Chinese guitars on EBay

[Inflames626]

Hi all,
Do any of you have experience with unbranded guitars on EBay? Most seem sourced from China.

I know there's a big controversy about Chibsons and that many people think buying these guitars is unethical.

My interest in these guitars is many of them are body shapes that are no longer available from current brands unless you go vintage or custom shop (old Ibanez Destroyers, star body shapes, old Arias, Explorers with Floyd Roses, Fernandes, Hamer Ghost, pretty much any BC Rich).

It's obvious they are counterfeit but the extent to which guitar manufacturers rip off each other's designs makes this a partly moot point to me. The quality control might differ (I am mostly concerned about truss rods and fretwork), but the fact that I'm going to be replacing the pickups and hardware means all I'm interested in is the bodies really.

I would buy something like a Chinese made Charvel Desolation but they are so hard to find now I can't.

So, I don't see much of a difference between buying something like that and one of these unbranded guitars.

They're all Asian guitars with different names on the headstock.

This is probably a case by case basis thing, but if any of you have any experience with them I'd like to hear about it.

Thanks.

[Securb]

They look the same and that is where everything ends. They have cheap electronics and pickups, you would have to gut everything. Expect all of the hardware to be subpar at best. The necks are the biggest problem, the fretwork on these guitars is typically very bad. The models might look cool but you will get more bang for your buck from a Korean or Indonesian guitar of the same price.

The guitar will be nothing like a Charvel.

[Phantasmagoria]

The only one I got off ebay was a "Grote" semi-hollow and it was very well made/looked great with crappy pups & adequate/usable hardware. Stayed in tune, played great and sounded phenomenal when I swapped out the pups. The truss rod was good enough, no problems there. Fretwork was decent though not phenomenal. I did have to file down one high fret (13th) ...but I had to do that with the MIJ Ibanez Saber (S540) I bought new in '94 as well..and that's my all time fave guitar..

I would expect them to be of decent/usable quality but you might need to replace pups & file down a fret or two. The floyds etc look crappy so I would expect you'd have to swap those out too, though I dont own one with a floyd, just the Grote.

[PS412]

I as well purchased a Grote and like it. Changed the controls and pickups ( Invaders ) and it sounds pretty damn good to my ears.
I did find I had to adjust the truss rod a couple of times. I think it was getting use to the dryness here. It settled down really well though.

[Mincer]

If you can do things like fretwork on your own guitar, it sounds like a good platform to mod. I see no sense in getting a legit Fender and replacing everything on it.

[Synapsys]

I see no sense in getting a legit Fender and replacing everything on it.

The exact reason I'm getting my 4th Charvel.

[Aceman]

I see no sense in getting a legit Fender and replacing everything on it.

Is this what you meant to say???

[Mincer]

Is this what you meant to say???

I said what I said.

[Inflames626]

They look the same and that is where everything ends. They have cheap electronics and pickups, you would have to gut everything. Expect all of the hardware to be subpar at best. The necks are the biggest problem, the fretwork on these guitars is typically very bad. The models might look cool but you will get more bang for your buck from a Korean or Indonesian guitar of the same price.

The guitar will be nothing like a Charvel.

Amazing that they can do such a great job with paint, binding, body angles, inlays, etc., but something relatively simple like the fretwork and truss rod gives them problems.

I would think the paint would be the hardest part of the guitar to get right, especially if you're doing bright colors, fades, graphics, etc.

[Inflames626]

As an example, guitar manufacturers are so boring right now. They seem afraid to invest money into new and more aggressive designs when they can just crank out the same old LPs and Strats they've been doing for 75 years.

I miss when stuff like this was common and easily had new. Pretty much only Japanese luthiers seem interested in these designs now:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224888863278?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D243435%26meid%3D9224273127834dbfa1fd23dcac24bca0%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D11%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D224888863352%26itm%3D224888863278%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithRevOptLambda90KnnRecallV1%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum%3A2248888632789224273127834dbfa1fd23dcac24bca0%7Cenc%3AAQAHAAABIPZqctS1aW2Gn1fMafrLrPa7%252BqLD2Pgo5GTgCDTJgIpBMBHaBHcFvdVGNBWeIytK8U7x8RargP9Bv5VZgW5ZIFM9MbvtB3naCbhnxotTrFFR8YkMzVHABeqOdKklO93Ztoi7hUrBQMUFMZpuJhhnwreVvAUI7m%252FFa2qS74kxWL3ujPVOrmpVo3z16%252FTwhgQDRb7kZcsbQmkd4AFTA5vekAyvGir4ZklDRmNfhxMuva%252FpB5dbVVqHd6cLm3OzZR5Gu%252FxFcwZWIrxS6xIlnOYE9h4DFcDGg%252FdDG6Rkoiaf8nH89GKxS9oHc1iRrEA%252FYgGCjnzl5WrNhmvo5cPHiRn3wF0EvtQgK2vrqgTq5cKv%252BKao5f0%252Byk4zisk6kZ1r5XQ1qg%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675

[Securb]

My thinking is after you pay $350 for the guitar, $200+ for pickups, $60 in pots and electronics, and another $100- 250 for a new bridge, you could have bought an incredible $700 - $800 guitar, And that is before dealing with the frets and neck.

[Inflames626]

The benefit is you can build the guitar in stages instead of shelling out all at once. And you can practice your maintenance skills.

Any guitar I build I do not go over $1000 working on, at least not intentionally.

$250 bridge
$200 pickups
$550 body

This is why most of my guitars are Japanese. Korean and Indonesian stuff is getting better. I have a Peavey Grind 6 bass made in Vietnam. Beautiful walnut stripes.

The Charvel Desolation I have is a 25.5" neck thru LP copy with a Floyd Rose 1000 and AHB-1 Blackouts. It says made in China on the neck. I never found the FR 1000s to be problematic.

It was a good deal when I bought it used for $600-700 in the late 00s and would be a good deal now. But it's hard to find these kind of features in mid tier guitars anymore.

[Inflames626]

I'm thinking I would just be better off getting something intended for the domestic Japanese market (Edwards, Burny, Tokai, Jackson Stars, etc.) than risking on a Chinese made instrument. The problem is the shipping and import fees.

[solspirit]

I have 2 Chinese Tagimas, a Jazzmaster that has a good bridge and 2 P-90's that I love the only thing that guitar needed was a nut and fret job. And a Tele that has perfect frets, I love the neck pickup but put a Duncan in the bridge.
I havent changed any hardware on either but they both need nuts.

I'm into the Tele $240 for the guitar and $95 for the pup.

Fret work & pickup installation was free by me.

As far as pots go, I'll replace them eventually... maybe.

[Inflames626]

Also, you might want to snap up a short run production body.

I think around 2016-17 ESP was putting out an LTD EX model with a Floyd Rose, the LTD EX 401 FR. They're almost impossible to find as I think they were only out for a year.

Here's one for sale but it's going for $1200. I'd probably still have to swap the bridge on it (probably a Floyd Rose Special) and then get rid of the EMGs if I didn't want them. So I'm probably looking at $1400-1600 for that guitar now.

If I had bought the body years ago and then waited to buy other parts I could have saved a little.

Pickups seem to be going up in price fast but certain models are always available used.

The best thing is I can buy a Schaller Floyd directly from Germany for about $220 counting shipping, taxes, foreign currency conversion on the credit card, everything.

They have done a great job keeping the prices down, IMO, and Floyd Rose running their own business now is comparable.

Buying directly from manufacturers via their websites now is also nice although I think the prices are a little inflated considering you're cutting out the retail middle man. I would only do that for a really rare body style (like a Peavey Vandenberg/V Type EXP that I still want).