American vs. Asian guitar manufacture
Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 9:31 am
A lot has already been said, but the main point seems to be one of quality.
While the Japanese electric guitars of the '60s were generally of very poor quality, some of the ones from the '70s, such as Ibanez, were of much better quality, and some of the Ibanez and Tokai copies (although infringing on manufacturers' copyrights) are sometimes thought to be just as good or better than their American originals. The high end Gretsches are now made in Japan and Japanese guitars are no longer considered low end.
Korean guitars were at first quite poor in construction, inferior to the Japanese guitars, but afterwards they made some fine guitars, for example some of the Gretsches and Epiphones.
Now even some Chinese guitars are of much better construction than the Japanese guitars of the '60s.
As for tuners, I think Gotohs are good, but Grovers are better. Schallers are even better.
On the other hand I have seen some Japanese Bigsby copies from the '70s and early '80s which were of much better quality than some American Bigsbys (I guess they were not all that consistent).
The reason Rickenbackers are probably some of the best built guitars is because they use more advanced construction techniques:
1. The double truss rod in the neck. No one else really does this on a large scale, although some of the '60s Ekos built in Italy for Vox had their truss rods encased in kind of a double T box, which was also good, maybe not as good as the Rickenbacker system.
2. The hollow bodies have a very strong construction and they are more durable than Gisbons or Gretsches. No, they do not sound the same and have a less bassy sound, but they are built to last.
3. They have a special procedure for the finishes and the finishes are nice, glossy and durable.
While the Japanese electric guitars of the '60s were generally of very poor quality, some of the ones from the '70s, such as Ibanez, were of much better quality, and some of the Ibanez and Tokai copies (although infringing on manufacturers' copyrights) are sometimes thought to be just as good or better than their American originals. The high end Gretsches are now made in Japan and Japanese guitars are no longer considered low end.
Korean guitars were at first quite poor in construction, inferior to the Japanese guitars, but afterwards they made some fine guitars, for example some of the Gretsches and Epiphones.
Now even some Chinese guitars are of much better construction than the Japanese guitars of the '60s.
As for tuners, I think Gotohs are good, but Grovers are better. Schallers are even better.
On the other hand I have seen some Japanese Bigsby copies from the '70s and early '80s which were of much better quality than some American Bigsbys (I guess they were not all that consistent).
The reason Rickenbackers are probably some of the best built guitars is because they use more advanced construction techniques:
1. The double truss rod in the neck. No one else really does this on a large scale, although some of the '60s Ekos built in Italy for Vox had their truss rods encased in kind of a double T box, which was also good, maybe not as good as the Rickenbacker system.
2. The hollow bodies have a very strong construction and they are more durable than Gisbons or Gretsches. No, they do not sound the same and have a less bassy sound, but they are built to last.
3. They have a special procedure for the finishes and the finishes are nice, glossy and durable.
