ksdaddy Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 A buddy of mine owns a music store and recently bought a used Epiphone Dove from someone who probably needed something to smoke this weekend. He paid $100 for it. How sad. It reminds me of the violins that I buy from a drop shipper for $37 each. Thick gloppy varnish....omigod. I didn't meter it but the fretted notes at the 12th fret are almost what the 13th should sound like. It's not just a matter of being a little sharp, as most acoustics are, and it wasn't to do with high action (pulling the notes sharp). It had 'good' action and yet was SO far off. I told him "Hopefully whoever buys this never goes above the 5th fret." All in the name of saving a buck. The name Epiphone has sunk about as low as it can go without applying Epi decals over the First Act logo. Keep it in the black....f*** what happens to the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Been that way for a while on the lower end. About 10 years ago we bought 5 Epiphone "AJ"s here at my school for kids to play. Chinese made - $99 each. Intonation? They are so awful that I can barely even get them in tune in the first position. I feel bad for the kids who are trying to learn on them. That said, The Blueridge guitars made in China play very nicely - so it's not so much the country as the price point perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-RAM Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 A brand 'name' apparently doesn't imply as much as it used to; when a company produces a product that has become popular due to a degree of quality, people tend to get disturbed when said company messes with their formula, be it design changes, moving the manufacturing processes/locations, or (heavens forbid) contract manufacturing. Customer loyalty and satisfaction usually take a backseat to revenue. In your example, Epiphone has as varied a history as anyone, having built guitars and having guitars built in the USA, Japan, Korea and China. As far as the quality of instruments goes, that's endless fodder for the cork-sniffing set, but it should remain for the individual to appraise each and every instrument for its own merits, as you have done with the Dove you've described. I wouldn't paint everything Epiphone with too broad of a brush, but I've always liked the Emperor Regents of the modern era, NONE of which were manufactured in the U.S. - I have two of these, one built at Saein, the other at the Peerless plant (both Korean), and I can't fault either guitar. It's just a new world, and I'm recognizing new ways of doing things. I drive a diesel Volkswagen Jetta for commuting, and a 1-ton diesel Ford F-350 for hauling. Classic German and American vehicles, right? Both were made in Mexico, and I love 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Mass manufacturing produces a few "lemons" now and then, no matter the country of origin. I've played Chinese and Indonesian Epi's that were awesome! And, some that were much less so. But, to be honest, more of the former, than the latter. The Japanese made Epi's are stellar! However, ANY guitar that won't intonate correctly up and down the neck should be broken up, and burned! Never allowed out, much less sold, regardless of price point! IMHO CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 People like to bash the quality of Chinese products, but the fact is.. If you tell the Chinese to make something well, they'll make it well. If you tell the Chinese to make something cheap, they'll make something cheap. If you tell the Chinese to make something well, and make it cheap, they'll laugh at you. -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 This one actually has a very nice tone. I was in there today and my buddy was telling about a woman who came in looking for a guitar in the $200 range and went around to each, just giving each one a cursory strum with a back swipe of a finger. He was gesticulating wildly (as we both do) and in flicking each one in the immediate area (and price range), the Epiphone sounded best of all of them....it had a thickness to it while the others had twang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I've played Chinese and Indonesian Epi's that were awesome! Every one of my Chinese Epiphones are excellent. The Dot? Really nice. The Masterbilts? Quality stuff! No, they're not Gibbies, but they're not as far off as you'd expect from costing about a quarter as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brc Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I bought two new Epiphone "seconds". One Hummingbird, one PR 5 They both had flaws in the finishes. I did not mind as I have done guitar refinishing for over 40 years now. I was able to repair the flaws in about 2 days total for both guitars. Other than that the only thing I did was change the bridges to Martin bridges and then slightly adjust them both. They both intonate perfectly and sound great. I have a total of $174.00 in both guitars including the bridges. I think they are great guitars and are actually under rated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster1 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 People like to bash the quality of Chinese products, but the fact is.. If you tell the Chinese to make something well, they'll make it well. If you tell the Chinese to make something cheap, they'll make something cheap. If you tell the Chinese to make something well, and make it cheap, they'll laugh at you. -Ryan Ryan, I'd agree with you in part, however I have heard from people that work in the factories as supervisors (tool manufacturers). Here's what they see: The factories would run pretty well to specs & quality until one of the USA company inspectors went to take a break or whizz. If they were gone from the line inferior products immediately started coming down the line. They would even find the raw material grade they had specified changed when an inspector wasn't looking. Even looking at the best made product from China (measured quality/longevity) vs. similar Made in USA I see and can tell the differences. Poor fit & finish, Brass that RUSTS (brass don't rust as it shouldn't have iron in it), steel that is poor quality, etc. They do pretty well with PC boards, but even those, compared to Korea or Japan are not going to hold up with the parts quality. I won't even get into details on the Economic/Political reasons to avoid China. Easy to understand is giving them $$ to get stronger as a world force and we will have to deal with someday when we are challenged. I was able to comprehend that simple axiom in grade school with others you help enable to become trouble to you later. That said, I play and like my MIC Epiphone Dove. It's always out in the Living Room to grab/play even if one song as I pass by it. It sounds OK, it doesn't sound GREAT however. It really sounds NOTHING like my Gibson Dove but then it was $250 vs. $2,600 (what I paid for them). Somehow, if you could keep the Unions out, get some people that wanted to have a good job in the USA, and the damn Government allow a business to function here w/o stifling it on a weekly basis, things could be made here in the USA again. I have smaller vendors that have pulled out of China & Mexico, are making great products, competitive prices, and SUPERB quality right here in the USA. Aster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Quality is a decision made at the top. Just sayin'.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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