Why is it USA guitars....

thegummy

It's just Fender and Gibson that are seen as such, is it not? Rather than any other USA guitars?

Anacharsis

Marketing and advertising. Everything else - including the history that marketing and advertising efforts use to their advantage - is secondary at best.

The very notion that two screwed together pieces of wood have (or do not have) "mojo" is itself a purely consumerist rationalization.

Funkfingers

For a British perspective, in the Fifties, the trade embargo on non-essential imported goods made American musical instruments unobtainable. Hence, the pursuit of guitars cast off by American military servicemen stationed in Europe and the fuss about Hank Marvin's first Stratocaster. 

ThorpyFX

I think we as consumers are to blame for this phenomenon. If we didn’t buy into the belief then it wouldn’t perpetuate. I have a modest collection of guitars and of this, my best built and playing ones are British, German or Netherlands made.... because they all have had much more. “One on one” time with the luthier. 

That  being said I have a couple of  vintage  SGs and they really make me smile too.

drpbier

Bellycaster said:

My "Best Guitar" was made in Finland, it was Custom Built. All my other Guitars are USA made "Mass Produced". If Finland had a Mass Production Guitar Company, then maybe someone else who had one of them would prefer his/her Fender Custom Shop Built Guitar?

Vuorensaku?

guitars4you

jdgm said:

guitars4you said:

I'm not actually sure if Martin was the first to build a steel strung guitar or not - Steel strings did not really come into play until about 1900 - Again such issues evolved as guitar players wanted to compete with banjo's and mandolins that at the time were much louder - Remember pre-WW2 and the banjo/mandolin market was far larger than the guitar market

Yes very interesting point - the steel strung acoustic - where/when and who? Difficult to pin it down I should think as it must have gradually evolved.....

CF Martin did an apprenticeship in Austria with a guitar luthier before moving to the USA - It is not known if Martin 'invented' the X bracing, but they certainly became the guitar company that made it their own - But the X bracing became a major factor, for a more supportive/stronger top, as and when steel strings became the norm

p90fool

My four American guitars are better than my four from elsewhere. 

The internet can blather on about it as nauseum but in my house (which is what matters to me) American guitars are better. 

Just up the road though is Rob Williams, who makes the best made guitars I've ever played, so the real answer is the best guitars are actually made in Wales. 

darcym

I think there is truth in both sides of the argument, what really matters is the investment of the company making the guitar in the model they are outputting.

Look at Musicman and Sterling, Musicman guitars are some of the best engineered and built guitars I've played, their USA musicman brand is shockingly good, their Sterling brand which are the same modesl made in Indonesia are very good guitars and exceptional value, but they are nowhere near the quality of the musicman both in terms of the materials quality and the fine details, they are like a basic version of the musicman models with a nice finish providing exceptional value for money.

I get the impression that Musicman have invested the appropriate money and controls to make sure they are making a high quality to price guitar, so not scrimping on the guitar, just building within budget/spec.

Then look at the Washburn N4 - really really good guitar made in the USA, now compare their lower end models like the N24, again good value for money, stripped back features but the quality control is poor the parts are cheap, this model feels like a race to the bottom - build me an N4 but for this price point, I don't care how you get there.


Then there is Fender, who could invest in their Mexican output to make it have the same prestige as the USA there is nothing wrong with the Mexican guitars, but Fender are telling them to make them to this spec/budget, if Fender said "Make them to custom shop spec, here is $1000000 to tool up, you get the impression that would the output, but it would devalue the Fender and custom shop brand as people would be churning out custom shop quality on mass (I know some of you will argue the custom shop has some lemons too) but it really depends on the model these companies are doing. Fender Japan for example, I'd play their 60's re-issue models over the USA ones any day of the week never played a bad one, and they are significantly cheaper than the USA models.


Some companies have built their whole business model on non-USA based guitars that are high quality and not cheap - I tried a Guild M75 that I really liked a lot it was Indonesian and I wouldn't have said "cheap labour or parts" when I picked it up and played it, the initial sales price was £1300-1400, that's inline with a USA model strat so I'd expect it to be of the same quality / spec value as a USA strat, and it was, there was a niggle in the back of my head that this felt an expensive guitar for Indonesian, until I realised it wasn't a "stripped back" model, it was a new model built to spec, so part of it is the hang up that the non-usa companies get the cheap/bad models to build, so when they build a top tier model the brain triggers a question on the price by default.

There is cheap labour everywhere, and bad labour and parts, however we see it more often I the lesser model guitars, because they are that, lesser models built to a cheaper spec, with cheaper parts and cheaper labour, that is the brief so it will be "less" than the USA quality/spec unless the business built it's model around the east being the top tier builder for them.

SouthpawMark

Propaganda. People are brainwashed in to thinking that stuff made in certain countries is superior to stuff made in other countries. Historically, there may be some truth in the quality of work, but the Far East has come an awful long way in the last 10-15 years in terms of workmanship, while dare I say it, the USA may have gone backwards a little bit. 

My view is this: buy German. 

Nikc

Fender and Gibson, PRS are American companies they might make their best product in their home country/factories - `i think Ibanez, Yamaha, Tokai etc.. might make their best instruments in Japan

For the record I have MIM and other Korean made instruments (all awesome and probably way better than my mediocre playing deserves)

Sassafras

Considering the USA was founded on immigration, surely the only things that can be thought of as truly American are things made by Native Americans.
And let's not forget that all other countries are evil and out to destroy the greatest superpower in the world.

Bellycaster

drpbier said:

Bellycaster said:

My "Best Guitar" was made in Finland, it was Custom Built. All my other Guitars are USA made "Mass Produced". If Finland had a Mass Production Guitar Company, then maybe someone else who had one of them would prefer his/her Fender Custom Shop Built Guitar?

Vuorensaku?

I'll check those out, not come across those. Mine is a Ruokangas @drpbier ;

guitars4you

If I use PRS as an example, as they have perfected the art of CNC produced guitars, coupled with impeccable attention to detail - You might not like the guitar, but regarding the actual build quality few can out run them

PRS could pick up the CNC from Maryland - Employ the same staff - Buy the same materials and build it in Halifax, Hartlepool, Hyderabad, Harare or Hanoi - There is no reason they can't build the exact same guitar, with the same attention to detail - Adjust the price accordingly subject to running costs - Shipping, import duty, wages etc - But would the public accept it as a premium grade guitar that is not built in the USA ??????

MagicPigDetective

Putting logic aside for a moment, and call me naive, but I feel some mojo or value in having a guitar made in the home of the blues and rock and roll and so much great guitar based music. There are many things about the US I love, and the 50’s and 60’s were an iconic period for music, design and the emergence of youth culture. Having a guitar made in the US by a company from this period, and used by so many iconic guitarists and on so many records, all of these thoughts are in my head when I’m playing it. I might be perfect fodder for their marketing, but I can’t help feeling it. I don’t think I’ll ever top the feeling when I got my first and to date only US guitar, a new Strat, in my gear buying life. 

guitars4you

MagicPigDetective said:

Putting logic aside for a moment, and call me naive, but I feel some mojo or value in having a guitar made in the home of the blues and rock and roll and so much great guitar based music. There are many things about the US I love, and the 50’s and 60’s were an iconic period for music, design and the emergence of youth culture. Having a guitar made in the US by a company from this period, and used by so many iconic guitarists and on so many records, all of these thoughts are in my head when I’m playing it. I might be perfect fodder for their marketing, but I can’t help feeling it. I don’t think I’ll ever top the feeling when I got my first and to date only US guitar, a new Strat, in my gear buying life. 

Aspirational desire !!! - Many would not get the same aspiration for a far eastern guitar

Wonky

blobb said:

Best guitar I've got was made in Britain.

Best two guitars I've ever played are British, but so many guitarists have got their blinkers on and only feel the hype.
Over the years Gibson and Fender have had some terrible times with quality control, but did it stop people buying them, not a bit.  We have so many amazing guitar builders in this country and indeed the rest of the world that aren't just manufacturing guitars, but crafting them and they struggle to survive because guitarist are so caught up in what they think they should be playing instead of seeing for themselves.
Also since the 50's and early 60's things have moved on and the quality of Japanese, Korean and Indonesian guitar manufactures is now often amazing.  There's some brilliant high quality guitars coming from that side of the world that totally equal or better the quality of the old guard.
Fall for the 'America makes the best guitars in the world thing' at your own lose.  It simply isn't true any more in my opinion.  There's far more innovative and far higher and more consistent quality to be found else where these days.  
I'm not saying America doesn't make good guitars, cos they obviously do.  But guitarists insistence on the big two US manufactures is baffling.  If it has to be American, there's a multitude of amazing smaller manufactures and luthiers are more than equally deserving of your attention and hard earned cash.
America as a country has been a pioneer in manufacturing.  Not crafting.  Don't confuse the two.  If you want a real sports car, you'd probably buy European or even Japanese.  
Don't want to offend anyone, just my opinion.

JezWynd

SlopeSoarer said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

American companies are behind the iconic designs that most other luthiers/builders make. And the top 3 mainstream brands (Gibson, fender and PRS) are American companies.

Can't argue with that... they are iconic designs!!!

PRS iconic?! Nearly snorted tea over my keyboard at that one.

Rocker

I have never heard of an Anderson that did not come from the Anderson factory in the USA.

Wonky

JezWynd said:

SlopeSoarer said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

American companies are behind the iconic designs that most other luthiers/builders make. And the top 3 mainstream brands (Gibson, fender and PRS) are American companies.

Can't argue with that... they are iconic designs!!!

PRS iconic?! Nearly snorted tea over my keyboard at that one.

I'd say PRS are iconic.  Why not so?
Many iconic acts play PRS.  Don't have to be from the 70's to be iconic.

rossi

Its not so much a question of  who makesvthe best guitars .A good luthier is a good luthier where ever they come from.Its more the fact that people want that certain American vibe that certain makes carry .A great British guitar and a lousy American guitar are pointless comparisions when the customer wants an American guitar .Its not just marketing hype .Its like people want the real coke to poison themselves with not a cheap Virgin fart water.American culture is our culture too at least as far as the bits we  choose to absorb .We tend to ignore the  flag waving gun toting  white hood brigade and  useless  family cars .