Made in USA

[kayakman]

Do you folks only buy American made guitars,or do you find Korean made or Japenese just as good?ie Gretsch.

[rmp]

The country of origin people buy from is more or less a personal call.

Japense builds, since the 80s have been incredible values and very well built guitars. They demand more money today, but IMHO they are probably worth it.

Korean builds are usually pretty spot on too, much improved since the 90s. I have a Korean Gretsch and it's pretty much flawless.

I had a Korean made Epi Emporer Regent that I used as trade fodder recently. The guys at the store thought it was one of the best built epiphones they'd ever seen. The mgr gave me a more than fair trade as he knew it would sell quick.

Chinese and Indonesian builds have vastly improved in the last few years. The parent companies stepped up the game quite a lot with their Asian counter parts, wrt hardware.

Pickups and electronics are much better. I have a 2015 Sheraton Pro II (MIC) it needed some work (frets leveled) but once that was done, the guitar is pretty awesome.

[Colt45]

Nothing against foreign builds, but I only look at American made instruments.
I’m not sure why. I guess it’s just from being around and playing only American made.

[blue]

I prefer USA built (assembled) guitars, but from specific builders in the 90s. Hamer, Chandler, etc.

Current production USA guitars are my preference when:

A. Used

B. a crazy bargain

As an example I can find used PRS things in a range I am willing to pay, but i have yet meet a Gibson electric I am willing to buy. I did find a Gibby advanced jumbo at the right price 5 or so years ago. Very lightly built great sounding instrument! Strandberg has been catching my eye. Lots of bargains out there on those.

[Dru Edwards]

I love my Gibson Les Pauls and SGs. They're my favorite. I also have Strats and a PRS. So, yes, I do like made in USA guitars.

I also have a couple of great Korean made Schecters (that I upgraded the pickups to US made pickups) and a couple of Chinese Signature model Epiphones with US electronics. The Epis do feel different than the Gibsons.

As rmp mentioned (^^), Indonesia is producing some great guitars. That includes PRS SE models (prior to a couple of years ago they were made in Korea) and Ibanez as well.

[blue]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

As rmp mentioned (^^), Indonesia is producing some great guitars. That includes PRS SE models (prior to a couple of years ago they were made in Korea) and Ibanez as well.

Yes! My D'Angelico is Indonesian made and a great guitar. However I'm stunned at the price Ibanez is asking for some Indonesian models. North of $1,500 to "the sky is the limit".

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by blue

Yes! My D'Angelico is Indonesian made and a great guitar. However I'm stunned at the price Ibanez is asking for some Indonesian models. North of $1,500 to "the sky is the limit".

Yep, Ibanez is selling some high priced Indonesian guitars. I've read and heard great things about the Premium series. Not sure if they're all made in Indonesia but some are (probably all of them).

[BoneDigger]

I have electric guitars from America, Korea, Indonesia, China, and Japan. The American and Japanese models are very good guitars. The Chinese, Korean, and Indonesian guitars are also very good. I am more likely to upgrade something on one of the latter, but then the price is usually better anyway so I can afford it.

My latest Epiphone guitars are just astounding guitars. The new Epi LP 59 and "Inspired by Gibson" Special are really just great guitars. The LP easily rivals the Gibby LP I owned for a while.

[letterk]

I buy both. Made in USA usually carries a premium in price that isn't necessarily reflected in the quality of the instrument. Additionally, even within a certain geographical build location there will be a spectrum of quality. For instance, I've played $2k Fenders that are lower quality than my $1k Indonesian PRS. I try to buy the best guitar I can for what I'm looking for and not pay much attention to where it was made.

[Jeff Scott]

USA made, here.

[Dirk Hofman]

I just went through this with Fenders. I was willing to buy whichever guitar spoke to me, but the necks and the fretwork on the American series were soooo much better than the MIM and other that it was an easy call for me.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by letterk

...Made in USA usually carries a premium in price that isn't necessarily reflected in the quality of the instrument...

Pretty much sums up my feelings - Japanese instruments hit their stride in the mid-70's "lawsuit" era and never looked back, with the Koreans catching the wave by the late-90's; IME Chinese/Indonesian instruments can be iffy - while Eastman has become a force to contend with in the bread-&-butter pro-level market (and if you want a modern Benedetto-style archtop that won't cost you an arm, a leg, and a couple other vital appendages , they're the only game in town) IME the other Chinese firms, as well as the bulk of the Indonesian product, are 5-8 years away from matching their standard of quality. Quite frankly, I'm far less impressed with American instruments as a whole than I used to be (with some notable exceptions in the lower end - Martin 15-Series, Gibson J-15/LP Tribute, Taylor koa GS Mini-e, et al. - that represent excellent value-per-dollar) - while the USA marques have the name recognition, there's no longer a compelling need to spend massive amounts of money to obtain high-quality, fully-professional instruments...

[DukeX]

I buy guitars I like for the price I like.

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by DukeX

I buy guitars I like for the price I like.

Very sage advice. If a guitar speaks to you, go with it.

[martinedwards]

as someone who has visited the US once, in 1970 when we were visiting Niagra from the Canadian side....... for about 10 mins to say "we'd been"..... when I was 4.......

frankly, I don't see the point!

Ok, I have owned a Fender Jazzmaster in about 1981.

other than that?

Japanese, Korean, Indonesian...... And Northern Irish!

If I'm buying a guitar I play the guitar.

the brand and materials come down the list after I find a guitar that calls out to me.

nationality?

means nothing to me.