The Quality Of Import Guitars

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Dani Pace

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Is it just me or has the quality of import guitars suddenly improved? I grew up in an era when if a guitar didn't have Gibson or Fender on the headstock then it probably wasn't worth buying. Several years back I noticed some real quality instruments arriving from Japan and Indonesia, recently it seems that China has jumped into the "higher grade instrument" market also. In particular I am refering to some of the made in China Washburn and Johnson guitars. I have a couple of friends who own music stores so I have the opportunity to play (try out) a variety of guitars. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed this (apparent) trend, or has an opposing point of view? Of course China is still producing the real "cheapo" stuff which only has the purpose of passifing a 10 year old who is screaming "I want a guitar for Christmas," but they are also turning out some pretty decent guitars of at least "serious student grade," and at a price which makes them easily affordable to the average player, especialy for students and teens. Has China finally stepped up and decided to enter the world of "real guitars?"
 
the answer to that is simple : china has stepped up and entered the worls of 'real products', wether it are guitars, household appliances or forklifts.
 
The Samicks are made in Korea. They made probably half of all the guitars sold last year (one to me). I actually have two imports, a Samick SAT 650 (a 335 copy) and a Schecter PT Special (which is also a Samick rebadged, cut like a Tele but with a carved flame maple top and humbuckers). Both are VERY well built instruments. I also have a boat load of Fenders and Gibsons to compare against.
 
My favorite electric is a Japanese 1986 Ibanez AS80 (Gibson 335 clone). My only beef is that the finish is some kind of thick polyester. A lot of imports have emphasized deep gloss over sound. My buddy plays a Korean Gretsch acoustic that is really quite a nice guitar. I have gotten over my original prejudice against Japanese guitars, but I am struggling with accepting Korean, Chinese, and Indonesian guitars.

Japanese guitars have aquired mojo IMHO
 
If you want to see how far Chinese made guitar can go, try a few hand built Eastmans.

On the other end of the scale, I got a Jay Turser tele for around $150 that once I got the wires shielded and dressed the frets, is a nice little wall hanger.

For the most part though, I still prefer American made.
 
jay turser...nice. I'm thinking about getting one of his SG look-alikes.
 
Dani Pace said:
Is it just me or has the quality of import guitars suddenly improved? I grew up in an era when if a guitar didn't have Gibson or Fender on the headstock then it probably wasn't worth buying.
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That was because of two reasons....

1: Anti-Japan (and foreign-made) bias from guitar players and the music stores who sold them. Music stores made bigger profits on American made guitars from the 60's thru the 90's, so it's obvious they would push for sales of American made guitars.

2: Most players were introduced to Japanese guitars from the cheap crap they got for Christmas from mom and dad. Teisco, Kingston, Silvertone, Kay, etc, were all cheap guitars that lacked solid wood construction, had cheapo pickups (and hardware), and had no neck or bridge adjustments.




But there were some GREAT guitars coming out of Japan in the 70's if you knew what to buy. Two Japanese factories (Matsumoku and Hoshino) put out some KILLER guitars that were awesome in build quality, playability, and were better all-around guitars than the guitars being built by Norlin-Gibson and post-CBS Fender.

Yes, that's correct... the Japs made a better guitar from the mid 70's to early 80's. Many guitars from the Matsumoku factory (under the names Aria, Westbury, Electra, Daion, Skylark, and Westone, to name few) had better build quality than the crap that Norlin-Gibson was making at that time. Hoshino also made killer guitars. Remember those old Ibanez Les Pauls from the mid to late 70's? They were absolutely phenomenal!! Same goes for the "house brands" made by Hoshino, like Penco guitars and Greco. These were the infamous "Lawsuit Guitars" that people talk about. Guitars that were so good, it forced the American companies to re-group, re-tool and make a better product. That's why these old Jap-made guitars are now becoming collectable and are steadily increasing in value.

I have a '73 Aria SG copy that simply blows away any Gibson SG I've ever played, and I've played a lot of them in my 30 years of guitar playing. I also have a '79 Westbury Standard that nails the tone and playability of a vintage Les Paul. I bought both of these guitars in near-mint condition (with hard case) for $250 each within the past 18 months. I could EASILY get about $600 for each one if I decided to sell them, but they're such great players that I'll probably hold on to them and pass them on to my kids. Seriously... they're THAT GOOD!!!

So, let's not generalize and cast off the old Jap-made guitars as "junk." They made some great guitars back in the day... IF you know what to look for. :)
 
Dani Pace said:
Is it just me or has the quality of import guitars suddenly improved?
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Japan has been building high quality imports for three decades now. But, yes, in the past couple of years the quality of Chinese and Korean imports appears to have improved dramatically.
 
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philboyd studge said:
If you want to see how far Chinese made guitar can go, try a few hand built Eastmans.
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My store carries the Eastman string products, and they sent us one of their guitars a few months ago to demo. That thing was a sight, I couldn't believe it. Their violins are great, but the guitar was almost over-the-top. There's no shortage of decent wood-workers in the orient.
 
heroics321 said:
My store carries the Eastman string products, and they sent us one of their guitars a few months ago to demo. That thing was a sight, I couldn't believe it. Their violins are great, but the guitar was almost over-the-top. There's no shortage of decent wood-workers in the orient.
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The Eastman's, which start around $1600.00, are being compared to $5000.00 and up Gibson L5's in terms of sound and craftsmanship.
 
I'm glad to know some of you other guys have noticed that the name on the headstock and the country of origin are not the things that go into making a good guitar. I can vouch for at least some of those early '80s Japaneese guitars, I've got a 1980 Vantage VS600 which is the sweetest guitar I ever owned for getting those gritty growling blues licks. Quite a bit of the finish has been worn away from use but the tone and playability have not suffered in the least, if anything, the tone has improved with age.
 
I recently purchaced a Tradition S2000 and it is one great guitar, built in Korea. No it is not a hand built Hamer or a Historic Les Paul. However it has a solid slab of maple and some nice (not amazing) flame on it. It's neck and body are mahogany. The Honeyburst finish is downright beautiful. The neck joint is better than the Gibson 1991 LP JR sitting right over there. And, the neck is more true. The tone is light, loud, and resonant. Very good sustain. Now for the not so good stuff. I will be replacing the electronics with RS guitarworks top o the line stuff. The pickups will be replaced at some time with an unnamed hand wound, hand magnatized, copy of a genuine 59 PAF. Tone Pro's bridge and stop bar later on. and last tuners...the tuners on this thing are noticeably smoother than the Grovers on my Gibby???! and maybe a PLEK if I have the extra money some day.

https://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b299/natesecaur123/Picture028.jpg
 
Dani Pace said:
I'm glad to know some of you other guys have noticed that the name on the headstock and the country of origin are not the things that go into making a good guitar. I can vouch for at least some of those early '80s Japaneese guitars, I've got a 1980 Vantage VS600 which is the sweetest guitar I ever owned for getting those gritty growling blues licks. Quite a bit of the finish has been worn away from use but the tone and playability have not suffered in the least, if anything, the tone has improved with age.
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That's a Matsumoku guitar, too.

They have a great vibe about them, no doubt. :)
 
I have owned Gibson and Martin mandolins. My new Eastman is the best sounding and most playable one of them all.
 
I recently purchased a made in China Fender acoustic-electric 12-string which is not a bad guitar. I wouldn't be presumptuous enough to put it in the same class as a Taylor or a Guild but it is better than better than the made in Korea Dean 12-string it replaced which goes for the same price and lacks electronics.
 
i work in a small music store, and our budget= almost everything imported. i tell you, some of the guitars and basses we get are so incredibly playable, and they look so great too.

check out jayturser.com, we carry most of there stuff.
 
kahuna said:
I have owned Gibson and Martin mandolins. My new Eastman is the best sounding and most playable one of them all.
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Sorry to hear that, I wasn't thinking about getting another instrument but '62 Gibson mando is a little weak.

I think it's best to compare Eastmans with other hand builts.

ABC featured them not long ago:

www.criticalmention.com/vg/eastman/
 
Dani Pace said:
In particular I am refering to some of the made in China Washburn and Johnson guitars. I have a couple of friends who own music stores so I have the opportunity to play (try out) a variety of guitars. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed this (apparent) trend, or has an opposing point of view?
Click to expand...

I own two (fairly low end) Johnson guitars, so yeah. :D

My acoustic is decent; I'm happier now that I replaced the strings and lowered the action somewhat. If I had it to do over, I'd have spent more and gotten something with pickups, though. I'd definitely recommend it for the price, though.

With the electric, I like the tone on the pickups and it feels solidly built. The light gauge strings drive me nuts with the whole pitch bending thing, so I'll probably go heavier pretty soon. One of the pickups was set a little high on one end when I got it... no big deal. The only real complaint I have is some burrs and extra scrap plastic in and around the grooves in the nut which causes a couple of strings to stick pretty badly when tuning. When I change the strings, I'll probably file the nut a bit (or maybe replace it) and raise the action while I'm at it (fret buzz :rolleyes: ). On the whole, though, it feels like a pretty good little electric for $150. :D
 
Is it just me or has the quality of import guitars suddenly improved? I grew up in an era when if a guitar didn't have Gibson or Fender on the headstock then it probably wasn't worth buying. Several years back I noticed some real quality instruments arriving from Japan and Indonesia, recently it seems that China has jumped into the "higher grade instrument" market also. In particular I am refering to some of the made in China Washburn and Johnson guitars.


I bought a Johnson Tele about a year ago and its a very solid, fun to play instrument. I got it from a Music store that was going out of business and got it for a song~($65.00)~ and they threw in a set strings too.
It stays in tune very well, the bridge pickup sounds very sweet, and for single coils there is virtually no hum from either pickup. Only fault was the selector switch, it was sloppy when I tried it out and within a month it crapped out, I got a Fender replacement, solid metal with springs to keep it tight, and its getting lots of use at gigs and at home! Next time you see one of these guitars, give it a try, bet you might like it! ;)
 
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