Why buy a new Chinese built Epiphone?

[GeeTar]

An interesting read:

 

Epiphone Korea Vs Epiphone China

 

contrary to what this article says, I don't believe Epiphone ever left Korea. I do know you can still buy new Korean made epiphones. You see them on sweetwater, checkout the casinos.

[CheapShoes]

Hmmm, Indiekiduk is scaring me.

I just bought a Ltd Ed. ES355 ebony fretboard, August 2011 mfr. date from China. I don't know how many they made but they're done.

Made a lot of good music in the store before purchase, and compared to two Sheratons, was more stable and much more toneful, though I liked the large neck on the Sheratons. Very resonant neck/body on the 355. So what fell apart in your hands? At least I registered it in case something strange happens - though I don't understand why a 345 would be all great and 355s all terrible from the same factory. That sucks, but also kind of nonsensical unless they had one really bad actor in the factory that made all the 355s and didn't run QC some models or something.

[CheapShoes]

Regarding the article, let's not commit the logic flaw using an on-line article written about 5-6 guitars made ten years ago to determine all future performance from an entire country. One data point for looking back, but a poor reason not to look forward. When I grew up, the poorest quality in everything was said to be manufactured in Japan. Something MIj was to be hidden and never admitted to friends to avoid public humiliation. There were reasons for that assessment, some deserved, many not - including racism, but things can and do change.

[milod]

Cheapshoes is absolutely correct in terms of how things change.

 

In the 1950s, the line was that if something made in Japan of metal had the paint scraped, one could see which brand of American beer can was being used as raw materials.

 

That all changed in the 1970s.

 

Korea, meanwhile, was roughly 15-20 years behind the Japanese in terms of economics and manufacturing experience. By the '90s, quality there on almost anything was up to international standard. Yes, they had labor difficulties, etc., and still have ag difficulties as they enter the wider world as a major player. They sacrificed for it; IMHO, they deserve it.

 

But also, note that both Japanese and Korean workforces are no longer willing to work for a second or third world lifestyle. In 1987 I would have driven anywhere in and around Seoul. By 1989, nope. That much change, that fast.

 

By the mid 1990s... well, look at the Korean brands we all buy nowadays that compete directly with the biggest international firms. To me, it all goes back to villages halting other work to plant trees and such after the Korean War to make their living areas even better than before Japanese occupation - and to do better than the Japanese in all ways.

 

China decided in the 1990s to get their own act together. The Chinese as a culture always have believed themselves the center of the world and it was obvious they were not. So... Find another nation that has come so far, so fast. I firmly deny that it's communist centralized politics because they've functionally had centralized politics throughout their history. The people wanted change as much as the leadership.

 

Now their challenge is to stabilize that change and increase world positioning. Culturally, craftsmanship and group projects have been part of China for all recorded history. Craftsmanship... indeed, also ongoing improvements in technology. I wonder how long it will be before a Chinese foreman in the Epi plant comes up with a neat design for a new guitar. I think it's inevitable and "we" probably will like whatever it is.

 

Guitars per se were something new for the Chinese but... hey, even in an assembly line environment, pride of craftsmanship is as much a tradition there as in "western" nations. They also have a long, long tradition of stringed instruments.

 

Note that we're only now beginning even to know what life is like in China. "We" are terribly ignorant about life and culture in Japan, Korea and China compared to other "European" nations.

 

I don't think it's racism per se. There's not that much difference among Indo-European languages and our overall culture and "they" are different from "us." But it is pretty stupid when we're discussing international economics. Ditto how other Asian nations are making their own drive into a fast-paced world.

 

Materials quality... that's another item of discussion that IMHO has little to do with craftsmanship per se. It has much to do with overall perceived quality. I will say this: Compared to anything available in its price niche in the 1950s and 1960s, today's Epi is an incredible buy. That's including design and build quality, materials quality, and any other measure.

 

Is it as good as other brands in its price range? I dunno. But I'll note that I bought a Dot for messing around with regardless of wildly changing local weather as opposed to a similarly priced and designed Ibanez - and I'm still very happy with it nearly two years later.

 

m

[Jeffery Smith]

In the 1960's, I remember Ibanez and St. George as being cheap electric guitars. There was also a brand named Hohner (not to be confused with Höfner). All three of these looked like cheap knockoffs, and all of them had very fat necks. Anyone not wishing to invite scorn had to have a Fender, Gretsch, Guild, Rickenbacker, or Gibson. And product placement meant a lot (if it was used by Chet Atkins, the Beach Boys, the Ventures, the Beatles, Duane Eddy, etc.). Even Epiphone was considered second rate UNTIL the Beatles bought some Casinos and Texans.