The quality gap between foreign and american made guitars is closing fast.

[Boumtje-Boumtje]

I was playing an ibanez af105f today...holy {censored}....

 

 

But that got me thinking, it seems like the quality foreign made guitars is getting the point where it is on par with american brands. It seems like the quality of american brands such as gibson, has gotten worse, while brands like ibanez has drastically improved the quality of their import. Now, some american brands just plain rock, but $3000 for a guitar?

 

What's your take on it?

[atxstrat]

Yeah alot of guitars being made overseas are absolutely mind blowing considering how cheap you can get them. The squier classic vibe series are wonderful and easily match the quality of alot of $600-700 guitars. American made guitars are certainly expensive, but when you get a good one it sure is worth it!

[Kelly]

The Japanese were kicking Fender and Gibson's butts in the early 80's. This thread should be titled "It looks like American guitars are finally on par with foreign guitars."

[ganjaseed]

I was playing an ibanez af105f today...holy {censored}.... But that got me thinking, it seems like the quality foreign made guitars is getting the point where it is on par with american brands. It seems like the quality of american brands such as gibson, has gotten worse, while brands like ibanez has drastically improved the quality of their import. Now, some american brands just plain rock, but $3000 for a guitar? What's your take on it?

 

Welcome to the 80's

[Alecto]

 

The Japanese were kicking Fender and Gibson's butts in the early 80's. This thread should be titled "It looks like American guitars are finally on par with foreign guitars."

 

 

Yeah, that's been the situation for over 30 years now. Ibanez, Yamaha and Fernandes started kicking serious ass with their lawsuit copies when Fender and Gibson's QC declined in the mid to late 1970's. Early 80's Japanese made Squiers are vastly superior instruments to their equivalent MiA counterparts of the time.

 

Fender appears to be wearing their clever pants again with the new MiA 2008's, but Gibson needs to get their game back together.

 

I went to Victor Wooten's bass camp with a guy who had possibly the best Jazz bass I've ever heard. And it had Ibanez on the headstock.

[Zappa74]

The asian made guitars are getting better. No doubt.

 

I wouldn't say that the American made guitars are getting worse though.

[GarysBlues]

Well when you talk production line then there's a lot of room for interpretation. But when you talk Custom Shop and hand built? There's not much thats on the level with USA.

[D Carroll]

The best guitar I ever played was an import... It was Italian, but still...

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

But that got me thinking, it seems like the quality foreign made guitars is getting the point where it is on par with american brands.

Yeah, my Ruokangas is a pretty decent guitar.

[Surfdude]

So I saved up my whole life for a Gibson and I could have had an Ibanez that is just as good for $300.00? What a moron I am.

 

Surfy

[cross.bones]

You have to remember that the Tooling and automation in the far east is superior to the US, in the sense that the low end can keep a very good consistant level of quality.

 

The East has also had hundreds, of not thousands, of years more experience in woodworking than in the west and the timber can be superior on the high end guitars.

 

Im still yet to see any well known builder or luthier from china, japan or korea. At least to the extent of what we have in the UK and US!

[GarysBlues]

Look don't kid yourself, tooling makes NO-Difference. GREAT guitars are HAND BUILT.

 

I agree that Japan builds great guitars. I have a MIJ Prestige Ibanez. BTW it is the BEST OHSC I onw that came with the Prestige.

 

I've owned early 80's Tokais, Edwards, ESPs MIJ Fenders, Ibanez, and Greco. They are all very good made electrics.

 

They do NOT come close to the hand crafted guitars in the USA. And I'll take the craftsmanship of the USA ANYDAY.

 

When you talk BANG for the BUCK? Thats a different story. Their are some very well made inexpensive electrics out here now.

 

But you can't put the build of a {censored}ing CNC Machined electric next to a Hand Built Hamer or Fender or Gibson.............Never mind guys like Terry McInturff, Wayne Charvel, Jackson, Suhr, Anderson, etc etc etc. Just cannot compare them, they don't stand up!

[zenbu]

 

But when you talk Custom Shop and hand built? There's not much thats on the level with USA.

 

 

sorry, just not so. you`d have to come to Japan to see the best they`re building these days `cause it doesn`t get exported. You may be in for a bit of a shock.

[No Soul]

 

Look don't kid yourself, tooling makes NO-Difference. GREAT guitars are HAND BUILT. I agree that Japan builds great guitars. I have a MIJ Prestige Ibanez. BTW it is the BEST OHSC I onw that came with the Prestige. I've owned early 80's Tokais, Edwards, ESPs MIJ Fenders, Ibanez, and Greco. They are all very good made electrics. They do NOT come close to the hand crafted guitars in the USA. And I'll take the craftsmanship of the USA ANYDAY. When you talk BANG for the BUCK? Thats a different story. Their are some very well made inexpensive electrics out here now. But you can't put the build of a {censored}ing CNC Machined electric next to a Hand Built Hamer or Fender or Gibson.............Never mind guys like Terry McInturff, Wayne Charvel, Jackson, Suhr, Anderson, etc etc etc. Just cannot compare them, they don't stand up!

 

 

I have to STRONGLY disagree with you.

 

First of all, lets not fool ourselves here.

 

THERE IS NO MAGIC TRICK TO BUILDING A GOOD GUITAR!

Its a VERY VERY simple device, and design wise it really hasnt changed much, esp electric guitars.

I dont care what any PRS propaganda tells you, you cant tap tune a solid body. It doesent work that way.

 

I find it HILARIOUS that all but ONE of the "high end" guitar builders you site are nothing more than Strat clone makers. . .

Wow! Hand made copies of the original mass produced guitar? Leo Fender would {censored} himself stupid if he could see this.

 

Now, Im going to take a guess and say all the "lawsuit" era Japanese guitars you owned were low end models?

I own vintage american guitars from the 40s, 50s (a les paul as a matter of fact) and 60s. I also have a small collection of Japanese "lawsuits" High end Japanese guitars have been on par with high end american offers for nearly 30 years now. Hell, price points being equal, the Japanese SLAY the Americans. My 81 Tokai is the one and ONLY guitar in my collection that I will NEVER give up.

 

As a Gibson dealer, I dont want to slice my own throat by saying this, but compare say a 900 dollar Edwards or Tokai Les Paul to a 900 dollar Gibson Les Paul (the studio faded) and the Gibson is just DESTROYED!

 

You want really HIGH end stuff? Check out Navigator as an example.

They made guitars with hand carved fret nibs that were actually part of the fret board/neck wood!

Id LOVE to see fender or gibson custom pull that one off on more than one guitar.

 

 

I hate to break it to you guys, but Asians have an INCREDIBLY rich history of lutherie. If you want to be provincial (and in same cases outright racist) thats your perogative.

[zenbu]

most Asian cultures were working wood for centuries before America was even a thought in any Europeans mind, actually the Europeans were too. As suggested above, guitars are quite simple devices, if Americans want to think theirs are the best thats OK, the Japanese feel the same way too, the French probably feel the same about their top end guitars, the Germans etc etc etc. Who freakin cares? I buy what I like and accord that privilege to all players.

[C-4]

While Gibson does have some great guitars mixed in with some middle-of-the-road gear, I find that if you obtain a great one, it stands up to anything.

Same with every other company out there, world-wide. If you find a great one, it can stand up to anything made anywhere.

I would love to try a Nik Huber guitar. I don't think it can get any better then that, but as with anything else, you have to like that style of guitar, or it just isn't for you.

 

Imho, it gets down to the wood chosen, and the quality of the hardware and electronics. I feel that any company in Japan, Europe, and america can turn out a superb guitar, but the thing is that the player has to enjoy playing on that given style of guitar. Once you find the company that makes the style of guitar you prefer, anything is possible.

[roygbiv]

[sonowilson]

Its my guess that the reason you can't find a lot of high end foreign instruments in the U.S. is because easy access to those instruments would really hurt traditional U.S. instruments.

 

If major U.S. manufacturers had nothing to fear then why aren't these foreign guitars as easy to purchase as the high end U.S. stuff?

 

Ex. Everyone praise Edwards quality but you have to jump through some hoops to get one. Buying from overseas is intimidating for someone who has never done it.

[Splashproof]

They do NOT come close to the hand crafted guitars in the USA.!

 

That's bollocks

You talk through your arse sir.

 

 

Get with the program , smell the tea and bisuits.

 

Gibson are so far behind in skilled labour your heading back into the wardrobe towards Narnia.

[ermghoti II]

 

Look don't kid yourself, tooling makes NO-Difference. GREAT guitars are HAND BUILT... But you can't put the build of a {censored}ing CNC Machined electric next to a Hand Built Hamer or Fender or Gibson.............Never mind guys like Terry McInturff, Wayne Charvel, Jackson, Suhr, Anderson, etc etc etc. Just cannot compare them, they don't stand up!

 

 

I'm pretty sure CNC is used on every production Gibson and Fender made, custom shop or not.

[Acid Test]

The only surprise in this thread is that the original post is from 2008.

[zenbu]

bollocks...I love that word.

[ten56gibby]

I forget who said it on here, but "Any guitar costs $300. The name on the headstock is what you're paying for beyond that."

 

I believe American-made guitars are FAR overpriced.

[Burningleaves]

 

I was playing an ibanez af105f today...holy {censored}.... But that got me thinking, it seems like the quality foreign made guitars is getting the point where it is on par with american brands. It seems like the quality of american brands such as gibson, has gotten worse, while brands like ibanez has drastically improved the quality of their import. Now, some american brands just plain rock, but $3000 for a guitar? What's your take on it?

 

 

 

 

You can spend $3000 for a guitar made in Japan. But at any rate....I think MIJ guitars have been on par with USA made models for decades now. MIJ's (imo) seem to edge out USA overall when it comes to QC from what I have encountered over the years.

 

 

The other "import" countries are def' catching up now that they have modern factories and machines to help build the guitars.

[ElviraG]

 

Look don't kid yourself, tooling makes NO-Difference. GREAT guitars are HAND BUILT.

 

 

If there's a real difference between a $300 guitar and a $3000 one it's in the selection of the materials rather than machine made versus hand built. There's nothing that you can do by hand that machines can't do equally well and machines don't have bad days either.