Your next guitar?

[nix808]

That tele is US$300, if you'd like one there are more than 10.
I will keep an eye on this Chinese stuff for sure.
hmm, what sent me searching was the abalone inlays, and the distorted wood grains.
I see often maple, these Chinese necks.
I haven't bought anything yet susi, and will think about it before I do,
thanks for your opinion
I did mean to be serious though, perhaps someone is using these?
I guess you are right, the action would always be lacking with such cheap necks.
I have found some US suppliers though, maybe I will go that route.
Glad you liked the fiddleback hibidy!
Perhaps I take a punt at some stage with a Chinese supplier,
I'll let you know wether they get a yay or nay from me.
Off to check Warmoth necks

[susiwong]

That tele is US$300, if you'd like one there are more than 10.
I will keep an eye on this Chinese stuff for sure.
hmm, what sent me searching was the abalone inlays, and the distorted wood grains.
I see often maple, these Chinese necks.
I haven't bought anything yet susi, and will think about it before I do,
thanks for your opinion
I did mean to be serious though, perhaps someone is using these?
I guess you are right, the action would always be lacking with such cheap necks.
I have found some US suppliers though, maybe I will go that route.
Glad you liked the fiddleback hibidy!
Perhaps I take a punt at some stage with a Chinese supplier,
I'll let you know wether they get a yay or nay from me.
Off to check Warmoth necks

They have a custom neck builder that lets you choose every little detail to your preferences, but they also have a lot of premanufactured stuff of identical quality, only without those choices, which is considerably cheaper.
And not only are they usually flawless on arrival, they tend to stay that way for a lifetime, no warping or shrinking that's common with cheap wood.
Again, ymmv,
susiwong

Btw, $300 might be all some people can afford, but even that money will buy them a decent guitar on the s/h market, maybe with a few scratches and dents, so what ?

[nix808]

I thought it a bargain I guess.
Like a custom finish for an entry class model.
I guess I can't recomend it in truth as I haven't played one, nor seen how it stands up over time(as you say).

I guess a cheap fix is probably unlikely.
Hmm.
I think though that China is becoming something of a manufacturing powerhouse, and may soon be making quailty guitars.
I know Native Instruments manufacture there, and they are generally well thought of engineering-wise.
Take care

[susiwong]

I thought it a bargain I guess.
Like a custom finish for an entry class model.
I guess I can't recomend it in truth as I haven't played one, nor seen how it stands up over time(as you say).

I guess a cheap fix is probably unlikely.
Hmm.
I think though that China is becoming something of a manufacturing powerhouse, and may soon be making quailty guitars.
I know Native Instruments manufacture there, and they are generally well thought of engineering-wise.
Take care

Wait for Eric to comment, afaik he's been in touch with some chinese manufacturers and will have more hands-on experience.
Cheers,
susiwong

[nix808]

Thank you for recomending Warmoth Susi,
they are my safe bet now.
Cheers!
I am going to acquire guitars I love in every detail

[AutoStatic]

Currently looking for a Kramer with aluminum neck since Travis Bean guitars have hit the ceiling. A DMZ 2000 would be nice...

Best,

Jeremy

[susiwong]

Thank you for recomending Warmoth Susi,
they are my safe bet now.
Cheers!
I am going to acquire guitars I love in every detail

Good to hear !
You certainly can't go wrong with them, been using their parts for almost 20 years now, not a single issue.
Hink will probably confirm, too.
Btw, do yourself a favour and check out their compound radius fretboards, they don't feel unfamiliar in any way and make string bending sound a lot cleaner in the higher registers - much recommended !
And my tech says fret dressing is almost as easy as on a conventional neck, he charges the same (low ) price.
Ymmv,
susiwong

[susiwong]

Here's one of mine, Warmoth birds eye maple, tinted nitro finish done locally
please note the vintage sleeping bag and the crappy camera.
Cheers,
susiwong

[Hink]

the neck on my Warmoth strat birdseye maple and beautiful, the baritone (tele style neck) is maple on maple. On my strat I have never touched the truss rod in the 12 years I have had it. However the ESP/LTD that I just bought was made in China and I have to say it is very nice. As mediocrity has become the standard over the years I think it's time to rethink the whole 'American Craftsmanship' thing. There was a time where it was true that made in the USA meant something but honestly now it kind of depends and is hit or miss.

Take a Fender Strat, I'm not convinced that the difference between MIM and USA made is all that big. It isn't just music gear, I think quality control has gone out the door and we live in a more disposable world and in no way is this 'accidental'. I think companies are not satisfied selling you something once and they realize if they build it to last that is exactly what happens. However if they build it half-assed then they can get your money again either in repair costs or replacement costs.

When I was in school and learning to be a machinist we were taught that machines do not get tired, machines do not have bad days, they do not care if it's Monday morning or Friday afternoon and so they will be more consistent. However I think this thinking had some serious flaws. Machines do not know when they make mistakes (I'm going to use the Ibanez Prestige hibidy bought for and example)and if a 'run' goes through with something like the fret flaws hibidy's guitar had the machine might spit out hundreds before it gets noticed. Yes it's suppose to be something that is caught in the final inspection but they do not test every single piece, they only take samples along the way and even if they do catch it what's to say they wont try to slip it past the customer. If one is flawed they may stop the assembly for a moment to fix it but it's not cost effective to scrap the flawed pieces so they sell them and hope people hang onto them and those who dont they sell off as 'factory seconds' which means a good deal for the customer (or so they would have us believe) and no loss for the company.

In the case of this tele, it looks nice but like susiwong says you shouldn't go cheap on the neck. Here's the deal though, you can have your cake and eat it too. That's what I did with my baritone, I bought a Squier tele and replaced the neck with a Warmoth neck. Of course I replaced all the other parts with parts I had and in the end all that was left from the squier was the body and pickguard and the heel pocket needed some 'clean up' work for the Warmoth neck to sit flat but it was minor. Total cost was right around $500.

So it's a $300 gamble, if it's fundamentally flawed then send it back...however if it takes a little home craftsmanship to shine you might still get away with a nice guitar for a lot cheaper than buying it from the big guys.

FWIW a Warmoth neck should cost you under 250 dollars without a finish and if you go with tung oil or stain it yourself you violate the warranty...but if you finish it with a gloss coat or similar you are fine. My strat neck has no finish and has lasted. Also I think their 'Double Expanding Truss Rod'
is superior to vintage truss rods

[BERFAB]

I don't care about the dashboard in a car,
but I ... care about tone ... in a guitar.

There's a SONG in there somewhere, no?

Cheers
-B

[Ian B]

Isn't this one http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/archive/201 ... der_Strat/

The more I read this, the more bizarre the theft become. How the hell do you drape a medium length jacket containing a guitar over your shoulder without it being noticed by staff as you leave the shop?

[BERFAB]

I haven't read too far back on this thread, so I'm sorry if this was covered. The Chinese made guitars linked above takes you to an Australian reseller with some really beautiful, but cheap, stuff (I know the wood isn't the greatest, SW).

But in any event, I'm curious about the legality of them knocking off copies of Fender, Steinberger and PRS guitars (among others that I spotted) which, I assume are patented/trademarked. The one linked above actually says 'Telecaster' in the listing.

There's a beautiful $700 PRS knockoff complete with bird inlays on the fretboard. PRS's own stuff doesn't even do that on their more affordable models.

Is this an accepted practice? Do the companies being copied ever assert their rights with cease and desists, etc?

Just curious.
-B

[susiwong]

Isn't this one http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/archive/201 ... der_Strat/

The more I read this, the more bizarre the theft become. How the hell do you drape a medium length jacket containing a guitar over your shoulder without it being noticed by staff as you leave the shop?

A good Strat is a very flexible instrument, a cheap copy - not so much.
So I guess bringing in the copy was the bigger problem ...
Classic job !
Cheers,
susiwong

[Ian B]

I haven't read too far back on this thread, so I'm sorry if this was covered. The Chinese made guitars linked above takes you to an Australian reseller with some really beautiful, but cheap, stuff (I know the wood isn't the greatest, SW).

But in any event, I'm curious about the legality of them knocking off copies of Fender, Steinberger and PRS guitars (among others that I spotted) which, I assume are patented/trademarked. The one linked above actually says 'Telecaster' in the listing.

There's a beautiful $700 PRS knockoff complete with bird inlays on the fretboard. PRS's own stuff doesn't even do that on their more affordable models.

Is this an accepted practice? Do the companies being copied ever assert their rights with cease and desists, etc?

Just curious.
-B

While not a direct knock-off, but I've got a lovely AcePro AE625 PRS-alike bought from Skylark guitars in the UK and it seems they were warned off selling them soon after I'd got mine. Their remaining PRS-alikes could no longer be listed on their site, but were available from *private stock* That said, I've recently recieved their monthly newsletter in which they announced they were back on sale.

[Uncle E]

Do you think that Chinese guitar parts are OK?->

They're getting much better but I don't recommend getting a maple fretboard from a Chinese company. In my four years of attending trade shows in Shanghai and Beijing, I've seen thousands of guitars and only one with a maple fretboard that was nice. Anyway, all that said, Musikraft isn't Chinese, they're a custom parts company in New Jersey.

Here is one that is in production, that I maybe get in 6 months or so->
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinfreewaysap.htm

That looks so sweet! Personally, I don't much like the thought of a maple body but maybe the combination with poplar wings works.