Chinese vs Indo guitars - which are better.. or less bad?

[dryz41]

i really like my two yamaha revstars and kramer sm. they are mii. They are at least japan quality. i had a few chinese harley bentons. they were Ok. pickups were fine but the bodys had lack of quality i checked epiphone custom inspired by gibson recently . They were great . And They are made in china. )))
İ think you can blind buy almost any mii guitar yamaha,kramer, schecter... but you have to check mic's by yoursef

 

[LJ Dellar]

Had any guitars made in China or Indinesia? What are your experiences with them? Worth bothering with at all?

Seen a few go by that look fine, specs are decent, price is right, but.. it still seems risky. Is it?

I have a 2008 Epi 56 Goldtop LP with P90s. It was made in the Samick factory in Korea. It is objectively better made, finished and has better components than the US-made Gibsons I have owned. I will never buy a Gibson again, unless it is a pre 1972 item. The price is just unjustified for the quality.

 

[jjjp]

recent purchase: Eastman 59sv Les Paul. Solid Mahogany body and neck. Ebony board. Lollar Imperials. Under 8lbs. $1450 new. Needed fret dressing and setup for another $300 or so.

 

[Blacksabbath1987]

Had any guitars made in China or Indinesia? What are your experiences with them? Worth bothering with at all?

Seen a few go by that look fine, specs are decent, price is right, but.. it still seems risky. Is it?

I have 2 guitars that our Custom one is a Tele the other is a Hardtail Strat I have brand name Fender , Gibson they have there place really it’s all about the pickups !!! and having a nice neck
a good shielded body and pots . I like to pick out what I want not buy what’s being sold . My Hardtail Is my baby my go to everyday and it’s a Custom made the way I wanted it . Find someone that will build to your liking my neck is from Japan i paid $75 for it Lol the pickups our also custom made Humbucker’s in the neck and bridge total build was $675 and the entire piece is what I wanted down to the strings

 

[Blacksabbath1987]

I have 2 guitars that our Custom one is a Tele the other is a Hardtail Strat I have brand name Fender , Gibson they have there place really it’s all about the pickups !!! and having a nice neck
a good shielded body and pots . I like to pick out what I want not buy what’s being sold . My Hardtail Is my baby my go to everyday and it’s a Custom made the way I wanted it . Find someone that will build to your liking my neck is from Japan i paid $75 for it Lol the pickups our also custom made Humbucker’s in the neck and bridge total build was $675 and the entire piece is what I wanted down to the strings

 

[Blacksabbath1987]

I like lighter color necks I’m blind in one eye and can’t see out the other Lol I was able to foto different vendors and pick out everything, tuners , pickups , body , neck , pots etc you get the picture no surprises… ready to play no BS
Nothing wrong with China guitars that’s just crazy it’s not the maker it’s what In it and on it
again all comes down to pickups , Pots , and of course your amp

 

[Capt. Crunch]

Eastman build outstanding guitars. I own 2 & they're great guitars.
Yesterday I received the 1959 ES 355 Epiphone & the guitar is amazing!
I paid $1K for it & it's flawless.
The specs on the guitar are incredible for the money. Two Custombuckers that's $500 alone. 50s' wiring harness with CTS pots, Switchcraft, Ebony board, & real MOP inlays.
Not everything made overseas is junk & when buying today most places have excellent return policies.
As a the saying goes, don't knock it till you tried it.

 

[Karl Brake]

Indonesia is probably the most consistent builder in Asia now. A lot of designers like PRS are now using Cort for their lower cost axes, which is putting out a really consistent product under their own name. Most of the cheap Asian labor was the result of IMF loan conditions, most of which have now been paid off..Indonesia is the only one to buck the IMF and do better at establishing their own rules.

 

[Filipe Soares]

Indonesian guitars I own: Jackson RRXMG and Wolfgang Special FM
Chinese guitars I own: Warwick Corvette and Epi 1984 explorer

all 4 are GREAT instruments. again, what will dictate the quality is the price point. entry level stuff these days are so much better than medium range instruments we had 25 years ago.

btw the 1984 explorer is the right guitar in the wrong brand. that guitar kicks some serious ass.

 

[Filipe Soares]

Neither.

Save up your money and buy the real thing.

Vin, what’s real? we live in the matrix.

 

[Douglas Cram]

I confess - I'm a bit of a made in USA snob. I have plenty of amazing USA built guitars, But, I also build a lot of my own guitars, so I can source quality woods and use the finishing products I prefer. That's my main concern with Chinese or Indonesian guitars - the source and type of woods, and their finishes. I've seen some very strange Chinese wood, open pores, weird density. I prefer alder, swamp ash, mahogany and maple. It's easy to source Strat and Tele bodies made right here in America by small companies. Easy to buy nitro lacquer from places like Guitar ReRanch. I encourage builders to buy and source parts from America as much as possible. That being said, I do have a couple of very well built MIJ Strats, and have played and respect the quality coming our of S. Korea. I don't hesitate to buy Fender necks made in Mexico. I just refuse to give China any business of any kind.

 

[Mrmadd]

I don't care where it comes from.
If it a guitar or amp I want, I find and pay the best price for it.

Did not do well with Indonesian made guitars. Something isn't right.

Harley Bentons are worth checking out for cheap far east guitars.
I have a few and they play fantastic.

I hide the real guitars next to the Bentons, hoping nobody will find my good ones but me.

 

[William Martin]

Had any guitars made in China or Indinesia? What are your experiences with them? Worth bothering with at all?

Seen a few go by that look fine, specs are decent, price is right, but.. it still seems risky. Is it?

Korean guitars are awesome

 

[William Martin]

I confess - I'm a bit of a made in USA snob. I have plenty of amazing USA built guitars, But, I also build a lot of my own guitars, so I can source quality woods and use the finishing products I prefer. That's my main concern with Chinese or Indonesian guitars - the source and type of woods, and their finishes. I've seen some very strange Chinese wood, open pores, weird density. I prefer alder, swamp ash, mahogany and maple. It's easy to source Strat and Tele bodies made right here in America by small companies. Easy to buy nitro lacquer from places like Guitar ReRanch. I encourage builders to buy and source parts from America as much as possible. That being said, I do have a couple of very well built MIJ Strats, and have played and respect the quality coming our of S. Korea. I don't hesitate to buy Fender necks made in Mexico. I just refuse to give China any business of any kind.

Totally agree

 

[TJRepairs]

Had any guitars made in China or Indinesia? What are your experiences with them? Worth bothering with at all?

Seen a few go by that look fine, specs are decent, price is right, but.. it still seems risky. Is it?

The curiosity got the best of me when skimming through the Chibson site I think it might have been on Ali baba it was a couple years ago I can’t remember now but I saw this Black Gibson Byrdland copy and bit …. It came like 6 months after it was ordered the fret ends literally were so sharp I cut my finger on it just trying to play it unplugged after tuning it. The finish was impeccable it looks impressive hanging in a stand or on a wall but it sounds like sh!t and squeals like a pig with overdrive . I bought new pick ups but still not what you’d expect… that’s just my experience I’m sure there’s others that may have different experiences.

 

[LPCustom28]

Have always wanted a 12 string, but haven’t wanted to spend premium bucks because it would be more of an experimental niche instrument. Does anyone here have any experience with anything from this Squier line? I know at this price point it can be hit or miss, but I did play a squier bass VI about a year or so ago and really liked it (pretty damn good quality for what it was).

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Jazz12ParOW--squier-paranormal-jazzmaster-xii-12-string-electric-guitar-olympic-white

 

[colchar]

Had any guitars made in China or Indinesia? What are your experiences with them? Worth bothering with at all?

Seen a few go by that look fine, specs are decent, price is right, but.. it still seems risky. Is it?

So long as you are buying from legit companies, why would it be risky? Guitars produced in Mexico, Canada, and the US can be shit too.

I have had a couple of Indonesian made guitars and they were excellent, just superb.

 

[Tatzmann]

My only Indo is a Benton DC Junior.
Great playing and sounding. Almost flawless, the headstock shaping is a little iffy, but i never look at it much anyways because the Benton headstock shape is a bit of a trainwreck anyways imo.

For 199 bucks its great. Lightweight, which i personally prefer.

 

[Wildeman]

I guess that if you sanded the woods you would have replaced them too

Nope, killer wood

 

[guitarbilly74]

I only buy a Chinese product if there's no other available option in the market. So no Chinese guitars for me. But that's my personal choice. I'm sure the guitars are fine.

I've had several Indonesian guitars and they were all very good. I don't have any at the moment though. The only Asian guitar I currently own is MIJ.


As someone said, it depends on the price range, normally $500 and up you start to get stuff that's pretty good with a few aftermarket upgrades. On the $800 and up range you get stuff that's great right out of the box.

That said, these days I've been cutting down on my collection to my absolutely keepers. That means my Gibsons, my partscasters and a MIJ strat.

So I don't think I'll be buying any more cheap guitars as they always end up not being used much.