Electric Guitar Trends

When I was growing up in the 1960’s, made in Japan meant shoddy goods.  Stuff that didn’t work well, and broke easily. It was 1972 before I played a Japanese made guitar that played well.  I mean, have you ever seen a 1960’s Japanese electric guitar?  There’s a bunch of them here: FatDawg Guitars

So, I admit to having a bias towards American made electric guitars. Regardless of the brands, the American made guitars seem to hold up to normal wear and tear without complaint.

Guitars are still made in Japan, but most of the offshore electric guitar production has shifted to South Korea.  The quality of off-shore manufactured electric guitars has improved, I’ll admit that.  Heck, I even own an ESP EC-1000 Deluxe myself. They come in all shapes and sizes, lots of glitz sometimes, and in all price ranges. Some of them even come with a case!

I will even grant you that in many instances, the import electric guitar has a better fit and finish than the American made counterpart.

But there is still something about the vibe and the sparkly harmonics that come from my Fender Stratocaster, and my Gibson Les Paul Junior that the other guys have not figured out yet.  What is it? The neck angle?  The species of wood?  I don’t know.

I do know that in the end, I still favour the made in USA product.  It’s the good stuff.