Korea vs Indonesia (QC etc.)

[GuitarJon]

For the record, I'm not saying that one is better than the other, I'm referencing to others who have made those claims. I definitely have gotten some comments after this video where people said that Indonesian guitars are pieces of c$%p... So some people have very extreme opinions on this actually. This video was just to address my personal experience. :)

 

[megametal7]

my indo Ec 250 slys..... i play more of that then my Het sig Ltd which is way more expensive than Ec 250 even with upgrades i did....

but if I can i stick to Japanese guitars.... they never let me down.,

 

[Eagle]

For the record, I'm not saying that one is better than the other, I'm referencing to others who have made those claims. I definitely have gotten some comments after this video where people said that Indonesian guitars are pieces of c$%p... So some people have very extreme opinions on this actually. This video was just to address my personal experience. :)

I could point out many USA pieces of crap too. It’s not about where it’s the budget and specks.

 

[GuitarJon]

I could point out many USA pieces of crap too. It’s not about where it’s the budget and specks.

Definitely!

 

[State of Epicicity]

I could point out many USA pieces of crap too. It’s not about where it’s the budget and specks.

What are some examples? People act like the US made stuff is the gold standard, and it's like arguing with a brick wall.

 

[Sascha Franck]

What are some examples? People act like the US made stuff is the gold standard, and it's like arguing with a brick wall.

I have a US-made G&L Legacy from the 90s which had the vibrato posts mounted so it was never parallel to the frets, the neck markers were pretty off, too. Still bought it because they weren't exactly deal breakers. Yet, nothing that should happen in that league.
My Anderson (semi-hollow droptop) was crafted nicely but the laquer is thicker than what you may expect from such a guitar and they used a pretty cheap Gotoh vibrato with a zinc block. Didn't notice soundwise but the thread for the vibrato arm was worn out after a rather short time. Stock pickups sounded pretty bad, too - but it might've been their taste.

 

[dean701]

What are some examples? People act like the US made stuff is the gold standard, and it's like arguing with a brick wall.

Not so much a gold standard but the prices of US made guitars make it seem they are better and all else are just subpar. Not my feelings, just conveying the stereotype.
Japan as a nation have a very reputable reputation for quality. Speaking personally I am an ebmm player. People sometimes slag Sterling. IMO, not including the hardware appointments, Sterling is top notch. I have had more issues with my US ebmms than the Indonesian ones. I can say the same for my wolfgangs. The price differences that cover employment rate disparity do not justify the means. I can buy a non-US guitar, add the pickup or hardware upgrades and in most cases have a better guitar for less money. Just my own opinion and I have done these upgrades many times. When I see Gibsons for $4k, I laugh and immediately look at other LP manufacturers. I have an LTD that stands as my best bang for buck guitar that I have ever purchased.
It also has to be taken into account that "build quality" is a very subjective term.
I hear people talk about sharp fret ends a lot and it makes me laugh. That is a humidity fluctuation issue and occurs on all guitars. We had a major chain here undergo renovations and inside a month all of their guitars had sharp fret ends ranging from $500 guitars to $8k. Idiocy regardless, but it happens. The key for me is great wood work, perfectly aligned fretwork and key details.

 

[Achilles]

It’s not about where it’s the budget and specks.

Not to mention QC pass/fail criteria. During factory tours in the early days, Paul Reed Smith would make a big show of a QC inspector finding a small cosmetic flaw on a top and then immediately bringing it over to destroy on a band saw so it couldn't somehow get into production.

There ain't a lot of QC managers like that in the sub $2K guitar industry - regardless the country of origin!

 

[Eagle]

What are some examples? People act like the US made stuff is the gold standard, and it's like arguing with a brick wall.

Practically any Gibson.

 

[spawnofthesith]

 

[Eagle]

I’ve never seen a Gibson that has a smooth finish even. Binding is always accompanied by a ridge and usually colour bleed. Then the fingerboard scrapes. The finish is not flatted up to the fingerboard or on the back and sides of the headstock. The inlay work is literally the worst I’ve ever seen on a production guitar. I could go on but there is enough there.

 

[la szum]

For the record, I'm not saying that one is better than the other, I'm referencing to others who have made those claims. I definitely have gotten some comments after this video where people said that Indonesian guitars are pieces of c$%p... So some people have very extreme opinions on this actually. This video was just to address my personal experience. :)

Huh? People with extreme opinions on the Internet. No way!

 

[Eagle]

Oh and before anyone thinks I don’t like Gibson I do but I factor this in. Who could honestly say that a Murphy Less Paul isn’t a fantastic guitar. But nobody would take the flaws from any other brand.

 

[Achilles]

colour bleed

100% this. The 60th anniversary R9 I scored for HUGE bucks even had a bit of it.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Vintage correct

 

[Eagle]

Vintage correct

I get that. If you make a reissue it shouldn’t have production details changed unless it is specifically described in the specs.

 

[la szum]

Oh and before anyone thinks I don’t like Gibson I do but I factor this in. Who could honestly say that a Murphy Less Paul isn’t a fantastic guitar. But nobody would take the flaws from any other brand.

I sold all of My Gibsons this past year. I realized there were nagging issues with each one of them.
Those issues were not going to magically go away either. So I found someone who bought all of
them in a package deal.

I did love them. I'd still buy the right one.... but all of my other guitars seem to have fewer issues,
and play and sound better for what I use them for.

 

[laxu]

Practically any Gibson.

If you want to see the really bad ones, come to Finland. This is where the truly crap seem to end up. I've seen more bad ones here than I have seen in the US, Japan, France or UK. Maybe it's bias from visiting local stores more often, but I have seen some real "how can you even sell this?" crap at 2000+ euros even as recently as 2017 - which was the last time I went looking for a LP type guitar.

• Supposedly Plek'd necks that have frets that are rough and totally flat on top.
• Non-working electronics on guitars on display.
• Orange peel effect on finish.
• Bad neck angle so the bridge and tailpiece need to be sky-high for a moderate action.
• Bleeding on binding or poor scraping.
• Poorly cut nuts so tuning stability is extra crap. I'd at least expect better than the lowest tier effort in this price range.
• Custom shop LP where the finish has cracked along every single fret on the side of the neck. No, it was not a relic finish, it was a brand new black LP Custom sold for over 3000 euros...

Part of the problem is the stores that are not sending them back to the European distributor, but these guitars crossed continents in this condition.

To me Gibson's main problem is that they try to make a high quantity of guitars each year, beyond what their somewhat dated processes allow.

 

[pipelineaudio]

My issue is more that the exact same guitar went UP in price after being made in Indonesia. An extremely sexist slave theocracy should be far far far cheaper to build in than a free country with human rights.

 

[greatmutah]

I’ve had a few Indo guitars pass through my hands. The MII Jackson SL2Q I had was great finish and quality wise. It just didn’t have my favorite neck shape. Otherwise it was great. I’ve had a couple MII PRS SEs (Starla and Santana) that are both outstanding players. Manufactured well, look great (the veneer on my Santana still has to have that lenticular quality you see in a good piece of flamed maple) and they sound great too. No desire to change the pickups on them. I did add a B5 to my Starla to get it closer to Core spec. That’s it. I’ve also played a few Gretsch Streamliners that are MII that were solid.

I currently have two MIK guitars. My Gretsch G5422TG is everything you’d want a double cut Gretsch hollowbody to be. I did change the stock tune o matic to a Gotoh because I wanted something a little more substantial (the stock adjustomatic bridges aren’t great). My MIK LTD KH-602 is stellar. I’m sure I would have gotten on with a MII one fine but at the same time I’m happy I got MIK because the higher end LTDs have been MIK for so long. And that guitar is excellent. No flaws I could find on it. I’ll have to try an actual MII LTD from a similar series and see what I think.

Moral of the story? Both countries are capable of producing great instruments and I’m sure there’s dogs that have come from both too. But Indonesian builds are closer to MIK now than ever. I won’t dismiss those outright just because of where they’re from.