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so are we seeing the death of the USA made guitars and does anyone care for the most part?
i love quality guitars and i have a love for USA made guitars most of mine are. and i dont think all USA made guitars are nice but for me they for the most part have set a standard.
i have one Japanese ibanez prestige guitar and i think its a nice guitar.
what say yea all?
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04-30-2024 04:19 PM
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No.Besides Gibson and Fender you have Prs,Knaggs,Collings,Musicman etc all making fine guitars.Some of their prices might be seen as absurd but they are well made guitars.
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I would say that reports of the death of the USA guitar industry are not to be believed. While it is true that regulations and labor costs keep USA guitars at a price point disadvantage compared to guitars produced elsewhere, Handmade guitars by USA bespoke luthiers along with offerings from Gibson, Martin, Fender, PRS, Taylor and others are still being bought and sold regularly.
I myself own a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul that was made in 2023. The quality on that guitar is outstanding. And I would bet that it will hold it's value better than any non-USA made guitar that was made in 2023.
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The demise of budget to midrange priced guitars manufactured in the U.S. happened or at least began a long time ago. Now only the high-end models are made in the U.S. PRS and Musicman both have lines of lower priced models manufactured in Asia.
Originally Posted by pan60
So, yes, we have seen the death of affordable USA made guitars.
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what made me start wundering was i was in two diferant music store recently probably for the first time in many many years and not one USA made guitar to be found i was a bit shocked. i found my why to another store that was a fender dealer and they only two one tele and one strat. no selection other than import guitars.
i figure we will allways have USA made guitar but i think they are no longer main stream.
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@pan: how big were these stores? I wouldn't be too surprised if smaller stores catering to less-serious players carried only low-budget guitars.
What with Sam Ash closing and GC continually circling the drain, tho, IDK what a "large" store would be.
I wonder whether mid-size ("bigger than a mom 'n pop and smaller than a GC") stores have no USA-made new inventory.
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small stores, small town we only have two in the big city ( LOL small ) and one in the neihboring town and othing here in my little community.
but i remember 20 years ago the one in the big city had loads of nice stuff and they only had the two.
although the death is an exaduration in reality if they are only selling cheap stuff at some piont all you will be able to is the cheap stuff.
sure there will be a few makeres that pick up the slack but getting your hands on those will be a challenge.
at least IMHO
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What happened? Someone fill me in. Did Fender or Gibson stop making guitars?
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LOL just finding one in my neck of the woods isnt so easy. i was chating with a friend and he said he ended up doing mail order for his last fender.
as for gibson i dont know of a gibson dealer around here?
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Yes, as I suggested, they carry what they know will sell. They don't want to be using up store space on expensive guitars that will sit there for weeks or months. That's why Gibson has their more affordable Epiphone line, Fender has their Squire line, etc. They sell a whole lot more of those guitars than their name brand models, especially at the current inflationary prices. Originally Posted by pan60
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Not to worry, still lots of cigarbox and numberplate guitars being built in the USA
(Though from what I've seen those also cost more than many "real" guitars built elsewhere.)
The affordable Martin and Taylor models made in Mexico, those are still made in North-America, no? Godin also still build in Canada and many of their models are affordable. Just dial back the chauvinism a tad
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If a shop wants to be an official Gibson dealer they have to commit to making large annual purchases that include high end models that are hard to sell, plus they're not allowed to advertise discounted prices. I have had a number of shop owners tell me they stopped carrying new Gibsons because of the difficult terms. For the typical "mom and pop" local music store in an area that doesn't have a whole lot of wealthy potential customers it's basically not practical to sell Gibsons. From what I've heard, Fender's terms are easier, but there are still minimum buys. On top of that, Fender is moving pretty aggressively into selling directly and not going through dealers, which makes them less attractive to dealers. All of that adds up to seeing fewer and fewer Gibsons and Fenders in stores outside of major markets and chain stores, but it doesn't mean they're making fewer guitars. Originally Posted by pan60
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death of the USA made guitars
Nah, I don't see that, intuitively speaking. The USA guitar is an icon, it won't die. It may lull but something'll come along. Never say never :-)
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I’m European and indifferent to where a guitar is made. I care about how it’s made and under what circumstances (fair labour, sustainability, etc). My guitars are from the US (mostly PRS and a vintage Gibson L7), China (two Eastmans) and Japan (Ibanez GB10). The PRS 594 Hollowbody II is most dear to me and also the most expensive. It happens to be US-made. I’d have sold everything else if that had been necessary to finance it.
From an investment point of view it’s Fender, Gibson and Martin guitars that seem to hold their value best. It’s an interesting question if that would still be the case if those brands weren’t American. Probably not.
I see no signs of American brands being in danger of folding, though it is a struggle to source good materials and good craftspeople at the right cost. But that’s true for every company.
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The reports of the death of the USA made guitars have been greatly exaggerated
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In addition to Fender, Gibson and PRS, several USA guitar builders like Heritage, G&L and even a renewed Harmony are doing very well. It's all about product variety, quality, value and customer service.
There may be fewer numbers, but the death of the USA made guitars has not happened...yet.
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i cant speak for Heritage but it seems to me alway that Fender, Gibson and PRS, G&L and others are have guitars made elswhere for the most part. Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
i ran i music store for many many years and only sold higher end guitars with no issues, i often wunder if i could do that today? i closed shop and out here ( Ar. ) i decided i didnt want to try and open a shop because it seems everything was moving to mail order?
the way i see it when you go mail order ( as a manufacturer ) the they have the stroke to insist on cheaper so you are force to have it made else where imports not say thats bad but i prefer USA made guitars because i have always liked them and for the most part they have been good and allways held there valuse or at least with in reason.
mail i feel has foce local shops to close or sell less costly inserments at least thats how it apears to me
10 maybe 15 years ago the local dealer here sold fender and gibson and was stocked with nice guitars even some custom shop guitars then a row along one wall with cheap stuff now the local shop has one USA tele one USA strat no gibsons and everything elses imports.
i just thought that was sad.
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Here's a big store here in Calif., none of the guitars priced at under about $2000 were made in the U.S.
New San Francisco Music Store Inventory | Guitar Center
(click "Specs" to see where a guitar is made)
The most expensive non-U.S. made guitars are probably the D'Angelico Excel Series archtops, which run about $1800 and are made in South Korea
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So am I, and I do care. Except that it's a sufficiently low-priority criterium that all my current guitars come from China... Originally Posted by Oscar67
Undoubtedly yes, on the contrary. They basically defined the "American guitar" concept. Supposing those brands could have gotten to be what they are now in a different country with an equal demand for the kind of guitar they make (plus a comparable export of the associated culture), they would have been associated with that country. And your question would be "would they still hold their value as wel if they weren't X".From an investment point of view it’s Fender, Gibson and Martin guitars that seem to hold their value best. It’s an interesting question if that would still be the case if those brands weren’t American. Probably not.
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This is not true. You can get a brand new, made in the USA Les Paul for under $2,000 from the Guitar Center in San Francisco Originally Posted by Mick-7
Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar Smokehouse Burst | Guitar Center
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There are US made Fenders and Gibsons around $1400 to $1600 bucks ... Strats, Teles, LP Juniors, SGs
G&L seems to have some USA S and T style guitars in that range as well and the PRS S2 US made guitars start in that range as well.
Musicman guitars are rather pricey by comparison.
Inflation, low international labor rates, government enforced exchange rates and other issues making it cheaper to build in other places.
And you can get excellent high-quality guitars for prices that would have only gotten you crappy junk guitars 50 years ago.
We got my wife a Glarry bass for $130 and it is actually rather nice.
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o.k., guess I was off on the low-end prices of Gibsons, but still, the great majority of them sell for $1700 and up.
The lowest priced Fender guitars on the the Guitar Center website I linked to are $1800, and they do not say where they are made, one said in Mexico.
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You can still buy an American made Strat or Tele for $1800 Originally Posted by Mick-7
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Fender has these US made guitars listed at $1400
American Performer Stratocaster(R) | Electric Guitars
American Performer Telecaster(R) | Electric Guitars
The complete line
American Performer | Fender
Gibsons lower priced US guitars
Under $2500 | Gibson
Finding one of these in stock could be the challenge.
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American guitars are sold worldwide at premium prices, because guitarists want to buy a piece of America. If a music store does not sell Fender and Gibson guitars, it is not a guitar store: its main business will be keyboards, brass or something else. Guitar stores worldwide sell American guitars, as the top of their lines. A store might sell more guitars by other manufacturers, but the presence of Fenders and Gibsons gives the store credibility.
When the manager of a music store wanted me to try an amplifier, she said I could play one of the store's American-made Fenders. She did not try to entice me with a guitar from Korea.
Last edited by Litterick; 05-02-2024 at 03:31 AM. Reason: code bad
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