Who are the main Korean guitar manufacturers and who do they make guitars for?`

Mr songwriter

New member
See title of thread. I've often seen or heard people say that 'soandso's guitars are all made by Samick' or 'There's not a lot of difference between the Korean made budget guitars - they're all made by the same enormous company' but I haven't had much luck with Googling to find out exactly which Korean companies make which guitars for whom. Would anyone care to enlighten me?
 
Samick makes a lot of guitars that are rebranded. I have a Samick and a Schecter that I'm sure is a Samick. Both are GREAT guitars.
 
Track Rat said:
Samick makes a lot of guitars that are rebranded. I have a Samick and a Schecter that I'm sure is a Samick. Both are GREAT guitars.
HAPPY 10,000th post. :eek:
I have a Samick 7-string Strat copy (double "duncan designed" humbuckers).
It's one of the best sounding and playing guitar I own. And I'm comparing to a real Strat. :confused: :o
I bought it on eBay probably 4-5 years ago for about $200.
I'll never get rid of this guitar. THough I do plan on trying out some different pickups.
 
My information is a little old, but Samick was the ONLY Korean guitar company. Anything made in Korea was made at the one factory. Every guitar company that you have heard of had their lower line guitars made there.
 
Farview said:
My information is a little old, but Samick was the ONLY Korean guitar company. Anything made in Korea was made at the one factory. Every guitar company that you have heard of had their lower line guitars made there.

Yeah, that was my understanding, too. Epiphone, Squire, Yamaha, Dean, Washburn, Ibanez, ESP, and on and on...
 
The thing about rebranded Samicks

is you can't say that it's great because it was built by Samick or it sucks because it was built by Samick. They build them to the specs and quality (or lack thereof) specified by the company hiring Samick to build them. Most of the actual Samicks (Samick brand) I've seen, while not particularly high end guitars, have been very well made and extremely good values. Better than most of the ones that they build for other companies (no middle man).
 
There are more Korean companies than Samick who make guitars.

Sp Musical Co, LTD. makes Ovation guitars.

Link: http://www.alibaba.com/company/10226813.html

A little company called Dame Musical Instruments makes some no-name guitars.

Link: http://www.alibaba.com/company/10247493.html

But it's the Chinese who have really taken over the market on import guitars.

Check it... (I hope you have some extra time on your hands) :D:D

http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search...y=CN&Province=&CompanyType=&SearchText=guitar
 
Cheers for the links, Buck62, I'd heard that the Chinese are taking over in the cheapo guitar manufacturing sector, presumably their labour costs are even lower than those in Korea. I've also seen websites for other Korean guitar manufacturers, but I don't know how to ascertain whether or not they're actually just a subsidiary of Samick. One thing that puzzles me about those websites is that they rarely specify which companies they make guitars for, you would think they would be proud to name them, or do those companies not want their brand associated with them?

notCardio said:
is you can't say that it's great because it was built by Samick or it sucks because it was built by Samick. They build them to the specs and quality (or lack thereof) specified by the company hiring Samick to build them.

That makes sense, though it would be interesting to know how that translates into the decisions they make at the factory, for instance, what batches of timber get used for which guitar, is it a case of 'Oh this wood's crap, don't use it for the xxxxx's, save it for the xxxxx's', which may have to do with which company has the most clout with them in terms of volume of business etc.

Most of the actual Samicks (Samick brand) I've seen, while not particularly high end guitars, have been very well made and extremely good values. Better than most of the ones that they build for other companies (no middle man).

That figures too, I suppose, that they might try a little harder with their own brand stuff so that if they can build up the reputation and sales of the Samick brand they can, as you say, cut out the middleman, presumably they make more profit on them too.
 
Track Rat said:
It's a SAT-650 which is a 335 copy. Right now it's my favorite guitar and I have a LOT of guitars.

Cool. Where'd you get it? I've wanted a 335 for years (well, decades actually) because the guitar player in an old band had one and I really liked it. Then I played one again at GC about a year ago, and I hated teh feel of it. Maybe that bulge around my middle had something to do with it feeling different. :o
 
At a shop in Ballwin, Mo. (Fazio's for anyone in the area). It's funny because I've been a Fender guy for many years. I've got a nice '71 Tele and a '98 American Strat and both are GREAT guitars. Now I'm in love with the tone of the hollowbody/humbucker sound.
 
Track Rat said:
Samick makes a lot of guitars that are rebranded. I have a Samick and a Schecter that I'm sure is a Samick. Both are GREAT guitars.

samick also makes silvertone.

we are a samick dealer at my store.
 
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