mshilarious
Banned
I don't like Koreans, at all (college roommate, don't ask
) but they do make really nice gats 
All three of mine are Koreish.
I don't like Koreans, at all (college roommate, don't ask
) but they do make really nice gats All three of mine are Koreish.
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
Ironically, I JUST bought a SE Singlecut myself. It was a total impulse buy, I was there helping a bassist friend pick out a guitar, played a whole bunch of them, and was so impressed by the tobaccoburst Singlecut that I went back the next day and bought one of my own. 
Play a couple, is my advice. I played every single one they had in the shop, and that particular tobaccoburst my buddy bought was head and shoulders better than any other SE I played - hell, was better than most guitars I've played. Something was just right with that particular chunk of wood. The rest were all pretty consistently nice, some a little more than others, but that one was magical.
The one I bought was pretty good too - probably not quite as nice as my buddy's, but I could tell playing it that with a good setup I'd be really happy with it.
Anyway, my experience has been the quality of Korean guitars has gone through the roof in the last five or six years. I remember back even in '01 or '02 every time I'd pick up a Korean Ibanez (I was a big ibanez nut back then) it'd just feel like junk. Then I played a couple Schecters that really surprised me (their fretwork, in particular), and ended up picking up an '03 C7. For a while it seemed like Schecter was getting something right that no one else was, but these days Korean quality is pretty uniformly excellent across the board. I'd have no problem recommending grabbing a Korean guitar from a reputable producer, though as always I'd still recommend playing before you buy (I'd do that anywhere, though).
Play a couple, is my advice. I played every single one they had in the shop, and that particular tobaccoburst my buddy bought was head and shoulders better than any other SE I played - hell, was better than most guitars I've played. Something was just right with that particular chunk of wood. The rest were all pretty consistently nice, some a little more than others, but that one was magical.
The one I bought was pretty good too - probably not quite as nice as my buddy's, but I could tell playing it that with a good setup I'd be really happy with it.
Anyway, my experience has been the quality of Korean guitars has gone through the roof in the last five or six years. I remember back even in '01 or '02 every time I'd pick up a Korean Ibanez (I was a big ibanez nut back then) it'd just feel like junk. Then I played a couple Schecters that really surprised me (their fretwork, in particular), and ended up picking up an '03 C7. For a while it seemed like Schecter was getting something right that no one else was, but these days Korean quality is pretty uniformly excellent across the board. I'd have no problem recommending grabbing a Korean guitar from a reputable producer, though as always I'd still recommend playing before you buy (I'd do that anywhere, though).
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
first off if light left over VP then good riddance ...... we didn't need VP around and we don't need wussies either.
You notice muttley's still here and VP is gone ..... it was always gonna end that way.
As for gits ...... the cheapos electronics is the biggest thing ...... for me changing pots or p'ups is a minor easy to do thing.
Wifey bought me a Epiphone Zak Wilde as a gift. The pots were crap ..... had to change them out right away ...... then the switch needed changing ....... and now I'm gonna change the p'ups ....... total cost to do all that ..... couple hundred bucks ...... higher cost of an actual Gibson Zak Wilde .... a few thousand.
The Epi surely doesn't have as nice wood as the Gibson but in either case it's hidden under a big bulls eye.
But it plays fine and, in fact, a friend with the actual Gibson model says he can't really feel any difference in how it plays.
I do have a custom git ordered but, in general, I'm king of the cheap guitars.
I rarely spend much on one and you'd never hear it in my playing.
So .... it's your money ...... buy what makes you happy.
You notice muttley's still here and VP is gone ..... it was always gonna end that way.
As for gits ...... the cheapos electronics is the biggest thing ...... for me changing pots or p'ups is a minor easy to do thing.
Wifey bought me a Epiphone Zak Wilde as a gift. The pots were crap ..... had to change them out right away ...... then the switch needed changing ....... and now I'm gonna change the p'ups ....... total cost to do all that ..... couple hundred bucks ...... higher cost of an actual Gibson Zak Wilde .... a few thousand.
The Epi surely doesn't have as nice wood as the Gibson but in either case it's hidden under a big bulls eye.
But it plays fine and, in fact, a friend with the actual Gibson model says he can't really feel any difference in how it plays.
I do have a custom git ordered but, in general, I'm king of the cheap guitars.
I rarely spend much on one and you'd never hear it in my playing.
So .... it's your money ...... buy what makes you happy.
muttley600
Banned
Hmmm, I based the fact that light hasn't been around for a while on some posts and messages that were exchanged between us around the time that light stopped posting. It seems he was pissed off with the whole VP thing and I was part of the mix as far as he was concerned. I don't think I have that wrong and I don't think either of us need to make apologies or be criticised as a result of out actions.
Having said all that, light is a loss to this board because he knew his setups and solid body stuff as well as the wiring stuff... He never pretended to be a guitar builder but I'm sure he was more than capable. In my judgment he was a knowledgeable guitar tech and repair guy.
This part of HR is worse off with out his input and I never meant to imply anything else.
I'm pretty sure he would have said there is good and bad in both US made and Asian. The trick is to be able to spot the difference.
I would guess he would also say that at the end of the day it's a musical tool and the real value comes from playing it not hanging it on the wall and guessing how much it is worth this week....
Having said all that, light is a loss to this board because he knew his setups and solid body stuff as well as the wiring stuff... He never pretended to be a guitar builder but I'm sure he was more than capable. In my judgment he was a knowledgeable guitar tech and repair guy.
This part of HR is worse off with out his input and I never meant to imply anything else.
I'm pretty sure he would have said there is good and bad in both US made and Asian. The trick is to be able to spot the difference.
I would guess he would also say that at the end of the day it's a musical tool and the real value comes from playing it not hanging it on the wall and guessing how much it is worth this week....
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
yeah it's certainly a loss to the board.
I certainly never meant to imply otherwise.
But, if you're gonna be a part of a board these things absolutely will happen ...... can't be so bothered by it that you leave. I've had serious run-ins with people before ...... we've all gotten past it.
Hopefully he will too.
I certainly never meant to imply otherwise.
But, if you're gonna be a part of a board these things absolutely will happen ...... can't be so bothered by it that you leave. I've had serious run-ins with people before ...... we've all gotten past it.
Hopefully he will too.
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
Myself. I said something that the honorable DrewPearson7 took as an insult, and he told me so.
Luckily, I have found it in myself to forgive him his unfortunate taste in music.
Just kidding, Drew.
Monkey Allen
Fork and spoon operator
US vs overseas guitars is a little bit like bunjee jumping...promise me you'll never go bunjee jumping in Mexico...they just don't have the regulations
P
pure.fusion
New member
P
pure.fusion
New member
pure.fusion, have you considered a Maton Mastersound? They aren't overpriced and are fairly well constructed, and you'll be keeping your dollars in the country
Yessir. Yes I have. In fact I was quite keen on buying one but the only one that I liked playing is in somebody's loungeroom and not he shop
It's when I found the PRS that I changed tack and decided to go with which ever felt the nicest.
... makes me sound like a descerning wanker actually - I should clarify and justify my excessive looking around. When you go and compare new guitars in the store, say the 4 Matons I was trying out from different shops, they each have a different setup (action height, releif) and then some have new strings on and some have old strings. Even if all the Matons in Australia were setup "exactly" the same with new strings, there would still be differenecs so given the above mentioned variables, the feel could be quite different - none of them were to my liking.
.. and I do like to keep my dollars in the country as a general rule.
FM
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
That's "Peterson" to you, you prick.
(I honestly don't remember what you're talking about.
was it the whole shred/feel thing, and how I think it's a bullshit dichotomy? Or were you one of the Steely Dan fans? Either way, water under the bridge. 
)Agreed on Light - very knowledgeable guy, and if he's gone for good he'll leave some very big shoes to fill.
P
pure.fusion
New member
I've doing a lot of looking around and asking questions on this topic and I'm getting the feel for what the general population think - It's the same vibe that coming from this forum too.
- Quality of offshore (Korean) made guitars has improved to an acceptable quiality over the last x years.
- Play it and if you like it, buy it. This will be different for everybody since a person of 1 years experience will be less discerning that a person of 20 years experience but for the latter, there seems to be no doubt that guitarists have played the offshore product and favoured it over the expensive "original".
- What you are paying for when you buy the "original" is certainly to a large extent the name, although granted that the hardware and wood could/would be better quality.
For the PRS situation here in Oz, I can spend AUD$1000 on a SE or somthing like AUD$4000 or more for a US job. An easy decision for me.
.. but it wasn't an easy decision before I started this thread.
Cheers.
FM
- Quality of offshore (Korean) made guitars has improved to an acceptable quiality over the last x years.
- Play it and if you like it, buy it. This will be different for everybody since a person of 1 years experience will be less discerning that a person of 20 years experience but for the latter, there seems to be no doubt that guitarists have played the offshore product and favoured it over the expensive "original".
- What you are paying for when you buy the "original" is certainly to a large extent the name, although granted that the hardware and wood could/would be better quality.
For the PRS situation here in Oz, I can spend AUD$1000 on a SE or somthing like AUD$4000 or more for a US job. An easy decision for me.
.. but it wasn't an easy decision before I started this thread.
Cheers.
FM
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
1.) I'd say it's improved to a MORE than acceptable quality - they're great guitars. Having seen how bad some Korean guitars were even 10 years ago, I'm kind of shocked.
2.) Good advice, but I think the important thing to take away is that not all Korean guitars are created equal (ditto with Japanese, Mexican, American, etc), and that the biggest tradeoff for me as you get towards cheaper guitars is that consistency suffers. Specifically to your case, all of the SEs I've played have been at least decent, but a couple were clearly better than others.
3.) Kind of also to point #2, I don't think there's any question that an American PRS is a "better" guitar, or at least the odds are very high that any random American PRS will sound and play better than any random PRS SE. However, it's a question of "how much." I grabbed a great sounding, great playing (after the obligatory setup) SE for $425, and I really don't think I've been $2,000 happier with it had I bought an American singlecut in its place. More to the point, I WOULDN'T have bought it - at the end of the day I'm a seven stringer at heard, and I couldn't justify that kind of money on a guitar that wouldn't be likely to be a main player. With the Korean version, no such problem.
The odds are really pretty low that you'll find a SE thats actually better than an American version, but I think that finding one that's a better BUY, on a cost/quality adjusted basis, is probably a pretty safe bet.
muttley600
Banned
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
That's "Peterson" to you, you prick.
You're so vain, you think this post is about you!
Haha. Dementia strikes again.
Best wishes, Mr Peters.
Paulie Jay
New member
Yessir. Yes I have. In fact I was quite keen on buying one but the only one that I liked playing is in somebody's loungeroom and not he shop
Ah, that's a shame. I was lucky - as soon as I plugged it in and played one chord, I all but knew that I was going to buy it
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
Thank you.