Archer SS10 - hardtail stratocaster

CoolCat

Well-known member
sometimes I think Im fried or my brain or ears are....
like getting this beater guitar and it was $64 including 8% tax.
Ive been playing it numerous hours and it doesnt go out of tune and though its different than other guitars, I cant say its worse.
But for $64 it should suck really bad and it doesnt? Un-like expensive mic's and preamps and guitar amps...I have actually owned expensive guitars too and they are great and all that excellent materials etc.....but the bottom of the barrel is really not like the old days (broken record comment). From the paint to the chrome to the sealed tuners feeling tight, in a good way, and the string-thru..
..the pickups sound fine too, which is always subjective in the universe of pickups. :wtf: $64?

Interesting little bio I found too.

Milwaukee-based Archer Guitars, USA offers acoustic, electric, and electric bass guitars for musicians worldwide. Archer also offers Artist Signature models including singer-songwriter Josh Rouse's Jazz Archtop Model, and the K Sulton Signature Bass Guitar for journeyman and session bassist Kasim Sulton of Todd Rundgren's touring band as well as Utopia. Archer also designed a Utopia guitar concept for Todd Rundgren which he plays in concert. Archer Guitars are sold nationwide in music retailers as well as most of the nations's leading eCommerce retailers. Read more at ARU Music.

Archer Guitar Brands is a division of Cascio Interstate Music, located in the Milwaukee area with a distribution center in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Cascio ranks in the top 15 nationally among musical instrument retailers as well as being one of the nation's top drum retailers. They provide instruments and accessories to musicians of all ages, including music educators and professionals worldwide. Over 100,000 musical products are marketed nationwide via catalogs and online, and locally at their SuperStore in New Berlin. The Company started in 1946 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and proudly remains independently owned, operated and run by musicians.
 

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I had an axl strat that was really pretty good. I paid $65 for it at a little music store. I played it a couple of years and traded in at guitar center when buying other gear. They said "man, we can only give you...like...65 bucks on it.
Lol.
That's the only time I ever traded something to guitar center without getting the short end of the stick.
 
it makes me want to see pictures of the factory these are built in.
there has to be a factory that is for real right? there isnt one factory for great guitars and the other one down the street making $65 guitars is there?
I was in mfg at INTEL in the early 90's with the Pentium chip release, but they started the Celeron "cheap line" and it was built in the same machines the same fab. Ran through the line by the same people, there wasnt a "cheap factory making them"..... so I suspect these guitars are painted and polished in the same plant somewhere in low labor cost areas but in the same plant as high end guitars too.

as for materials, ok the wood, the time spent on the labor on the neck is less probably, but from what I see the low end has really come up a few notches. the low end builds has improved more than my playing. lol

i was reading Fender earliest days having warped necks and pine wood and the truss rod was started, etc.. also wood that didnt dent so easily would last longer in the stores etc... but now all that is on the cheap ones, poly coat and sealed tuners and robot tools for the necks with truss rods.

the severly cheap crap parts arent even made anymore it seems, so only decent stuff is available for all guitars.
Im thinking like TV's analogy, today every tv is HDTV with HDMI, no one even makes the super crappy black&white CRT TV anymore....so the low end is LCD with HDMI and its $99..with a remote control.

$65...that must be nearing the bottom price bracket. I looked up the Archer and new is $99. I wanted a black&white hardtail and baddabing wop bop a loo there it is....project body.

theres a super highend store close to my place Suhr and all that, the building is even gorgeous with all stone and money in it.... I need to go test out a couple $10,000 guitars.
 
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