Friday, September 7, 2007
Chinese Take-Out
China is everywhere... including Guitars. Check out Schecter's S1 Elite... they have a long list of artists who not only endorse their guitars, but play them. I have owned 2 China made guitars... one bolt-on travelling guitar, and one Brian May by Burns. They both sported that gold "Made in China" sticker on the back of the headstock. First off... if you stand back 10 feet, they looked like good 'ol "Made in USA" instruments... pick them up, and they feel heavy, more like a Jackson from the '80's, without the feel. Both fretboards could have been the same guitar... nothing special, and labor intensive to play (for my mind). The Briain May .09 string kept 'pinging' in the nut, due to very bad placement during assembly. Both guitars sounded 'flat', like they were a toy guitar you bought for your 10-year-old nephew for his birthday... so we are talking great beginner guitar. They certainly beat the cr*p out of the toy guitars on the beach in Cabo... that said, I am happy to report China can make 'em look like guitars, but they still can't make 'em to play like guitars...oh, and the travelling guitar never stayed in tune ...