No man, I get youre paying for the name and labour, but I was getting right down to the literals. In terms or materials, just materials, what is the difference between those $200 'strat pack' guitars and the strat Clapton uses....... Tone, Western craftsmanship, higher grade materials, marketing and technology research (but is is very basic and old technology by the standars of consumer products, tv, camera, pc etc.), but in terms of sheer materials; wood, metal, wire they will not be a million miles apart. The point that I am making is that all the little bits that make a great guitar great are not value for money, that doesnt mean to say I dont think guitars are good value. I think they are great value. At its most basic I am talking about the difference between trousers from Gautier and trousers from a market...........they are both cotton. Maybe $100 was a stretch, but I bet they sell top models at around 500% profit and more.

I didnt really explain myself well before and maybe I am not now but I think what I am trying to say is that the value of the guitar is in the head, but certainly not in the product. I think the value of a guitar in the mind of a player makes it worth more money than they are sold for.

My Mother offered to buy me a cheap car or a Swiss watch for my 21st birthday, I took the watch (I just wanted a card, really). Now I could have got a thousand watches from China for the price, so my watch is terrible value, shocking value. However, it has such sentimental value that I would sell my liver first before that watch and so it is worth a million times more than a 'made in China'. Priceless value. I put guitar in that bracket. I can barely play and I am in love.

I know I have rambled there. Sorry guys! Do you get what I mean though? I didnt mean to step on anybody's toes. I am dyslexic, so getting my point across in a couple of words isnt my forte.