I own a 1980's Korean-made Squier Stratocaster, and I must say its quality rivals that of the USA-made Fender strats of today. The neck is amazing and has an awesome glazed finish on it that you won't find on today's Squiers.

Also, I got it for $180 shipped. It was such an incredible bargain I doubt I'll ever find again.

[quote="sheerheartattack"]Thinliine is, once again, confused.

The three (and only three) issues are build quality, materials quality, and labor costs.[/quote]

Well sure. I'm not disagreeing with what you mentioned, although I think it's naive to assume those are the only three factors that go into guitarmaking.

[quote]Build quality is simply based on quality management. Japan does well, and China has matched that equally in the past ten years. Who knows about the rest of the Eastern Seaboard (and who cares)?[/quote]

The average Chinese guitar's build quality is not as nice as the average Japanese one's; I say this from experience, and you are honestly the first person I've ever heard suggest that Chinese guitars are better than Japanese ones (although if I'm misunderstanding and you're suggesting that Chinese guitars are simply a better DEAL, I could understand that, if you find a good one.)

I suspect the Chinese are just as capable as building a nice guitar as Japan, but that's not what Fender and other companies are contracting them to do. They're supposed to churn out inexpensive guitars for low prices, which is bound to result in lower quality than the Japanese ones, which are usually for the domestic market and not export. And given the various scandals over the past year with Chinese manufacturing (lead-paint toys, poisoned food, etc.) I'm even less confident in China's quality control.

[quote]Taking the same materials to make the same guitar, it will always be cheaper in the former countries to build.[/quote]

That's completely true, but Japan, Korea, and China aren't all making the same guitars. Japanese Fenders typically use similar materials to American ones (such as alder and ash bodies, US pickups) and thus invite a more direct comparison than Squiers made in China, Korea, and Indonesia using cheaper materials (agathis/plywood bodies, cheap pickups and pots.) Sure, those countries are probably just as capable as Japan or the US of producing nice guitars, but it Fender is contracting out their cheap guitars to them, who cares?

So in conclusion I'd say that there are certainly nice inexpensive guitars to be found, such as Chinese-made Squiers, but I'd suggest anyone considering these guitars to go to the store and play a bunch first to find a special one - which is a distinct possibility given how many Squiers, etc. most stores seem to stock. On the other hand, I'd be quite confident buying a Japanese Fender sight-unseen or something. I still think the Mexican Classic Fenders are the best deal, I'd take one of those over an American Standard or maybe even an American Vintage series anyday. Just pop some new pickups in there, and you're all set.

sky: I've heard those 1980s Japanese Squiers are some fantastic insruments, but I never knew they made Korean ones in that period. Interesting. Most people don't like glossy necks, preferring instead satin-finished ones that don't feel all sticky (although since my hands don't sweat when I play, it's never really been an issue for me.)

word...

( Sheer just got told )

That is because Thinliine is using Squiers to represent Chinese-made guitars. And we all know that Squiers simply blow.

Despite this, I acknowledge that Thinliine actually did think his initial post out, and my tendency to jump at him had gotten the better of me.

However, I will still disagree, especially when you consider Chinese-made Epiphones. In recent years, Gibson has clamped down on TQM in China, and their production of Epiphones has reached an optimal level of quality. Of course, the incentive to buy from China lies in the fact that labor laws (or a lack thereof) in China provides cheap labor to manufacturers, creating unbelievable savings, while still utilizing optimal material and build quality.

Japanese guitars are certainly quality, as all manufacturing in Japan since the 80's has been exceptional, and even a model for quality management in countries like the United States. Additionally, Japanese materials, etc. are also similar, as noted by Thinliine. However, since labor laws are stringent there, you get what you pay for; so if you're thinking about getting a Japanese guitar, the logical choice would be to simply get an American one (or to buy in-between models that are not necessarily offered in the US - I think Marekenshin went with this acceptable alternative?).

Yeah, I got a '62 reissue tele, one of the Japan-only Fender model. It's made of ash with a rosewood fretboard and has US vintage pickups in it.

They run like 600ish, and are worth every penny imo.

Does anyone know what pickups are on Sawo's tele that he used to use in the late 90's?

I doubt Sawao even remembers.

what do you guys think about the fender deluxe hss? I'm thinking about picking it up but i'd like a second opinion.

[url]http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Deluxe-Fat-Strat-HSS-Electric-Guitar?sku=510477[/url]

It depends what music you play! The thing that separates a deluxe strat from a deluxe hss is the [u]hss[/u] which stands for humbucker.

If you play metal or harder rock music, it's definitely the way to go.

However, if you plan on playing the pillows or other rock music of that sort, stick with [u]single-coil pickups instead of humbuckers[/u] because humbuckers provide more deep tones made for heavier music.

If you like country or [u]really really really bright pop rock[/u], then go for a telecaster.

Also, why are you getting a deluxe? Pretty much, quality is better than quantity, right? So you can either spend about $600 on a deluxe guitar made in Mexico with more features - which I must say out of experience is pretty mediocre - or you can spend almost the same amount on a japanese-made guitar of better quality with less features.

The choice is yours, but if I were you, I would either buy a Mexican Standard if I really just didn't care about quality or I would purchase something better like an american or japanese-made guitar if I did care.

HSS actually stands for "Humbucker-Single Coil-Single Coil," as is the format of the pickups from bridge to neck.

Aside from the extremes, the genre you play isn't [i]that[/i] affected by whether you opt for humbuckers or single coil pickups. In fact, if you want to keep your options open, you might want to go with this guitar, as it features both a humbucker and single coil pickups, albeit only a humbucker in the all-important bridge position.

To be honest, my buddy that plays a lot of pillows and classic rock uses a Strat with HSS pickups, and it works great. It's silly to overgeneralize, as you can get a lot of great sounds out of all sorts of guitars through a combination of guitar and amp knob/pickup settings. I use a tele and get more than just "country/really really really light pop-rock" sound out of it. It gives me great growl when I need it. Hell, fucking RADIOHEAD's lead guitarist uses a Telecaster, and Teles are one of the primary guitars for REAL punk rock (not just pop punk).

Telecasters are certainly versatile instruments, but to call them a primary guitar of punk rock is...stretching it?

First of all, lol!

Second, the only message I was trying to get across is that the humbucker on strats are placed at the bridge. Therefore, achieving that bright cutting tone that strats are famous for is not possible unless there is a single-coil at the bridge...

Also, I didn't say tele's weren't used for punk, I just said they are renowned for country and pop-rock. No offense to any tele fans!

I've seen them used in a LOT of punk rock. They're not the only guitar, but they're definitely one of the frequently used one, in both old-school punk and modern punk rock.

I think they're only frequently used in the sense that they're Fender's second-most-popular guitar model. It's like trying to peg the Stratocaster as a popular guitar for a certain genre - well, yeah, but it's a popular model for [i]every[/i] genre.