those guys have way more scale/volume and produce most of their volume outside of japan (indonesia, china, korea, USA)
Caparison must pay japanese workers, in yen, to make guitars with parts/woods bought in yen. they are 100% exposed to the current high value of the yen
of course, the inner financials of all these companies are unknown, so i am just theorizing here
You're forgetting the Chatting Bird line of guitars, which are Caparison's imports.
I don't see how Caparison paying a third, Japanese party to build their guitars is too much different from Ibanez who also pays a third, Japanese party to build their guitars.
Of course economy of scale can be factored in, and it makes a difference, but whether that difference it big enough to make a 100% price difference is debatable. Though, I guess we'll never know.
whenever you move a bridge further away from the tuners, you increase the scale length. When you increase the scale length, you increase the tension on the same set of strings that you use on a shorter scale. think about tuning the same set of strings on a baritone scale to the same tuning as you would on a standard scale, you get greater tension, end of story. basic physics. the same is true on an HGS, the tension IS slightly higher, without a doubt. try tuning your HGS Horus with the same string to drop B, and then tune your standard Horus to Drop B with the same strings. I have done it. and played them side-by-side. There IS a difference. without a doubt. Basic physics. End of story. Is 3mm a huge difference? depends on your strings and tuning. But, when diggin into subterranean lows? EASILY a difference.
Also, Max, you have gone through plenty of high-end guitars man, we are both gear whores. On an equal level to be sure man!
Though they're not changing the scale, they're just moving the bridge. There's a big difference between the two. The scale is remaining the same, thus you're going to be intonating at the same point as the 12th fret (and all other frets) are in the same location.
I've moved bridges on many guitars, some as much as .5" and it doesn't effect string tension. What it effects is the range of intonation.
The scale of a guitar is NOT the distance from the nut to bridge plate, it's two times the distance from nut to 12th fret. On traditionally fretted instruments the scales are not finite, hence why the saddles at the bridge are arranged in a step pattern. Take a regular Caparison and it's HGS equivalent and measure from the nut to the 12th fret, if the distance is the same (which it's advertised as) then the scales are identical, regardless of bridge placement.
The Caparisons I have played (three Dellingers, a TAT, and a Dellinger 7 Trem) all had quality similar to middle of the road Prestiges (~$1100) and Standard Series ESP (~$1400) they have not been on par with the ESP Customs or J.Customs I've played, worked on, or owned.
Not to say all Caparisons don't measure up, but the ones I've played which now go for $2400 don't.
