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If you like Rickenbackers (which I do) there really isn't anywhere else you can go.
Pretty much all the British-made stuff I've seen is either Gibson-inspired or Strat/Tele-derived, and that's just not my thing, man!
I said maybe.....
Guess which one is the best made?
(Clue: they no speak Engrish)
Sure good guitars can come from the US but the odds of getting a spot on one are far lower than almost any other point of origin.
There is a complacancey about US built instruments that I personally find distasteful. Pick it up, play it, if it feels right and does the job, buy it. Then if you're really bothered or curious, see where it was made.
http://ruokangas.com
I think this reflects across America generally, the car guys all want American Muscle not "imports". Guitar guys all want American made not made anywhere else.
When I was looking for a Strat I tried loads right upto American Fenders. I got a Korean made Koa model. My Dave Murray Strat is Mexican made.
From 8 guitars I have 1 American (Charvel model 4), while a great guitar it's not "better" than my Japanese* (or otherwise) made guitars.
*I have 4 Japanese made guitars.
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
Plus it doesn't help that China/Japan/Asia were pretty much turned to originally to make cheap gear - and so now lots of people (wrongly) think that the Chinese guitar factories are only capable of making cheap gear when the reality is they'll make what they're asked to make.
I also tend to think that the US market is dubious of Asian gear for mildly racist reasons but that's a whole new kettle of fish that I don't want really want to open.
I get the "Japanese quality is superb", but having owned very good Japanese-built Gretches and Tokais (and a Fender), I still think the best US guitars pip them to the post.
http://i.imgur.com/NdzgXOH.jpg
For America also read U.K., Germany etc. I don't think anyone would look at a Feline or a Huber and think it's any kind of inferior. There is also no real price advantage though over high end American stuff, quality costs, just depends what you're looking for.
As for Indonesia, China, Korea - yes all capable of making decent guitars but almost always they are built to a price, so hardware is average, finish is shiny and thick, build lacks the finer finer detail. It's not a level playing field with a lot of the American or higher end instruments because of this.
When they do try to compete a la Eastman people complain that you can get a Gibson for that money.
So basically the market doesn't reasonably tolerate "high-end" far eastern instruments and thus the circle goes on.
My three electrics happen to be American made, I'm not precious about where they are made but I've never played a far eastern guitar that competes with them.
The UK / European guitar market lacks midrange market guitars IMO (I.e. Quality guitars costing £1500 - £2000), yet the Americans manage to get guitars into our hands for this cash. I would buy U.K. If there more options in this price range.
They do have the advantage that wages in the Czech Republic are lower than here or the US. That might even up over time.
Fundamentally, Furch are building on a bigger scale than most other European manufacturers. The history section on their website says they had 40 employees by 2011. Most of the other British and European makers I know of are building on a much smaller scale so they don't have the economies of scale. Duesenberg are reasonably big, but a lot of their manufacture is done in the Far East even if final assembly and checks are done in Germany.
For electrics, all the big mainstream brands will be using CNC routing on those £1500 guitars. That would take a huge amount of capital so the small builders don't have that option of automating to keep the costs lower. To make a living with the extra labour of genuine hand building means that the £1500 price range isn't doable on any scale.
If you have the capital and you want to break into the market on a larger scale, it would be very difficult given how conservative guitarists are about the guitars they use. Blackstar have kind of done it with amps, but a lot the manufacturing is done overseas as far as I know. That Blackstar/Duesenberg model would probably give the best chance of success.
To make it work at all at a scale above small hand building, you would need to be good at marketing and get some high profile players using your stuff.
For that alone, they deserve to fail.
But - one thing puzzles me (enough that I've upgraded the parts in question on the other guitars)… why is it that no-one other than the Americans can make a decent quality jack socket, or a really good switch? It's surely not rocket science, but even the Japanese with their world-class mass-production methods don't seem to be able to. Switchcraft and CRL are just objectively better than anything else made anywhere - better-machined, stronger, and more reliable. Even Neutrik - who make the best plugs - don't seem to be able to do sockets that are as good as Switchcraft. Why??!!!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I've recently been having a revolving spot for a 6th guitar. Criteria is 2nd hand, mid priced and a bit of fun.
consequently I've been playing a lot of guitars made in the east. I've been very impressed with the quality