[ElRay]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

O nooz, it's a burst. I'm 50 % allergic to guitars with burst, tobacco burst, sunburst, silverburst, they are all the guitarworlds resemblance of country clubs buffets.

I like the same color getting darker, almost black, towards the edges style of burst, but not the radically different colors style. That Carvin Dragonburst and tri-color 'bursts just look really weird to me.

Ray

[Desecrated]

Originally Posted by ElRay

I like the same color getting darker, almost black, towards the edges style of burst, but not the radically different colors style. That Carvin Dragonburst and tri-color 'bursts just look really weird to me.

Ray

I agree, like a dark red guitar that gets gradually darker near the edges, but I've never understood the bright colors that goes black. Or even worst bright colors that switch to another bright color like a yellow guitar with a red burst :shiver:

[ElRay]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

I agree, like a dark red guitar that gets gradually darker near the edges

'nuff said.

[MF_Kitten]

i, for one, like silverbursts on les paul shaped guitars :P

[Cancer]

Originally Posted by darren

I think Kurt wants the $499 model because it fits into his business. He has learned enough through his retail activities to know that $500 is a psychological threshold for a lot of people.

Originally Posted by darren

I think Kurt wants the $499 model because it fits into his business. He has learned enough through his retail activities to know that $500 is a psychological threshold for a lot of people.

....and who, exactly, are these people?


I'm going to preface this by saying it is absolutely NOT my place to tell Kurt (or anyone else for that matter) how to run their business, so I apologize now if it comes off this way, but when I go to Rondo Music I see guitar across 3 spectrums, elementary, middle , and high (much like school...hehhehheh). I would submit to you now that an 8 string, is NOT an elementary instrument. It just isn't. Sure someone with drive and dedication could make it work and learn its secrets, but I would bet that, at least for the time being, the average guitar noob who wants learn who to play Meshuggah, will probably (hopefully) have enough intelligence know that a 499$ 8 string it probaly not where he wants, OR WORSE, he'll buy it, compare it to rg 2228 and then realize that he my have made a mistake which then might cast doubt upon the PRO (which he should've purchased in the first place).

That, and I would further submit, that Rondo could be gaining credibility among ERG players, which "massaged in the correct direction" could have a huge and positive impact on Rondo's bottom line the future. You see proof of that in the Interceptor series. Version 1 had cautious players purchasing that and offering feedback (and in some cases selling the guitar outright because of some of the issues), meanwhile Version 2 can barely be kept in stock. Players interested in ERG now know who Rondo Music is, but that momentum could ruined with the release of a perceptionally inferior product (because really the 499$ job could end up being a fine guitar).

Truthfully, if the 499$ was released first, then I probably would'nt have as much of an issue, but to release the PRO and then go "backwards" just seems like a bad idea to me.

Put another way, what would have happened if the Iinterceptor Pro was released first (assuming it had the version 2 improvements), THEN the Interceptor (assuming it has the same version 1 issues)?

[Drew]

honestly, dude, even the 7's are departures for Rondo. How many $650 Rondos can you think of that aren't sevens?

Their business niche is making solid playing affordable guitars. They've done very well over the years doing this, producing $200-500 guitars based on "traditional" designs that can compare well to their more expensive bretheren, and have developed quite the following on internet discussion boards. Kurt's already taken kind of a gamble by even considering an 8 here; asking him to rethink his entire business model seems a little much, just because you want to see a bigger Rondo, you know?

Right now they're in a pretty good place, a lot of people say their strat style and LP style guitars are as good as if not better than the real thing. In short, they're reputed to be a great "bargain" builder, making "namebrand-quality" guitars for a hell of a lot less than the name brands. It's a little tough to drop that overnight and try to remarket yourself as a botique builder, and it's a HELL of a lot harder to market yourself as a botique builder while continuing to produce budget models like this, something that is seriously augmented by the fact that we're talking 8 string guitars, a design with an already limited appeal.

My personal thoughts are that based on specs I'm more interested in the "budget" model than the "pro" model; maple board (probable), passive pickups, ash (probable) body. As long as it's anything but black, lol.

[TemjinStrife]

Originally Posted by Drew

As long as it's anything but black, lol.

+1. I have far, far too many black guitars.

Also, the ERG market is a teeny niche of the guitar-buying public. Investing in and building a whole bunch of $1000+ 8-strings is not only risky and against previous business practices for Rondo, but it also puts them in direct competition with Ibanez and ESP, who are much more established names and generally something Rondo seeks to avoid... plus, for that money most would buy the Ibanez or ESP simply on name recognition.

Cheap 8-strings are not a dime a dozen, and I think Rondo would do better to release the lower-priced ones and stick with them, as that stands out far more than just trying to compete with other brands. It also marks them as forward-thinking, which can be a bad thing in some guitar circles, but is a good thing in my book and probably in many of your books as well!

[Cancer]

Originally Posted by TemjinStrife

Cheap 8-strings are not a dime a dozen, and I think Rondo would do better to release the lower-priced ones and stick with them, as that stands out far more than just trying to compete with other brands. It also marks them as forward-thinking, which can be a bad thing in some guitar circles, but is a good thing in my book and probably in many of your books as well!

I can understand this logic, the whole "going where your competitors aren't" sorta thing, and it does make good business sense. Ultimately I think it would cool to see a "bigger Rondo" especially since he seems to listen to us more than Ibanez has lately. That said, I also relaize that being "bigger" comes with it own share of problems.