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American Made, Professional Grade: Is it worth it?
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After 51 years of playing the guitar, I finally took the plunge on an American made, professional grade guitar, a Rickenbacker 360/12 string. I never understood before playing this guitar just how much difference there is between the so-called "intermediate" instruments and a true professional grade axe.
I was considering a Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman or a Guild hollow/semi-hollow body electric as a professional grade six string axe, and was disappointed to find that they are manufatured in Japan. The Japanese-made instruments are priced well above the other Asian-manufactured instruments, and I suspect the craftsmanship is as good as the original American made instruments, but somehow it seems "dirty" to accept a foreign made imitation. Even Martin is now selling acoustic guitars made with synthetic materials, and in Mexico. I have played a "fake Martin" and it sounded wonderful, but again, it seems "dirty" to accept the foreign made imitation.
I am considering an American-made Gibson ES-335 instead of the Gretsch and Guild semi-hollow bodies as price-equivalent choices.I have a Korean-made Epiphone SG "Gibson Authorized" G-400, and after some amount of fiddling, I think it is the equivalent of an American Gibson SG in playability. The elecronics and hardware are not even close, however, so I think I can see where a lot of the difference in cost comes from. I don't know that I can tell the difference when it come down to the actual sound and tone, because the wood in the body and the neck appears to be a fair match for the wood used in the American made instruments.
As far as the actual sound and tone of the instruments, does anyone have experience with the Japanese made Gretsch and Guild instruments compared to the American Gibsons?
I am working hard to closely reproduce the sound of the early Beatles recordings where the Country Gentleman, Rickenbacker 360/12 and Epiphone Casinos were used. While I have nothing against products made in Japan, as a matter of "taste," a Japanese Chet Atkins Country Gentleman stikes me sort of like a good, equivalent, Japanese distilled Tennessee bourbon -- it's just not the same, even if the difference is all in my head.
Thoughts? Wisdom? Comments? -
I have a bunch of different guitars, A Gibson Les Paul, A 72 Gibson Humming Bird, Some pricei Stuff, When my son was young I baught him a Japanese Fender squire Strat which has become my main guitar. It plays and sounds Great , I paind $99.00 for it. I paid $2,800.00 for the Les Paul so I would buy what feels the best to you and has the sound you want no matter where its made or what the cost. Good Luck
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I have mixed emotions on this one. I have seen some real garbage guitars in my years from America and outside of America.
I prefer American made with my Fenders and Gibsons but contrary to that, my Mexican made Strat is one of my favorite guitars. I had to replace the garbage that was in it as an excuse for pickups but after dropping some EMGs in it, it's a very good guitar.
I'va had over a dozen Kramer guitars and the Japanese Kramer Focus guitars are excellent guitars but can't touch my American made Baretta.
I guess it depends on the player. I still look for American made first but won't snub my nose at others. I'll at least give them a fighiing chance.
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IMHO, in general the American built and designed are a better guitar due to the electronics that are installed. There are some other differences depending on the manufacturer. Some will cut corners on finish, materials, etc. when it comes to the wood or frets or "paint". Others will cut quality on electronics. There are a few that actually make an instrument "off-shore" that is every bit as good as made in the USA. A lot of it depends on the actual guitar in hand. I have a couple of "off-shore" guitars that I keep, one of which is a 335 copy from the 70's that I will put against any 335. I have several USA guitars that are fantastic. I find there are differences even in the feel and soul of each guitar. Even those built in the USA from the same manufacturer and that are the same model. Would I turn a deaf ear and blind eye to one from somewhere besides the good old USA. Not hardly. You just have to see what feels and sounds right and not worry about the country of origin. However, I will add that in general I find that from a re-sale standpoint, it seems that the USA manufactured units seem to hold their value much better overall.
Just my 2 Cents worth......lol
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As an amature luthier (OK, I make great saw dust but my instruments suck.), I gotta throw out, that there are many more than a few Indy pro luthiers who build to your specs for about the same price as an off the shelf instrument and often with many more bells and whistles -
Hey everybody,
I just joined. I'm a 72 year old picker of acoustic and electric guitars. I've had many instruments over the years but my very first guitar was my 16th birthday present from my parents. In 1959 they took me to Sears where I picked out a Silvertone arched top. It was $35 with the case. I loved that guitar and cut my teeth on it. It was a beautiful "Kentucky blue" and ivory. They also had sunburst but I liked the blue. I had the guitar for a few years but I don't remember what eventually happend to it.
Fast forward 57 years and a few months ago. I was talking to my bowling partner who is the same age as me and told him about my old Silvertone and he told me that his folks bought him the very same guitar in the very same year (1959) only his was the sunburst. He said, "I've still got it up in the attic where it's been collecting dust.... do you want it?" ARE YOU KIDDING?????? So he gave it to me and it was in pretty bad shape. No hardware and the fretboard was all corroded and crusty. Anyway here are some shots of it:
So I went to work on it. My goal was to try to make it look like my own original. After 4 months and lots of fun, I finally finished it last week. I ordered new hardware off eBay and now it proudly hangs on my wall. Of course, it's not playable; the neck needs a reset (there's no truss bar) so the strings are real slack. It's just for looks. Boy does that bring back some sweet memories. Hope you enjoy:
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Which guitar you buy and where it is manufactured is largely dependent on what sound you want, playability and feel. I personally own basses by Epiphone (Japan) Ibanez (Japan) and my all American made Rickenbacker 4003FG. Each has a distinctve tone.
The 1970's Epi is mellow. The Epi AccuBass is a throaty growler. The Ibanez is a rich and a bit middy and the Ric is.....well it's a Ric, they have an unmistakeable tone.
Now I wouldn't buy a Chinese Ric knockoff simply due to the fact that they DO NOT sound like a real one. I have friends who have Mexican and Japanese Strats and they sound every bit as good as the American Fenders (after maybe a little surgery of course) and even after modifications they are still way less expensive than the US produced models.
It really comes down to doing the buy American thing with comparison, budget and quality in mind and a dose of conscience if you are so inclined.
I will say this though.....the Rickenbacker is the MOST playable of my basses and even though it has a higher action than the others I can work it faster. The difference is that the Ric IS a professional grade guitar.
Just my opinion.
This post was edited by Richard Erdman at March 11, 2017 12:23 PM PST -
[blockquote]Richard Erdman said:
Which guitar you buy and where it is manufactured is largely dependent on what sound you want, playability and feel. I personally own basses by Epiphone (Japan) Ibanez (Japan) and my all American made Rickenbacker 4003FG. Each has a distinctve tone.
The 1970's Epi is mellow. The Epi AccuBass is a throaty growler. The Ibanez is a rich and a bit middy and the Ric is.....well it's a Ric, they have an unmistakeable tone.
Now I wouldn't buy a Chinese Ric knockoff simply due to the fact that they DO NOT sound like a real one. I have friends who have Mexican and Japanese Strats and they sound every bit as good as the American Fenders (after maybe a little surgery of course) and even after modifications they are still way less expensive than the US produced models.
It really comes down to doing the buy American thing with comparison, budget and quality in mind and a dose of conscience if you are so inclined.
I will say this though.....the Rickenbacker is the MOST playable of my basses and even though it has a higher action than the others I can work it faster. The difference is that the Ric IS a professional grade guitar.
Just my opinion.
[/blockquote]
Hello Richard! I agree with you with just 1 exception; I currently own a Fender Jazz "Marcus Miller" active, Fender Precision, Peavy Grind Bass 4, an Ibanez ATK815E & a Squier Precision. I've owned various basses over the years (both lo & hi end) as well as played on many & found each to be useful & effective according to the "flavor" I'm requiring - but... & back to that 1 exception - that exception being Squires. I find Squires to be of really lo quality w. crap electronics & sub-par materials. I tried to "Frankenstein" my Squire Precision by replacing the tuners (Squire tuners tend to "rattle" on lo-end notes), upgrading the bridge to an Omega 4 Bad-@ss, swapped out the vol & tone pots/replaced their cheap wiring & finally (& foolishly), replaced the Sq's p/u's w. Bartolini Classic 4 P-bass p/u's. All I wound up doing was putting a "silk dress" on a pig, as well as spending more on parts than what the bass actually costs. The issue I have w. Squier is their use of cheap & mashed together combination of "alder & agathis wood particles" (& maybe plywood - remove the pick-guard & you'll notice several,glued-together, layers of "wood-product"). This combo of cheap alder & agathis (a manufactured, lo-quality form of mahoganey) gives the Squier P' a flat tonal offering w. no resonance & clarity. Mind you, this is ONLY my opinion - which I base on recorded live & studio perfs I took part in......
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