The Asian Made Guitar Pricing Discussion Thread

[AirForbes1]

It is also down to the factory. Yamaha for example seems to manage pretty consistently good quality across their whole guitar range and I'd say the Chinese made Epiphones from their own factory are better than what they previously got from various Korean factories. Even back in the day when most cheaper guitars were from Korea there were noticeable differences between factories. I felt Cort did a better job than Samick in the same price range and there were a number of smaller factories that were more hit and miss. This is a bit anecdotal because I haven't played a ton of guitars from either brand.

For sure. And I think that goes back to the underlying thing, it just depends on that particular guitar. I had a MIC Ibanez ARZ700 and the quality of it was fine. Flawless actually. It came with EMGs already, it was a killer guitar for $400 (I didn't like the neck or the head heave weight distribution, but that's a different story). Were they all like that? I doubt it, but I can't say that my MIC Ibanez is a step below anything I've gotten from Korea.

I think this is only really a discussion because we (as a whole) are buying so many guitars online these days. WMI in Korea has gained a reputation for putting out quality instruments. And, to be honest, when I see MIK, I assume WMI mostly because of the guitars I look at. So, people kind of want to (and need to) pigeon hole QC with particular countries.

We really should have more info out there on which factories are doing the business. For example, the MII Ibanez have a bit of a bad rep here. But, I haven't seen many people complain about their Solar guitars (maybe they do, and I don't see it) or MII Schecter. It gets lumped in to MII, but I don't know if they use the same factory or what.

 

[SDMFVan]

Again show me another cheaper guitar with an Enduraneck.

The price that something is set at is whatever people are willing to pay and whatever that item is available at.

I have no problem telling people that strandbergs are relatively low value for the money. But if you like or want the enduraneck that’s the price that you pay.

That's not really my point. I understand that if you want an Endurneck you have to buy a Strandberg so you're bound to their prices. My question was do you think that exclusivity should jack the price that much? The reality is that the cost to Strandberg to have these guitars built is probably south of $400.

By the way, now that Strandberg has production in China and gave the Chinese factory access to their CNC files you can buy a Chiberg with an Endurneck on AliExpress for $500...

 

[spudmunkey]

By the way, now that Strandberg has production in China and gave the Chinese factory access to their CNC files you can buy a Chiberg with an Endurneck on AliExpress for $500...

And you can get a Les Paul-alike for, like, $189. When looking at it that way, the pricing of the "real deal" seems to scale OK.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

On guitarguitar UK they have strandbergs up for well over £2000/€2250/$2550. That is just insane for an Asian made guitar to cost that much. Ormsbys are then around £1500/€1700/$1900+

That's more than what J-customs used to cost and close to what some hi-end custom shops charged years ago.

 

[Flappydoodle]

On guitarguitar UK they have strandbergs up for well over £2000/€2250/$2550. That is just insane for an Asian made guitar to cost that much. Ormsbys are then around £1500/€1700/$1900+

That's more than what J-customs used to cost and close to what some hi-end custom shops charged years ago.

I think we're also seeing a larger trend of many products becoming more and more expensive. We are now used to everything being made overseas, and the companies are pushing the prices up. The flagship iPhone gets $100 more expensive every year.

£2000 for a guitar made in Indonesia is absolutely ridiculous. They will be making huge margins on that. But it's clever business strategy because they have the IP for that neck profile. So if you want that neck, you are stuck paying whatever they ask, and they're bending you over and not using lube.

 

[SDMFVan]

And you can get a Les Paul-alike for, like, $189. When looking at it that way, the pricing of the "real deal" seems to scale OK.

The real comparison would be with Epiphones, which are being made by the same people making the $189 Chibsons. The whole point of this thread is that Strandberg isn't paying the same costs to do business that Gibson is in the USA.

 

[diagrammatiks]

I think the new Strandberg prices are scaling really well relative to the rest of the market.

Like understandable most of ss.org aren’t buying these guitars...but they keep making them so someone must be buying them.

The Ibanez az premium and 1070 series are both 1300 dollars. People are definitely buying these things. I’ve seen it.

The Strandberg standard is 250 more. That’s ok.

Stuff from Asia is going up in price. The entire guitar market has increased a lot. I think most of us here are good deal seekers and we remember the lowest we paid for something rather then what most people are actually paying.

Like I bought 3 used Tom Andersons for 1500 each 10 years ago so why would anyone pay more the that for a guitar now.

 

[tedtan]

Ibanez and ESP have guitars in that price range and they're Asian.

 

[stevexc]

Ibanez and ESP have guitars in that price range and they're Asian.

We're talking bad Asia, not good Asia duhhhh

 

[vilk]

We're talking bad Asia, not good Asia duhhhh

I know you guys are joking, but it's a relevant point, kinda. People in the USA or Japan... probably Korea, too, right? who build guitars are people who specifically sought out those jobs because they like guitars and want to work with them. It's a conscious choice made by someone who has many options. Many of them (especially in Japan) probably have a tertiary education and could conceivably make more money doing something different but simply want to make guitars. OK, sure, there's a difference between a custom luthier guy and the guy who's just on the floor at a production factory, but even still I'm kinda fairly sure that even the lowest peg of the dudes working at the guitar factory are probably musicians that are pumped they get to work right at the guitar factory man!... right? No?

On the other hand, I don't know that much about Indonesia or India or China, but I have to assume based on my understanding of poverty in those places that people working at guitar factories perhaps are just trying to put food on the table? Maybe they didn't even have a background in anything related before they were hired? We often talk about major guitar manufacturers having their factory in this place or that place, but did they like fucking build a building and fill it with CNC machines or was it just a job shop that was already there probably making shelves for Ikea?

No rhetorical; I actually don't know. Does anyone know what guitar factories are like?

 

[Frostbite]

My opinion is I literally don't give a single shit where a guitar comes from as long as it's good. Take Dingwall for instance. China assembled more affordable series but QC done by Dingwall in the US and they're fantastic. I'm aware this is a different case then basically every other over seas guitar but still. As long as the product is good I couldn't give a single fuck where it comes from. I look at everything on a case by case basis and nothing will ever change that

 

[Kodee_Kaos]

It is also down to the factory. Yamaha for example seems to manage pretty consistently good quality across their whole guitar range and I'd say the Chinese made Epiphones from their own factory are better than what they previously got from various Korean factories. Even back in the day when most cheaper guitars were from Korea there were noticeable differences between factories. I felt Cort did a better job than Samick in the same price range and there were a number of smaller factories that were more hit and miss. This is a bit anecdotal because I haven't played a ton of guitars from either brand.

I'd have to agree with that. My first guitar was an early 2000's Yamaha. The fret job on it is pretty solid, I'd say on par with Prestige-series Ibanez. It was ~$400 in 2001, so that's probably the equivalent of a $600 guitar today.