Guitar country of origin: Does it matter?

For those of us alive in the 1970s, we remember the junk our fellow Americans were producing, whether that be guitars, electronics or automobiles, which opened the door for Japan to walk in. Dismissive “patriots” called it Jap crap, now their sites are set on China and India.
 
rsm said:
are the JEM differences that obvious?

When I started comparing my PS10 to the PS120, the differences were subtle, and it took me time to recognize them, but once I started to see them, I started to notice more and they can't be unseen. At first, I was disappointed with the PS10 for the price, now I own two because they're that good IMO.
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IME, yes. Almost night and day with the Ibanez stuff.

The Indo stuff never has that certain sweet feel and quality of the MIJ stuff.

Fujigen factory put out really good work.


Examples: Jem Jr guitars are nowhere close feeling. The lower JS series are nowhere close either.

They can copy the shapes but the magic in the craftsmanship is missing completely.
 
I was a total gear snob up to about 6 yrs ago.
Then i started checking out off shore shit.
Realized their ain't nothing wrong with them.
Play just as well if not better than my US crap.

i bought a ESP 1000 last fall on the GC used rack for $699. I cant put it down.
 
70 Mach 1 said:
I was a total gear snob up to about 6 yrs ago.
Then i started checking out off shore shit.
Realized their ain't nothing wrong with them.
Play just as well if not better than my US crap.

i bought a ESP 1000 last fall on the GC used rack for $699. I cant put it down.
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A good guitar is a good guitar! I have always wanted one of the EC-1000s.

If the person making it cares about what they are doing, it should turn out to be a good product, regardless of the country of origin.

Sometimes offshore can be limited by the material selection and quality as well, but that isn't really their fault.
 
I lean toward US made guitars. That happens to be what most of the ones I want are, and they hold value better. While I’m not into them as investments, most of them get sold eventually.

I have some nice imports from a few different countries though. If they fit the criteria I’m looking for, I won’t overlook guitars built wherever.

There are a lot of great quality guitars coming from China, Indonesia & Korea these days. The absolute best I’ve played over the years have consistently been US or Japan made.
 
I don't think wood cares where it's from, but the care with finishing the instrument seems to vary. I've had good luck with MIJ and US stuff, there seems to be some extra QC there. I've played some really nice Mexican and Korean as well, but I would say the materials made more of a difference versus craftsmanship in those cases. Just personal experience.
 
Honestly, a majority of my guitars are made overseas, and they are absolutely wonderful.

It did take me many years to find the 'Gems' of the lot but damn are they good!

Especially when you swap out some of the cheaper parts.

My avatar is a Sterling JP157 with a roasted birdseye board and special paint on it to be more like the MIA ones.

I would upgrade the bridge and tuners.

Pickups already upgraded when I bought it.

Only 2 with these specs ever made, and a lot of attention went into it.

Feels like a dream!

I actually ran into the guy who worked on my guitar online.

He used to be the Top guy there and personally oversaw each step.

One big issue is that the offshore never have the same specs....

Just like the $1200 Epis but they don't use Nitro. The import Jems use a different finish on the necks, etc. I would like to see a 1:1 replica spec wise, given the same exact features and materials and see how it comes out.
 
70 Mach 1 said:
i bought a ESP 1000 last fall on the GC used rack for $699. I cant put it down.
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Music&Chaos said:
A good guitar is a good guitar! I have always wanted one of the EC-1000s.

If the person making it cares about what they are doing, it should turn out to be a good product, regardless of the country of origin.
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I bought an Indonesian Viper five or so months ago. It's a really easy playing guitar. I put the pickups I like in it and I been putting a few hours a day on that puppy ever since. 100 percent agreement M&C, product quality is def based on the love the maker is putting into his work whether it's a master luthier or some good soul trying to get by in a sweatshop.
 
Not a huge fan of Mexican Fenders but I do have a couple. They're decent I suppose. I have exactly one Asian made guitar. An acoustic Ibanez AE10 made in China I think. Fantastic action. I picked it over quite a few more expensive and more premium guitars based on that fact. I never even plugged it in before I bought it. Probably only plugged it in once or twice since then. I set it up with Slinkys and it plays better than a lot of electrics. Besides that one I avoid Asian made guitars. My favorite stringed instrument is my Czech made Spector bass. The rest of them are American.
 
I have not had good luck with playing Indonesian guitars. They feel cheap to me.

As far as China goes, separate from the political aspect, I don't like guitars feeling like just another product on the assembly line like phones, toys, etc. It just feels like they are churning out "product" regardless of what it is.

I buy U.S.A when I can but love Japanese guitars and would love a German one. Maybe someday I'll buy another China guitar. They are starting to make better products. I just want the experience to feel more authentic.
 
Floyd Eye said:
Learn to do it yourself and you never need to worry about it again.
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You know what also saves tons of time when doing setups? Those little under string radius gauges. Jeez they made all the setups I do for people so much faster and easier it's unreal. Best $8 I ever spent.
 
Music&Chaos said:
You know what also saves tons of time when doing setups? Those little under string radius gauges. Jeez they made all the setups I do for people so much faster and easier it's unreal. Best $8 I ever spent.
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Preaching to the choir brother. I just loaned mine to a bass playing buddy of mine who got sick of having to bring me his basses for set ups and talked me into showing him how to do it. Definitely a must have. I think I paid more than $8 for them though. Stew Mac.
 
Floyd Eye said:
Preaching to the choir brother. I just loaned mine to a bass playing buddy of mine who got sick of having to bring me his basses for set ups and talked me into showing him how to do it. Definitely a must have. I think I paid more than $8 for them though. Stew Mac.
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My buddy has the Stew Mac ones. Very nice. I went the Amazon route. I actually prefer my string action ruler to his due to the way they mark the measurements but not quite as nice of steel, not that it matters in this case.
 
It’s funny to me how people boycott China because of xyz but will happily buy USA made. Let’s not discuss what the US has done over the past 80 odd years or anything.
 
yngHL said:
It’s funny to me how people boycott China because of xyz but will happily buy USA made. Let’s not discuss what the US has done over the past 80 odd years or anything.
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Dude, there is no comparison between anything the US has done in your lifetime and what China and the CCP has done. 🙄
 
yngHL said:
It’s funny to me how people boycott China because of xyz but will happily buy USA made. Let’s not discuss what the US has done over the past 80 odd years or anything.
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Please expound for the audience..
 
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