A visit to a Vietnamese Guitar factory

[sixgunner455]

That is a cool guitar, Etienne. Nice job.

And since nobody has said it in a while, thanks for posting all of those pictures of the factory. I have loved this thread since you started it.

[GuitarVlog]

Oh-la-la! Really love that tone! (Even through that Canon mic)

[fastblueheeler]

That is a cool guitar, Etienne. Nice job. And since nobody has said it in a while, thanks for posting all of those pictures of the factory. I have loved this thread since you started it.

+1

[Etienne Rambert]

 

Oh-la-la! Really love that tone! (Even through that Canon mic)

 

 

That Canon mic is pretty good. I was sitting 8 or 9 feet from it.

It does justice to the brightness, the volume & the natural reverb of

this guitar. But it misses a little on the low-mids. The guitar has

a warmer tone than comes through in that video.

 

Even so, what you hear - is what it is. I've never played an arch-top that

matches it in acoustic volume. And that natural acoustic reverb is really

sweet. It's a big, loud, bright-sounding arch-top.

 

BTW, I'm playing it with Nano .10's. Imagine how loud it would be

if I strung it with .12's.

 

NloqXuE_cdg

[kakalama]

hey marcellis, do u no the exact address to the guitar factory? also can mr binh make custom made acoustic guitars that look like the shape of a beatle bass?

[NealP]

 

Let me know how it sounds. I recorded it on the internal mic of my CANON FS200.

 

 

 

It sounds great! Looks good too. Let's hear the un-amplified tone though. That's always a better judge than through an amp.

[jd-drafter]

It sounds great! Looks good too. Let's hear the un-amplified tone though. That's always a better judge than through an amp.

 

 

If I am not mistaken the first portion of the clip is un-amplified. you can see him adjust the tone/volume at the beginning... then when he starts explaining the pickup he again adjusts the tone/volume and highlights the amplified tone.

 

That was my take on it.

[Mediterranean]

Jolies photos!

[NealP]

 

If I am not mistaken the first portion of the clip is un-amplified. you can see him adjust the tone/volume at the beginning... then when he starts explaining the pickup he again adjusts the tone/volume and highlights the amplified tone. That was my take on it.

 

 

Could be, I thought I heard amplifier though. If nothing else, it's his first vid on these, so maybe letting us know the amplified, and then the un-amplified would be good thing to avoid confusion about that.

[Etienne Rambert]

 

Could be, I thought I heard amplifier though. If nothing else, it's his first vid on these, so maybe letting us know the amplified, and then the un-amplified would be good thing to avoid confusion about that.

 

 

Brilliant.

 

You are hearing it unamplified.

 

1. The first 15 seconds -- I have the volume ON. You're hearing

it through the amp.

 

2. Then I talk.

 

3. At 1:38, I stop talking & turn the volume completely OFF.

(The observant viewer will note I turn the volume & tone knobs.

The alert listener will detect a change in tone.)

 

4. From 1:38 until about 3:30 to it's totally unamplified. The reverb & the

volume you hear are coming from the pure acoustic sound of the instrument.

The alert listener will also notice I am discussing the instrument's ACOUSTIC

tone and volume.

 

5. At about 3:35, I start talking about the pick-up. I turn the volume & tone

knobs up again. And at about 4:20 or so, I start playing again. The alert

listener will detect a pronounced change in tone. That's because it's now

amplified.

 

The alert listener will also notice that I announce, "I'm running it through

the Kent Armstrong and the Roland AC60 amp,". That, coupled with my

turning the knobs & the resulting change in tone, would lead to the conclusion

that the guitar is now amplified.

 

And it stays amplified the rest of the video.

 

I hope this video will ignite as much controversy as the Zapruder film.

And I welcome detailed forensic analysis from skeptics & conspiracy buffs.

[NealP]

 

Brilliant. You are hearing it unamplified. 1. The first 15 seconds -- I have the volume on. 2. Then I talk. 3. At 1:38, I stop talking & turn the volume completely off. (The observant viewer will note I turn the volume & tone knobs. The alert listener will detect a change in tone.) 4. From 1:38 until about 3:30 to it's totally unamplified. The reverb & the volume you hear are coming from the pure acoustic sound of the instrument. 5. At about 3:35, I start talking about the pick-up. I turn the volume & tone knobs up again. And at about 4:20 or so, I start playing again. The alert listener will detect a pronounced change in tone. That's because it's now amplified. The alert listener will also notice that I announce, "I'm running it through the Kent Armstrong and the Roland AC60 amp," . That, coupled with my turning the knobs, would lead to the conclusion that the guitar is now amplified. And it stays amplified the rest of the video.

 

 

Etienne, judging from the tone of your response, I take it you aren't happy with my response. I'm just telling it like I heard it. Are my ears perfect? No. Should we be alert and attentive to every thing someone puts in a sales, or a demo video? Only those acutely interested, and it should be no cause for irritation when one of your listeners does not.

 

My suggestion to you in the future with your demo videos would be to explicitly state these things, and don't expect "alert" listeners, take the advice or don't, it's advice freely given, and freely forgotten if you wish. No harm, no foul.

 

I'm also curious as to the letter writer you quote, and let's not be coy. You know, and I know, and whoever reads this knows what the concerns are for those guitars were that were mentioned in this thread, and they have nothing to do with the "accusations" that your correspondent wrote to you. I am not trying to raise them again, and am not trying to be derisive now. I thought the guitar sounded great, and it looked good, but your over-dramatization just brings up concern for folks that have not even read this thread. Y'know, to quote Shakespeare "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". And I'm not calling you a lady, either. I only say this because it may detract from your credibility in a short video viewed by, well 60 so far, but that number will grow. I'm also the only one so far that put a thumbs up on it, but that may have changed too.

 

So let's just chill and not be at each other's throats, ok?

 

Also, I like that pickup. I have 2 slimlines of that type, one a Flatbucker made in Italy, and the other the new National slimline on my both of my Nationals. But that Kent is a good one. Mine are lowly Humbuckers, but sound great.

[Etienne Rambert]

 

Etienne, judging from the tone of your response, I take it you aren't happy with my response. I'm just telling it like I heard it. Are my ears perfect? No. Should we be alert and attentive to every thing someone puts in a sales, or a demo video? Only those acutely interested, and it should be no cause for irritation when one of your listeners does not. My suggestion to you in the future with your demo videos would be to explicitly state these things, and don't expect "alert" listeners, take the advice or don't, it's advice freely given, and freely forgotten if you wish. No harm, no foul. I'm also curious as to the letter writer you quote, and let's not be coy. You know, and I know, and whoever reads this knows what the concerns are for those guitars were that were mentioned in this thread, and they have nothing to do with the "accusations" that your correspondent wrote to you. I am not trying to raise them again, and am not trying to be derisive now. I thought the guitar sounded great, and it looked good, but your over-dramatization just brings up concern for folks that have not even read this thread. Y'know, to quote Shakespeare "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". And I'm not calling you a lady, either. I only say this because it may detract from your credibility in a short video viewed by, well 60 so far, but that number will grow. I'm also the only one so far that put a thumbs up on it, but that may have changed too. So let's just chill and not be at each other's throats, ok? Also, I like that pickup. I have 2 slimlines of that type, one a Flatbucker made in Italy, and the other the new National slimline on my both of my Nationals. But that Kent is a good one. Mine are lowly Humbuckers, but sound great.

 

 

For the record. Nicholas T. Dickless is not Neil P. He just sounds like NeilP.

 

NT Dickless has sent a follow-up email to me. And so has his mother.

They're not happy. But it turns out I knew his mother quite well.

I've never met NeilP or his mother.

 

I'll read their emails next review, after I get back from the holiday.

[NealP]

 

For the record. Nicholas T. Dickless is not Neil P. He just sounds like NeilP. NT Dickless has sent a follow-up email to me. And so has his mother. They're not happy. But it turns out I knew his mother quite well. I've never met NeilP or his mother. I'll read their emails next review, after I get back from the holiday.

 

 

 

So I guess my olive branch was rejected.. ah well. I tried.

 

Good luck to you, luck may come in handy.

[jamesp]

I got it. That guitar sounds great Marc.

[Etienne Rambert]

 

So I guess my olive branch was rejected.. ah well. I tried. Good luck to you, luck may come in handy.

 

 

Luck usually comes in handy. Otherwise, it wouldn't be 'luck', would it?

 

NeilP wrote that one had a better chance of winning the lottery than of

buying a good guitar from Vietnam. That would mean I have won the lottery

eight times. Only an idiot would believe I have won the lottery 8 times.

 

NT Dickless is not an idiot, neither was his Mom.

[NealP]

 

Hi All. Update. Unfortunately, my VN guitar didn't take the change in humidity well. After a few weeks back in the states, the wood had begun to warp a little. The back of the body has developed some ripples. You can't see them, but you can feel them when you pass your hand over the inlays. The worst part is that the neck now has a sharp angle at the 14th fret, right where it joins the body. The angle is towards the back of the guitar, so all of the strings bottom out at the 14th fret. It's too much to be corrected with the truss rod, and this isn't the kind of bow a truss rod was intended to fix anyway. The guitar is unplayable in it's current condition. Mind you, the guitar still looks great (other than when you sight down the fretboard). I've talked to a luthier here about it. He recommended I wait a little while and make sure the wood is finally settled before attempting to do anything about.

 

 

 

Well, only this guy I suppose.... and in this thread, no less. He did take it back to Vietnam for a fix, and Binh fixed it. I'm sure it's ok now.

 

Guitar:500.00

Vietnam trip: 2500.00

Guitar imploding on arrival to the US: Priceless...

 

Really, I lay out the olive branch, and you petulantly refuse it. As I said, guitars built in the kind of humidity in Binh's shop have a better than average chance of having serious issues when brought here. And waddya know, a bit of proof under our noses all along.

 

Now stop being an ass. Let's be friends, love is in the air.

 

Nighty night.

[Etienne Rambert]

I know amp surgeon. He gave me a fantastic fuzz pedal that he invented.

And I think he had other reasons for his return trip, than just getting his

guitar repaired.

 

I actually advised him away from a glossy finish.

I buy all my guitars with a matte finish. But people who

live in dry places need to humidify their guitars.

 

He lost the lottery. And I've won the lottery 8 times, eh?

I guess Lady Luck is like that. That's a Hell of a good lottery though.

8 to 1 you win?

 

I know an Aussie who buys a lot of these for export to Oz.

As I recall, he told me he has a 10% fail rate. So it would actually

be a 9 to 1 odds in your favor.

 

At 9 to 1 odds in my favor, I'd buy 10 tickets every day in that lottery.

 

But owners need to humidify their instruments if they live in a dry place--

unless their mothers will do it for them. And I advise people away from the

shiny finishes.

 

 

***

 

About this arch-top: I saw it in Binh's glass display one day. It was love

at first sight. A Japanese couple was in there. The man pointed out

to me that the F-holes were too large. I thanked him for the advice

and put a $100 deposit on the instrument.

 

That same week-end, I ran into the Aussie exporter. He told me,

"Damn you! You beat me to that big arch-top,"

 

I said, "Yup,".

 

Then he told me, he had ordered six just like it.

So there are at least 7 arch-tops in the world like this one.

Six of them are in Oz.

 

It cost me $225 new. Then I started modding it.

I wasn't happy with the binding on one side.

I paid Mr. Binh to tear it off and replace it.

 

Then I had the Schaller tuners put on & the Kent Armstrong.

Tail-piece has been replaced & the pick-guard has been

replaced. All told, I've probably spent $450 or so on it.

 

NloqXuE_cdg

 

One guy from a dry part of the Northwest will review his arch-top next week.

It's very different from mine. It's a nice guitar though.

[NealP]

Long, rambling post, Etty. No mention of putting this all behind us, just a worried deer-in-the-headlights sort of post. No, you can't just write long meaningless posts about nothing and hope this will fall off the page.

 

 

They DO look nice though, but good luck to the person that buys one. Unless you live in a steambath, of course..

 

 

 

Hi All. Update. Unfortunately, my VN guitar didn't take the change in humidity well. After a few weeks back in the states, the wood had begun to warp a little. The back of the body has developed some ripples. You can't see them, but you can feel them when you pass your hand over the inlays. The worst part is that the neck now has a sharp angle at the 14th fret, right where it joins the body. The angle is towards the back of the guitar, so all of the strings bottom out at the 14th fret. It's too much to be corrected with the truss rod, and this isn't the kind of bow a truss rod was intended to fix anyway. The guitar is unplayable in it's current condition. Mind you, the guitar still looks great (other than when you sight down the fretboard). I've talked to a luthier here about it. He recommended I wait a little while and make sure the wood is finally settled before attempting to do anything about.

 

[guitarcapo]

I've always been frustrated trying accurately demonstrate a guitar's sound via the internet. Everything records too tinny by the time it gets recorded by that tiny mic in the digital camera, and also gets replayed by those tiny computer speakers and all the stuff in between that makes it get compressed digitally...I find it to be an impossible task.

Of course you can record everything under better conditions....but even that is an artifical situation compared to how the guitar sounds when you play it on your couch...you can make an otherwise cheap sounding guitar sound great with the right recording equipment.

It sort of becomes this situation similar to quantum physics and the "Uncertainty prinicple" where any means of measuring something also interacts and affects the thing you are measuring, giving you imperfect results. People who criticize tone from a video demo really are off base taking a lot of stock in that.

[Chordchunker]

Maybe if you played something instead of just beating on it we could hear it better. Looks nice! I would still put one of these up against it.

 

kpr6suyjh_s

[Etienne Rambert]

 

 

 

I watched the entire clip.

 

Acoustically -- mine's louder. When the player of the burst model goes

unamplified, at about 3:00, he becomes much harder to hear, next to the

blonde.

 

It stands to reason. Those two guitars don't appear to be over 5" deep.

Mine has larger F-holes too, porting the sound.

 

The acoustic volume and the fact that I'm in at at

keeper. I'll give you this though, those two players are much better than I

am. And the pick-ups sound really good.

 

I compose Bossas sometimes. When I do, I usually play the nylon string.

I bought that arch-top specifically for Rockabilly. I get on a Scotty Moore

jag once in awhile. That's when I pick it up.

[BryanMichael]

It sounds great! Looks good too. Let's hear the un-amplified tone though. That's always a better judge than through an amp.

Are you serious man?? It was pretty DAMN easy to tell when the guitar was being amplified and when it wasn't in that clip. :facepalm:

[Etienne Rambert]

New page. Time to re-post the vid. And then I'm going to bed.

It's 2:15 in the morning where I am right now.

 

NloqXuE_cdg

 

I've got two expats who are going to do vids about their guitars.

One's a special-sounding flat-top & one is a normal size arch-top,

more like those Benedettos in size. It cost a lot less though.

I don't know if he bought a pick-up for it yet.

[NealP]

 

Hi All. Update. Unfortunately, my VN guitar didn't take the change in humidity well. After a few weeks back in the states, the wood had begun to warp a little. The back of the body has developed some ripples. You can't see them, but you can feel them when you pass your hand over the inlays. The worst part is that the neck now has a sharp angle at the 14th fret, right where it joins the body. The angle is towards the back of the guitar, so all of the strings bottom out at the 14th fret. It's too much to be corrected with the truss rod, and this isn't the kind of bow a truss rod was intended to fix anyway. The guitar is unplayable in it's current condition. Mind you, the guitar still looks great (other than when you sight down the fretboard). I've talked to a luthier here about it. He recommended I wait a little while and make sure the wood is finally settled before attempting to do anything about.

 

 

Which has me thinking about his "Lottery" remarks. What are the odds that the only guy from this forum to purchase one of these and bring it back to the US would have it fall apart like Amp_surgeon's did? Hmmm....

 

But hey, this is for those of you considering purchasing a guitar from a shop that has no climate control. Ya gets what ya pays for. I'm sure he stands behind his guitars though, just send it back to Vietnam if it does, and it most likely will.

[Chordchunker]

Acoustically -- mine's louder.

Is louder better? Or different? They (including your pacrim) have a volume knob.. All you have to do is turn it up at a gig. For a inexpensive guitar yours is fine , don`t get me wrong, but "better than a Benedetto" as you claimed in another of your posts is subjective.