Bard2dbone Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Pretty much just like the title says. I want a better quality Dot. I know the current guitars are made in China and are kind of inconsistent. I also know from other brands made in the same factory that the Korean made ones should have been pretty good. So I want a Korean Dot. How hard are they to find? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Keep your eye on Craigslist etc. Dots are popular guitars, I'm sure used Korean examples will turn up... Give the Chinese Epiphones a chance, however...don't condemn them through hearsay. I think they have improved quite a bit lately (especially the Casinos I have seen). If you have a Guitar Center or Sam Ash or similar near you, take a look at a new (Chinese) Dot. You might be pleasantly surprised! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g61201281734168 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've got a friend who is a epiphone rep and from what tells me the early korean epiphone guitars were better at a higher standard and were more consistant as far quality . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've got a friend who is a epiphone rep and from what tells me the early korean epiphone guitars were better at a higher standard and were more consistant as far quality . Priceless. I think '06 or '07 was the first year in china. Not positive though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've got a friend who is a epiphone rep and from what tells me the early korean epiphone guitars were better at a higher standard and were more consistant as far quality . I think that's too much of a generalization. I had the misfortune of owning 2 'early Korean' Epiphone Firebirds that weren't fit for firewood. I think people should just judge each guitar on its own merits...It's too easy to buy into this "all [insert manufacturer / model / year / place of manufacture] guitars are sh*t" way of thinking... Ask folks here just how crap they think their (Chinese) Riviera P93s are... If the Chinese factory can turn out a decent Riviera or Casino (people seemed to like the limited edition Bigsby Casino)...then why should we assume that they can't turn out a decent Dot? I agree the new Sheratons are disappointing, but that is because Epiphone have cheapened the specification...that isn't the fault of the workers at Qingdao... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerome_travis Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 agreed. it's a psychological thing - if it works for you it works - and a quick check will reveal all.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe2Grind123 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I couldn't be happier with my Chinese made Lucille - especially for the price... not sure what a Korean builder could have done any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g61201281734168 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've yet to play a not so good casino from 2006 up until last week which was a new example I guess from china . Just picked up a used casino from 2006 it had flatwound strings which are kinda cool sounding . A great player what a perfect neck with sweet tone but I want to change the pots , input jack , switch and wiring soon . Have as yet not played any other epiphone guitars other than the casino and for the cost its gotta be one of the best guitars for the money in today's market . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've got a Dot that was made in China, and a B-Stock at that. I'm totally happy with it. You have to judge each guitar on its own, not by where it was made. If you're talking pickups and electronics, well I have changed them out in all of my Epis, those made in Korea and China. Still happy with them, and even more so with the mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrds1965 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've got a friend who is a epiphone rep and from what tells me the early korean epiphone guitars were better at a higher standard and were more consistant as far quality . Yeah well I am one too who will tell you that the early MIC stuff was not too great. Play before you buy but now days the good MIC stuff is just as nice and well put together as any of the MIK stuff. I did not check out the stuff like I do now when at Sam Ash or GC when it was MIK only so while I would really like to say the MIK stuff was better I can't. The current MIC stuff still lets some lemons through and the "USA inspectors" too. I can say though that the EE plant MIC G400s are way above any of the MIK G400s in terms of getting the bevels and knob placement very close to what it should be. The current EE G400s look better than the current Gibson faded SGs. I have seen some pretty sad looking Gibson faded SG's lately, ones with the bevels sanded almost to an axe blade type look = NOT GOOD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagg11 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 My bluebusrt studio was made in 04 at the EE plant and aside from the cracked neck when I got it the quality was superb, I took a chance by not being able to play it first but the color sold me. I also have an 05 Korean made LP custom ebony that plays great and looks great. I totaly agree that the guitar has to be judged when you play it not when and where it was made. Now certain guitars like the early to late 90's blueburst or any other limited models you might be stuck to when and where it was made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfsboy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 My Chinese Dot SE is a very well made guitar apart from the disgusting wiring.The pots are all Alpha and good quality .The actual wood work is very well made .The fitting were OK for the price and so were the pickups .The fact I changed them is down to me not a poor quality guitar.The pickup selector failed until I sprayed it with WD 40 .Sure the upgrades make for a better guitar but there is little wrong with standard Dots IMHO=d> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-clay Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 My 2004 Standard was made in China and it has outstanding build quality. I'm very picky and could not find anything at all to fault about it. Show me the guy who made mine and I'll buy him a 6 pack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johntrem Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I got my MIK (Saein) '04 Les Paul Standard Plus in '06. It's quality seemed higher than the MICs displayed at the GC where I made my purchase. That was the very reason I bought it. I wanted to get an MIK before they became scarce and all that would be available were the inferior (IMO) MICs. I was apparently incorrect as in later years when checking out the MIC Epis their quality seemed to have improved substantially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Awww, JEEZ!!! I've gotta get glasses. I read the title of this post and thought it said: "When did they stop SMOKING them in Korea and move to China? I suppose it's a good question, now that I think about it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAS Panic! Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 My 2009 MIC Dot is fine, apart from a wire somewhere becoming dislodged causing one of the pickups to stop working. The shop got it fixed and it's all good again. The first Dot the guy tried to sell me had a couple of crooked tuning pegs, so though quality can be inconsistent, the good ones will be good especially for the price. I doubt every Korean made Epi is/was perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskank Sally Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 You'll have to buy a Sherry or a Casino to get anything from Korea. The Dots are pretty much Qingdao now. Don't look away though. They do have good days at that plant (when they aren't trying to rush-slap a batch of Slash's together in a week) And I have seen some Really Nice Dots on occasion. But like I said, I only see the Koreans building Sherry's and Casino's. Samick of Indonesia builds the Joe Pass and the archtops mostly (and the bolt-on neck Special II's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bard2dbone Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Here's another question, then. Do the sunburst Dots ever come without gold hardware? I HATE gold hardware and every sunburst Dot I've seen seems to have it. I want a sunburst Dot with chrome hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyh Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 The point made earlier about over generalising is key. You have to judge each guitar on its own merits. It would venture that there's as much variation in quality in guitars from the same factory, even in the same batch, as there is in guitars from Korea and China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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