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Highest quality Korean-made guitars?


Goofball Jones

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I'll throw this out there, but I'm not voting as I have no idea where they stand in a contest against all others...but I've had two Korean made Kramers (Music Yo) owned by Gibson, made in the Samick factory that were far and away better than a G 400 Epiphone that was also made in Korea. The Kramers were very good.

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I tried a MIK PRS a few weeks ago and was mighty disappointed. Not only did it not compare to a real PRS, it didn't come close to my Rev Flatroc...

 

 

I think you must have played an exceptionally bad PRS then. I bet I've played 30 of them and they've ranged from good, to very good to very very good. Some folks don't like the necks, and I don't particularly care for the neck HBs on the SEs but the physical guitar itself... Very nice for the money.

 

If you are actually interested in them, I'd seek more of them out.

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I think you must have played an exceptionally bad PRS then. I bet I've played 30 of them and they've ranged from good, to very good to very very good. Some folks don't like the necks, and I don't particularly care for the neck HBs on the SEs but the physical guitar itself... Very nice for the money.


If you are actually interested in them, I'd seek more of them out.

 

 

price to features wise, PRS SE is not the greatest guitar coming out of korea. they arent bad in anyway. but i say that there are better guitars that offer WAY better features, and esthetically look better(unless you are into extreme minimalism) for a much lesser price. i think they are the most, if not, then one of the most expensive korean guitars out there for no particular reason other than the name 'prs' that is behind the SE line...

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I really like my Brian May guitar. The hardware is marked "Sung Il" but I don't know whether that's of any consequence.

 

The problem is that there is quite a bit of variability from one run to another. Some are fantastic--others have issues.

 

The guitar players for the Queen musical "We Will Rock You" get new Brian Mays every six months. They really liked the Burns versions, and there were positive comments on Brian May Guitars website about the new BMG version. One of the guitarists (I think that there are two for every show) said that there is a large amount of variability from one to another in terms of both tone an tuning stability, and they would sort them on that basis.

 

I think that this is the bottom line on Korean guitars--variability.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of us order them sight unseen.

 

The BMG's are $699 right now. I'd grab a couple if I had the cash.

 

Beefy Kent Armstrong Tri Sonic Pickups = maximum crunch. You don't have to even like Brian May--this is one hell of a beasty guitar. Put all three pickups in series and blow the roof off the dump.

 

bmg.jpg

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My Korean Ibanez SZ520QM is beautiful and sounds pretty hot and every SZ720 that I have played is like butter and sizzled amped up. I test drove a few brand newer Samick AV-3s a few weeks ago and they played good but sounded kind of sludgy when amped up. All of the Schecter C-1 Classics that I have played are great or better than the Ibanez's (but not at the higher cost). The LTDs that I have played are alright but not my cup of tea.

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price to features wise, PRS SE is not the greatest guitar coming out of korea. they arent bad in anyway. but i say that there are better guitars that offer WAY better features, and esthetically look better(unless you are into extreme minimalism) for a much lesser price. i think they are the most, if not, then one of the most expensive korean guitars out there for no particular reason other than the name 'prs' that is behind the SE line...

 

 

I COMPLETELY agree. Having said that, every PRS SE I've played has been a very decent instrument. And yeah, I can't think of a more expensive Korean guitar. Not sure what the Gretschs go for... they have Chinese instruments going for over a grand.

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Funny how Epiphone moved to China to improve quality and in my opinion their quality has never been worse. Unbelievable worksmanship in several examples I found in guitar center.

 

Honestly for just pure tone the Feder Lite Ash Teles are unbeatable. Easily rivaling their American cousins. One thing though, you'll likely need to get an action job and possible fret polishing to get it just right.

 

BTW, comparing a $599 PRS SE to a $2500-$3000 PRS is not realistic. The PRS SE is a nice guitar in its own right... But it is NOT a replacement for a real PRS and I don't think most people would consider it to be.

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how many factories in korea are actually making guitars?

 

 

As far as I know there are only 4 or 5 factories still working in Korea. Competition from China and new working laws in Korea are making things tough, they can't compete. Some Korean factories like the one that makes PRS are making hybrid guitars now, made in China finished in Korea. Pretty sneaky if you ask me since the price doesn't reflect it.

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I COMPLETELY agree. Having said that, every PRS SE I've played has been a very decent instrument. And yeah, I can't think of a more expensive Korean guitar. Not sure what the Gretschs go for... they have Chinese instruments going for over a grand.

 

 

Dean Hardtail, Epiphone (if any are made in Korea anymore), Washburn, Michael Kelly, Ibanez (plenty more expensive, but not sure where they are all made), Schecter, etc. These have models above and below the prices of the PRS Se's.

 

PRS are priced right in the middle of the Korean brands. Maybe high compared to most Agile. The pre-custom ones were priced a bit better, but for maple "caps", they are priced right there.

 

I have to admit that the Dean Hardtails are very nice for the money. I just wish I didn't find them so ugly.

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St. Blues, Reverend or MK.


I know St. Blues and Reverend are made in the same plant.

Not sure about MK

 

 

I think there might be two different sources for St. Blues - in addition to the beautiful remakes of the original Bluesmasters and Blues Kings, for a long time I was seeing these horrible chunk-of-{censored} looking Tele things with Strat pickguards slapped into them for like $250.

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price to features wise, PRS SE is not the greatest guitar coming out of korea. they arent bad in anyway. but i say that there are better guitars that offer WAY better features, and esthetically look better(unless you are into extreme minimalism) for a much lesser price. i think they are the most, if not, then one of the most expensive korean guitars out there for no particular reason other than the name 'prs' that is behind the SE line...

 

 

I would agree. Out of the Korean guitars that I own, the PRS SE is the weakest.

Not saying that it is bad, or poorly made, just that it's not up to par with my Fenders, St. Blues or Schecter.

I would put it even with my Samick, which is a great guitar for the price.

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I think there might be two different sources for St. Blues - in addition to the beautiful remakes of the original Bluesmasters and Blues Kings, for a long time I was seeing these horrible chunk-of-{censored} looking Tele things with Strat pickguards slapped into them for like $250.

 

 

Are you talking to about older models or the relaunched line?

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