Are Chinese guitar makers stupid?

[zeegler]

We've all seen the fakes, and while some of them are getting better, they still have obvious signs of being fakes. Why don't they learn? Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good thing that they don't, but it can't be that hard to make an EXACT copy can it.

Check out this old Japanese Aria Pro II Leopard for example. I'm no LP expert, but if this had a Gibson logo, and appropriate serial number, I would not be able to tell this apart from a real LP.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ARIA-PRO-II-LPS-1981Cherryburst-w-DIMARZIO-PUS-MIJ_W0QQitemZ220091471266QQcategoryZ38086QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It certainly looks 100 times better than the current Chinese ones.

[straycat]

That is a killer pro II!!!!! Well worth the buy it now.
MIJ.

[DonP]

It certainly looks 100 times better than the current Chinese ones.

Agreed. Sometimes the copied Gibson a little too well during the 70s....pancake bodies (not this one but others I've seen), three piece necks, three piece tops...

They need to make a copy of a 50's LP and get it exact.

I think the Chinese ones are out there just to make a quick buck. Not a quality product. I think they rely a lot on suckers on ebay, where the 70's Aria's people would see them first hand and actually play them before they buy.

[S-man]

Agreed. Sometimes the copied Gibson a little too well during the 70s....pancake bodies (not this one but others I've seen), three piece necks, three piece tops...

They need to make a copy of a 50's LP and get it exact.

I think the Chinese ones are out there just to make a quick buck. Not a quality product. I think they rely a lot on suckers on ebay, where the 70's Aria's people would see them first hand and actually play them before they buy.

True.

Heres an Aria Pro II I've had for about 24 years. I put the khaler on it over 20 years ago. Time flies........

[zeegler]

True.

Heres an Aria Pro II I've had for about 24 years. I put the khaler on it over 20 years ago. Time flies........

CS400s are great guitars. Solid as a rock, and great stock pickups (MMK45s). Here's mine:

[S-man]

Cool.... Yours is in alot better shape than mine.

[zeegler]

Cool.... Yours is in alot better shape than mine.

Yours doesn't look too bad in those pics. Mine is actually in better shape than it looks in my pics. I didn't bother to clean it before I took them, so there is a lot of dust and fingerprints on it. It's in very close to mint condition. I found it sitting in the back of a music store about 6 years ago. Someone had traded it in on new gear, and I paid $325 Canadian for it, which was a steal as far as I'm concerned. Not only is it my go-to guitar, but my other guitarist used it to record all the leads on our demo. He kept going back to it because it sounded and played so damn good.

[Racerx2k]

Agreed. Sometimes the copied Gibson a little too well during the 70s....pancake bodies (not this one but others I've seen), three piece necks, three piece tops...

They need to make a copy of a 50's LP and get it exact.

I think the Chinese ones are out there just to make a quick buck. Not a quality product. I think they rely a lot on suckers on ebay, where the 70's Aria's people would see them first hand and actually play them before they buy.

I think you nailed it right on the head. It's the almighty dollar (or in THIS case, I guess, Yen). Pride in quality is no longer in the equation.

[tanpsi]

"Leopard" sounds 100X cooler than "Les Paul" haha,

I'm sure the Chinese copies will get more sophisticated.

I tried one of those epihone dot studios, made in China, it was like $150 new because of the color and it played and sounded good and seemed well made.

[mudkicker]

Arias are still one of the best secrets out there. Most people don't realize how well they are made.

I love my RS Knight Warrior, been with me 23 years.

[S-man]

Who would have guessed there would be this many people here with Arias. I'm knda suprised there are any. Mine has always been a good guitar. I don't use it much anymore, but It was #1 years ago.

[Extant]

Agreed. Sometimes the copied Gibson a little too well during the 70s....pancake bodies (not this one but others I've seen), three piece necks, three piece tops...

They need to make a copy of a 50's LP and get it exact.

I think the Chinese ones are out there just to make a quick buck. Not a quality product. I think they rely a lot on suckers on ebay, where the 70's Aria's people would see them first hand and actually play them before they buy.

Exactly. That's why they even make them similar to Epiphones (truss rod covers and all - they're made in the same factories, after all). They aren't really invested in it.

[thetroy]

They're not stupid and they actually make halfway decent guitars. I have a "Dragonfire" strat copy that cost me $99 new and it plays just great after I set it up. It's been my only 6-string for over a year and I don't mind one bit

[straycat]

I have a 1980 bolt on Aria pro II LP copy that has a Japanese ash body 3 piece neck dot inlays no binding.It weighs 10.8 lbs and plays like a dream.The stock super 70s pickups(partial brass covers).With the addition of an RS electronics upgrade kit it has some huge tone.

[Blazer]

I owned an Aria Pro 2 SB600 bass for a while, lovely tone but it was heavy as shit.


The actual bass I owned, it had that "Duran Duran" vibe.