Does Made in America matter?

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OttoMatick

OttoMatick

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Do American made guitars hold more resale value than MIJ, MIM, MIK guitars?

I got a new AE Dred, the Breedlove Atlas Stage Series D25/SRe Dreadnought. It is an excellent axe and I played it against everything including the new D28, a Vintage D18, Taylor 714, 814 and it sounds to par with those instruments unplugged and plugged into an amp. Playability of this beast is incredible. This guitar smokes everything in it's price range, there is no comparison between this and a Taylor 210ce. Acoustically this guitar sounds better than the Martin line of Performing Artist, but the aura electronics win here. I was considering the Martin Custom Performer JCPA4 Rosewood Jumbo.

I love this guitar but it is made in Korea. We all know the wholesale / trade values of a used MIK guitar, much less than an american made version of that MIK guitar.

I believe a used Martin Custom Performer JCPA4 Rosewood Jumbo will have more resale value than a used MIK Breedlove Atlas Stage Series D25/SRe Dreadnought at some date in the future.

I am going back to exchange the Breedlove for the Martin.

What do you folks think? How much weight do you place on where a guitar is manufactured and it's potential resale value at some unknown future date when buying new?
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

My approach has always been if it plays good and it sounds good, it is good - country of origin is incidental.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

Resell value depends on whether guitar center sells the new one or not.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

The quality of the materials is more important than where they were cut out, shaped and glued together. The single highest factor in the manufacturing costs is labour and attention to detail in the finishing and set up.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

OttoMatick said:
Do American made guitars hold more resale value than MIJ, MIM, MIK guitars?
Click to expand...

Of course it does you can easily see that anywhere that sells used guitars.

OttoMatick said:
How much weight do you place on where a guitar is manufactured and it's potential resale value at some unknown future date when buying new?
Click to expand...

Depends are you buying it to sell or you buying it as a keeper? If you buy a cheap guitar and its a winner then your ahead right?
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

I wouldn't know. I have never once considered resale value when buying a guitar. I'm a guitarist, not a pawn shop.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

I don't care about resale value, as I buy guitars to keep them. I prefer to buy American when I can (and buy new), it employs people in this country and contributes to the economy. I do my best to avoid Chinese products due to their continual human rights and environmental abuses, as well as the intellectual property theft and currency manipulation used to maintain their manufacturing advantage. I don't get preachy about it and badger others, but you did ask.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

I think I didn't state my question clearly enough.

I can't believe the whole attitude of I buy guitars to keep them... That is silly else we would all still have our original 68 les pauls custom and 72 thinline tele. You grow tired or weary of a guitar. It is perfectly normal and natural to sell one to obtain another. That aside...

I was thinking along the lines more of contribution to the American economy, employing American guitar builders in this country and not some import office staff... AND the resale value should also be considered. I think really my question was more of do you consider who is going to earn when you purchase a new guitar and is that important to you. Along the lines of what chadd said except he is a little bit China focused. I honestly think that should be applied to all good but especially Guitars.

By getting the import I am allowing Korea to earn at the expense of employing people here... and the resale value... I am going to exchange the Breedlove for the Martin. thats my personal bottom line and I was just wondering if others made these sorts of considerations when purchasing a new guitar.

Does made in America matter?
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

I think with acoustics there are a lot more 'intangibles', like the fact that they start to mature over the course of several years of playing, and that's when the "you get get what you pay for" rule starts to apply itself. Obviously this only applies to solid tops, and/or backs and sides as well. I've had people try and tell me that's a lot of bunk, but the proof to me is that my student model Harmony classical guitar (which apparently sold for about $75 back in 1970) has a solid top, as well as a solid back, and is definitely one of the nicest sounding nylon sting guitars i've ever heard, let alone have the privilege of owning. I swear the thing is alive. The resale market usually catches up with those things after several years . . . but as we all sometimes find out, price and quality aren't always the same thing, and it's better to go with your gut feelings . . . because guitars are for playing . . .
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

Yes and no. I buy all of my gear used and often without being able to play it first. Typically, if its a MIA guitar there is a reputation for quality and a built in secondary market if I decide to sell it. Yes, because its a safe bet that it will be a decent instrument. No, because other countries make nice guitars too, Japan for example.

Personally, I won't buy a guitar that was made in China, even used. I don't like their business practices and though its nearly impossible to never buy a Chinese made product I try to avoid where I can. This includes the used market because it still supports someone buying it new. For example, Martin has excellent resale value overall. This makes buying a new Martin a good choice because if you ever decided to sell it, it should move easily and for a decent price. I don't want to support a secondary market for MIC instruments. In a small way if there isn't someone to buy that new MIC guitar when then need to sell it, it might persuade them to look at something different.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

When you know what you're looking for, you can tell. sound, weight, playability, looks, etc... If it passes your inspection, its a great instrument. In addition to how it sounds, just watch out for things like tuning issues, sharp fret ends, crazy action, choked out notes, body's OR necks that are too heavy for the guitar. Most of these things can be fixed AT the guitar shop you find them at, and usually they will fix it up before you leave with it or buy it.

And if EVERYTHING else is flawless BUT the tone and you can get it for a GREAT deal, then you can always change the pickups to suit you more. Though I do NOT recommend buying a guitar with the immediate mindset of changing the pickups. If you buy a guitar because you like the way it sounds but your taste changes over time and you want something different, or if something is faulty with the electronics by all means change them.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

OttoMatick said:
I think I didn't state my question clearly enough.

I can't believe the whole attitude of I buy guitars to keep them... That is silly else we would all still have our original 68 les pauls custom and 72 thinline tele. You grow tired or weary of a guitar. It is perfectly normal and natural to sell one to obtain another. That aside...

I was thinking along the lines more of contribution to the American economy, employing American guitar builders in this country and not some import office staff... AND the resale value should also be considered. I think really my question was more of do you consider who is going to earn when you purchase a new guitar and is that important to you. Along the lines of what chadd said except he is a little bit China focused. I honestly think that should be applied to all good but especially Guitars.

By getting the import I am allowing Korea to earn at the expense of employing people here... and the resale value... I am going to exchange the Breedlove for the Martin. thats my personal bottom line and I was just wondering if others made these sorts of considerations when purchasing a new guitar.

Does made in America matter?
Click to expand...

"Buying guitars to keep them" doesn't mean "I'll take it to the grave come hell or high water". It's about buying what works best for you as a guitarist. If you find yourself rejecting something you really love because it will not sell for much on the used market, you've stopped being a guitarist. You are now a guitar collector.

As for the rest, no it doesn't matter much at all. I judge guitars on their individual merits. Plus I'm not American.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

It matters to me insofar as I happen to prefer the guitars that have been made here, historically, i.e. my Gibson 1958 Les Paul Reissue.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

I like being able to support my economy when I can but I buy what ever works and sounds good for me what ever the product may be. If I had the money to buy american over foreign then yes but since i'm not in that position I go for whatever I can afford.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

I buy MIA when it makes sense to. For guitars, amps, effects, etc. there are a number of reasons a) ethics (why support a country that uses slave labor?), b) resale value (think long road, not short term) and c) quality (while the import stuff these days are made pretty darn well, I still believe that most American stuff is made with better quality woods and generally as good or better made).

With cars, I haven't found an all-American vehicle that's built the way I want a vehicle to be built - so I buy Japan for that. So, I'm not a perfect example of "Buy 'merica!", but I try to support American labor when I can to a point.
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

What country of origin gives me is a solid benchmark as to the quality of the instrument I should expect were I to buy it sight-unseen.

I have guitars from Japan, Korea, Mexico, and USA; they all play/sound more or less as good as eachother, and that's why after all these years I have narrowed my collection down to include only them. I certainly don't think that a Japanese, Korean, Mexican, etc... guitar isn't capable of being every bit as good as an American guitar, it's just that there's a far higher probability that an off-the-rack guitar from the US will play/sound better than an off-the-rack equivalent from another country (Japan being the major exception IMO).
 
Re: Does Made in America matter?

When buying a new guitar, factors like "Playability of this beast is incredible" and "This guitar smokes everything in it's price range" are much more important than a "Made in USA" sticker.
 
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