Fixing up China guitars: Controversial!

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Kapo_Polenton

Kapo_Polenton

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Sorry for the click bait title but at TGP it would def be controversial. So I'm wondering, looking at all these clones on Ali Express , has anyone considered the price of a full guitar being worth it given that you get the body, paint/artwork, a neck, some reusable hardware/electronics? From what I have seen where complaints are concerned, the only real offender is the body not being correct spec. High nut can be fixed, neck not set well in pocket can be realigned, necks can be shimmed and levelled/corner frets rounded.. You can swap in a real bridge of your choice and change electronics. Why do this? Well you are starting with a partscaster of sorts and then working on it vs sourcing all the parts and paying double or triple before also having to work on it. Seems to me like you save on not having to paint the body which is a plus. If you are into working on guitars as a hobby, why not?
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Sorry for the click bait title but at TGP it would def be controversial. So I'm wondering, looking at all these clones on Ali Express , has anyone considered the price of a full guitar being worth it given that you get the body, paint/artwork, a neck, some reusable hardware/electronics? From what I have seen where complaints are concerned, the only real offender is the body not being correct spec. High nut can be fixed, neck not set well in pocket can be realigned, necks can be shimmed and levelled/corner frets rounded.. You can swap in a real bridge of your choice and change electronics. Why do this? Well you are starting with a partscaster of sorts and then working on it vs sourcing all the parts and paying double or triple before also having to work on it. Seems to me like you save on not having to paint the body which is a plus. If you are into working on guitars as a hobby, why not?
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I have almost grabbed a yjm clone a few times just to upgrade one and tweak it to see.....
 
I've thought about this a few times. But I can often get the low end models from the actual manufacturer for the same price or less - so I do this,

Some of these are offered in different finishes and options, so it's tempting for the price as a guitar to learn how to mod...
 
rsm said:
I've thought about this a few times. But I can often get the low end models from the actual manufacturer for the same price or less - so I do this,

Some of these are offered in different finishes and options, so it's tempting for the price as a guitar to learn how to mod...
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Exactly this. If it is standard colour sure.. but if you want say a road worn body already done for you, no brainer. A frankenstrat already painted with tuners and a neck you can work? For 300-400$? You could sink 500 more into that ( worse case of well..canadian ) and have a player for example. Also the wrap work on the Demartini's look good too from what I have seen reviewed. Certainly better than I am going to do with a squire body and then another 50$ for a wrap off ebay. It's an interesting project idea.
 
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Kapo_Polenton said:
Exactly this. If it is standard colour sure.. but if you want say a road worn body already done for you, no brainer. A frankenstrat already painted with tuners and a neck you can work? For 300-400$? You could sink 500 more into that ( worse case of well..canadian ) and have a player for example. Also the wrap work on the Demartini's look good too from what I have seen reviewed. Certainly better than I am going to do with a squire body and then another 50$ for a wrap off ebay. It's an interesting project idea.
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Agreed. What is real tempting to me, is when it's a high end model clone that doesn't have a low cost option from the actual manufacturer.
 
I have a few warmoth builds with sd pickups and german floyds and i can't fetch $600 for them on kijiji! People don't want to spend more than 500 bucks on "partscasters". So frustrating.......i paid $1500 in parts .....not including labour to build.......
 
For what it’s worth a lot of those cheap necks don’t even have the nut and frets in the right place. So unless you’re lucky you may need to pull a few frets, fill the slot, recut, reinstall a few.
 
rsm said:
Agreed. What is real tempting to me, is when it's a high end model clone that doesn't have a lo
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mnemonic said:
For what it’s worth a lot of those cheap necks don’t even have the nut and frets in the right place. So unless you’re lucky you may need to pull a few frets, fill the slot, recut, reinstall a few.
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Good info.. unless you know the seller and they will replace a bad product it is always going to be a chance.
 
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Briman24 said:
I have a few warmoth builds with sd pickups and german floyds and i can't fetch $600 for them on kijiji! People don't want to spend more than 500 bucks on "partscasters". So frustrating.......i paid $1500 in parts .....not including labour to build.......
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That's the definite downfall of quality partscasters.. then you have the guys who spray paint an EVH pattern on a squire and price it at 600$ and it will turn more heads than yours.

Are the warmoth builds you posted pics of here when I asked about the EVH the ones you are trying to sell? How is that blue one not selling t that price? The Floyd is like 350-400 on its own.
 
Briman24 said:
I have a few warmoth builds with sd pickups and german floyds and i can't fetch $600 for them on kijiji! People don't want to spend more than 500 bucks on "partscasters". So frustrating.......i paid $1500 in parts .....not including labour to build.......
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Yeah but this has been known for years. It’s a trade off that has to be considered when doing a build of any kind.

I have a build that is essentially a Demartini snake without the graphic, that I would be lucky to get $500 for on the market, but as a player I wouldn’t trade a USA Charvel Snake for it.
 
SoooRad said:
Yeah but this has been known for years. It’s a trade off that has to be considered when doing a build of any kind.

I have a build that is essentially a Demartini snake without the graphic, that I would be lucky to get $500 for on the market, but as a player I wouldn’t trade a USA Charvel Snake for it.
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Post it up with pics! I like my Pro Mod Demartini but to be honest, I am sure there are builds that would play as good as the 1800 CAD $ I paid for it after taxes, shipping, and duty. What is crazier is it retails for 2200$ here before .13% tax. I bought it for nostlgia really, not value necessarily. ( though i suppose it could go up in the future)

I think the builds have to be about playability and feel, never resale. Resale is brand name of some sort even if it is Squire or Epiphone. People some how feel more secure. I also would never sell my white super strat with graphtec floyd. I change pick guards now and again but the neck has an ebony fretboard and it is just effortless to play. Not exciting to look at but i bet if it went on tour and got banged up a little it would have more cred. I couldn't sell it for more than 500 CAD either I am pretty sure.
 
JackBootedThug said:
I have almost grabbed a yjm clone a few times just to upgrade one and tweak it to see.....
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I have a YJM fake .. it is pretty damn good to be honest, in fact I like it better than my real Malmsteen strat. My 96 YJM has the fatter neck and is rosewood, my fake one has the thinner later models neck and is maple. All I had to do was dress the frets a little and I swapped out the bridge pickup for a humbucker. it cost me $150nz ... I've had it for 6 or 7 years and couldn't be happier with it, well actually I could be happier which is why I am in the middle of put a floyd on it hahahahaha
 
I would never buy a kit from China . When I decided to build a partscaster I bought a high quality body and neck from a guy in California who builds them in his shop and has a stellar rep . The body and neck were amazing quality . Body was a little over $200.00 and neck was under $300.00 .

I just added a Gotoh 1996T and a Jalen FW pickup .
 
sytharnia1560 said:
I have a YJM fake .. it is pretty damn good to be honest, in fact I like it better than my real Malmsteen strat. My 96 YJM has the fatter neck and is rosewood, my fake one has the thinner later models neck and is maple. All I had to do was dress the frets a little and I swapped out the bridge pickup for a humbucker. it cost me $150nz ... I've had it for 6 or 7 years and couldn't be happier with it, well actually I could be happier which is why I am in the middle of put a floyd on it hahahahaha
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Are you going to pop the nut and put a floyd nut on? That's one mod that still looks a little rough unless you have the right tools and know how.. I have seen people just leave the nut on, put a string retainer and then locking tuners with the floyd and it holds tuning so that's n option for you.

I have a 89-90 pre sig YJM, I like it but the strat thing without floyd is even easier for them to replicate decently so I have no doubt that with some know how, you could make a player out of a clone. Whether or not you get a decent neck is always the question with those though.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
That's the definite downfall of quality partscasters.. then you have the guys who spray paint an EVH pattern on a squire and price it at 600$ and it will turn more heads than yours.

Are the warmoth builds you posted pics of here when I asked about the EVH the ones you are trying to sell? How is that blue one not selling t that price? The Floyd is like 350-400 on its own.
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No i haven't tried to sell the sonic blue one. I tried selling my spalted maple one a year or so ago. I put it up at $900 first and dropped it down over period of 4 months to $600 and then took it off after no bites. I will keep it before i give it away at that price.
20161120_201833.jpg
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Here's a pic.
 
SoooRad said:
Yeah but this has been known for years. It’s a trade off that has to be considered when doing a build of any kind.

I have a build that is essentially a Demartini snake without the graphic, that I would be lucky to get $500 for on the market, but as a player I wouldn’t trade a USA Charvel Snake for it.
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Go to warmoth and look at price of necks and bodies. 500 to 700 US dollars for a birdseye neck! That is like 850 canadian dollars!
If i ever get desperate to sell i will part it out. Will get more money that way than selling it complete.
 
Briman24 said:
No i haven't tried to sell the sonic blue one. I tried selling my spalted maple one a year or so ago. I put it up at $900 first and dropped it down over period of 4 months to $600 and then took it off after no bites. I will keep it before i give it away at that price. View attachment 153460View attachment 153463Here's a pic.
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That looks sweet. $600 is robbing you but I know how it is with partscasters. I think trades with partscasters could be done...except everyone thinks their luthier skills are better than the next guy's so there's that. But someone would have to really botch a Warmoth to make it not seem salvagable.

I wouldn't build a China kit but that's just because I feel like I have better options that are worth paying up for (like buying a partscaster for less than half what the parts cost).
 
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