Korean-made vs Indonesian-made vs Chinese-made????

[dimibetan]

What can you tell about comparing the quality/workmanship of guitars made from these countries, from your experience:

 

 

 

Thanks

[jds22]

Good and bad guitars come out of all 3.

[dimibetan]

Good and bad guitars come out of all 3.

 

Can you be more specific?

 

Thanks

[jds22]

The country of manufacture is no guarantee of quality. Right now, I have guitars from all 3.

 

A Korean Ibanez S470

An Indo Ibanez S420

A Chinese Sterling Silo 30

 

All 3 are great guitars but I've also had lemons from each of those countries as well as Mexico and the US.

 

I guess the only advice I could off is to stick with a brand that has a good reputation and is well known.

[roughtrade]

 

The country of manufacture is no guarantee of quality. Right now, I have guitars from all 3. A Korean Ibanez S470 An Indo Ibanez S420 A Chinese Sterling Silo 30 All 3 are great guitars but I've also had lemons from each of those countries as well as Mexico and the US. I guess the only advice I could off is to stick with a brand that has a good reputation and is well known.

 

 

Same for every country in the world, some PEOPLE will cut corners, other PEOPLE won't.

[revans513]

A few years ago when China was just getting into manufacturing guitars, they were generally inferior to the Korean guitars. However, I don't see a big difference these days.

[dimibetan]

 

The country of manufacture is no guarantee of quality. Right now, I have guitars from all 3. A Korean Ibanez S470 An Indo Ibanez S420 A Chinese Sterling Silo 30 All 3 are great guitars but I've also had lemons from each of those countries as well as Mexico and the US. I guess the only advice I could off is to stick with a brand that has a good reputation and is well known.

 

 

 

Any experiences on MII Cort guitars?

[Doctor49]

 

Good and bad guitars come out of all 3.

 

 

in fact out of all guitar manufacturers.

 

Most of them will make cheap poor quality if there is a market for it, in the same way they make custom highend stuff for a market.

 

When this country of origin issue comes up, I always have a laugh about the Japanese transistor radios that the "clever world" laughed at so hard in the beginning.

Now the Japanese own consumer electronics.

[jds22]

Any experiences on MII Cort guitars?

 

No sorry.

 

Doesn't the Cort factory build the Ibanez guitars?

 

[dimibetan]

 

A few years ago when China was just getting into manufacturing guitars, they were generally inferior to the Korean guitars. However, I don't see a big difference these days.

 

 

How about Indonesian Guitars?

[dcooper830]

All I know is that a lot of people say the Chinese Epiphones aren't as good as the Korean ones.

 

That is a complete myth.

[Elias Graves]

You can't label a guitar's quality based on what country it was made in. Choose between a USA Harmony or a Chinese Eastman? No comparison.

You gotta judge a guitar on how it plays and how it sounds.

 

EG

[soundcreation]

well...let's see...

 

If your looking for mild worker exploitation then Korea is a good choice. Generally Koreans have fought for pretty decent labor rights so buying Korean may not get you the kind of exploitation your looking for. Although Cort is REALLY making a play at getting Korea "back in the pack" in terms of abuse.

 

[YOUTUBE]9LpB1E4EE7k[/YOUTUBE]

 

Now with china you're stepping up a bit. The economic boom there means people do a little better than they use too, but still get abused to the point of wanting to commit suicide, because of the bad working conditions. China get's a solid B for worker abuse and would be a good solid choice for you.

 

But if you REALLY want to make a mark in this game...step it RIGHT up to Indonesia.....Labor practices that make CHINA look like western Europe! We're talking big leagues here....CHILD LABOR..yeah!....cracked skulls for organizing, and on and on....So if you REALLY want to maximize your support for this type of thing then buy Made in Indonesia with pride!

 

Hope this helps!

[mfergel]

I've had some Washburns made in Indonesia. Very nice guitars.

 

I don't think I've dealt with a clunker out of Korea yet. Several Chinese guitars (couple Peavey's, SX, etc). Fit and finish was fine on those as well.

[Brian Krashpad]

 

Good and bad guitars come out of all 3.

 

 

This is the correct answer.

 

The "traditional" hierarchy would probably be MIK as best, followed by the other 2. At this point (with so many Epi's being made in China) possibly with China middle and Indonesia last.

 

It all depends on the price point and how the guitars are spec'd going in and QC'd coming out.

 

I have decent guitars from all 3.

[garthman]

 

Any experiences on MII Cort guitars?

 

 

Cort guitars are excellent quality, well-made instruments.

[mfergel]

 

This is the correct answer. The "traditional" hierarchy would probably be MIK as best, followed by the other 2. At this point (with so many Epi's being made in China) possibly with China middle and Indonesia last. It all depends on the price point and how the guitars are spec'd going in and QC'd coming out. I have decent guitars from all 3.

 

 

I disagree about Indonesia being last. I think the big plus for Epiphone is their quality control and oversight. Same goes for Peavey and their Chinese made stuff. I wonder how many guitars/amps those two companies reject sometimes. Plus aren't the setups and such for those two still done in the US. I think that can be a big deciding factor as well. I can tell you the Indonesian Washburns I have had were far better than the Chinese SX guitars I've had. They were a bit more expensive as well. I think my Indonesian Washburns were also nicer guitars than my Chinese Peaveys.

[poolshark]

It's important to note that each country represents more than one factory. That said, the worst guitars I've played have come out of China, but then again, I think Squier's CV series is generally quite good. I've played some great Indonesian Washburns, but I've seen plenty of toy/junk Indonesian guitars. Korea seems to be the most consistent, in my experience - heavy woods and thick finishes, but generally good quality.

[Crisco]

 

Any experiences on MII Cort guitars?

 

Cort guitars are about the same as the Samick guitars from Indonesia.

Especially since alot of Squier bass guitars come from IC/S most notably the 70's modified Jazz bass like the one I had. Very consistent builds and decent electronics. It seems the Samick plant and Cort plant of Indonesia are either in each others back pockets or possibly share the same facilities due to the fact I see alot of 'Made In Indonesia' IC/S (Indonesia Cort/Samick) on various Squier guitars.

Basically the Cort/Samick plant in Indonesia is a move-over from what Samick had in Korea some years ago. It's been some 16 years in operation now.

(and yes they build big box guitars like the Emperor Swingster and Joe Pass for Epiphone as they were always good with that type of instrument)

But the Vintage Vibe series is coming from some super good, super staffed, someone gives a damn plant in China. That's nice to see.

 

I remember sometime in the mid 1990's Cort had the balls to raise their prices to that of 'world class guitars'. It didn't last too long did it?

[stormin1155]

My take is that guitarmakers from all three countries are equally capable of making high quality instruments. What they actually produce is a result of the price and manufacturing specs given them by (mostly American) companies. Bottom line, is that you judge the quality of the instrument itself, not by where it is made.

[Will Chen]

The truth lies in the specific manufacturer and the price point they're shooting for. While there are a few Chinese factories which can turn out beautiful high-quality instruments, the vast majority of instruments you see from China are rebranded OEM stuff of much lesser quality. That's not to say gems can't be found, but you don't have to look too hard to see where the corners have been cut.

 

Indonesia is much newer to the game and as such doesn't have the all the experience China's workers have. In a discussion with an industry insider, I was told it cost more to have a guitar built in Indonesia than China to meet specific quality levels due to the amount of instruments which had to be rejected.

 

Korea has a fully developed guitar manufacturing infrastructure and generally consistent quality. Company's like Indie out of the UK have actually partnered with factories in a dual ownership scenario to ensure the quality is a concern of the manufacturer. Granted Samick (or was it Cort?) has damaged their global reputation a bit.

[Coopster]

All I know is I've got an Ibanez S and a Peavey Wolfgang both made in Korea and both are killer guitars.

[tech21man]

Go at store. Try guitar. Like, buy guitar. Don't like don't buy. Stop wasting bandwidth by asking people stuff that cannot be adequately described even on 100000 pages of everybody just sharing their good or bad experiences. There is no golden rule.

 

Actually there is. You are trying to perhaps buy an instrument. Not looking at the more costly countries making instruments (USA and europe more or less) means you are gonna go cheap.

 

What do you expect actually? To take a vote so as to decide between a china epiphone or indo LTD or korean cort? Go play some and decide for yourself.

[Belva]

Country of origin doesn't matter. A hundred buck guitar is still a cheap ass piece of junque no matter where it's made. But the hundred buck guitars are much better now than they were 25 years ago.

[Woodstock 1969]

 

It's important to note that each country represents more than one factory. That said, the worst guitars I've played have come out of China, but then again, I think Squier's CV series is generally quite good.

 

 

I tried out a couple of Squire CVs and the quality is better than what I've seen come out of the Fender factory in Mexico, which also produce some excellent guitars. I think China can produce exceptional products or otherwise inferior ones depending on who is looking to cut the factory production and material costs. With CNC machines and effective quality control, where a guitar is made today is becoming less of an issue, which brings me back to the Squire CVs.