Made in USA, Made in mexico, Made in Japan.... (1 Viewer)

Kermit McDermott

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Messages
8,183
With guitars in particular, are you bothered about where they are made?
I've read that with say a MIM fender guitars, the parts are made in the US but assembled somewhere else.
Have you noticed any difference in quality?
 
There's certainly a difference between the various places of manufacture. Parts used, woods used specs and shapes in general all vary. As for the quality part it's really down to what you prefer yourself and what inspires your playing and confidence. I've mex strat that would defo be lesser quality than say a MIJ or MIA but or the price difference I'm more than happy with it bar maybe upgrading the pups at some point.

For basses I've owned a bunch at this stage and swear by made in America Fenders.
 
This is a topic really close to my heart currently..and something I am currently working on an overall opinion about..but I'm very close so I'll tell you what I think at the min.

Theres good guitars..and theres rubbish guitars.The name on the headstock only matter to certain people(I'm not one of them)

I think when buying a Made In THe USA Fender..you can be sure of the qwality..sight unseen and tone unheard.Its gonna be great..and will be a workmans guitar straight outta the box.This is essentilally what yer paying for..it dosent mean yer definitely gonna bond with the instrument..but thats down to personal prefs.

I think with all other guitars..there are millions of variables that can stack up with or against you.

I have identified what makes a decent guitar from my perspective.

No.1.Hardness of the wood.If the wood aint hard..pass it on.It needs to feel hard..I now test a prospective guitar by rapping on it with my knuckles..if it has a good knock..body AND neck...I know its halfway there.

No.2 .Are the mechanical bits hard enough..or do they look like they would melt.These need to be hard.And do the tuners work properly.

No.3.Do I like the shape of the neck.

No.4..and this one should be higher..but its not a dealbreaker..buts its UNBELIAVBLY IMPORTANT..DOES IT LOOK COOL?

If it looks great...to you..you'll want to pick it up everytime you see it.If not..you won't go near it and life will pass you by.

No.5..Are the pick ups any use..this is a tricky one..and only real time spent with a familiar amp will reveal the answer.
Generally though.any pickup made in the last decade will be good enough to gig with...possibly with a bit of extra effort expended keeping shitter ones from howling and buzzing.

But know this..cheap guitars can and do have pickups comparable to what Fender used initially.Likewise..the wood on cheapo axes is cut to the same shape..but the wood they actually use is crapshoot.So bare that in mind when checking an axe out..give it a knock..does it resonate?

I've got three Squier Strats and a Tele.and every one of them is a fucking ripper.I've gone through a couple to get to that stage.and I'm selling the tele..cos I want a different one.Not more expensive..but harder wood and sunburst with a maple fretboard.

My fave of them all I paid 50 euros for..and it feels like any Fender I every held.And sounds the way I want a Strat to sound.

Would it stand up to 300+ shows a year?

Yeah..for about a week..but the part that would break first..ie the tremelo block..was broken when I got it..and that was only after a week in the hands of an adolescent who gave up the guitar when the tremolo broke!
And other parts will wear out quicker on a cheap axe..namely the frets..cos the low cost far east manufacturing cuts costs on all fronts..and soft fret wire has less nickel and is therefore more economical..even though its prolly 2cents of nickel..that adds up when yer making 500000 guitars.
Will you wear out the frets.Maybe..depends how hard you play and how often.



My advice..try a bunch of guitars..disregard the decal on the headstock.Buy the one that looks and plays great.
Fix the bits the break as they go..and after a few years you'll have your very own custom shop guitar.One of a kind.

Even if I had the money I prolly wouldnt buy A US fender.

ANd I would NEVER buy a Mex.(unless it was a mad crazy deal)

Also..if you find a guitar thats awesome..but dosent play quite right..its cos the nut is poorly cut.Most mass produced guitars come with a poorly cut nut..and this gives them a horrible feel.Almost unplayable.Learn to install a decent nut,or cut the one on the guitar to make it so.Its dead easy.And thats waht makes a guitar playable..and most importantly..fun to play.

With the right set up..almost any modern asian guitar will do the biz.
 
Last edited:
I'd say the biggest difference between MIA, MIM, MIJ or MIK, is only one of them appreciates in $'s over time.
That said, I was born only 2 miles from the Fender plant in Fullerton, and have only ever own MIA Fenders. Same goes for Rhodes and Rogers too.
 
I'd say the biggest difference between MIA, MIM, MIJ or MIK, is only one of them appreciates in $'s over time.
That said, I was born only 2 miles from the Fender plant in Fullerton, and have only ever own MIA Fenders. Same goes for Rhodes and Rogers too.

Thats somethin I forgot to mention..

Buying anything but a USA Fender is throwing yer rent down the jax.

Although the 80's Jap ones are strating to gain traction
 
Oh yeah..anyway..

If you want a great guitar that will be totally rip and be super until you die(assuming you don't fucking rally it 6 nights a week) and you arent interested in all the other stuff..like learning set up and all....buy a USA Fender.

And if yer a ninja?

Get a fucking banger from Shing Zao province and make it RAPID.

Plus..you don;t need a hard case for far eastern guitars.Just fucking wreck them.
 
And one more thing.

You can buy all the guitars you want//isnt gonna make ya decent.
 
There are some very obvious differences alright which to be fair make sense when you think about the market they're made for. Japanese guitars tend to have a smaller neck. Not shorter but the strings are ever so slightly closer together and the with of the neck is slightly less. Why ? Well because Japanese people tend to have smaller hands. Simple really. Mexican necks tend to be a little chunkier than american but I think thats down to the style of playing associated with Mexico, i.e spanish and classical guitar, flamenco that sort of thing.

I always find Japanese guitars (To be fair I own 1 strat and have played a few "cheap" ones that mates had over the years, Including an amazing plastic yoke) tend to have a brighter sound with a lot more treble. Whereas USA ones are more well rounded and Mexican can be a little dull and bassy. Depends what you're into. For me it's Japan all the way but there are certain types of music I couldn't touch with my Jap strat. Of course all of that being said I treat that thing like dirt so that probably has a lot to do with the sound of it.

Gaz would definitely know more about the electrics and the wood than me.

Welcome back @GO;
 
Thread will likely be mostly about Fenders I presume?

If I was really into playing Fender's,I'd have a bunch of MIM's by now. Relatively speaking they are pretty cheap,and I wouldn't worry about changing stuff if need be. Wouldn't fancy spending a thousand+ on a guitar and then thinking I need to change the pick-ups.

I have a Highway One strat (says made in USA,but there's supposedly loads of similarities to MIM,and it's great. Got it pretty cheap)
 
You'd be way better served finding a nice Chinese Squier than a MIM.

And we're talking about serious money here.

Find a nice MIC Squier..pay 50 notes

You might have to try a few til ye get a good hard one(a lot of them are dead soft,wood hasnt been left dry out properly)

My old Japanese Fender Tele..was hard as a fucking rock.Never saw the inside of a hard case in 23 years..fell outta the back of cars..was as dead straight the day I sold it as the day I got it.

Its all about the hardness of the wood.

My Westone..you could hammer fucking nails with it

So..with this knowlegde we know that..if the guitar is set up right..and its a good solid yoke thats made nice..you can't go wrong.

Same applies to Gibsons..I've no doubt you'd find an Epi SG that could do the biz

But heres a caveat..I'm only talking about guitars from a players point of view..not a collector or an investor.Or someone who needs to own a US Fender.

Japanese guitars..I reckon..are deadly.NOt all of them though!
 
Last edited:
I rang a lad the other day about getting my Purple Starts frets leveled..thats the problem with buying well played Squiers..the frets wear out quick.

€80 he quoted.

Thats more than I paid for it so I said no thanks.

You can buy a new neck for a oner.Which I will do when this one become truly unplayable.

The former owner..a lady..was very fond of playing the high E string!
 
i don't think buying an instrument and simultaneously considering its resale value is a good philosophy for a musician.
I agree wholeheartedly.

But..variety is the spice of life.Changing guitars can be a very energising experience.

If ya buy cheapo ones though..you get to own a few..which is great
 
I only have 2 electrics but their both US made.
The fender Strat was the first good guitar I bought. 1997 it was. I honestly didn't know anything about made here or there so it was pure chance. The other is a Gibson Les Paul Standard. It's a 2003 model but I bought it in...2008. I knew a little bit more by then.
 
Thats a great couple of guitars to own.All bases covered

You owe it to yerself to get a Tele!

And at least one more Strat.Strats sound so different from each other.

I have A Westone Thunder 1 (thats my work guitar)

And 3 Squier Strats..soon to be four.One of which will be getting used professionally..when I get used to them properly.
 
I'm way less bothered then I used to be about it. This is a debate that rages on the nerd forums all the time and the general opinion seems to be that Japanese and American made guitars are of a high quality and will hold their value better. Hard to say for sure as you'll find plenty of folk saying that their €150 Chinese made Squire strat plays as well as a '63 they once tried, or a Custom Shop Strat their mate owns. As with all of these things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

In my experiece you generally get what you pay for, but that doesn't mean you'll always get on with an expensive axe, or that a cheaper guitar will be poor. I tried for years to love a US Strat but I couldn't get on with it at all. I eventually swapped it for a Japanese Fender which I much prefer for a few reasons - mainly related to the feel of the guitar - but there was certainly no drop in quality. I owned a Mexican strat for a while, but it was a total dog. Poor pickups, terrible bridge, felt cheap, so I got rid of it. @Anthony owns a Mexican strat and it's up there with he nicest Strats I've played. My Gretch, the most valuable axe own, is a Japanese made guitar.

Of the Gibsons I've owned the most expensive one was the least good. And my current favourite guitar is a Korean made Epiphone. I've put new pickups and electrics in it, but otherwise its a pretty cheap guitar but plays really well.

I will say this, I've never been surpirsed by the quality of a Chinese made guitar. In Voided by Ponces I'd go from an MIC Squire Affinity Strat owned by @Pantone247 to a US Tele owned by @hugh. There was nothing I could do on the Tele that I couldn't do on the Strat, but the different in feel was massive! The Tele just felt played and sounded better.
 
think the big thing with the aisian guitars apart from materials (which gaz alluded to) is quality control - more expensive guitars are more consistent.

particularly in the case of older squiers the QC seemed to vary wildly. first electric guitar was a affinity squier strat, and despite knowing nothing about guitars I lucked out and got one with a half decent tone and a nice neck. mate bought one round the same time that was a complete dog of a yoke, weighed a ton, didnt stay in tune and eventually broke in half when dropped.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Activity
So far there's no one here
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

21 Day Calendar

Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Bloody Head, Hubert Selby Jr Infants, Creepy Future - Dublin
Anseo
18 Camden Street Lower, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland

Support thumped.com

Support thumped.com and upgrade your account

Upgrade your account now to disable all ads... If we had any... Which we don't right now.

Upgrade now

Latest threads

Latest Activity

Loading…
Back
Top