Made in China Guitars...

[wickenspoet]

Might sound like a silly question, but...

Are made in China guitars guaranteed to be low quality? Anyone have any made in China guitars they liked?

I've got one, and despite what I've read on the internet about such things, I've gotta say it's a really nice playing guitar.

 

[Stratman]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

not really…

Epiphone (Gibson) has factories in Qingdao, China and quality is high….

 

[crguti]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I've got an Ibanez ART500 Made in China. Very good quality and great details. I love it to death. I swapped the IBZ low Z pickups for LW-Must. It sounds killer.
I call this guitar my Ibanez Les Paul.

 

[cakire82]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

It really depends on the brand, factory, quality control, craftsmanship and materials used. I should admit some of the brands and their factories are getting better and better. But it is still a fact that nothing beats the USA or Japanese quality. At least I haven't encounter it yet.

 

[aneyekay1]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

The Squier Classic Vibe series are made in china,
but the qualiti is good like thier fender counterparts

 

[Scatterwound]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

They make pretty much everything else that is good - your monitor, your HD tv, your cell phone, your computer, stereo system, Blur-Ray player, and the list goes on....

Why not good guitars.....?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFFvrHHct70

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I had a bass made by J&D Borthers from China and it was pretty sweet.
That said the Chinese made Tokai guitars are not suppowed to be as good as the Korean ones.
All in all I don't trust chinese build quality that much, but that doesn't mean good guitars can't be made there.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I've owned two Chinese-built acoustic guitars, a Blueridge and a Guild. Both have been incredibly well-built from all solid timers and sounded wonderful (I replaced the Blueridge with the Guild simply because I needed the wider fretboard of the Guild). I never thought i'd own a Chinese built instrument. I am certain they are still capable of making garbage too, but look to their higher-level stuff and they can really deliver. I don't have any personal experiences with their electic guitars but i see no reason why they can't do the same thing ..... after all, there is probably more skill required in buiding good acoustics.

 

[briggleman]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I have to agree with everyone here so far. I have a couple of guitars, made in China and they (in my very humble opinion) exceed many USA made Gibson's in quality, fit and finish. I picked up a Ibanez ARC500 that is absolutely beautiful. Plays like a dream. Price was six bills, new! I could not believe you could get a guitar like that for that price.

 

[crguti]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

^it looks like my guitar (see post #3), but my guitar is much beautiful :nana:

 

[sbecker67]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I wouldn't worry where it's made if it's a recognized brand; Epi, Ibanez, Squire, etc.... These companies do have standards after all.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I have a "Stellar" branded Les Paul.

Looks good, sounds good after putting a decent TOM in. Neck a little slim, frets a little big, but some might like it that way.

3-piece neck, and the neck pickup sound is hard to dial in. But the neck pickup in a LP is decoration only anyway, right?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

My Epi Dot is MIC, and has an awesome neck (thick D shape) and sounds great. I don't buy Chinese anything if I can avoid it now to support North American business rather than for quality concerns.

 

[apj]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I totally disagree with people who say that their China Epi is better than Gibsons they've tried. However, I've had a few of the epi's and they are not crap at all. They are fine guitars and once upgraded with new electronics are very comparable to american guitars, especially for the price. However, they all have minor issues wit fit and finish such as nut problems, unsettable intonation, etc. Never had those problems with a gibson.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I have a few Chinese guitars; Epi's and other brands. The quality is very good, especially for the price, and I think it's better and more consistent than most Korean guitars I've seen. There's no shame in owning a Chinese guitar. Instruments are tools, and if you're a better player than a guy with a Gibson or PRS, who's the one who sounds better? Audiences don't care what's on the headstock, a big wallet means nothing on stage. It's what you do with a guitar that counts.

 

[crguti]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

... Instruments are tools, and if you're a better player than a guy with a gibson or prs, who's the one who sounds better? Audiences don't care what's on the headstock, a big wallet means nothing on stage. It's what you do with a guitar that counts.

+1

 

[apj]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

I think it's better and more consistent than most Korean guitars I've seen.

Gotta disagree with you there. The korean LTD and schecters blow the high end chinese epis out of the water and are in a similar price range.

 

[saladin]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

My #1 and #2 guitars are both SX Strats. They are on par with American made stuff. The MIM Fender line has always felt cheap and inferior to me. I'm happy with the SX's and no one makes a chunky neck like these without having to go to Warmoth or Allparts. Now if you excuse me I'm going for General Tso Chicken....lol.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

Gotta disagree with you there. The korean LTD and schecters blow the high end chinese epis out of the water and are in a similar price range.

+1, ESP has almost ruined their reputation with the Indonesia/China LTD's. The early Korean made versions and the higher end LTD's that are still made in Korea are really good guitars. I have an EC100, one of the bottom line jobs from when LTD was first started (96, 97? Can't remember), but it smokes the mid level crap they're putting out now. Mine has a mahogany neck & body, it's a bolt on, but it's still a mahogany neck.

I don't own any Chinese guitars, mostly because I'll buy something better used before I would stoop to that level, but if I was buying new I would much rather keep my money in the states.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Made in China Guitars...

Gotta disagree with you there. The korean LTD and schecters blow the high end chinese epis out of the water and are in a similar price range.

I'm thinking in terms of Epi's here, I should have said that. I usually prefer Chinese Epi's over Korean Epi's. Some of the 1990's Epi's were pretty inconsistent & not impressive quality-wise.