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  #91  
Old 03-29-2015, 03:06 PM
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Originally Posted by leatherguy View Post
I totally agree, although I can only speak to MY price point...I've tried several brands, and have found that Yamaha blows them all away.
I've been in search of the right 000 size for me for the last couple years.
I've come back to the FS720s...bought one last week. While it's a bit deeper than a true 000, I prefer the more dred like tone of it.....awesome guitar.
Leather, I bought a new FG-730 for myself for Christmas (the wife got a Vitamix). The tobacco burst finish is downright sexy. Don't know how they do it, but they keep doing it.
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  #92  
Old 03-29-2015, 03:08 PM
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China, Japan and Korea had a long history (thousands of years) as orderly, advanced, and educated societies. Japan and Korea benefited from American occupation after the wars, but they had a history of manufacturing, and a culture where work was valued. China benefited from the same history, but also from forced communist modernization, along with having plenty of raw materials. China's economy didn't take off though, until communism was "adjusted" and the US market opened up.
Actually we opened the China market as part of the cold war. Make no mistake about it. The country is still communist although their government practices capitalism for their benefit, not the peoples benefit. We're doing them zero favors by being addicted to inexpensive products they make pennies on the dollar for.

It will come back and bite us, eventually. We're not only outsourcing our jobs, we're outsourcing our wealth.
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  #93  
Old 03-29-2015, 10:47 PM
Captaincranky Captaincranky is offline
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Originally Posted by SFCRetired View Post
...[ ]...It will come back and bite us, eventually. We're not only outsourcing our jobs, we're outsourcing our wealth.
I'd say given our current debt to China, along with the massive trade deficit, and our budget deficit, it already has. It's just that nobody has fully caught on yet, or if they have, they're in a state of denial.

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Originally Posted by AmericanEagle View Post
so much for the 'only 1 child per family' government rule in China
I couldn't find my quote you're responding to. It might have been pulled.

That out of the way, I saw a tragic story coming out of China. The details are a bit fuzzy, so sorry for that. A school was destroyed by a natural disaster, and parent who lost a child in the tragedy, said in interviews, "we were following the one child law, and now we've lost our only one".

Given China's of population growth, and sheer numbers of people, something needed to be done, wouldn't you say? As far as it goes, "it's about time", is as charitable as the rest of the world needs to be. So, "one child per family", is possibly "too little too late"..

My earlier comments about India's prime minister saying "we can't be ignored now that we're a billion strong", are to best of my knowledge, correct. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read it. His comments were made in the context of India's "population clock" finally passing 1,000,000,000 people.

Apparently, India does indeed have a population clock:


And here's the UN statement of when that "goal" was reached: http://www.un.org/esa/population/pub...ia/ind1bil.htm

In the case of India's potential role as the next major industrial power, due to it's vast population, I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

The incidences of their world success I have seen thus far, are in part due to their status as a former British Colony, with the resultant familiarity with English language and culture.

I do know they're likely the worlds largest supplier supplier of sitars already. That doesn't really enter into this discussion about guitars.

Last edited by Captaincranky; 03-29-2015 at 10:58 PM.
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  #94  
Old 03-30-2015, 02:22 AM
guit3090 guit3090 is offline
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Exclamation Yairi

Now here is a Yairi that was right below. For that money dif, there, I would pick up the Yairi.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Alva...91320944&rt=nc

Today's Yairi's are still AAA guitars. Yairis are finished in their shop in Japan. Alvarez guitars are checked out by the luthiers there, and then shipped out. They have great QC. A friend of mine picked up a Taylor 214CE about 5 years ago, It has turned out to be a great guitar, plus he is a better player because of it. I played with him on Friday night, and he and his guitar are sounding great.
Best,
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  #95  
Old 03-30-2015, 03:28 AM
faustus67 faustus67 is offline
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Originally Posted by ahorsewithnonam View Post
Got to say...I love my Mexi-Martin.

Beautiful! I love my Mexi-Martin as well. Build quality seems good, the sound is excellent and the neck is great. I can't afford anything better right now, but I can say I'm very happy with this Martin.
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  #96  
Old 03-30-2015, 03:45 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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Originally Posted by charmedlife417 View Post
I've never actually played a Taylor, but have no doubt they are very, very good. I would say the QC is every bit as good on Yammies vs anyone in the industry, but I don't know if I'd say Yamahas are BETTER than trhe big three. They should be in the conversation, though.
It depends how far up the food chain you go; while the Chinese Yamahas are excellent guitars those made in Japan are truly superlative, equal to anything the West produces, and come with some spectacular prices too. The flagship LL86 Custom comes in at around $12,000US. The relatively affordable but recently discontinued LL26 Custom will set you back more than a Martin D-28. Having owned both at one time I would have no hesitation in choosing the Yamaha over the Martin if the opportunity-and cash-presented themselves again.

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Last edited by AndrewG; 03-30-2015 at 03:58 AM.
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  #97  
Old 07-13-2015, 12:28 AM
BUBBLEHEAD617 BUBBLEHEAD617 is offline
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with all the discussion of laminate, the difference is a plywwod vice laminate process. lamination as i understand it is the process of binding a not so nice SOLID WOOD to another nicer piece of SOLID WOOD. much different than the plywood really cheap but competatively priced knockoff childrens guitars. there are a wide choice at the poorer guitar shops of cheap guitars that have no redeeming qualities and the lower end of the better makers like alvarez, yamaha, even the martins,gibsons and taylors. it all comes down for me, does the instrument speak to you. If it does and makes you want to hear it, then own it until the need for something better arrives.
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  #98  
Old 07-13-2015, 03:03 AM
mickthemiller mickthemiller is offline
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I agree - it is the golden age. I recall the guitars available in the 50s, 60s, 70, and 80s - the 50s began with cheap plywood guitars with high action (enough to put anyone off) The 60s and 70s progressed with better action but still most were plywood. The 80s saw some effort to improve quality and in the 90s we started to see some cheaper solid tops. Since the early 2000s the all solid affordable acoustic has become more available. And now for £500 or so the guitar player has a huge choice of really good well made acoustics.
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  #99  
Old 07-13-2015, 06:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Captaincranky View Post
But keep in mind, China is the last potential massive labor pool on the planet. Where's next in the search for affordable instruments...?
Africa. You don't need a massive pool to build guitars. It wouldn't surprise me to see more play in the Caribbean in the not-too-distant future.
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  #100  
Old 07-13-2015, 07:19 AM
jpjr50 jpjr50 is offline
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I was at Guitar Center last week for the 4th of July sale. My son bought a $199 Epiphone for $99. I took it home and put Ernie Ball 80/20 strings on it and I'm blown away with the sound.

Now it does not have the smooth tone of my $900 Martin, plus my Martin neck is wider (nice for my big hands and fingers).

Yes, there are some deals out there for sure.
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  #101  
Old 07-13-2015, 08:17 AM
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Originally Posted by jpjr50 View Post
I was at Guitar Center last week for the 4th of July sale. My son bought a $199 Epiphone for $99. I took it home and put Ernie Ball 80/20 strings on it and I'm blown away with the sound.

Now it does not have the smooth tone of my $900 Martin, plus my Martin neck is wider (nice for my big hands and fingers).

Yes, there are some deals out there for sure.
BTW, folks, I was in GC over the weekend and they are running a special for the next couple weeks on the Yammie FG-710S for $149.00, $50.00 off the regular price. I daresay this is the best $150 guitar on the market. Can't beat the Yamahas with a stick.

sm
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  #102  
Old 07-13-2015, 09:04 AM
merlin666 merlin666 is offline
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Originally Posted by guit3090 View Post
In the 70s most everything was laminate, but I bought a Yamaha 12 string for about 400, played it mostly as a 6 string for 25 years, but in the nineties you started to be able to get some nice Solid tops. China, now thru Alvarez, Blueridge, Recording King, Yamaha and many others are putting out a real quality product for the money.
I think you are mixing up a lot of things here. So for one, this thread is about budget guitars and of course those are as laminate now as they were in the 70s. Second, I would not consider $400 in the 70s as budget at all, budget would have been <$80. Also in the 70s the American makers were having issues with their tonewood supply, while Japanese makers still had access to excellent woods and Yairi, Yamaha, Suzuki, Tama (later Ibanez Artwood) etc. had high-end guitars that generally exceeded their American counterparts. Finally, you can not compare Japan which has been a fully developed country for decades (already in the 70s) with China which is still considered a NIC and lacks fundamental human rights and environmental and labour regulations.
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  #103  
Old 07-13-2015, 09:18 AM
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Originally Posted by BUBBLEHEAD617 View Post
with all the discussion of laminate, the difference is a plywwod vice laminate process. lamination as i understand it is the process of binding a not so nice SOLID WOOD to another nicer piece of SOLID WOOD. much different than the plywood really cheap but competatively priced knockoff childrens guitars. there are a wide choice at the poorer guitar shops of cheap guitars that have no redeeming qualities and the lower end of the better makers like alvarez, yamaha, even the martins,gibsons and taylors. it all comes down for me, does the instrument speak to you. If it does and makes you want to hear it, then own it until the need for something better arrives.
Laminate can be a lot of things. It can be like Seagull who laminates 3 pieces of wild cherry together, or it can be a layer of rosewood laminated to a piece of pine. It's really difficult to find out which process each manufacturer uses.

But my common sense tells me a couple things.

If they laminated 3 pieces of the same wood together, they will tell you this.

Guitars that sell for less than 3 or 4 hundred dollars and are built in China, they use a filler wood. Maybe most of them do, I don't know.

Laminate is the process of joining layers of wood. The type of wood is irrelevant
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