Members radomu Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 My second guitar now, a Hagstrom, is made in China, and it's built far superior to any Les Paul (rivals very well with Edwards) I've played in the past. I've played a couple of Squier Vintage series strats recently and... WOW, they've gotten better and better. Is China improving dramatically with guitar quality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrChitlins Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 My second guitar now, a Hagstrom, is made in China, and it's built far superior to any Les Paul (rivals very well with Edwards) I've played in the past. I've played a couple of Squier Vintage series strats recently and... WOW, they've gotten better and better.Is China improving dramatically with guitar quality? Companies contracting w/ Chinese factories to manufacture guitars seem to have improved materials, communications, training, equipment, & expectations enough that the average Chinese guitar is much better than 5 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 I think that the Chinese can build guitars as well as they are spec'ed. In previous years, they pretty much were only asked to build the absolute cheapest guitars. But now, with things like Limited Edition Epiphone LPs... I've played at least two Chinese Epiphones that I'd put on par with mid level Gibsons. On the Fender end, stock for stock, I'd rather have a Classic Vibe strat than about 80% of the MIM Standard Strats I've played. Basically, I don't know that the Chinese factories have 'stepped up their game' as much as they've been asked to build better guitars and have done so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 's mel gibson Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 They have no where else to go but up.Most manufacturing has been out sourced to China.They make most of everything on the shelves.Is IBM/Lenovo the last North American-no Chinese back door-computer?Canada's Armed Forces used them exclusively at The 2010 Winter Olympics. China doesn't copy much if they make it already.They just cloned a jump-jet.The Mac I'm on is MIC. They have no where else to go but up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brujo13 Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 yes they are getting better they should be thhey have been doing it for a while now. also i belive the Squier VM strats are made in India, at least mine is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 Is IBM/Lenovo the last North American-no Chinese back door-computer? Ummm. :poke: Lenovo is a Chinese company... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 I think they have been forced to become better, which is good. If they ever visited these formus, they would know quality has an impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kid Klash Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 Is China improving dramatically with guitar quality? Yes, no doubt about it. The current Squiers (including the SSS Bullet) are worlds apart, quality-wise, compared to the MIC Squiers of 5 years ago. I think China is progressing even faster with guitars than Japan did with cars and motorcycles. I can remember seeing the early Datsun, Toyota and Honda cars, and how they got laughed at, especially by Detroit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matt Gnarly Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 The way I see it is practice makes perfect. And as long as there is strict quality control of the factories there's no reason that Chinese guitars can't be top notch. I got a Gretsch Electromatic Pro Jet for Christmas and the quality is unreal (aside from lower quality pickups which are surprisingly decent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 Yeah, Lenove bought IBM computers several years ago. Everybody remember Kay/Harmony guitars? They built the majority of crap guitars sold during the 20th century. They were capable of building, and DID build some very nice guitars along with all the junk. When a distributor asks you to build a $100 guitar, that's what you get. Those Hagstroms, while Chinese, aren't exactly cheap. The Chinese manufacturers build what they are contracted to build. If you want to fault someone for that, fault the company that designed and spec'd the thing. The Chinese have been building some of the finest goods in the world for centuries. Mass production, porcelain, gunpowder, the printing press...... EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 Yeah, there are some great Chinese guitars. My Xaviere plays, sounds, and looks awesome. A change of strings and it was giggable. A few setup tweaks and it was perfect. New knobs, and a pickguard-ectomy... total beauty. I've since decided a solid body works best for my role in the band, but this still gets gigged at every show by our rhythm guitarist.HOWEVERThere is no such thing is a Chinese guitar that wouldn't benefit from a change of pots/caps/switches/jack (or "electronics" as we smug bastards call them). Them Chinese box type toggles are teh crapz. Mine went out. Sure, it withstood a solid year of ABUSE by someone who doesn't look after guitars with the best of em, but still, sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chqtarzan Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 Yeah, Lenove bought IBM computers several years ago. Everybody remember Kay/Harmony guitars? They built the majority of crap guitars sold during the 20th century. They were capable of building, and DID build some very nice guitars along with all the junk. When a distributor asks you to build a $100 guitar, that's what you get. Those Hagstroms, while Chinese, aren't exactly cheap. The Chinese manufacturers build what they are contracted to build. If you want to fault someone for that, fault the company that designed and spec'd the thing. The Chinese have been building some of the finest goods in the world for centuries. Mass production, porcelain, gunpowder, the printing press......EG Thank you and well said.Building guitar or Macbook, is not exactly high tech; Chinese manufacturers are capible of building macbook quality guitars, or ShenZhou7 if they are contracted too.Although, China still need to step up in manufacturing to play the game (better CPUs, better aeroengines etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkwire Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 yes they are getting better they should be thhey have been doing it for a while now. also i belive the Squier VM strats are made in India, at least mine is. VM? Do you mean CV? I thought those were made in Indonesia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkwire Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 And yes, I do think Chinese guitars are getting better. Like Elias said, it's what the market will bear. If a company wants a guitar that sells at a $100 price point, you're going to get a cheap guitar that they can still turn a profit on. I've beaten this dead horse before, but I'm old enough to remember when Japanese guitars were considered crap...well, yes, a lot of them were. Then Ibanez and Yamaha started turning heads back in the late 70s. Then it was "Korean guitars are crap"...then Mexico...China...Indonesia...India... Building guitars ain't rocket science, especially with the advent of CNC technology. For the record, I have 4 US-made guitars, 2 MIJ, 6 MIC, and 1 MII(ndonesia). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 They've still got quite a long ways to go though with the quality of their guitar cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 67mike Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 Yes. When you are at the bottom, you got nowhere to go , but up. I see you got a Hagstrom, you were quite bent on it...hope it meets your expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Snappy Hat Posted January 31, 2011 Members Share Posted January 31, 2011 Right, a society that can build structures like these out of wood and no nails for centuries would so so stymied by guitars. There quality is limited by what they are contracted to make at what cost they are given period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members radomu Posted February 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 "Korean guitars are crap" They're still rubbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members savoldi Posted February 1, 2011 Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 They're still rubbish. Nonsense. I've got a Korean-made Tele with humbuckers that's custom shop quality. Joe Walsh played one with the Eagles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted February 1, 2011 Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 Absolutely. But there is still plenty of crap out there. I have a Dean Evo X that streets for around $129 and it is horrid. The wood is some sort of soft fibrous substance that literally falls apart when you try to drive a screw into it. The hardware is way cheap. It feels like if you bumped it on a mic stand, the guitar would just disintegrate. Why do I have a cheap Chinese guitar? Well, for signatures, of course! John 5, Rob Zombie, Korn, Lamb of God, 5FDP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brujo13 Posted February 1, 2011 Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 VM? Do you mean CV?I thought those were made in Indonesia. I meant VM, Vintage modified series, my strat is crafted in India Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted February 1, 2011 Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 Basically, I don't know that the Chinese factories have 'stepped up their game' as much as they've been asked to build better guitars and have done so. That about sums it up ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkwire Posted February 1, 2011 Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 I meant VM, Vintage modified series, my strat is crafted in India Ah, I see...thanks for clearing that up for me. The Squier '51 was one of the earlier VM series models and was made in Indonesia...hence my confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted February 1, 2011 Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 I've played a couple of Squier Vintage series strats recently and... WOW, they've gotten better and better.Is China improving dramatically with guitar quality? Yes they are. Their goal is to have everyone buying their guitars. Incredibly low overhead and keep getting better at the quality aspect until they can undersell everyone AND have comparable quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members radomu Posted February 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 First of all, I feel sorry that you haven't played any real Les Pauls.Yes they are. Their goal is to have everyone buying their guitars. Incredibly low overhead and keep getting better at the quality aspect until they can undersell everyone AND have comparable quality. I think I've played at least 10 gibson les pauls. They're great, of course, but overpriced considering the fact that they don't play or sound not at all better or worse from my new guitar, a Tokai, or an Edwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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