Posted by Andi on Facebook not that long ago:
"Thanks to everyone for hanging in there waiting to hear the news, and apologies for the long silence. I’ll try keep things as simple as possible with this very wordy post, and a separate mini Q&A for 2022 will be posted.
The good news: Moollon will continue.
For its 20+ years of operation and 15 years of making the Classic Series of guitars and basses, many of you know that Moollon isn’t your average company, in that it has never been profitable, and those who have read our old FAQ or interacted with early members of the Moollon family have probably known full-well that Moollon has existed to make available reproductions of early-year models at an affordable price, hoping that talents both young and old who appreciate the sounds of the 1950s and beyond can have a taste of early-production-year construction and resulting tone/resonance that will only improve with age, without having to worry about prices that are far out of reach.
The is the still core of Moollon, and YJ has always wanted to maintain that affordability is front and center, even to his loss.
However, the pandemic brought about unexpected rise in costs that made the Moollon mission all the more difficult, that being of (1) more expensive shipping from the Moollon shop to each build’s destination, and (2) price of high-quality North American wood products, of course in Moollon’s case that being of maple, alder, and swamp ash. The second of these two points (no small part due to all wood being imported goods) was the most significant jump, which after 2+ years of biting the bullet with every outgoing parcel, led to a minimal rate hike: implementation of charging for shipping for Moollon basses and guitars, for orders placed as of March 1st. 2022…with consideration regarding how in the world we’ll be able to proceed with future orders.
To be sure, the US$300 jump a few years ago was made to better reflect the cost things even before the pandemic even hit, but in reality, without outright doubling prices, Moollon will simply continue to (and progressively) be in the red.
Remember, this is a one man affair: 20+ layers of thin lacquer having to be sprayed outside of city limits in a separate facility, pre-CBS-spec Moollon hardware, handwound pickups, the highest quality North American woods (alder, swamp ash, maple) and makassar ebony for fretboards hand selected by YJ, then dealing with outgoing taxes and the like means things are far from lacking...Moollon as a solo-luthier deal from start to finish cannot be a profitable endeavor.
At the volume they’re produced (and please remember this as you read all the way to the bottom), the key point to note is that the more Moollons are made, in reality the greater a financial loss it actually translates into for the company, not profit. But as we all know, continuing the brand is YJ’s passion, and to have others appreciate the work and results are what makes Moollon what it is, is everything.
Sure, the easy route to financial success could be argued, and the last 5 years in particular have led to a number of email inquiries (curiously enough, most of them being US-based dealers) making some rather spirited…well, “suggestions” to increase production and get a few into their shops: The point conveyed has been “compromise where it wouldn’t seem to matter”, then implying the likes of high volume production, CNC pre-shaped body/neck components, easily-hardening polyurethane finishes, and what I’d assume to all be (even though they didn’t mention these two) mass-produced pot-steel hardware and bulk pickups with bar magnets if needed… all assembled by a team of "more than one person". But ask yourself: who would buy something like that, as it no longer has anything to do with how Moollon guitars and basses always been done since the start of the Classic Series…save the label on the signature bumpy Moollon headstock? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
And moving on.
BTW, glad you see you’ve read this far.
Time for the gritty bits.
. . . . .
To keep the brand going, pricing on new orders placed as of June 1st 2022 is significantly higher. It reflects real-world costs and the best compromise we can make, and essentially done in order to do nothing more than “hopefully break even at the end of the fiscal year”, even though that’s much more optimistic than reality. Base prices should be enough to grasp what this means:
• Models and starting prices
1960s-style P-Classic IV / J-Classic IV : $2990
1960s-style P-Classic V / J-Classic V : $3690
1951 or 1956 P-Classic IV : $3490
Shipping cost : based on destination, as of 2022 most regions are about US$180 and up.
• Finish options
Standard opaque finishes : Included in price
Metallic finishes : $200
Sparkle finishes : $400
Matching headstock : $300
Body aging + weather checking (AKA “light relic”) $400
• 1950s-style options on 1960s-style models
Swamp ash body (Blonde, 2TS finish etc.) : $250
1-piece maple board/neck : $250
• 1966/1970s options on 1960s-style models
Bound neck : $300
Fretboard blocks (only w/bound neck) : $500
• Other options
Pickguard notching + truss rod routing: $150 (unchanged)
Anodized pickguard on P-IV (split coil p’up P-IV): $100
1970s pick spacing on a J-IV or J-V : $250
LH model availability : P-IV only, +10% of total price
Fretless J-IV or P-IV : N/A until further notice
. . . . .
We understand the above pricing will likely change the landscape of things here, on Reverb, and no doubt in discussion on TB and beyond. No doubt this will also lead to even more aggressive poaching of the local used market in Korea for export abroad than at the present (which greatly saddens us, since YJ has always been a supporter of maintaining the livelihood of local used markets everywhere), but alas Moollon is not in a position to complain about a healthy state of capitalism or those who understandably can take advantage of market demand; what people do with a used Moollon is none of our business.
The Moollon core philosophy for affordable vintage-spec goodness (even in the used market) simply cannot beat out opportunity when found to be coupled with worldwide demand, and we accept the reality of how things have become…the real conundrum for us being that Korean dealers can’t even keep their stock specifically intended to be sold to actual local musicians...a legitimate route to buy their stock and ship them abroad has already been found and legitimately exploited, much to our disappointment. We accept that this is unavoidable.
And as we've always asserted, we hope deep down that each Moollon will find its eventual owner. Add to that as the times-are-a-changing, it is our hope that excessive hoarding won't be a thing as the demand increases, and that a trusty and clunky old Moollon in ones hands will be nothing more than pure inspiration for its owner that's begging to be played and enjoyed to the fullest, rather than a pristine 4/5-stringed burden in a box
. . . . .
All in all, we're grateful it’s not the end of the world. We hope that people will enjoy what they’ve already purchased, and that YJ’s future offerings will be available as long as he’s available.
Thanks as always to those who believe in what YJ has made so much effort to become an affordable reality for so many of us, and we'll see how long this journey will take everyone who is along for the ride."
