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Location: Fort Worth, TX | I stopped into a music store yesterday to look around. Also, I stopped because I now have a repertoire of finger picking songs I can sit and play on guitars I am looking at, unlike all the years I have gone into music stores unwilling to play an instrument in front of others. The first thing I noticed was that every single acoustic guitar was also an electric. Man, I have been out of the loop for a long time apparently. I had no idea this was the case these days. I could kind of understand a bit the decline of Ovations since every guitar out there now is what I understand Ovation was the first to pioneer? I didn't see any guitar I liked and none of them I played would persuade me to trade my Balladeer for it. The fact that my Balladeer doesn't have electronics is what I liked about it at first, and still do. I was amazed as well at how many beautiful looking guitars there were for under $500.00. The wood used in some of them was gorgeous. I still don't understand what's going on. 30 years ago you went into a guitar shop and the place was filled with instruments you couldn't afford. I guess the Asians have changed all that. This place mainly carried Fender, Seagull, Washburns and Taks. Didn't see anything I'd have walked out with even if I had had $500.00 of discretionary spending money in my pocket. |
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Location: Tennessee | DaveKell - 2012-03-07 8:27 AM I was amazed as well at how many beautiful looking guitars there were for under $500.00. The wood used in some of them was gorgeous. I still don't understand what's going on. 30 years ago you went into a guitar shop and the place was filled with instruments you couldn't afford. Looks aren't what make expensive guitars expensive. It's the sound and craftsmanship that counts. Tough to get that from Asia for the most part. There's some stores around here that don't have any guitars under a couple grand, with quite a few in the five figures. You ought to find one like that around you and go check it out. There'll be plenty of guitars you wish you could take home.
Edited by stonebobbo 2012-03-07 1:05 PM
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Location: Flahdaw | Probably costs $50 for the Asians to add a cheap preamp to a cheap guitar. |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | darkbarguitar - 2012-03-07 2:20 PM
Probably costs $50 for the Asians to add a cheap preamp to a cheap guitar.
the sliders stuck and wobbled on a few of them and knobs on them wobbled quite a bit. I doubt they even cost $50.00. Most of the guitars were pretty to look at. I probably played six of them and none of them had a sound I'd pay $150 for. I wonder how a store could be full of inventory of this quality. Who are they marketing to? A young kid came in to trade his acoustic and Peavey amp for a new acoustic. He owed a mere $50 on top of that. He sat down and began pounding away on his new git, and I mean POUNDING. I thought he felt he deserved a standing ovation when he was done - he looked very pleased with himself. I wanted to ask him how long he thought a guitar would last being played that hard, but it probably would have been a waste of time. He thought he was rocking the place. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | DaveKell - 2012-03-07 8:27 AM
I guess the Asians have changed all that.
Not sure why this always rubs me the wrong way. The Asians aren't the ones designing and spec'ing these less expensive guitars. They are not taking a USA made model and seeing how it can be made cheaper.. Fender/Ovation (and everyone else) is doing that. The actual builder of the guitar is just saying "yes" to the specification and price point given. Why wouldn't they. There are plenty of "expensive" high-quality guitars coming from Asia as well for companies that spec high quality guitars and are willing to pay the price to have them built there. I'm sure an Adamas could be made there to the standards we expect... but it would probably cost more than they do now to do so. That's why they don't.
This is a price list from a few years ago for Neal Moser's Import Series. These are awesome, high quality guitars. These models were being built in Korea because of demand. He simply could not churn them out of this shop fast enough, and any factory in the US essentially wanted more to make these than his hand made guitars that he makes himself. http://www.nealmoser.com/MCS_2006_Import.pdf I also tried out some of the Schecter imports a few years ago. Just awesome guitars, but they were not cheap by any stretch.
So, again, not sure why it rubs me the way it does. The bottom line is that if companies didn't want to build inexpensive that were made with less expensive parts, and people weren't willing to buy less expensive guitars with less expensive parts, there wouldn't be any. I don't think the factory location is a factor in this at all. I am 100% positive that if a Company in the US was able to make the spec'd import version of those $500 guitars... they would be the exact same quality as the imported ones, because that is the specification, not an accidental result.
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | I agree with Miles. There are some really fantastic guitars coming out of Asia right now.
And I think the reason stores are selling somany inexpensive guitars right now is the economy. Folks who know guitars and have been playing for a long time can't afford to add another expensive guitar to their collection right now. But people are still buying guitars for their kids. And because so many of these inexpensive Asian guitars are actually quite playable, they are a good choice for someone who is just learning. |
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Location: Spain | I agree with both of you, and my next guitar is probably going to be from Asia, no way I can afford any other this year...(and I DO want another this year!)
Can't be that bad...can they¿? |
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Location: Northwest Arkansas | I owned 10 Yamaha's and for the money those guys make a nice guitar, acoustic or electric. I get my CL 2079 AX tomorrow, fingers crossed. I'll post on the sound. |
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Location: Seacoast NH | Just played a bunch of Breedlove guitars the other day at a local shop. Execellent sound, nice craftmanship -- on the whole they were very nice for under $1k. Was surprised to learn they were all made in Asia. They even sounded better than the USA-made Bedells hanging next to them...so I would say there is some decent stuff coming out of the region if you know which to look at. |
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Location: Tennessee | Breedlove makes a lot of guitars in Oregon too. Their offshore guitars are OK but the USA guitars are a whole 'nother level. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Breedloves you played were actually US guitars. |
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Location: Flahdaw | I also like the Breedloves, but I think all the under $1000 models are the Asian guitars.
I think the Recording King guitars (asian) are also very nice players and sound really good.(for low priced guitars)
Edited by dark bar 2012-03-08 3:53 PM
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I have a beautifully made USA Breedlove that has the highest quality glass tubes available on the market. Just look how they glow in the upper center of the photo below!
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Location: Jet City | I've had some nice Asian made guitars, I just feel better about buying USA built instruments. I've said goodbye to all the imports. I'm not saying never, especially in regards to Japanese brands, but I don't intend to revert back. |
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Location: sitting at my computer | LOL ProfessorBB, now that's whatcha call an illuminating post! |
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All of 'em were acoustic/electric...