Why do you feel that American made guitars are the best?

[AgentKooper]

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

So far I have read brand(s) and company location loyalty and that is fine and understandable but does little to explain why one guitar is automatically expected to be better?
I have to assume that I am still missing something here?

It seems to me there have been numerous responses (1) calling the "automatically expected to be better" assumption into question and (2) offering thoughtful reasoning as to why certain US made premium brands might be expected to be of better overall quality than certain Asian alternatives.

[JeffreyAK]

Whole lot of assumptions buried in the original questions, that don't apply to me so I won't address them, but I happen to own US-made instruments exclusively. I'll always support US manufacturers and jobs when I can and when it makes sense, which isn't always (like, no US manufacturer makes a car like the German car I drive, which is why I own that German car), but I can and it does when it comes to guitars and mandos. I'd probably feel the same way about Canadian if I was a Canadian, or British if I was British, or German if I was German. Maybe even Chinese if I was Chinese.

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

Going to be a late one...

No, I really do not think so. Folks are set in their ways and that is life and that is OK.
It will slowly change and the big three will need to take notice much as the automakers did.
I suppose this has came again to light while driving home today and noticing the predominance of Asian built automobiles.
Weird, huh?

Thanks for the replies, I will bow out not so as to not cause conflicts with those moderator type of folks...

[orfew]

I have never had nationalistic feelings when it comes to selecting a guitar. As a Canadian I have owned Canadian guitars and I think they are great value for the money. A Norman is a very fine guitar. I loved mine because of its sound.

The same goes for my Martin. When I walked into the music store I was not thinking "I must buy a Canadian guitar because it is Canadian". I was also not thinking that I must buy an American brand because it is American and necessarily better.

All I was thinking was that I wanted to get the best sounding guitar I could for the money I had to spend. I bought the Martin because it sounded best to me. There were others I tried that I also liked, but when I strummed the Martin I knew I had found the one I wanted.

[flaggerphil]

I've never said they are.

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by flaggerphil

I've never said they are.

OK, fair enough.
So what are you saying?

[Marshall]

The steel string guitar is pretty much an American invention. - Maybe not a whole invention, but at least a further development that also made way for a whole plethora of new musical expressions. And America was the driving force of the 20th century. So it's natural that it's art forms became world art forms.

The 21st century will not belong to the US alone. Quite possibly Asia is ascending to world and cultural leadership. But they have not developed their own cultural expression/identity.

As this relates to guitars, Asia is not making new guitar designs. They are refining manufacturing techniques and improving quality of construction while reducing costs. But they are still copying instruments from the American tradition.

A copy will never be worth more than an original.

[JimCA]

I can't quote numbers, but it seems to me an overriding theme of AGF is that "best" is a personal judgement. There are lots of aspects to that: playability, sound, bling, cost, ... and it just jerks my chain. I'll concede, "where it was built" and "who built it" are somewhere in that list too.

Jim

[Steel and wood]

They may not be the best, but they are arguably the most iconic.

[cu4life7]

While I was raised to "buy american" or whatever, I have always gravitated to value and simply buying the best product available in my budget. My first steel string was a seagull and I got it because it had great value, not because it was canadien. But the music I gravitated to is quintessentially American in bluegrass/blues/Americana. And like the music itself, the instruments used to create it took elements from previous instruments and shaped them and changed them into what they are. Steel string flat top guitar, bluegrass Gibson style mandolin, 5-string banjo. At least to me, it follows that the tones I'm after would attract me to American instruments. I was instantly drawn to martin and the 000-15 specifically because it had a one of a kind voice and there isn't anything like it. I am not close minded and have played some great eastmans, and others as well. I've heard great things from here about pono and look forward to trying one, and was blown away by a northfield mandolin I heard the other day. I will just say if I was buying a samurai sword I would look for something Japanese, if I was buying a great watch I would look for something Swiss, if I was buying a great bagpipe I would imagine Scotland would be a great starting place, and when I shop for American traditional instruments I begin in America. Simple as that.


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[MikeBodd]

I don't feel that American guitars are best. I feel they are good, but there are a number of other Great guitars out there. People cannot be arrogant and say guitars made in their country are best etc. We need to be open minded. I can politely disagree as I have brands I favour. I am particularly fond of Ibanez guitars. Where are they are made makes no difference. I like how they look, sound and feel. And that's what I'll buy. A little more tolerance I think is what is needed in the world...

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[Russ C]

Seems to me America had Orville Gibson, CF Martin, Epi Stathopolou, Leo Fender (and whoever else I should have mentioned) and the population to buy their good work .. boosted by the baby boomer generation and their rock 'n roll.

As an Aussie kid who had his nose pressed up against TVs and music shop windows, American guitars were the real thing .. their sound, look and romance set hard in our minds and from there had little competition. Once something is the real thing it's hard to change perceptions.

[Slinky]

Why on earth would someone beg a moderator to close a thread?

If you don't like a discussion, could you just not participate?

I would like to make the decision myself, weather or not I read the thread. Why do people want to control what everyone else does?

I just don't get it.

[Mbroady]

I love and appreciate my American made guitars.
I love and appreciate my imported guitars.
I just love a good sounding well made guitar. No one has bragging rights to being the best

With that said, NYC has the best pizza and bagels in the world.

[teleamp]

For me, it boils down to availability.