Guitar in Korea

  • Thread starter Thread starter Leeking
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Leeking

Leeking

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I was in Seoul, Korea 2 weeks ago on a business trip....

anyway, before I went, I've heard that guitars are cheap in Korea, especially those Korean made ones... (duuuhhh....)
In fact I've set my mind to get a Tokai LoveRock, IMHO, it's the best LP copy and it's handmade! (I've tried one before).

When I was in Seoul, my colleagues recommended me to go to this complex to get guitars. The complex specializes in selling music instruement... it has 2 level full of stores just selling musical stuffs... just awesome... felt like I was in Heaven! :) guitars, bass, cello, piano, recording stuff... you name it!

anyway, I search high and low but they don't have Tokai guitar!! (some newer Tokai models are actually korean made).... so I start checking out other LP copy.... I ended up getting a Hohner Rockwood Pro 200... best among it's peer, definately better than a epiphone and just US170!! really love it, nicely built, smooth neck and great sound. only thing is it's cheap looking tuners, anyway, I am not complaining! :)

however, I notice that Japan/US made stuff are expensive.... I can get those cheaper in Malaysia.

I have a good experience there.... for those that might be going to Seoul, check that place out... it's call Nak-wan-san-ka (means music instrument complex, or something like that...) located in Jung-ro-3-sam, Seoul.

Just wanna share... :)
 
Yeah; you can buy differnt products cheaper depending on where you go, that's for sure. Get yourself a shopping list, charter a plane and go on a weekend trip round the world. You'll save yourself hundrads or even thousands.







Now all you've gotta do is pay for the plane.




Oh yeah and if something goes wrong you might have to take it back to the store you bought it from. LOL.

By the way (I take it that's BTW), what does IMHO mean? I can't be bothered to try and work this computer stuff out.
 
leeking: wow! you don't really know what the word expensive means unless you do a trip to switzerland. BigMac for 4 dollars anyone? can you imagine how much I would have to pay for the cheapest fender strat?

krystof01: IMHO is "in my h... opinion" - that's as much as I could find out ;) .
 
Hey Leeking

What is the name of this place and where is it in Seoul. I am headed there for 3 weeks. I leave late this Sat. night.

I even contacted Samick about a factory tour. They are closed for holiday until the 15th but I intend to stop there before I leave on the 24th.

High on my list is a couple of guitars to bring back. I read a statistic that said 60% of all guitars manufactured are made in Korea. If thats even close it should be an awsome trip.

Oh yeah, I'll have to find something for my wife to do.:D

I'll have the whole flight over to talk her into it. Maybe if I let her use my noise canceling headphones....hmmm. I'll think of something.

Don Goguen
http://www.folkcafe.com
 
Tokai is (or used to be) Japanese.Back in the mid 80s they made great strat copies by hand with patent infringing headstock shape which Fender (of course) stopped through litigation.I was manager of a music store back then and we sold some of these axes.If you EVER see a Tokai strat with the illegal fender headstock,buy it!These were very high quality.
Korea took over from Japan as the cheap labor guitar mfg. about 10-15 years ago.But now the market is moving to India and the Phillipines.So,ironicly,Korea is now reposioning themselves as more of a quality mfg. than in recent years.
Sounds like a great deal on a new axe.My brother bought a Joe Pass Epi a few months ago and I was very impressed with how well made it was.

Tom
 
The Korean made guitars are getting better. Hada Schecter PT that was solid, cream binding, grover tuners, Duncan Design PUS & coil spliting tone shaft, nearly everything was top notch except the INOTATION. It was slightly out when travling up the neck & my neurotic nature couldn't deal w/ it. Bought for $420 & sold it for nearly that on Ebay...people went absolutely APE over.

So, I'm gonna try again. This time it's an Ibanez AS 120, ES335 copy. Ibanez has a good rep, I've always liked their stuff & the user reviews are good from harmony central. If I don't like I send it back.
 
Leeking said:
I have a good experience there.... for those that might be going to Seoul, check that place out... it's call Nak-wan-san-ka (means music instrument complex, or something like that...) located in Jung-ro-3-sam, Seoul.
Click to expand...

Folkcafe,

Hope you get to see this....

The place is located in central Seoul, near the Cityhall....

you can take the subway and get down at the Jung-ro-3-sam station. Then you can see a 4-5 storey white building called Nakwansanka.... in side, level 2 and 3 are all music instruments shops....

I'd advise you to seek help from the hotel staffs before you make your way, as most of the road sign are only in Korean and people there speak limited english. :)

have fun, share with us your experience when you're back!

BTW, there's lots of shopping place for your wife to go, like MyeongDong and ShinChun.

Leeking
 
Well I'm in Seoul

Leeking

Thanks for the information. I have already started to gather some shopping information. The hotel has computers in the business center I can use for a internet connection

The wife and kids have crashed "big time" from the travel. We had a couple of delays enroute and spent over 24 hours traveling. I slept plenty on the plane and took vitamins so my energy level is ready to go. We took care of some family stuff first thing

I contacted Samick about some of there signature series guitars. They gave me the names and phone # of a couple of good size retailers. I'm having trouble locating what I was looking for but intend to get out and shop for bargains.

Again, If I run into anything of interest and get a chance I'll post before I get back in 3 weeks.

Don Goguen
Folk Cafe Productions

PS I hope there are not to many spelling mistakes. This keboard I'm using is awful.
 
Well I've been out of reach of a computer for the last few days. I am currently in the far south in a small city called Ulchin. We leave for Pusan in the morning but I hope to get back to Seoul for a couple of day's before I fly back home.

I had a chance to visit a few music stores in Seoul before leaving to head south. I found one very large music complex ( a whole bunch of small shops). It had to be the most interestind music store I have ever visited. I doubt this is the one Leeking was talking about as it had only one level. I got the name of another place that may be it. The place I visited had a very large number of American made products ( much to my surprize). I found a ton of US Pro Audio as well as guitars made back home (Fenders and Gibsons). I found a couple of the guitars I had been looking for for cheap money. One of the guitars I'm interested in was about $170 US. I priced it out before I left for just under $500.

Well my wife is patiently waiting for me in this internet cafe. (real cheap, only around $1.20 an hour.

Don Goguen
Folk Cafe Productions
 
Folkcafe's korean guitar shopping

Folkcafe, did you get your Samick Factory tour ? Please do share your Korean guitar shopping experiences .. !

I cannot recall having a Korean made axe. I used to have a Maton ES335 copy (I still do but its in another country) but don't know if its Korean. Anyone knows ?
 
Hi all.

As to the last question, I have not yet had the Samick tour. They had been on vacation till the 15th. I hope to get intouch with my contact there today.

We have been busy with family stuff (meeting all of my wifes family). We are in Pusan for a wedding on Sunday and will be spending 3 days on a island resort after. I'll have a three day window to work with in Seoul after. I have been assured that these 3 days are mine to do with as I please. I stashed away plenty of "emergency" cash. The exchange rate is pretty good. I went out exploring this morning and found a few music stores here in Pusan. I'll check them out once they open. 2 of them are DW drums dealers (anyone know where they are made?).

It is unlikely that I'll get to a computer after sunday at least till I get to Seoul, so if you have anymore questions leave a post and I'll get to it eventually.

Don Goguen
Folk Cafe Productions
 
Ahhh yes the wedding was lovely, the honeymoon is over. Now I have the last of the family stuff out of the way.

Well my 3 week trip is winding down. The 3 day window in Seoul has been trimmed to 2 days (I'm not surprised). I had hoped for more time to shop.

I contacted Samick and have arranged for a tour on friday. I'll be bringing along my translater (my wife) which will make communications easier. I'm looking forward to getting back to Seoul.

I'll have less time to shop but I already have 2 guitars picked out. Perhaps I have earned enough points with the wife to get both. When with family I have eaten all kinds of weird things that have been put in front of me. Some of which would be hard to describe. Yesterday I had this kind of huge fish that came with the line "It's very rare". (I got this a lot on this trip when it came to strange foods.) It had the kind of texture that's like if you mixed jello and chiffon together. Very light, fluffy and geletin like (and strange). I was told it took a couple of weeks to get. Anyway the in-laws are impressed that I can eat anything (big points here).

When I get home I plan on visiting the closest steak house. Even the American food places are strange here. When at a McDonalds stick with the plain cheese burgers and skip the "special burger". The "Big Mac" was kind of familiar.

I'll post a new thread with details of my tour and shopping results when I get back.

Don Goguen
Folk Cafe Productions
 
Well I arrived in Seoul earlier this afternoon (2:00 AM EST) and after getting the room settled shot out of the hotel and to the hotel shuttle to go out and shop for guitars. Well I did it. I found just the right guitar for the right deal. It is the Samick L5 copy.

I had found this dealer when I first arrived and he had a great selection of Samick guitars. They were a little more pricey than the place Leeking was talking about (right around the corner). I just decided to camp out and play everything. At first this seemed to annoy the sales guy but my wife spent some time talking with him and it seems we have identicle hobbies (Recording and live sound and man other music related interests).

As time went on he seemed more into the quest. My wife talked to him about how I came to be shopping for a guitar in Korea and how I found his shop through Leeking (even though accidently). During most of the discussions I had been playing this model and the more I played it the more I came to really like it. Very easy to play and comfortable. I played it through a solid state Marshall and a 4X10 cab. It took awhile to figure out the controls (in Korean). The sound of the guitar was exactly what I was looking for.

The list on this model in the US is $1k but I have not been able to find it anywhere (US and even here in Korea). I read a review a few years ago that was very favorable. The only down side of the review had been the fit and finish on Samick guitars. After finding a great number of the latest models, I can only say that this is no longer an issue. I played a bunch of models and I very impressed with the fit and finish. The Price of this guitar $470,000 Won ($380 US). I am quite pleased both with the guitar and the bargain. I have mony left over but doubt I'll have time to find another bargain. Athough this shop had a Samick flying V copy for 170,000 won or $138 bucks. Though I doubt it fits my profile (over 40 and such). Another shop had a Signature series Samick gold top LP for cheap.

Well my son wants the computer. The hotel upgraded us to the executive level that has computers in the room.

I post after I get back from my Samick tour with some thoughts about my experience.


Don Goguen
Folk Cafe Productions
 
Don,

Thanx for taking the time to keep us informed on your guitar-quest. Most people don't realize that Samick makes over 50 percent of all guitars manufactured in the entire world.
Yeah, some are cheap, but some are damned good, too!
One of the best guitars I ever had was a Japanese-made Penco SG copy.... it was awesome!
Keep on writing when you get a chance... it's interesting stuff. ;)

Buck
 
Folkcafe, sounds like a great trip....have you heard anything about the DeArmond guitars that Fender was having made in Korea?....I was curious to know if they would still be made somehow after Fender chunks' em...or it may be (a rumor I heard) that the DeArmonds were actually made by Samick...interesting to find out if that was true.....the DeArmonds are nice guitars modeled after Guilds........can you ask a Samick person? ( if you have time, of course).......thanks.....gibs
 
Gibs, what did I miss? DeArmond is a subsidorary of Fender?
 
Yup...or was .....Fender is discontinuing them....they didn't have a "niche"...i.e. the younger market seems to like more "out there" designs (Ibanez, B.C. Rich, etc.)...the DeArmonds are based on Guild designs, like the Bluesbird (some prefer it to a Les Paul) and the semi hollow body styles like the Starfire series....

Go to the www.fender.com site and check out the top of the page....DeArmond, Guild, Sqr, etc are clickable.....all subs of Fender.....

Other than for rockabilly types and Les Paul types, the DeArmonds were pretty much ignored, just like the very under rated Guild products....and in reality, Guild is not a big enough money generator to warrant an "inexpensive" version of their line.......

(I said inexpensive, but before the blowouts at samash and musiciansfriend, they were actually pretty high, another reason I guess for their being discontinued) but it's a shame...these DeArmonds are great guitars....and right now they're almost giving them away...

check out http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html it's the Fender Discussion Page....go to the Guild/DeArmond forum and get an eyeful of what the now defunct DeArmonds are all about.....gibs
 
Folkcafe,

Glad to hear you find the place and got yourself a guitar. I think I know which shop ur talking about... is it a corner shop with glass walls.....?

samick makes nice piano as well.... my wife loves piano and she was checking out on them... some were pretty cheap as well, how we wished we could shipped the piano back with us.... :)

anyway, keep us updated on your trip! :)

BTW, learn any korean so far?? ;)
 
Hi all

Well after a very long trip, I'm back home. I'm very tired but glad to be back.

I had my factory tour at Samick in Inchon and WOW! Really cool operation. I got to see how they make guitars from start to finish.

I saw all kinds of brands in the middle of production. As my tour guide the Assistant plant manager and the International operations manager spent plenty of time with me and answered all my question. They were just so kind. I watched with great interest as all the intricate details of guitar crafting was done with such care.

During my tour they told me much about Samick including the Indonesia plants operations. They said the the Indonesia plant produces 40000 guitars a month. The Korea plant is only 1/4 the size. What I saw on the production line leads me to believe the higher end and more dificult models are made in the Korea plant.

I spent quite a bit of time in the buyers room where all the Samick sample models are kept along with a few "standard" amps (Marshal Fender twin).

Gibs, I asked about the DeArmond guitars and was told they are not made by Samick. They said they make the Squire stuff in Indonesia and I did see some acoustics with Fender on the head stock on the assembly line so Samick is making product for Fender. I also saw Washburn, Epiphone, Vantage, Aria & Aria Pro II and some others being built.

During the next couple of days I plan to put together my thoughts and I'll post something more extensive for those who want even more information about what I saw and discussed with Samick. I'll even give you the details on how I really missed out on a great deal. Yup I screwed up big time.

Don Goguen
Folk Cafe Productions
 
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