The guys have kinda said it all above when it comes to the price for my Lotus models.
The time involved in just finding a piece of timber large enough to accomodate a neck/body/headstock single piece is prohibative. Added to that, the man hours involved in carving one & not having the neck warp is sometimes double or more the time involved in a traditional set neck. Lotus models often take well in excess of 6 months to make because of the time required to trim the neck down & avoid warpage. Whereas an Alpha model (the bolt on version of a Black lotus model 6) is typicaly finished in less than 3 months with time to spare.
So I charge a standard fee of €2000.00 for a Black Lotus, be it the 6 or the 247 model. Thats less than most factory standard models, So I personaly dont think its expensive. For what it is I feel the cost is fair, but I have been told I should up the cost by at the very least €1500.00. But I cant justify that kind of cost for such a simple instrument.
Westheman .
Yea i typicaly use walnut for these things, but I have done a few in Sapele, Limba & birds eye maple.
I know the guitars he tried out. I loaned 2 of my personal guitars to a local store to try them out. The lotus he tried was my own personal Black lotus 6 model. Its sapele.
The bolt on version is the shops own Alpha. its sapele with a birdseye neck.
So to answer you lobo, I charge double the cost of the bolt on because its a bitch to build a lotus compared to a standard, & the exclusivity of the model demands a higher cost
Although the prices I currently charge wont be around for ever, As I sell more, expand & my overheads rise, so will my prices. So get em while they are affordable