Ray
OK, maybe someone can tell me, what the difference is between USA Fender and Mexican Fender. Maybe jus the accent? Hell, Sorry for that!
MikeM
Build quality, wood quality, finish quality, pickup quality ?
But the Mexican is real nice too!!!
Gearhead
+1 on Mike's answer. Let's elaborate:
- pickup quality accounts for imho >60% of the tonal difference;
- wood choice and build may affect stability in some guitars, while other guitars built the same day from the same tree have no problems. Stability refers to the neck remaining straight over time, tuning the one string does not affect the other, the instrument does not detune due to the weather etc;
- parts choice in terms of nuts and bridges affect tone and sustain whereas cheaper electronics mainly need replacement sooner (some say they hear the difference from one pot to the other, I am still trying to do that);
- finish contributes very little to tone (again, some say it does).
Think of it this way: If Fender would feel that they should make better guitars in Mexico, they would use the best parts, wood etc. which would make the guitars more expensive than the USA ones. They're not more expensive.
There was a time when cheap labor countries were producing better Strats than Fender. Some Japanese copies from the seventies are worth considerably more than the USA originals from the same era, and for a reason. There were lawsuits. Those days are over.
One more thing about price: obviously an expensive guitar costs a lot of money, but the resale value is also higher. You might even pay the same amount of money per year that you own the guitar. Ever see 15 year old starter packs for sale?
Bottom line: Don't take advice for either Mex, Jap or Yank. The best choice in general is the one that suits your wallet, hands and ears.
MikeM
+1 to Gearheads post.
Pick up a guitar. Don't look at the price. Don't look at what it looks like ? Play it. Feel it. Listen to it. Make your decision from there. I've played MANY Mexicans that I percieve to be better than their US counterparts.
If I were to suggest an axe, it'd definately be the vintage mod squiers. Or a Squier Tele with a hum in the neck ? But that is my fav axe currently so I'm obviously biased.
Go to marshall music or somewhere. Play as many guitars as you see fit on a decent amp. Find the sound YOU're looking for ?
AlanRatcliffe
Some random musing:
Country of origin doesn't mean as much as it used to, but price range is still a decent general indicator (except in the case of companies like Gibson and Cort). The single biggest cost in producing guitars (indeed, anything these days), is labour. The less time a human has to work on a guitar the lower the cost - this includes quality control. Take into account the difference in labour costs between Asia/Mexico and US/European countries and you start to see why the Asian instruments are a lot cheaper, but not necessarily worse (except by design in some cases - remember how Fender stopped imports of their own Japanese instruments because they were competing with the US models?).
Of course the older, more established guitar building countries have an advantage in having more skilled artisans which the younger factories cannot usually match ...but they are getting there (much as Japan did 25 - 30 years ago. Look at the higher priced models from Eastern and Mexican factories (for which they utilise their more skilled builders) and you will find much better guitars than their standard production ranges, often rivalling the US production models and at much lower cost (Baja Telecaster anyone?). In fact in the case of Fender, it wouldn't surprise me if we start seeing more of the production line stuff coming from Mexico in the future and eventually only the Custom Shop instruments being made in the US.
A guitar is the sum of it's parts - EVERYTHING makes a difference. Some things have less effect than others, but they all play a role in shaping the final sound. Having high quality parts and wood is no guarantee that a guitar will be great (or that a cheaper guitar will be worse) ...but it does increase those chances greatly - as does the more stringent quality control (which involves more labour and a higher rejection rate) with higher priced instruments.
Wood, hardware, finishes and other "small" factors have a huge effect on the tone of a guitar. The very inconsistency in tone between examples of the same guitar model is mostly down to the wood (the only real variable in the equation). Ever play a Steinberger? That's about the most dramatic example of the effect wood (or lack therof, in the case of the Steinie) has on tone.
Wood, hardware, construction all affect the guitar as an acoustic instrument and as such, affect the tone that the pickup hears. Pickups are transducers - they can only take what is already there and capture it with varying degrees of accuracy. They do shape the sound, but more by subtraction (not capturing what the guitar is producing) than by adding anything to the sound.
Ray
Excuse the intrusion once again good people. Can anyione tell me anyting about "Vintage" guitars? Paging thru Guitarist mag and saw an ad for them and went to the site jhs.co.uk. Are these any good? Who sells them in this neck of the woods? How do they ratre up to Cort? Tnx
AlanRatcliffe
Vintage are the range of guitars designed by Trevor Wilkinson, but built in China. Good, solid, good value-for-money instruments by all accounts. Kind of like Cort in many respects. I don't know if they have a local agency though.
Mr-M
Vintage Guitars are available at Music Connection in Craighall Park, JHB. They are the importers according to the sales guy - 011 787 6222
Checked them out about a month ago when I was last there and was impressed with their build quality and tone for the money - pretty much what Guitarist UK says is true. Mostly within the R3000 - R5000 range from what I recall. There were a few more expensive ones though.
I'm sure somebody on this forum bought an SG-Style Vintage Guitar in PTA a while back? I remember asking him where he got it...
Here it is:
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/your-gear/my-new-baby/
Ray
OK people, help me some more. I bought an Ibanez guitar from one of the forum members. I am happy, neighbors arent, everything is purrrrfect! Now, I have a bit of a classical music background so my pitch is awright. I also have a piano (2 uprights in fact). But what is the best way to go? Should I get myself one of these electronic tuning magafters? What about the ones that are combined with a metronome? any good brands, any brands to steer clear of?
Squonk
Boss make quite good tuners. I have had a Boss Tu-12 for about 10 years and it's still works well.
I see boss do a Boss TU-80 that combines a tuner and a metronome, But i have never used it.
Gearhead
Depends on what you want to do. When practicing 'home alone' style methinks you should work with the piano and save yer money. The electronic tuners are very useful if you play in a band - not everybody likes to hear you tune up. When buying a tuner, better get one that automatically notices what note you're playing - saves 50% of the time since you don't have to manually select something. Look for ease of use and stable, large size readout - anyone can make a frequency counter device but that's just not the same as helping you tune.
Metronome to me is not the same as drums track - you can make your own on your PC.
Mr-M
Korg. Hands down. The inventors of the electronic tuner (according to them - and, hey I believe them!), so they know what they're doing. The Korg GA-30 I have has been with me for many a year and many a bump and it's still going strong. Easy to use, accurate and cheap at around R150.
Besides that one I have a CA-40 Chromatic, a Pitchblack Pedal Tuner, a Pitchjack tuner (newest addition - really cool!) and my sister has a DT-10 Pedal Tuner. Never an issue. Highly recommended. They do the TM-40 Tuner/ Metronome. Never tried it, but if it's as good as my other Korgs then it is worth a look.
