Next C-Series instrument.....

webhead · Post by **webhead** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:21 am

I read somewhere- (Can't remember) it is the classic series

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:37 am

Please Don...don't start that again. I thinik their is a thread that went on for months about what "C" meant.

leesh · Post by **leesh** » Tue May 16, 2006 11:29 am

A 360F!! One of the most visually pleasing guitars I have ever seen.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:55 pm

Amen, Alisha, but I don't think there's much chance of ever seeing these again...

leesh · Post by **leesh** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:57 pm

Really? I don't think I could ever get one in my price range unless it was a reissue. Aren't they going for around $3-5K?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue May 16, 2006 1:02 pm

...and that's what a reissue would have to go for, too... too little market demand, methinks.

leesh · Post by **leesh** » Tue May 16, 2006 1:03 pm

Wow. Bummer. If I were to pick one guitar in the entire world to own, that would be it....

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Tue May 16, 2006 6:58 pm

I think you're right Paul. I also think that is what many of these suggestions would be going for as well. Which is why they aren't being manufactured.

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Wed May 17, 2006 1:12 am

Paul, are you saying the lack of market demand is the only reason for no F series re-issues? Do you think JH would actually love to do them but it just wouldn't 'pay the rent' as it were? Seems a damn shame. EVERYBODY wants one!

webhead · Post by **webhead** » Wed May 17, 2006 1:53 am

I'd buy a Banjoline..

webhead · Post by **webhead** » Wed May 17, 2006 1:54 am

I think the best re-issue for a "C" series would be a Light Show axe, with updated circuitry... I'd definately mortgage my house to have those.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed May 17, 2006 3:52 am

RIC is a business. I'm sure all of these have been discussed at one time or another as possibilities.

I think the one with the biggest following/potential following is the light show. Would you pay $7K for one?

I don't believe that RIC has any sort of a patent or copyright on a guitar with a built-in color organ.

Why haven't we seen one from another manufacturer? If there has been one or several attempts since Rick to bring this to market, where are they now? Why did they not sell enough to get our attention or turn up occasionally on our radar?

Any reissue guitar needs to be able to be developed for contemporary manufacturing, on top of RIC's "normal" intense workflow. It has to be able to be built for a price which, when markup is added, will allow it to sell in consistent numbers for a number of years in order to recoup its R & D expenses. That means not just white-hot Rick fanatics with money to burn, but also buyers who are out looking for a piece of history, that special guitar, a gift for a loved one, etc.

In other words, the next rung down from the "gotta have it" folks like us. The further a new issue penetrates into that market, the better its chances of success. My rough guess would be that the 360/12C63, the Miami and the 1996 are somewhere less than 20% in terms of that sort of penetration.

Who you gonna sell a LS to except a Rick fanatic? Supposing it were developed at a cost of $60.00 per shop hour, with something like 2000 man hours into development. Add on about 50K for tooling, assume that the electronics would NOT be produced in the USA and could be sourced overseas at a reasonable expense (what Asian electrinics company is going to produce a custom stuffed circuit board in a quantity of 100 per year? Answer: none, reliably). Not to mention the horrendous warranty problems...

Could RIC sell 100 LSs a year? Probably for a couple of years...How long would it take before it reaches market saturation? Not very long, depending on price.

And that's the hangup...Amortizing the R & D expenses over, say 1000 units (pie in the sky!) still leaves you with $170 a unit in R & D at cost. Per 100 units, it's $1700 at cost (sans markup, meaning no profit or tax figured in)!

My figures are off the top of my head and probably way off in one or more ways, but do you see the difficulties? YIKES! You've got a guitar that takes twice as long to build, stuffed with electronics, capped with plastic sheeting, carrying a large R & D burden, going out to maybe 100 people a year at $5K, or 50 at $7K...

Well, you know I hate to be a downer...

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:05 am

It's sobering, but spot on I suppose.

Let us know when you've crunched the numbers on my F series Mr Wilczynski!

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:14 am

I wouldn't call it sobering. I'd call it business. I hope knowing this makes some appreciate the "C" Series.

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:22 am

I think everybody does, Brian!