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

[diceman1000]

 

Any experiences on MII Cort guitars?

 

 

Cort is excellent across the board for the most part. i have an X-5(Ibanez type Super Strat), an SP-3(plywood Strat copy that came in a $139 players pack), and an MR-780-FX acoustic electric(one of their upper end a/e's) and all a great... they're like any other company though, as you go up in price, you go up in features. low end electrics generally have house pickups, mid level electrics usually have Mighty Mites or EMG HZ's and ALL of the acoustic electrics have Fishman.

 

Cort is really unbeatable at the given price point... here are some vids of min, i'm not much of a player though...

 

 

X-5

 

[YOUTUBE]aVdmBRPvueg[/YOUTUBE]

 

SP-3

 

[YOUTUBE]w0rofclMUmU[/YOUTUBE]

 

MR-780-FX

 

[YOUTUBE]QaI5vqCpb9c[/YOUTUBE]

 

X-5 was $269 at the local M&P, less online

 

SP-3 was free but comes in a $139 players pack

 

MR-780-FX was $500 at the local M&P

 

hope this helps

[diceman1000]

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!

 

 

:cry:

:facepalm:

 

F*&^K I"'M TIRED OF HEARING THIS SHIT WHEN IT COMES TO GUITARS!!!

[ashtray]

 

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.

 

 

+1

 

Epiphone might give specs and say "build it for $100". Whatever factory/country they choose would have to cut corners. A factory in the US might not even be able to make one out of cardboard for that price due to the cost of labor, unions, etc, while a factory that uses child labor might be able to build it with quality components bc labor is so cheap.

 

I think all 3 countries have the ability to make high quality instruments, but companies go to certain countries in order to meet a price point.

 

Korea used to be the place for really cheaply made plywood guitars in the 80s. A lot of junk. Now most currently made Korean guitars are quite good. China was about 10 years behind Korea in this process. 90s = not so good. Now the stuff made there can be pretty decent. Indonesia I think is 10 years behind China in this cycle - might just be starting to make ok stuff in the last few years.

 

At each point people always thought there would never be a quality guitar made from a country- Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, etc. But then time passes and the quality gets better (and usually the price goes up) until guitars made in those countries are actually sought after!

 

And to think that back in the 80s people used to sand off the "made in Japan" logo from their Fenders!

[Sheraton]

:cry: :facepalm: F*&^K I"'M TIRED OF HEARING THIS SHIT WHEN IT COMES TO GUITARS!!!

 

Dude, no offense but I get very frustrated when I see this attitude. And I see it more often in rural and semi-rural middle America. For some reason people there are very insulated from the rest of the world and don't think this affects them. Everybody cries about the crappy economy but nobody wants to understand that there isn't a short term fix. It's super cheap labor with crappy opressive working conditions that have made large corporations move all of the formerly American manufacturing jobs overseas. If workers rights, environmental protections and decent living wages are established world wide corporations may stop exporting all of our jobs.

[Belva]

:cry: :facepalm: F*&^K I"'M TIRED OF HEARING THIS SHIT WHEN IT COMES TO GUITARS!!!

Got news for you. It may have happened with that coffee pot you used this morning. Or just about anything else. The business people don't give a fuck about worker exploitation. History tells us it used to happen here as well. A country starts doing well, the workers stand up and their labor costs go up. So another 3rd world country is exploited. Then another, and another ad infinitum. Pretty soon it will come back here and we'll be a 3rd world country again. Welcome to the global fucking economy, people.

[NHLfan2010]

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

 

Once again... +1ing the Graves

[diceman1000]

 

Got news for you. It may have happened with that coffee pot you used this morning. Or just about anything else. The business people don't give a {censored} about worker exploitation. History tells us it used to happen here as well. A country starts doing well, the workers stand up and their labor costs go up. So another 3rd world country is exploited. Then another, and another ad infinitum. Pretty soon it will come back here and we'll be a 3rd world country again. Welcome to the global {censored}ing economy, people.

 

 

 

 

exactly...

[diceman1000]

 

Dude, no offense but I get very frustrated when I see this attitude. And I see it more often in rural and semi-rural middle America. For some reason people there are very insulated from the rest of the world and don't think this affects them. Everybody cries about the crappy economy but nobody wants to understand that there isn't a short term fix. It's super cheap labor with crappy opressive working conditions that have made large corporations move all of the formerly American manufacturing jobs overseas. If workers rights, environmental protections and decent living wages are established world wide corporations may stop exporting all of our jobs.

 

 

but why do you think companies outsource? because of money hungry workers unions, overpriced utilities, and overprcied supplies...

[Brian Krashpad]

 

Dude, no offense but I get very frustrated when I see this attitude. And I see it more often in rural and semi-rural middle America. For some reason people there are very insulated from the rest of the world and don't think this affects them. Everybody cries about the crappy economy but nobody wants to understand that there isn't a short term fix. I

 

 

HINT:

 

Dude, no offense, but this is a GUITAR forum. It is specifically required that posts be "on point" in this forum (electric guitars).

 

All this political/economic stuff DOES NOT BELONG here.

 

Take it to guitar jam (off-topic) or Political Party.

[DaleH]

Indonesian fatories are newer and have state of the art equiptment.

[Sheraton]

 

HINT: Dude, no offense, but this is a GUITAR forum. It is specifically required that posts be "on point" in this forum (electric guitars). All this political/economic stuff DOES NOT BELONG here. Take it to guitar jam (off-topic) or Political Party.

 

 

Fair enough. I agree, this isn't the place for that discussion.

 

I suppose it would be relevant if the question was "Do the labor practices in the country of origin, or the economic impact of using cheap foreign labor impact your decision on which guitar to buy?"

 

But that's exactly the type of discussions I avoid in anonymous internet forums.

[blackheartsfan]

I find the Korean made guitars far superior to the Chinese made ones. The Korean work ethic with a focus of "craftsmanship" insures that you'll get the best effort of the person assembling it. Case in point is the Korean-era Squier II Stratocasters, they are superb instruments as opposed to the crap coming from "South of the Grand River" and the mindless, illiterate, assembly line drones found there.

 

As for Korean versus Indonesian, the Indonesian are great, better then those made in China but just don't match the quality or workmanship one sees from the true craftsman in Korea or Japan.

 

A big influence in any guitar made in Southeast Asia is the Asian "work ethic" where ones best effort is expected this is in direct contrast to guitars made in Mexico.

[DaleH]

 

I find the Korean made guitars far superior to the Chinese made ones. The Korean work ethic with a focus of "craftsmanship" insures that you'll get the best effort of the person assembling it. Case in point is the Korean-era Squier II Stratocasters, they are superb instruments as opposed to the crap coming from "South of the Grand River" and the mindless, illiterate, assembly line drones found there. As for Korean versus Indonesian, the Indonesian are great, better then those made in China but just don't match the quality or workmanship one sees from the true craftsman in Korea or Japan. A big influence in any guitar made in Southeast Asia is the Asian "work ethic" where ones best effort is expected this is in direct contrast to guitars made in Mexico.

 

 

I would put a Classic Vibe up against any of the Squier II Stratocasters or Japanese Pro Tones. I think they could hold their own quite well.

[Belva]

I must admit that I see more Korean guitars come into the shop than anything else. And I've never seen a really bad one. Usually they need strings, a few minor adjustments and that's it. But I'm not gonna say they're better than their Asian counterparts, because I just don't see that many guitars. I just fix them on the side. I know, hard to fix a guitar while it's on it's side. Haha. I also agree this isn't the place for political discussions of any sort. But, Krashpad, the very nature of the OP's question lends itself to the eventual question of worker's conditions and their effect on craftsmanship.

[smorgdonkey]

I think that Korean manufacturing is stellar and they really perfected guitar making through the late '90s and the past decade. Indonesia is coming along and China has improved quite a bit too. The 'gaps' are narrowing but I still feel that Korea is generally better than Indonesia and Indonesia is generally better then China. There are exceptions, but few in the grand scheme of things.

[bonaventura]

 

HINT: Dude, no offense, but this is a GUITAR forum. It is specifically required that posts be "on point" in this forum (electric guitars). All this political/economic stuff DOES NOT BELONG here. Take it to guitar jam (off-topic) or Political Party.

 

 

i will +1 this post.

[Darkstorm]

At the moment I think the chinese made stuff the worse. Korean made stuff has been much better then chinese made guitars and basses of late imo.l Not familair with made in indonesia stuff myself.

[BoneNut]

, assembly line drones found there. As for Korean versus Indonesian, the Indonesian are great, better then those made in China but just don't match the quality or workmanship one sees from the true craftsman in Korea or Japan. A big influence in any guitar made in Southeast Asia is the Asian "work ethic" where ones best effort is expected this is in direct contrast to guitars made in Mexico.

 

Grand river? Where the fuck is that? Illiterate?!? MIM Fender=Crap?

LOL!

[billybilly]

 

I find the Korean made guitars far superior to the Chinese made ones. The Korean work ethic with a focus of "craftsmanship" insures that you'll get the best effort of the person assembling it. Case in point is the Korean-era Squier II Stratocasters, they are superb instruments as opposed to the crap coming from "South of the Grand River" and the mindless, illiterate, assembly line drones found there. As for Korean versus Indonesian, the Indonesian are great, better then those made in China but just don't match the quality or workmanship one sees from the true craftsman in Korea or Japan. A big influence in any guitar made in Southeast Asia is the Asian "work ethic" where ones best effort is expected this is in direct contrast to guitars made in Mexico.

 

 

Word dude. I was going to type the exact same response.

[bsman]

Grand river? Where the fuck is that? Illiterate?!? MIM Fender=Crap? LOL!

 

Rio Grande?

 

 

 

I do concur with your overall assessment of the original author's command of English grammar, syntax and spelling, however. Plus, his obvious racist overtones are so refreshing...

[GAS Man]

I think the jury is still out on the whole issue.

 

I've bought guitars from all three origins.

 

The story line that MIK is the best has not been proven by me.

[*BLEEP*]

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

 

vs Indian-made vs Vietnamese-made vs Taiwanese-made vs Philippines-made

 

...which are other countries in that region of the globe that also have a significant level of guitar manufacturing for the international marketplace.

 

 

 

The Answer To This Question: Anyone can setup a CNC machine anywhere they need to. The hand finishing parts can be taught to anyone that's capable of doing the job.

[profgalen]

 

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!

 

 

I for one, was never aware of this. Maybe I just turned a blind eye. I found your post and video link very informative and certainly food for thought.

[BoneNut]

Rio Grande? I do concur with your overall assessment of the original author's command of English grammar, syntax and spelling, however. Plus, his obvious racist overtones are so refreshing...

 

Yes. I imagine he meant the Rio Grande. Racist a bit? That's why I highlighted illiterate.

[DavidMgT]

 

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!

 

 

Hilarious! - your post, not the clip - but sadly true.