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A good guitar is a good guitar, irrespective of origin.
Sadly, that opinion is not shared by the majoirty.
- True, the solid body electric Spanish guitar is an American invention. This does not give the United States exclusive wisdom about how to make them.
- CNC machines do not respect national borders.
- If one manufacturer has a patent-protected unique selling point, purchasers requiring that USP have no option but to buy from the manufacturer in question.
- Customers purchasing bespoke instruments from any small scale maker have to take their places in the queue.
All pretty self-evident, really.With anything else - forget it, one of the best guitars I own - a simply stunning instrument.
Was made by Feline in Croydon!
One of mine (Gibson Melody Maker Special) was made in America by an American company.
One (Hondo HL5) was made in Japan by an American (?) company.
One (modern Hagstrom) was made in China by a Swedish company.
One (Cort bass) was made in Korea I think
And a couple of Chinese-made acoustics (Hondo and Tanglewood)
Obviously some of these are better-made than others, but not necessarily by country of manufacture/ownership. They are all perfectly serviceable musical instruments.
That and guitar history which generally looks backwards, if even Nels Cline plays a Jazzmaster & Julian Lage plays a tele, modern rock bands play PRS, Gibsons & Fenders & Guthrie plays a Charvel no one is going to get too excited about a beautiful Patrick James Eggle etc etc unfortunately.
The acoustic buyers market is a bit more open minded about what is on the headstock IMO
All are great. Two of the best three are all-american, but that isn't why they're better.
In some cases there was no actual equivalent for my budget, in others its just what was best in the shop.
Not a surprise though, anyone who's into Jap denim will get that.
Make of that what you will.
One is a Washburn N4 from the USA Custom Shop - it's a fantastic guitar.
One is a beautiful Tele made by Jaden Rose, with a five-piece wenge and purpleheart neck, a driftwood-finished wenge top over a swamp ash body.
The other is a lightweight Tele also by Jaden, with a black limba body, pistachio fretboard, and hardware from his Series 2 guitars.
The main three are all stunning guitars, but the one I reach for most often is the lightweight Tele, followed closely by the fancy Tele. The key point is that while I've played quite a few American guitars, none of them come close to the two by Jaden.
Made in Wales FTW
I feel a Terry Morgan joke coming on.
I think as an overview statement that the ultimate guitar does not exist - Regarding feel, tonal character and aesthetic appeal, then we all have different opinions as to what constitutes the 'ultimate guitar'
I feel today that the golden era of guitar building is with us, be it the big companies, or boutique companies from anywhere around the world
The perception of 'USA is best' has its roots in the birth of popular music, be it rock, blues or pop - Look at Woodstock, early Beatles recordings, Led Zep albums, Cream, Elvis etc etc and all the early influential days and it is just about USA dominated regarding guitar brands - I recall PRS telling me that Hendrix will never ever play one of his guitars and as such he can't compete with that history
I think we'd all pretty much guarantee that to make the 'ultimate' guitar that we require a certain quality of ingredients - Be it wood, hardware, pick-ups, finish and certainly luthier skills - On a one of build I'm sure that many fine UK luthiers can compete with similar USA luthiers - Yet as mentioned above, small boutique luthiers will stay at this level as the capital required to go from a one man business to a 10/20 or 50 man company is immense, with relevant sales increase required to finance such an operation - As such boutique will stay boutique and nothing wrong with that
I do believe there is a perceived value attached to what a fine USA builder can charge, as against the same guitar built by the same luthier with the same ingredients but now built in China - This works for both boutique built or company built - As such a USA company/builder can load up its ingredient costs with the finest hardware, pick-ups and premium grade tonewoods, as well as a higher labour cost (than compared to say China) - Now add perceived values and quality, potential resale values, history, plus the desirable factors that go with owning that brand and it is easier to attach a USA brand name to such costs