Does It Matter Where Guitars Are Made?

Do you have ay experience with guitars from Korea and Indonesia? What are your thoughts?

As an Indonesian, so happy to hear that we produced quality guitars nowadays.

I've had more than a couple of Korean made LTDs. Really good quality. The last 2 models I had were Indonesian made and the QC was awful. I returned both to Thomann.

Things have shifted the last few years. Korean and Indo guitars are amazing compared to where they were in the early 2000s. THey also have risen in price too :(

The main difference between Korea and Indonesia is around 4324.95 km. You are welcome 😂

i have made the experience that it depends more on the person who builds the guitar than on the country in which it is made. i never took much care of the country in which an instrument was made since i had good and bad experience with guitars regardless of the country where they were build . cheers ♨

I totally LOVE the EC-1000T CTM's. Been putting off getting the Cherry version for so long. Never had fishman fluence pickups and want to try them so badly.

I just acquired the vintage gold satin ec1000t ctm. It instantly became my new favorite guitar! Best sounding too!

Don't worry about the country, just try the guitar before the purchase or make sure you can send it back for a refund with online purchases. That being said, korean guitars became better and more expensive over the years. I think indonesian guitars now are somewhat similar to what korean guitars were 10 or 15 years ago. I have 2 korean guitars and no indonesian myself but when i visit the local shop there's lots of great indonesian guitars. My latest purchase was a Dean Z 79 from India and it's pretty good for the price aswell.

Thanks for this video :) I always wondered this! as I have an Indonesian made LTD EC 1000 deluxe. And wondered if should of held out for a Korean model haha

I’ve had 6 Solar 1.6 guitars, currently have 5 (reluctantly sold 1 to pay medical bills) all are pretty much flawless. Their serial numbers start with IW. I have a PRS SE Tremonti gloss black single cut. It’s made by Cor-Tek in indonesia. Again build quality is superb. I have tuning issues on that but will replace the nut as that’s the issue. I also have an ibanez AZES40 also indonesisia no issues. So yeah all of my indonesian made guitars are great. I love the quilted charcoal burst top you have there. Cheers from NZ 😎🎸🤘

I love Korean made guitars especially LTD ones, so I was a bit concerned when I got my Arctic Metal M7HT Baritone and saw it was made in Indonesia. Been playing it for a little bit now and it’s been great. Haven’t found anything wrong with it even tho it was labeled as Bstock. I’ve owned some Indonesian made guitars and they’ve been hit or miss, but I feel like they’ve been getting better and more consistent in recent years.

As far as recent guitars I've bought, I've purchased 3 guitars made in USA (looking at you, Gibson) and they all went back. Oppositely, the last 3 guitars I've bought that were made in Indonesia I still own. Like you said and others have similarly said on here, it doesn't matter where a guitar is made as long as it plays and sounds great.

great video. thanks

Luck of the draw for factory production! Things that will be discussed ('golden years' etc) in the future in the used market. I own and have owned both Korean and Indonesian PRS SE Custom 24's and I had one Korean sound and play so 'dead' and one Indonesian with a neck would NOT stay in place. The rest of those in my collection are FANTASTIC but I have had 'duds' from both places!

I have an Indonesian made EC-1000 and it’s flawless!!! Love it

Schecter did a thing recently with their Apocalypse line. The Red Reign style and Evil Twins are built at WMI. Their new line of C6 Apocalypse are all made in Indonesia. There is a noticeable difference between the two but it’s more along the lines of materials not build quality. Indonesia has stepped up their game and it shows.

Good topic. For me personally, I’d never buy an Indo made guitar because I generally don’t buy LTD line builds. I prefer wait and spend a comparable amount on a used E-II or ESP. This is how I’ve handled Ibanez purchases. No way I’d buy anything other than the Genesis or Prestige models. Prestige can usually be found for the same money used and is just a better built guitar. This is all my personal preference and no wrong answer for what someone wants. I will say when it comes to value guitars I’ve had good luck with Schecter.

That's interesting to hear about the newer LTD guitars with SS frets. I have an 8th string Strandberg with ss frets that's made in Indonesia, but the fretwork is excelent.

I wasn't happy when I saw made in Indonesia on my Schecter PT Pro... turned out to be awesome. I love that thing.