Just how good are those imports?

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I didn't vote because I don't have experience with these guitars other than my Yamaha f335 which is wonderful for what it is but it' certainly not ''exceeptional''

If I did I would have voted for Eastman and Yamaha because they have their own factories making their instruments. The others just contract out to musical instrument sub-contractors. They could be making guitars for anybody.

Gibson/Epiphone has a factory in Qingdao, China.

[TerryC]

For someone like me who is going to be paying off student loan debt for awhile, I would consider it exceptional to be able to play on a well made solid top guitar for ~$200. I'm sure it can't compete with the made in America guitars, but it sounds good enough to my ear, while still allowing me to keep the shirt on my back.

[Looburst]

Ah, the magical word "exceptional", exceptional when compared to it's predecessor for which that particular guitar was designed to sound close to or like. This is how I compare the cheaper Imports for the most part. When I have bought an import, which has only happened once in the last 25 years, I was looking for a cheaper way to get a particular sound without shelling out upwards of 4K to get the vintage genuine article.

[Rockysdad]

I honestly believe that a number of the "import" brands are good enough that if a person played them, without knowing they were playing an import, would be very surprised to find that they were. Seems to me, a number of folks are biased in they're thoughts.

[ross748]

Originally Posted by Toby Walker

The movie 'Hologram For The King' is about a struggling American businessman - played by Tom Hanks - who tries to sell a remarkable 3-D video conferencing technology system using holograms to the King of Saudia Arabia. Despite that the system is absolutely marvelous, his firm loses the bid to a company in China, who not only can produce the exact same system in half the time but also at half the price.

Fascinating movie. I agree.

[Still Kicking]

Acoustic guitars being what they are, it stands to reason that any shop producing consistently good instruments, will occasionally make a "dud". Conversely, that same shop may produce an excellent example, that just leaves you in awe. It's just the laws of probability coming into play. I resisted that premise for many years.

Now, I'm not one who likes digging through the "wood pile", looking for the "gems". But, a local dealer I knew did it all the time, for several clients. And, he had regular access to the primary US distribution center at the time.

Long story short, he calls me one day and suggests I drop by to see something special. So, three days later, I dropped by his establishment. His luthier smiled when I walked in and said "I hope you brought your wallet". Played that guitar for an hour, and ended up purchasing my first solid wood MIC guitar. He was so confident that he didn't even put it on display. He was right. No way I was leaving his shop without that guitar.

Does that mean I've abandon USA built guitars? Not hardly. It just means I've broadened my thinking with respect to the possibilities.

The other Paul

[Mbroady]

Toby

From the choices in the poll I assume you are referring to Asian imports.

I picked "other" because I feel that Furch/Stonebridge (Czech Republic) offer high end guitars at a price point that are a good amount lower ( around 1/2 the price) then American made guitars of the same quality.

[AndrewG]

Having owned and played a few higher end Yamahas, like the LL26 and LL36, and having owned more than a few high end US and British marques, I can honestly say that these Japanese beauties stand with the best of them. I have yet to play the custom order only LL86, priced around £10,000.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avHvoBDQCgY
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/k...-ll86ctarenat/

[merlin666]

Ovation moved most of their production overseas quite a few years ago. While these guitars are probably not near the quality of the U. S. built models I have heard some raves about the most recent generation. They should be on the list and might rank among the top there as well.

[dkstott]

I would suggest the Eastman line of Acoustic and Archtop guitars rival quite a few of the US built guitars. Purchasing an Eastman archtop might set you back about $1,500 - $2,000 for a new one... You won't find a NEW archtop guitar made in the US selling in that range.

My other suggestion is that Cordoba needs to be on that list.. They are making major strides in the Classical world and are about to introduce Steel string guitars to their lineup. PLUS Cordoba Musical Group now owns GUILD.

[Bronsky]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

I have never played an "exceptional" guitar, my opinion, at entry level, low end price points, juts like I've never had a "great" $9.99 meal at a restaurant.

Mostly in life you get what you pay for........

This.

My Eastman is a very well made instrument, it's really enjoyable to play, but I don't think those qualities are "exceptional", especially in a guitar costing close to 1k.

Yamaha is the only other brand in the list with which I have experience.
I'm not gonna start saying it in every thread for fear of sounding like a brand basher, but the quality of build in the Chinese models isn't what the internet makes it out to be. To be honest or candid, I'm actually wondering why a brand like Gibson gets constantly called out for finish issues and bad QC, while Yamaha seems to get a free pass?

That being said my LJ16 sounds great, which is why I didn't send it back.

[Rmz76]

I believe the only reason Blueridge isn't rated higher is due to lack of availability of this brand. Yamaha is no surprise, being a widely available budget/value leader. If this is the case than the high availability of Yamaha and a few other brands and the rarity of others is no doubt skewing the poll numbers and why this should really be taken with a grain of salt.

For the reader considering which of these builders makes a guitar closest to whatever American vintage counterpart you may be looking for (if you are looking for a more vintage inspired guitar), I would say if you are looking for a vintage Martin sound for less than a grand, Blueridge is the only builder that gets you in the ball park and if you're looking for a builder to get you a close approximation of a banner era J-45, Eastman (E10SS) is the way to go. Yamaha builds a fine acoustic, but their models are all contemporary and simply good in their own right. The most sought after acoustic be it by boutique builders or coming as reissues from the big builders are typically based on vintage designs. So by that criteria I would put Blueridge and Eastman in a league above Yamaha.

To provide a specific example, consider the D28

Modern Martin D28 - $2600. USD


Martin D28 Authentic 1941 - $6800. USD


Blueridge BR160A - $820. USD
(essentially Blueridge's interpretation of the vintage D28 models, comparable in materials to the D28 Authentic)


Of course there only so much a studio grade recording with a low amount of processing can tell us, but it certainly can tell us how close of a recorded sound the guitar gets to the real thing and that's of quite a bit of value to most. The question here isn't if a $800 guitar can perform at the same level as a $6800 guitar, the question is does it get us in the ball park and close approximation. If it's even half a good of quality as the D28 Authentic what does that say? The Authentic is after all over 8x the cost. The BR160A (which many players do not even know exist) would probably be a dream come true to many a bluegrass player on a budget if the company behind this brand did a better job with distribution and marketing.

What the audio recording is not telling you in this case is the exceptionally build quality of Blueridge, these are truly "lightly built" guitars considering their price point and poly finishes. They feel and play as if they should cost a lot more. Eastman's do as well. Considering the low volume both of these builders put out they are essentially boutique builders denied of that title because of where their factories are located. As I've pointed out before I'm sure Collings is producing more guitars at this point than Eastman. With Eastman you find the finer appointments of not only all solid woods, but also hide glue construction and even nitro finishes. What more could they do to gain more respect, I believe the only answer is move their headquarters to the USA and use American craftsmen. I really think the quality is so good that it is the negative sentiment towards Chinese imports that keeps them from a higher rank among acoustic enthusiast.

I'm providing this perspective but I think with both Blueridge and Eastman you have two exceptionally good brands that remain widely unknown. Meanwhile other budget brands are winning out simply because they are doing the business side of things better (distribution, marketing, endorsements, etc...) better but not necessarily because they are building a better suited product for most players.

[Vol46]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

Exceptional to me is not entry level, including Martin's entry level models.

I have never played an "exceptional" guitar, my opinion, at entry level, low end price points, juts like I've never had a "great" $9.99 meal at a restaurant.

Mostly in life you get what you pay for........

Sad, but very true - This forum needs a "like" button. That said, my Blueridge plays & sounds very nice for what it is.

[GaryH]

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[AZLiberty]

The quality of Chinese and South East Asian imports is very good these days. I do think that in general they are somewhat overbuilt compared to North American Instruments.

Alvarez is importing some fantastic instruments in the $300-500 range.

Breedlove is importing great instruments as well, although I liked the Korean ones better than the Chinese ones, there is something subtle I can't quite place.

The Chinese Guilds are very good, though more heavily constructed than their US counterparts. On the other hand, the necks are better.

There is great love of Eastman on this forum, but every one I have played was dead and lifeless in my hands. I suspect they need a flat pick to bring out their best.