Guyker 4 String Headless Bass Bridge (and headpiece) report!

[MovinTarget]

I will repeat what I said previously. If I was producing for sale I would definitely use Hipshot as it is much more reliable known quantity and I would want to put forth a quality product.

I am experimenting right now. I wanted to see if I could put together a concept and I fail to see how paying almost $500 for a component when I could get what appears to be an acceptable alternative for $75.

The Benz is an applicable comparison as it was the first automobile and composed of multiple parts, some made by Benz, some standardized and used for convenience of availability. Like guitar components often are. Ford didn't create the car, they just innovated the mass production. Others continued to refine it. The fact that we can afford cars now is based on competition and while creators should get consideration, if they are going to gatekeep their products behind exorbitant prices then they expose themselves to those that will innovate to open the market. That is fact.

Hipshot assembled something different, but the did not design everything down to the last screw, unless that is how they justify the $500 price tag. If that is the case then that is their prerogative. Some people will never use their stuff because they chose to make it cost prohibitive.

 

[Barghest]

I will repeat what I said previously. If I was producing for sale I would definitely use Hipshot as it is much more reliable known quantity and I would want to put forth a quality product.

I am experimenting right now. I wanted to see if I could put together a concept and I fail to see how paying almost $500 for a component when I could get what appears to be an acceptable alternative for $75.

The Benz is an applicable comparison as it was the first automobile and composed of multiple parts, some made by Benz, some standardized and used for convenience of availability. Like guitar components often are. Ford didn't create the car, they just innovated the mass production. Others continued to refine it. The fact that we can afford cars now is based on competition and while creators should get consideration, if they are going to gatekeep their products behind exorbitant prices then they expose themselves to those that will innovate to open the market. That is fact.

Hipshot assembled something different, but the did not design everything down to the last screw, unless that is how they justify the $500 price tag. If that is the case then that is their prerogative. Some people will never use their stuff because they chose to make it cost prohibitive.

I'm with you. And, if we're being totally honest, this isn't a particularly complex bit of engineering we're talking about either. It's basically just a bridge with a tensioning screw and block attached to the back side of it. Realistically, there's only so many ways to do that without getting silly about it.

 

[kodiakblair]

and sells it for half the price by paying their work force poverty level wages,

Hate to break it to you but that is simply not true.

Labour in East Asia is highly regulated and heavily unionized. Starting rate of pay for a factory worker in South Korea is $9.14USD, closest I could find listed this morning near Hipshot were a laser cutter operator in Clarence NY or general production workers in Williamsport; both paying $16.50 ph.

OK, you might say $7ph is a huge difference but when house rentals in a bustling city like Incheon are 70% less than Rochester that $9ph goes along way. If workers in both areas smoke, enjoy a beer and maybe grab the odd Happy Meal then the Korean fell is definitely better off; for 20 Marlbros it's $3 vs $15, beer is $1.70 vs $4.10 and the Happy Meal is $5.70 vs $10.45.

Step up a level and things start to balance out, mechanical engineers in South Korea average $24USD ph and those in Rochester NY pay about the same; OLED are $22 to $27 and Thermo Fisher $21 to $28.