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

[relva3]

I don't sit home and contemplate this stuff. I buy what feels good in my hands and that I think I can use to make the best music. Playability is the biggest factor.

I have American, Mexican, Korean, and one made out of Fender parts from America and Japan. My top #1 guitar is a mexican. All the others I feel are equal, equally losers to #1!

[shredtilurded]

I mean we have Marshall, but they {censored}ing break down every two minutes.

They must export the good ones over here then because I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

[Orange Jackson]

I think we get the idea that Chinese stuff is junk because of walmat. But that stuff was made to be cheep in the first place.


They can craft some awesome {censored} no doubt.


Rock and Roll is (mostly) an American vibe. So something can be said for an American guitar maker, who has gown up surrounded by that vibe, designing your guitar.

Probably most of the guitars assembled in asia are designed in the US though, no?

[Chairborne]

I don't sit home and contemplate this stuff. I buy what feels good in my hands and that I think I can use to make the best music. Playability is the biggest factor. I have American, Mexican, Korean, and one made out of Fender parts from America and Japan. My top #1 guitar is a mexican. All the others I feel are equal, equally losers to #1!

My pedigrees are:

USA
Canada
Mexico
South Korea
Japan
Taiwan
China
Indonesia

I believe in cultural diversity.

There is a learning curve with countries and guitars however. The first Chinese guitars I came across were absolute trash, now they make pretty good stuff for cheap. Same thing with Indonesia. For a long time I wouldn't own an Indonesian guitar, but then this certain LTD came along and it ain't half-bad.

That said, my top go-to guitars are all USA. And they all say Gibson, Hamer or Reverend on them.

[Burningleaves]

I think we get the idea that Chinese stuff is junk because of walmat. But that stuff was made to be cheep in the first place. They can craft some awesome {censored} no doubt. Rock and Roll is (mostly) an American vibe. So something can be said for an American guitar maker, who has gown up surrounded by that vibe, designing your guitar. Probably most of the guitars assembled in asia are designed in the US though, no?

 

 

Some good points.

 

 

Take for example Gibsons Epi factory in China. What they are doing is making guitars to the spec's Gibson wants them to be made to using the material they want them to use. The Epi' factory no doubt if given the go ahead could make guitars to the spec's of the models made in Gibsons USA shops. Same with Fenders Mexico plant.

[Ferdinandstrat]

Ibanez is one of the greatest examples IMO.

[Cold Gin]

in production methods and improving on production quality standards ...

Too bad they are not that innovative when it comes to guitar design. Maybe one day they will stop copying American guitars and start getting creative and build something that's their own, something Asian. lol

the Asians are all about scientific precision the north Americans were about sentimental tradition...

False. Again, the Asians are great in copying American methods, science, technologies while Americans innovate and create. This is the case not only in guitar manufacturing but also in the car industry, computers, medicine, defence industry etc. To give you an example, the computer you are right now typing on and the internet were both American inventions, not Asian.

[Help!I'maRock!]

the best guitars i own are still production line instruments. PRS, Taylor, Rickenbacker. all are made with CNC machines and put together with assembly line production. i'll put them up against a "handmade" guitar anytime.

[ihavenofish]

Too bad they are not that innovative when it comes to guitar design. Maybe one day they will stop copying American guitars and start getting creative and build something that's their own, something Asian. lol

and that will be the day when american customers are willing to buy something innovative instead of 50 year old badly designed crap.

False. Again, the Asians are great in copying American methods, science, techniques while Americans innovate and create. This is the case not only in guitar manufacturing but also in the car industry, computers, medicine, defence industry etc. To give you an example, the computer you are right now typing on and the internet were both American inventions, not Asian.

actually, most of what they copy and "make better" (or worse) is european designs, not american. in fact most of what the americans copy is european designs. computers are one of the few things that have strong roots in the US - granted their programming was invented by a brit 100 years earlier.

but to get to the point: countries dont invent or build things, PEOPLE do. smart creative and entrepeneurial people live in every country. building an electric guitar is something a monkey can do. they only reason people in countries like china and indonesia arent known for high end guitars (yet) are because theres no market for them. noone asks them to make any. japan on the other hand has shops every bit on par with any other builder in the world.

[Cold Gin]

^^

You are so {censored}ing wrong you have no clue. Cars, electric guitars, computers, internet, electric amplifiers, rock 'n' roll, jazz, blues, television, space ships etc etc....ALL American inventions.
Take a look at how many Americans take the Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry and medicine and compare that number to Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia are far behind.
Sucks to be non-American eh??

[csm]

^^ You are so {censored}ing wrong you have no clue. Cars, electric guitars, computers, internet, electric amplifiers, rock 'n' roll, jazz, blues, television, space ships etc etc....ALL American inventions. Take a look at how many Americans take the Noble Prize in physics, chemistry and medicine and compare that number to Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia is far behind. Sucks to be non-American eh??

Not nearly as much as it sucks not to be able to spell 'NOBEL Prize.'

[ermghoti II]

This is not nearly as absurd as a thread on another forum where somebody was insisting American cars were better than Japanese.

[ihavenofish]

^^ You are so {censored}ing wrong you have no clue. Cars, electric guitars, computers, internet, electric amplifiers, rock 'n' roll, jazz, blues, television, space ships etc etc....ALL American inventions. Take a look at how many Americans take the Noble Prize in physics, chemistry and medicine and compare that number to Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia is far behind. Sucks to be non-American eh??

 

uh.. cars were german, americans didnt get involved with cars till they were already commonplace in most of western europe. computer programming language was invented by ada lovelace in the 1840's - in englnad - gasp!. the first television system was invented in germany in 1884. farnsworth based all his work on the patents and designs of russians, brits and germans. he "refined" the television, he didnt "invent" it. thats what america has been known for, refining and perfecting other peoples inventions.

 

actually, alot of what americans belive are american inventions are actually not.

 

the light bulb for example was not invented by thomas edison (hint: it wasnt an american)

 

wonder what the ES in the gibson ES-335 stand for?

[Cold Gin]

This is not nearly as absurd as a thread on another forum where somebody was insisting American cars were better than Japanese.

 

 

 

I would not say better but they are sure a helluva lot cooler. I mean I'll take a corvette before a toyota anytime, anyday.

[ganjaseed]

^^ You are so {censored}ing wrong you have no clue. Cars, electric guitars, computers, internet, electric amplifiers, rock 'n' roll, jazz, blues, television, space ships etc etc....ALL American inventions. Take a look at how many Americans take the Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry and medicine and compare that number to Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia are far behind. Sucks to be non-American eh??

[Cold Gin]

uh.. cars were german, americans didnt get involved with cars till they were already commonplace in most of western europe. computer programming language was invented by ada lovelace in the 1840's - in englnad - gasp!. the first television system was invented in germany in 1884. farnsworth based all his work on the patents and designs of russians, brits and germans. he "refined" the television, he didnt "invent" it. thats what america has been known for, refining and perfecting other peoples inventions. actually, alot of what americans belive are american inventions are actually not. the light bulb for example was not invented by thomas edison (hint: it wasnt an american) wonder what the ES in the gibson ES-335 stand for?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_inventions


Read and weep my ignorant friend.

BTW, are you Microsoft or Apple user? You should perhaps switch to some obscure European or Asian software...

[Cold Gin]

:facepalm:

[ihavenofish]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_inventions Read and weep my ignorant friend. BTW, are you Microsoft or Apple user? You should perhaps switch to some obscure European or Asian software...

like linux?

[relva3]

Unix?

[Boumtje-Boumtje]

But let's face it, america sucks now.

[dcooper830]

THIS. By the way, I play Gibson because I like them. I don't stand on a god damn soap box and deride other people for playing "lesser guitars," or get all pissy when people say their Agiles are comparable to Gibsons. {censored}, maybe to them, they are. Who gives two {censored}s, at the end of the day I'm just playing my guitar, not pleasuring myself to how much better it is than some other guy's.

I couldn't have said it better.

[DavidMgT]

But let's face it, america sucks now.

 

 

I wont even respond to this. I will, however, place you on my ignore list:thu:

[ihavenofish]

I wont even respond to this. I will, however, place you on my ignore list:thu:

 

 

ignore-ance is bliss?

[DavidMgT]

ignore-ance is bliss?

 

 

yes!

[CompleteGuitard]

^^ You are so {censored}ing wrong you have no clue. Cars, electric guitars, computers, internet, electric amplifiers, rock 'n' roll, jazz, blues, television, space ships etc etc....ALL American inventions. Take a look at how many Americans take the Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry and medicine and compare that number to Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia are far behind. Sucks to be non-American eh??

 

You should take some history classes, and maybe get out of the country once or twice. Travelling really opens your eyes a little bit, its a very valuable experience. Theres a lot of valuable contributions to technology that happen in each country. Brand new inventions are a relatively rare thing, most often people take some product and innovate it in a new way, or improve upon it. The things you are speaking on evolved, they were not just "concieved" one day by an american. Each of these things traces roots to other parts of the world, or stages of development. For example, Rock and Roll comes from Blues, which was the music of slaves. Slaves were removed from Africa, so blues carries roots of traditional African music.

 

The whole lightbulb fiasco was another thing entirely. There is a wonderful book which documents the story by a neurologist named Oliver Sacks. If you haven't read anything by him I suggest you do. The book is called "Uncle Tungsten". It was a series of competing technologies, each with different advantages and disadvantages. Its more a fluke than anything that edison's take on the lightbulb won out. He didn't "invent" it. He formatted it.

 

My point is, Don't discount the rest of the world because its "non-American". Thats silly, xenophobic, and just backwards. Each country has useful things to offer.