The guitars coming out of China in the last couple of months

[jwebsmall]

I picked up a squier bullet strat last week end and was shocked how nice the neck was and how good the pickup sounded. I also picked up an affinity telecaster and it didn't have the sunk stripe and again was surprised (not as much) at how good it was. They are still toys but they sounded and played very nicely!! This has just happened in the last month or two at several stores. Before they were junk. Evidently they are using CNC machines, laser cutters and a lot of technical advances in the pickups are finding their way down into the entry level beginner guitars after the manufacturer has recovered R&D costs on higher end model sales. I don't know if this is just the squier factory or whether things are getting better everywhere.

Here's the 2009 bullet versus the american standard strat - there is very little difference in tone.
the american is tighter in the low end. But the bullet has a basswood body that is thinner than
the normal strat body (still 25.5" scale though).

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The 2011 bullet I played had the shimmering bell sound of my Eric Johnson (57) strat.
Not as good, granted but not far off either. I could have 10+ bullets for the price of my EJ strat.

Sure the tuners were cheap on the bullet but it's a "Dixie Cup" guitar and could
get the job done in a pinch. I even liked the bullet better than the squier classic vibe strat
because it was lighter and just a blast to mess around on. Kind of like the charm of an LP jr
compared to a studio.

Just as first class postage for a letter became standard whether the letter was sent across town
or across the country, I'm wondering as more and more of the guitar's construction is done
by robotic CNC machines, laser cutters, etc. how the gap is going to continue to close. The bullet action
was fine the way it was - the fret ends weren't sharp either - it was gig ready out of the box!
And it had the standard strat pickups even. More and more you see these USA made pickups on imports.
G&L lead the way on USA pu's in their Tributes! Now John Suhr hardware and pickups are identical on the Rasmus Chinese import versions to that used on their USA made guitars. And like G&L tributes the Rasmus are set up in California (pleked even). I suspect in the next few years the G&L Tributes are going to close more and more of the
gap with the G&L USA models as automation advances. I bet the Ascari and Fiorano are stellar
now.

Again this gap closing I've only acutely noticed in the last month or so with the latest
shipment of squiers. They aren't last year's squiers even let alone your dad's squier.
We aren't in Kansas anymore either!

I had my eye on the Yamaha Pacifica 510V and it looked pretty good on line. But I just
couldn't see myself buying an import at roughly the $500 price point (unless it was a G&L).
After seeing how much the squiers had improved I ordered the 510V sight unseen. It's not carried
by Yamaha USA. So I had to order it through a Canadian dealer and will have to pay shipping
and any customs due. Evidently USA Yamaha didn't want to risk importing another low end
Pacifica when they were passed over by the American consumer. I think we in the USA may
find it hard to believe the gap is finally starting to close in on us. I bet within 5 years there
will be very little difference between high end Asian made guitars and low end USA made
guitars. The price gap may start to close too like they did with Rasmus by Suhr. But once
you train someone in Asia to operate a plek machine why does it have to be plek'ed state
side? Prices on the plek machines will eventually come down. And there way even be
alternatives to the plek machine before much longer that don't require as much skill to
set up as the plek. The bullet action was to my liking. 3 years ago I used to take
USA made guitars in for plek. This bullet last week played better out of the box than
those guitars. Of course the USA guitars are getting better all the time too! Even
a poor person can have a digital watch now that keeps more accurate time than a watch
someone rich 60 years ago would have. That bullet was better than any guitar I had
as a kid and even with inflation is still cheaper than my first electic back in 1967 (a Univox
335 knock off).

[KenC]

Your dad's Squier...somehow the that statement makes me feel a bit older...

These are really interesting observations about the quality gap. It makes me wonder whether a production shift is in store. I could understand the economics of shipping the wood (and possibly pickups) halfway across the world and then hauling the finished product back if the company was going to pay pennies rather than dollars on factory labor. If the offshore factories are being automated, is it still going to make sense to pay for round-trip transportation halfway across the world if a major portion of the hand labor is eliminated? Could it be cost-effective to manufacture the lower-end instruments in the US if the process is close to being fully automated?

In a way that's not too far from what Gibson has been doing with their entry-level models (e.g., Melody Maker, some Les Paul Studios, etc.). They build at the same factory that makes the $4000 instruments, but cut way back on the features and marketing (and maybe use some of the wood that doesn't make the grade for the top-end guitars).

Ken

[Ledergeist]

Based on the Chinese Epiphone dated March of 2010 scored last week, I'll say the quality is better than what I expected. No complaints about any of the hardware, the tuners appear to me to be un-branded Grovers, smooth feel while tuning, no slop, for now... Bridge is for a 7.5 neck, but the guitar is a 12-inch radius fretboard. No saddle height adjustment is a lame design. Pretty easy fix on a hardtail.

Mine's not white, but other than that is almost exactly like this one, this pic shows top hat style knobs instead of NOS re-pros, being the difference..


The jack feels cheap, and it's probably a good bet the pots and wiring are nothing special. Can't wait to pop the hood

The fretwork is perfect, which of course, leads me to suspicion... It almost looks like they are cutting a slot on the top of the fretboard, then pressing the frets in from above. I can see no evidence of a neck-width groove, almost looks like the frets are set on top of the rosewood, leaving no trace of a fret end when looking at the side of the neck. Have not looked a tribby close-up lately to see if they share that feature.

BW

[louis cyfer]

Based on the Chinese Epiphone dated March of 2010 scored last week, I'll say the quality is better than what I expected. No complaints about any of the hardware, the tuners appear to me to be un-branded Grovers, smooth feel while tuning, no slop, for now... Bridge is for a 7.5 neck, but the guitar is a 12-inch radius fretboard. No saddle height adjustment is a lame design. Pretty easy fix on a hardtail.

Mine's not white, but other than that is almost exactly like this one, this pic shows top hat style knobs instead of NOS re-pros, being the difference..


The jack feels cheap, and it's probably a good bet the pots and wiring are nothing special. Can't wait to pop the hood

The fretwork is perfect, which of course, leads me to suspicion... It almost looks like they are cutting a slot on the top of the fretboard, then pressing the frets in from above. I can see no evidence of a neck-width groove, almost looks like the frets are set on top of the rosewood, leaving no trace of a fret end when looking at the side of the neck. Have not looked a tribby close-up lately to see if they share that feature.

BW

they do push in the frets from top. everyone does. fender long time ago used to pull them from the side, but that has not been done in a long time. that is a bound fretboard, the binding covers the edges of the frets. it probably needs a fret level. they do not do that at the factory. the frets look perfect because they have not touched them.

[CGT]

I was at the guitar store around the corner a couple of days ago and I saw a Fender Jazzmaster(?) that was made in China. It wasn't a Squier but a $500 Fender-branded guitar. I don't think this bodes well for Mexican production. I'm guessing it will all shift overseas shortly for the sake of the bottom line. Fanboys will pay extra for the Fender mystique (i.e. marketing budget) and will continue to turn up their noses at better locally made products by companies like Godin that lack "mojo" or some other magical quality that they've been trained by advertising professionals to procure.

Don't get me wrong, there's something iconic about a true Fender Strat, but a G&L or a Godin will be a far-better made instrument for the price. As for "mojo," it's as close at hand as a pick-up swap or setup away.

[louis cyfer]

I was at the guitar store around the corner a couple of days ago and I saw a Fender Jazzmaster(?) that was made in China. It wasn't a Squier but a $500 Fender-branded guitar. I don't think this bodes well for Mexican production. I'm guessing it will all shift overseas shortly for the sake of the bottom line. Fanboys will pay extra for the Fender mystique (i.e. marketing budget) and will continue to turn up their noses at better locally made products by companies like Godin that lack "mojo" or some other magical quality that they've been trained by advertising professionals to procure.

Don't get me wrong, there's something iconic about a true Fender Strat, but a G&L or a Godin will be a far-better made instrument for the price. As for "mojo," it's as close at hand as a pick-up swap or setup away.

i agree. although my srv sig fender for 400 bucks i just bought, can't really be beat quality for the money. but that was a crazy good deal.

[CGT]

$500 Buck SRV Strat! <I could call you a nasty name here but I shan't because I got a mint USA Legacy for $500!> Excellent score.

If all goes to plan, I am picking up a Squire Affinity Tele for $60 tomorrow and I'm curious to see what it does. My mid-nineties Korean Squier Bullet has terrible tunes, a lousy bridge but half-decent pups that belie its $50 price tag. I'm thinking of gutting the Affinity and putting in new electronics and pups from Guitar Fetish along with a set of their Kluson-style tuners and end up with a serviceable T-styler. Until that happens, I'm going to play the heck out of it and see what it sounds like.

Now given that my main guitar is a G&L I realize that there is no comparison in quality between the two, but if the neck on the Affinity is anywhere near the quality of the neck on the bullet and the sound anywhere near as good, I'll be a happy camper. Still I have to wonder about how close the Squiers are getting to the MIMs. I realize that there will be a significant difference between the tone of a $180 guitar and a $1,500 guitar but if there's little difference between the loweliest Squier and its $500 MIM Standard equivalent then there's a problem.

[yowhatsshakin]

Just found my Guitar Player for December 2011 on the doormat. They have an article in which they compare 34 electrics under $500. Eleven get an Editors Pick Award and I was happy to see that the G&L Tribute Series ASAT Deluxe Carved Top was one of them.

In their ranking system, it is interesting to see, or figure out for that matter, why a particular model gets the EPA or not. For the G&L, being at the upper end of the price range, it is clear that workmanship and playability factor in greatly. There is also a Squier among the eleven 'winners' and a Fender model gets Honorable Mentions. For more details you should score your own copy

- Jos

[CGT]

I picked up a 2000 Affinity Telecaster today for $60, brought it home, cleaned the gunk off the neck and restrung it with Ernie Ball O9s. It is a shockingly good guitar. The ceramic pups give out a terrific T-style twang and the neck is fast and true. The tuners are okay (far better than the lousy plastic ones on my MIK Squier Bullet) and the hardware seems solid enough. Current Affinity spec says the body would be alder, but I don't know if that was always the case. I bought this as a modder but is sounds pretty good as it is. I wouldn't call it a toy though. While it's certainly a low end guitar, it adheres to Leo's plank-o-wood-plus-neck approach and it is emminently playable. Best 60 bucks I've ever spent. Looks like the Yamaha Pacifica I've been keeping around for the bridge tones will go on craigslist in the next few days.