspect prices will continue to rise until central banks either get inflation back to manageable levels (price increases will stabilise but remain higher) or they induce a recession and curtail demand which will lead to deflation.

I do wonder if rather than things being “mad” we are reaching a turning point where the era of cheap goods and cheap debt is over. I have tried to point this out for several months now.

Aubergine / Chris Rea

It’s been twenty years since I spent any length of time in Asia. Back then conditions in manufacturing and construction were a fair way from what I was accustomed to in Europe. A lot may have changed since, but I don’t have any firsthand knowledge. All I have to go on is reports in the media. They may just be sensationalist eg Foxconn etc.

crash - the primitives

please read the letter - plant/kraus

Yako Musical Instruments Company makes the Chinese produced Fenders I think. I have no idea what the working conditions or pensions are like but I would hazard a guess that offshore production with a 3rd party is cheaper and more transient than being employed directly by Fender in the USA. With the advent of CNC technology labour is the biggest cost involved in production. If the price of labour increases then I would expect the price of the finished product to increase as well.

Huzzah for European socialism. I would not say for one moment I prefer the US economic model! Give me a higher tax, more public services model anytime. I’m just relaying a simple point that the labour costs add to the price of the US instruments and those costs are increasing.

Personally I don’t think US basses are expensive, particularly from a historical perspective. They are just expensive when compared to instruments produced in low wage countries that don’t have to factor in workers rights such as health and safety, pensions etc. Economies of scale come into play as well. Ernie Ball produce far less instruments than Fender.

Not really. It’s an average. Doesn’t say if mode, mean or median. I would think your estimate of $20 an hour would probably be about right for a factory worker. Bearing in mind labour costs are the main reason USA basses are more expensive. It’s a big reason why nobody wants to pay for them. It’s all well and good supporting pay rises, but if people won’t accept the costs involved in the end products and services then it doesn’t look promising for the workforce. I would guess this is a big reason 300 were sacked in 2022. Corporate greed is only one factor. Consumer choice is the other issue. Since GATT and later WTO agreements western manufacturers have a tough time making products that can compete with labour costs in other countries.

subterranean homesick blues - dylan

waiting in vain - bob marley

riders on the storm - the doors

dig lazerus dig - nick cave

“200,000 sq. ft. facility employs close to 1,000 employees. The new facility, located at 345 Cessna, will add hundreds of jobs to support Fender’s Custom Shop and “Made in the USA” production lines across Fender®, Gretsch®, Jackson®, Charvel®, and EVH®products”. Unfortunately around 300 staff were laid off in 2022. Google suggests average US Fender salary is $56,000. I would hazard a guess that the Mexican factory pays less and the Chinese and Indonesian factories way way less and produce far more instruments.

catch - the cure

people are strange / doors

I had a custom bass made. It was nice to support a local luthier and see the work in progress. For some inexplicable reason though I keep getting active basses and never gel with them. The one I had made was active. I don’t know why I keep repeating this? Maybe eventually I will find one I like or get broke trying?

It’s worth noting that a custom luthier doesn’t have to pay the wages of around 3000 employees. As with most things retail it’s a race to the bottom dollar. Consumers have massive choice and want the best price they can get. It’s a tough and competitive business. Personally I like a no frills instrument and the no nonsense P works well for me. It doesn’t need to be a Fender but the one I have is a keeper.