Navy Vet. Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 For good reason. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticsg Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 LOL... 🤣😆🤣😆 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Epiphones? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticsg Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Well, I was thinking more on the line of the "Chibson" and other Chinese cheap fakes/copies. But, now that Epiphone dropped Rosewood and almost exclusively uses Pau Ferro for their fret boards... well, let's just say won't purchase any until that changes. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 (edited) There are many fine non Chibson's, Fakenbackers etc. Guitars coming from China.. Particularly some very fine Epiphones.. I've read that CITES has been lifted so we may see the return of more Rosewood... I wonder if there's a possibility of even some usable Brazilian Rosewood from the tragic Fire... That would be about the only positive thing to come out of that... Edited September 8, 2019 by Larsongs 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibson Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 The epiphone ES 339 I just bought has Pau Ferro on the fretboard, I actually like it. Feels like ebony to me. Tone wise I can't say yet, since it's a form of rosewood,can't be much different than rosewood,can it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 I bought my grandson an Ltd Viper-50 (Chinese made, SG body style) for Christmas 2012. The street price was $199.99 USD, but with some price matching, I ultimately got it for $149.00. I was very impressed with the quality for that price range. Then in 2016, I won an Ltd MH-100QMNT (Chinese made, Superstrat body style) as a prize from ESP. It was a B-Stock model, having some minor finishing flaws. The street price for an A-Stock model was $349.00. It is a well built guitar, the finishing claws notwithstanding. But since I got it for free, I definitely didn’t complain. Even if I had paid a “blemished/scratch & dent” price for it, I would have still been satisfied. i am with everyone else when it comes to Chibsons and other counterfeits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 (edited) Probably the "SG" I've had that I liked the most was a 2006 G-400 made by DaeWon (China). Wish I'd never traded it. I know it wasn't a "proper" SG. But guitars are guitars, they have their individual merits, and their own idiosyncrasies, for good or ill. It was the best SG-shaped guitar I've ever owned, or, at least, the one I preferred... Edited September 8, 2019 by Lord Summerisle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 I have two. A Hagstrom Duece and a Hofner HCT-J17. The Hagstrom needed new switch, pots, wiring and O/P jack. Since then its been a reliable working guitar and a pleasure to use. The Hofner doesnt work for its keep, so no mods. It has a beautiful ebony fingerboard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 (edited) I just recently rebuilt a low end 97 Epi Les Paul Special built in Indonesia. The 20 year old finish was surprisingly good and very little fret wear, the tuners, pickups were toasted and the TOM bridge had cheesy threaded rods with thumb wheels holding it up making it unstable for intonation. I was attracted to this guitar because it had a really good playing bolt on neck, which I discovered has a 14" radius fingerboard. So anyway I installed some Epi keystone tuners (Kluson style), some GFS P90s and real bridge studs. The end product is killer and didn't cost very much. Not too long ago I also upgraded one of my favorites, a set neck G400, with GFS P90's and a Les Trem II, total investment about 390 US. This was my least expensive guitar until I finished the LP Special with total investment about 180 US... I have found that the humid Hawaiian environment is causing my nitro finished Gibsons to disintegrate, so lately I have been leaning towards Poly finished Epi's that I have a Great time rebuilding... Edited September 8, 2019 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 1 hour ago, mihcmac said: I just recently rebuilt a low end 97 Epi Les Paul Special built in Indonesia. The 20 year old finish was surprisingly good and very little fret wear, the tuners, pickups were toasted and the TOM bridge had cheesy threaded rods with thumb wheels holding it up making it unstable for intonation. I was attracted to this guitar because it had a really good playing bolt on neck, which I discovered has a 14" radius fingerboard. So anyway I installed some Epi keystone tuners (Kluson style), some GFS P90s and real bridge studs. The end product is killer and didn't cost very much. Not too long ago I also upgraded one of my favorites, a set neck G400, with GFS P90's and a Les Trem II, total investment about 390 US. This was my least expensive guitar until I finished the LP Special with total investment about 180 US... I have found that the humid Hawaiian environment is causing my nitro finished Gibsons to disintegrate, so lately I have been leaning towards Poly finished Epi's that I have a Great time rebuilding... I've never heard anyone who added new hardware to a guitar refer to it as "Rebuilt". You didn't really rebuild it. You just modified it. Upgraded it. Nice looking guitar btw! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 11 hours ago, Lord Summerisle said: Probably the "SG" I've had that I liked the most was a 2006 G-400 made by DaeWon (China). Wish I'd never traded it. I know it wasn't a "proper" SG. But guitars are guitars, they have their individual merits, and their own idiosyncrasies, for good or ill. It was the best SG-shaped guitar I've ever owned, or, at least, the one I preferred... I bought my daughter a lefty one of these (I believe) second hand a few years back. It has set neck and does everything it should without any fuss. Seems someone resprayed it with nitro at some stage but its a great respray job and I'm not worried about ID numbers on a cool $200 guitar. Gives a kid something decent to play. Nothing to hate about that one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 (edited) 20 hours ago, brad1 said: I've never heard anyone who added new hardware to a guitar refer to it as "Rebuilt". You didn't really rebuild it. You just modified it. Upgraded it. Nice looking guitar btw! Thanks I love my G400. I upgraded my G400, that was fully functional before, with 200 US in parts. Hmmm semantics. The LP Special, I think with all of the things it needed to be fully functional, I think it would qualify as rebuilt. If you replace the crank or the engine in a car is that a rebuild? 🙂 Edited September 9, 2019 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 50 minutes ago, Hector said: I really don't like Chinese guitars made by people who go to university.... Yeah, all those graduated guitar tops! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 I have a Chinese made Les Paul style guitar by Allen Guitars, designed and distributed by Rick Allen of Mid Michigan Music. Awesome and beautiful guitar. Not sure what factory it came out of. It doesn't even have a serial number. This git was somebody's main axe for years. China will build to what ever quality level they are allowed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 I hate Chinese hackers! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 14 hours ago, RobinTheHood said: China will build to what ever quality level they are allowed. They are allowed to build excellent quality guitars. I would paraphrase your quote as 'China will build to what ever quality level they can get away with'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) On 9/10/2019 at 12:07 AM, merciful-evans said: They are allowed to build excellent quality guitars. I would paraphrase your quote as 'China will build to what ever quality level they can get away with'. The Gibson Qingdao factory in China builds excellent affordable Epiphone's, according to the guidelines that Gibson has set. I own several of the Gibson Qingdao Epiphone's, my personal favorite is the Epiphone Blueshawk. I also own a Gibson Blues Hawk.. Edited September 12, 2019 by mihcmac 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 In general, I do agree with the original poster. Especially with regard to the Chibson fakes that are cluttering the dark web marketplace. But I will say some nice things about the Chinese made (legit, legally produced under license by Fender) Modern Player series. Really, really nicely made. I had a Fender Modern Player Telecaster Plus for a few years, and it was one of the nicest guitars I ever owned. (I only sold it because I was lusting for a new Les Paul, and a good friend always coveted it....)🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, mihcmac said: The Gibson Qingdao factory in China builds excellent affordable Epiphone's, according to the guidelines that Gibson has set. I own several of the Gibson Qingdao Epiphone's, my personal favorite is the Epiphone Blueshawk. I also own a Gibson Blues Hawk.. Certainly. I had a Qingdao Epi Casino Coupe too. My response to RobinTheHood should not be considered out of context. As my original post here testifies, I have 2 Chinese guitars that I am very happy with. I would also rather see the country of manufacture clearly stated on all instruments. eg: 'Proudly Crafted in the PRC' is the way to go. Edited September 12, 2019 by merciful-evans 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 On 9/10/2019 at 6:07 AM, merciful-evans said: They are allowed to build excellent quality guitars. I would paraphrase your quote as 'China will build to what ever quality level they can get away with'. I suppose that depends on the context. If we are talking about counterfeits, then yes, they will build something that looks like a guitar, but barely qualifies as one if they can. At the other end of the extreme, you have Qingdao that builds good quality with good QC, though I'm not a fan of the fret work for the most part. At least with the ones I've played. The biggest problem with Chinese OEM guitars is that they are usually low end to begin with and QC is pretty sketchy. I think that QC is where China let's things slip by. I bought a used MIC Peavey guitar that retails for about a buck. The fretboard was delaminating from the neck because the glue dried out. The up side is that the fretboard came off really cleanly and went back on with minimal work. You really do get what you pay for in most cases. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 5 hours ago, merciful-evans said: Certainly. I had a Qingdao Epi Casino Coupe too. My response to RobinTheHood should not be considered out of context. As my original post here testifies, I have 2 Chinese guitars that I am very happy with. I would also rather see the country of manufacture clearly stated on all instruments. eg: 'Proudly Crafted in the PRC' is the way to go. I recently bought a G&L (Guitars by Leo) ASAT Junior II a Tele style with P90's made in Indonesia. Its a really well built nice playing guitar, the only thing I didn't take into account was the weight of a solid mahogany telecaster, I think its over 11lbs. No regrets though the price was really good for a brand new Tele from an authorized seller on eBay. Its nice having another 25 1/2" neck that compliments my Blueshawks.. Its just so heavy.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 1 hour ago, mihcmac said: I recently bought a G&L (Guitars by Leo)... Sorry for going off at a tangent for a second... I might be wrong but unless things changed sometime in the last four decades G&L stands (stood?) for George (Fullerton) & Leo (Fender) - the company formed by those two gentlemen after Leo Fender split from his Music Man outfit. George Fullerton was one of the employees hired by Fender in the late '40s and AFAICR some of his ideas were instrumental (Ho!) in the design of the Broadcaster/Telecaster design so we owe him a debt of gratitude. OK; History lesson over. Time to get back to the thread! Pip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelT Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 I'm going to guess this is about "Chinese" counterfeit Gibsons, which seems to be all the rage on the internet. People have them or hate them. I hate when people get duped into buying a counterfeit guitar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, pippy said: Sorry for going off at a tangent for a second... I might be wrong but unless things changed sometime in the last four decades G&L stands (stood?) for George (Fullerton) & Leo (Fender) - the company formed by those two gentlemen after Leo Fender split from his Music Man outfit. George Fullerton was one of the employees hired by Fender in the late '40s and AFAICR some of his ideas were instrumental (Ho!) in the design of the Broadcaster/Telecaster design so we owe him a debt of gratitude. OK; History lesson over. Time to get back to the thread! Pip. Yes you are absolutely correct. G&L stands for George and Leo, I was kind of doing a short cut to emphasize Leo. The G&L factory located in Fullerton Calif For the US built Guitars. The Tribute series, like my ASAT Junior II, are built in Indonesia. The forum forum for G&L guitars is at Guitars by Leo 🙂 The China built copies of just about everything are flooding eBay. Edited September 12, 2019 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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