Ever wonder why guitars cost so much?

[lefty]

After playing my Mexican strat for a 3 months it would be hard to justify the cost of an American one....that's just me...

I think the main thing I miss on the lower end guitars is the trem. The lower end Floyds just don't work. And if they do work, they don't for very long. Pick ups can be swapped out and sure you can do some work on a guitar to make it play well....but call me old school.....a polished turd....is still a turd. I think you need to spend 700-1000 to get a decent guitar....but thats just my humble opinion....I'm sure other players are fine with a 300$ axe.

As far as Fender goes, I agree that the quality of the hardware is the main difference.
I bought a Deluxe Player's Strat [Mex] as a scratch-and-dent for $500 and it was
immaculate, and included Vintage Noiseless PUPs. I put a Wilkinson bridge, locking
tuners and a graphite nut on it--professionally installed with pro setup for a cost of
another $200. This guitar now crushes my US-built Jeff Beck Strat! The flawless ash body
probably helps the tone a lot, but the neck is also much nicer on the import, and a better
fret job too. Plays like a dream. Don't get me wrong, the Jeff Beck Strat is a really
nice guitar, but in this case, the 'improved' import beats it...

[PowerTube]

Oh no. Not at all.

Fender USA stopped importation of Japanese Fenders. Japanese dealers are NOT allowed to sell new guitars to the USA, if they're caught, they get shit canned immediately. You can find them used, they're all over the place.

Fender Japan is basically on par or a bit better than Fender USA in overall quality, components and feel... Base models start around $800 US and go all the way up to about $1600 US. The comparable MIJ model is a couple hundred less than the US counterpart and generally a bit nicer.

Fender Japan is somewhat autonomous from Fender USA. They do a lot of things that they want... there are lots of special and limited runs... stuff you'd never see in the US. They also have a dedicated line of Gotoh and OFR Floyd models. Fender Japan is top notch. The reason you don't see them here is because they would seriously hurt USA sales.

They have a FULL Made in Japan Japanese product line:

http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/products.html

Right now, Ishibashi (one of Japan's largest music store chains) has 2935 NEW MIJ Fender Guitars (not including basses and other gear) in stock:

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=pl&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.ishibashi.co.jp%2Fec%2FsrDispCategoryTreeLink%2FdoSearchCategory%2F11312700000%2F04-05%2F3%2F1%3Fc%3Dhnavitop&act=url

While I'm at it, here's a really rare 2010 Fender Japan Strat... official nomenclature is "(ST-57 1H) ST-80's Type L.A. Special Order"... consensus from a couple of people on the Fender forum is that somewhere between 10 and 20 were actually built. I paid about $1100 to get it to the USA. Worth every penny. Yes, it has medium Jumbo frets, not quite Jackson size, but far bigger than standard Strat frets... and it is rear loaded from the factory... two things you rarely see. It's basically a custom shop guitar.

Wow. Just wow. Thank you for clearing that up. If I were to run across a Japanese Strat in a pawn shop for a decent price and a maple fretboard, I'm all over it.

[pianoguyy]

I deal with a company, not guitars, and here's what they do...



You buy a sheet of wood. Most business will measure it out to get the most pieces out of it. Line them up, single file. Chop chop.
This one examines the wood and uses the best part. If they can get more use out of the rest, good for them. If they can't, the don't.
They won't use the inferior sections.

It really raises production costs from the wood they buy vs wood they use.
In the end, you may not notice a difference. But you don't get the horror stories either.

[straycat]

OMG counting turns on a screw is just plain nutz whats the point of that?
I had one customer that was that way and he drove me crazy.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

I dunno. For me, the type of guitar dictates where I want it built country-wise. I don't want Epiphones, I want Gibsons. I don't want a Mexi Strat, I want an American Strat. An Ibanez must be made in Japan, not India. A Charvel or Jackson must be made in the US. There's just a part of brain that makes me feel that way. In in the 12 years I worked in music retail I sold thousands of guitars so I know that good guitars don't have to be expensive or made in the US but the guitars I buy have to be made in certain countries. I wish I could buy less expensive guitars so I could have more of them but I've tried and in the end, I'm just not happy.

B - I - N - G - O....& Bingo was his name....O!!

OMG counting turns on a screw is just plain nutz whats the point of that?
I had one customer that was that way and he drove me crazy.

"screw counter" is a derogatory term thrown @ collectors....but if you're spending BIG $$ on a high-end guitar you're foolish not to count screws!!

[pianoguyy]

OMG counting turns on a screw is just plain nutz whats the point of that?
I had one customer that was that way and he drove me crazy.

Securing the unit and its parts.
Lower thread count means less secure.

[bombtek]

To be honest, I wanted to exercise my OCD

[bombtek]

Oh, here is another pic of the guitar I bought from Sweetwater. This is directly from the Fender Japan website. Its from their 2013 Limited Edition lineup:

http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/st71_ash_wal.html

Much better pic than I could take of it.

[PowerTube]

Oh, here is another pic of the guitar I bought from Sweetwater. This is directly from the Fender Japan website. Its from their 2013 Limited Edition lineup:

http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/st71_ash_wal.html

Much better pic than I could take of it.

That's very nice. I'm definitely going to start checking around for these.

[Brandenburg]

I have something I'd like to deliver to Taylor Swift as well.

she would just right a song about you

[xenophobe]

I have something I'd like to deliver to Taylor Swift as well.

You and me both.... not at the same time though. Me, preferrably first.

Actually, I'd keep her.

Locked up in a closet or basement if necessary! haha

I deal with a company, not guitars, and here's what they do...

It really raises production costs from the wood they buy vs wood they use.
In the end, you may not notice a difference. But you don't get the horror stories either.

I think it was LouSiffer who said something to the extent of... you can buy all the best materials, all the best components and have the best builder in the world build you a guitar and you can still come up with a turd.

+1 to that.

Wow. Just wow. Thank you for clearing that up. If I were to run across a Japanese Strat in a pawn shop for a decent price and a maple fretboard, I'm all over it.

Not a problem. Fender Japan does amazing stuff... many of their older models are really nice, but aren't up to the current quality standard they're producing now. Most of the used MIJ stuff you see on ebay or at shops are the 80's and 90's guitars, which are really nice, but have questionable components, like some of those crappy Fender trems or just plain weird shit. I don't think it was until the early to mid 2000's, whenever they stopped importation, did they start making high end guitars that compete with Fender USA.

They did a lot of crazy limited runs... this being one of the weirdest...

[Chad]

I think it was LouSiffer who said something to the extent of... you can buy all the best materials, all the best components and have the best builder in the world build you a guitar and you can still come up with a turd.

+1 to that.

Right on.

And I've said it before, but I'll say it again: that's why I'll never order a custom shop guitar. Likely the guitar would be a winner, but there's always that chance that it would be a turd.

Guitars have to be judged as complete, finished instruments on a one-by-one basis.

[bombtek]

You know who I could totally see playing this guitar?

Princess Kenny! (South Park reference from a recent episode where Kenny is somehow seen as an Anime princess that everyone is completely smitten with )

[bombtek]

Not a problem. Fender Japan does amazing stuff... many of their older models are really nice, but aren't up to the current quality standard they're producing now. Most of the used MIJ stuff you see on ebay or at shops are the 80's and 90's guitars, which are really nice, but have questionable components, like some of those crappy Fender trems or just plain weird shit. I don't think it was until the early to mid 2000's, whenever they stopped importation, did they start making high end guitars that compete with Fender USA.

Someone told me on one of these boards, and I have no idea if its true or not, that in Japan, jobs are taken WAY more seriously than they are here. They aren't easy to come by and if you lose your job there is virtually NO welfare system in place. You are completely on your own. The folks that do have a job are METICULOUS in performing whatever task they are completing because of this. They take extreme pride in producing a product, or completing a task better than the guy next to them. Pretty much every product that is 100% Japanese is made to these same standards and errors basically are not accepted at all.

We as Americans ...I feel anyways... have been conditioned to "if it's made in America, it must be the best". I know I grew up with that mentality. But, now that I have 43+ years of experience behind me I freely admit that it is not always the case. I see it every day at work and admittedly am guilty of it myself at times. I know that I could have done a better job on something, but I find an excuse to ...not do shoddy work...but work that is good enough to get by. From what I was told the Japanese do not have that mentality at all when it comes to their job. They expect PERFECTION from themselves. I believe it's partially pride and partially fear of not being employed because they are QUICK to let people go. We Americans benefit from it if we get the opportunity to buy 100% Japanese built products because their quality is unsurpassed these days.

[Brandenburg]

Someone told me on one of these boards, and I have no idea if its true or not, that in Japan, jobs are taken WAY more seriously than they are here. They aren't easy to come by and if you lose your job there is virtually NO welfare system in place. You are completely on your own. The folks that do have a job are METICULOUS in performing whatever task they are completing because of this. They take extreme pride in producing a product, or completing a task better than the guy next to them. Pretty much every product that is 100% Japanese is made to these same standards and errors basically are not accepted at all.

We as Americans ...I feel anyways... have been conditioned to "if it's made in America, it must be the best". I know I grew up with that mentality. But, now that I have 43+ years of experience behind me I freely admit that it is not always the case. I see it every day at work and admittedly am guilty of it myself at times. I know that I could have done a better job on something, but I find an excuse to ...not do shoddy work...but work that is good enough to get by. From what I was told the Japanese do not have that mentality at all when it comes to their job. They expect PERFECTION from themselves. I believe it's partially pride and partially fear of not being employed because they are QUICK to let people go. We Americans benefit from it if we get the opportunity to buy 100% Japanese built products because their quality is unsurpassed these days.

true.. japaneze do take their job more seriously BUT the companies treat their employees like a family too and take care of them.. They expect perfection and loyalty from their employees and in return.. the companies take care of their people and give them job security.. I bet the turn over rate is pretty low in those factories

The workers have a different attitude in japan.. this is true BUT you left out the fact that the corporations/factory management do too.. The end result is that moral is alot higher in their employees as opposed to american workers