Not sure if it's guitars that are tanking. If they are, what instruments are taking it's place? Many publications are starting to tank. The internet is taking over. Stores are starting to tank also as internet shopping is growing and growing. I must admit, I prefer to shop at a page on the internet rather then drive and look through a store to find that they don't have what I was shopping for. I still like my guitars and basses. I recently sunk almost 3K in an old Fender Concert Amp and a reverb tank.

A part of it is like the prior thread discussed, young folk not gravitating to guitar hero style music, as in 60's and 70's and that wave rode a long time. The demise of guitar rags, guitar stores, on line vendors who became king, all was their own doing. They saturated the market with guitars. Many good ones. Lots of special editions. Tons and tons of cheap low line ones also, cheap Strats and Les Pauls and easy to find. Like trash ones. Glued together multi piece bodies, but they look pretty. Sort of.

They devalued their own products. I just sold a Gibby special (1995) that used to ebay at $1200 and if you get $800 now you are lucky. It was real inlay, binding, and a one piece body. But there are $900 new ones with shiney humbuckers and 5 piece bodies that newbies gravitate to. And so many they can't sell them. So not tooo sorry. When Townshend and Page and Clapton were buying guitars at shops, the shops were few and far between and very special. So it will be that way again. No big deal. Markets correct to demand, what a shock, it is called business. The crafty survive.