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 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 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 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

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 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.

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!

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 have a Korean ec1000 from 2005. To this day it is in perfect condition. Not a single scratch or ding or scuff on the whole instrument. The binding is in great condition. Says a lot for their finishes for sure. I have an Indonesian m-400 from 2018. It had a couple little dot like spots in the finish but otherwise is perfect. I also have a Korean Schecter blackjack ATX. It was from the very first batch of the ATX line. So it’s getting old. As far as how it was when I got it, 100% perfect. Now I have a single finish scratch on the side and back from my wireless pack clip. And it’s got a belt buckle ding on the back. But let’s keep in mind, this is a satin finish so it is easier to damage. As for hardware it was originally that black chrome look. Over time the black rubber off and it was just chrome. Also the hardware was starting to pit in places on the bridge from years of heavy sweating. This was my main stage guitar. I have since change all the hardware to gold. And it was all an upgrade regardless of color. As I understand it, here in the last few years all of these manufacturers have leveled up. So from that perspective, even if Indonesian guitars used to be not as good as Korean that would mean that now they are at least as good as Korean used to be. Which is just excellent. So if you’re buying a newer Indonesian guitar you probably shouldn’t worry at all. If it’s an older Indonesian guitar, the quality of it is probably reliant on how it’s been treated by it’s previous owner(s).

I got an Indonesian made Jackson Broderick HT7 and it's hands down one of the best playing guitars I have ever had or tried. It's extremely well balanced in every playing situation. I gotta admit I've done a proper fretjob but it wasn't really necessary. It just gave it that extra edge. Changed the electronics completely recently and installed some bareknuckle Warpigs. Sounds great! 👌🏼 😌

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

Hi! What about weight of these eclipses? How much weight are they?

Both are great options. No complaints here from either Korean or Indonesian made guitars. If you then add a PLEK job on top, I find it hard to justify the premium for USA made guitars.

I'm an old guy that has had A lot of guitars over the years. When I was young, you could go into a pawn shop and buy a fifties or Sixties stratocaster For a couple hundred dollars. I've had a lot of old Gibson's and pretty much. Anything else you can think of. I still have some nice gibson and fender guitars. The guitar that I play the most now is a Reverend three ninety warhawk. It's a setneck with three p ninety pick ups. I love everything about it. It's made in indonesia.

I have both both have been excellent

Got tons of guitars from USA, Japan, Korea, Mexico, China, and Indonesia. All of mostly similar quality consistent with price point which is often related to amount of time spent in QA/QC....and, also standards of living (USA is expensive place to make guitars....). My EC1000 was also flawless... Heck, my recent cheapo Harley Benton TE52 came with a KILLER neck/fret job...top notch.

I have an Indo Schecter SS 7 FR III that is one of the tightest built guitars I've owned, and I've owned a fair bunch of guitars. It's been my go-to since I got it. Finish is flawless, can't fault the frets, cavities+wiring are clean, neck pocket is snug. Not a single thing to be upset about.

I'm thinking it matters more when something was made vs where. I am now skeptical of anything built during the pandemic. Quarantines combined with increased demand came at a cost in quality control.

Do you want to know a fun fact about LTD and Indonesian ? In Indonesia, there is an ESP dealers which carries no LTD. So, Indonesian can't get any original LTD despite it is made there. For a few years, there is only handful unofficial LTD that is sold in LTD box. I tried this kind of LTD once. It was an EC256. Everything looked like what I expected from EC256 except the serial number which started with IX instead of IW. The rest of LTD is knockoff with no serial number and look like old LTD model with mother of pearl binding. Luckily last year, there is a new dealer for LTD. So, Indonesian finally can buy a real and original LTD. Your comparison between MIK and MII LTD is useful for me. So, I can decide to buy an LTD or go straight to E2. Last question, have you visited Indonesia ?

Got a total of four ESP Arrows. Three are LTDs. They are as follows: LTD-1000 Series Arrow Black Metal NT (Lone EMG 81 in Bridge) LTD-1000 Series Arrow Candy Apple Red Sating (EMG 81 and 85 in Bridge and Neck positions respectively) LTD-1000 Series Arrow Charcoal Black (Fishman Fluence Moderns in the Neck and Bridge) The Candy Apple Red and Charcoal Black Arrows are both made in Indonesia and the Black Metal NT Arrow is made in Korea. All in all, I can't really feel much of a difference even though the Black Metal Arrow is inexplicably considerably lighter than the other two. All of them play very nicely and are great guitars, not to mention beautiful instruments. So...what about the fourth one? That's an ESP Original Series Arrow in Black Andromeda. That one is hand built in Japan at the ESP Custom Shop in Tokyo and has Seymour Duncan Blackouts powering it's fray. That guitar is in a class of it's own and it plays like butter, especially being not only Japanese but handcrafted there. So it's among the finest of instruments (sorry...not trying to brag) However, the other three are phenomenal instruments and not lacking in any way. All in all, I am more than satisfied. I have a number of other Korean and Indonesian guitars, the guitar I use the most is an old Iron Label Ibanez that is made in Indonesia. Flawless guitar and extremely comfortable to play.

I made it a point to seek out a Korean for my Phoenix. My next LTD will be from either without discernment. Lots of quality coming from INDO these days!

I love the vintage gold one

I think it's like everything, my chapman standard made in indonesia is great but ist costed a lot more than what we usually think of price wise when talking indonesian

Yeah it comes down to the builders no matter where the location.

I have an ec1000 silverburst from Korea from 2010. Not full thickness.. but yes... My fave guitar throughout the 2 PRS cores and a Les Paul studio. My main axe if you will. 👍

It's not really about where the guitar is built some factories have lower quality control and some factories they don't require you to know anything about building guitar's they teach you as you go. They don't do things the same way here where quality is the main priority their priority is quantity over quality at some factories. It doesn't matter where it's made it matters more about what the corporations rules are to qualify. These factories in other countries sometimes are only for how many they can produce

Maybe you should take time to check out Cort Guitar. They are in Indonesia and build their own brand along with many other brands including PRS SE and Ibanez. My two Cort Super strats are top notch builds.

Can we have this kind of discussion about amps that are made in USA or ENG vs those that are made some where else?

It all comes down to the persons who are doing the QC I recently purchased a Cort x 500 menace for €579 ,Cort makes most Indonesian guitars but that is just insane for the money !!!

Believe it or not, some people actually take pride in their trade. I currently have five ESP guitars, made in South Korea or Indonesia, and guess what? The quality has been insanely good compared to every other brand I've purchased since I was a teenager. I'm the perfect demographic for the ESP LTD ET Models 😎🍻🤘

For some reason I have never got on with the feel of Indonesian made LTD, something with the neck doesn't gel with me. Every one Ive had from Korea has felt perfect. It's a swine too as the Indonesian stuff is soooooo well made, serious quality with great fit and finish. My only gripe with LTD is the Tonepros bridge not having the saddles cut very well, you've only got to fart near a string and it pops off. LTD are still some of the best for the money. Awesome vid sir :)

I never noticed the Deluxe to be 22 frets. That must be a "full thickness" thing. I have 2 EC-1000's and both are the best guitars I have ever played..but both have 24 frets, which I prefer.

Guitars in general, are all so good anymore. It's crazy. Having been playing for 27 years, we have such affordable great options nowadays.

Alot of companies make their budget cost guitars in Indonesia. Samick and Cort put out good guitars from there. I have Yamaha and an ESP LTD made from there and they are really good guitars.

I have Korean Holcomb PRS SE 2018 and Holcomb SVN 2020 from Indonesia, and I don't think there is a difference in quality.

After playing Korea and Indonesian made ormsby’s. I sold all my MIJ Ibanez guitars. It’s the same specs but just better. The Indonesian ormsby needed a bit of fretwork but it’s superior to the wonderful prestige guitars I used to play. If you’re in the market for an Ibanez style guitar: The ormsby GTI are I think 700euro and INCREDIBLE.

Honestly, you should try out any guitar before you buy it anyway, but if you can't then just make sure the return policy is good. Any guitar can suck. My opinion of PRS is quite low because of this. My rule of thumb is to just try and avoid stuff from China.

I have a 2006 EC-50 that was made in Korea and its just as good as most a bit more expensive ones

Indonesian and Korean made guitars seem to be the same dice roll... but generally I haven't had an issue with either. However, seeing some of the mangled Gibson's that have left the factory as of late, any guitar can be susceptible to QC issues. My only experience with obvious QC issues is from Chinese made guitars, and it has all been to do with fretwork. The Epiphone prophecy I have needed some minor leveling, which at their price point was a little unacceptable, but given how minor and easy it was to address it wasn't worth the return process. A recently acquired Squier Sonic Tele I have is made in Indonesia and it has a flawless neck, whereas an Affinity Tele I have (higher priced model) made in China needed to be leveled and crowned for a proper set up. But, since I got it used for $160 as a mod platform anyway, it didn't bother me as much as the Epiphone did even though the issue was a bit worse on the Squier.

it does matter!! the best ones are made in Swansboro, NC, USA

I haven't even watched the video yet, lol, but I own two Indonesian guitars and they're fantastic! I've owned Japanese, American and Korean guitars as well, and honestly I don't see or hear a lot of difference. However, those Japanese, Korean, and American guitars are much older. Indonesia has had a rough time in the last few years natural disasters and such.

This dense tone thing,......Should have nothing to do with weight. Pick-ups now there I can see a tone change. One batch having more copper or even quality of the copper. Esp ordering larger numbers of p/u at a time, bulk buys being split between areas of manufacture.

My friends got me a cheap Jackson Kelly for my birthday. I have nearly a dozen guitars ranging from one to three thousand in price and this guitar is no worse than any one of them. Sure the hardware and electronics are crappy, but the actual guitar craftsmanship is stupendous. The neck and frets are perfect. Great action and intonation right from the factory. All for just three hundred US. Legitimately can’t believe how good it is. I plan to swap all the hardware and electronics with new gotoh parts and pickups I have laying around.

It depends on the company rather than the country. I think Cort is Indonesian? And they make prs se and Ibanez? Their own branded G300 is an incredible guitar.

I don't know why, but I just hate burst finishes, especially black burst. Give me that transparent quilted maple all the way to the edge baby!

I’ve got 2 ec1000s one old Korean & one newish Indonesian.. love em both. Prefer the satin neck on the Indonesian..The Korean came with sperzels too never seen that on a ltd before.

I have 3 korean Jacksons and 3 Indonesian i would say the korean made are slightly better maybe but very close. The Korean made were also 1700-1800$ vs Indo made at 750-1000$

13:20 My 6-String ESP LTD Phoenix Black Metal - Black Satin Was Made In Indonesia

Just ordered M-HT ARCTIC METAL yesterday. I didn't do that much of a research regarding the countries of origin before that hoping that guitar that costs that much of a money will be produced in Korea as is the case with my Schecter C-1 Custom FR. However, after I purchased it, I noticed that they have listed Indonesia as country of origin. Hopefully, I won't have to bother with returning the thing and communicating with customer support for refunds, discounts and other bull***t. I am very skeptical and doubtful when it comes to Indonesian guitars so I pray to the gods now.

I have a Japanese E-ii eclipse. Its the second as the first had a twisted neck and got returned. The one I have now is great but i wouldn't say it's flawless. Definitely not as perfect as people in the guitar community like to say Japanese guitars are. I've also had 3 Indonesian RGs, also a korean Epiphone LP and aside from the odd small finish blemish (no different to the Japanese eclipse) they've all been great. I absolutely do not buy into this country of manufacture cork sniffing that goes on and I judge individual instruments.

I dont really care where my guitar was made or the name on the headstock. I have cheaper Chinese made, more expensive Chinese made, Korean made, Indonesia, Mexico. I play USA made frequently, owner is a friend. Some parts could be upgraded, but they all play well. It's all in the QC. The ones that didn't play well out of the box just needed an initial setup and they're great. (Intonation, neck relief, fret polish, string change)

Indonesia has a past by making string instruments (unlike Vietnam). But what to do if modern multinational companies spare everywhere, and gives B category wood and cheap iron made hardwares? And pushing the workers to make a quota of xx quantity guitar/day -> low level QC. As mentioned by clever people: QUALITY = QUALIFIED HAND + TIME + FINE RAW MATERIAL.

All of my indonesian guitars had some defects, even critical. The only korean guitar, I owned - ltd ec-1000t/ctm, was ok, just a bit dark and heavy.

I have a bunch of(Ibanez) Indonesian guitars. They all sound good but all of them have a bunch of cosmetic issues. Also i have 2 made in japan Ibanez and they are perfect. Not even a small cosmetic or another issue. And also neck is much more stable on Japan version then on Indonesian.

I may have gotten the rare "perfect" guitar with me Korean made SECU24 PRS. The the Indonesian PRS I have seen don't have the same quality. I've loooked at a handful of new PRS SE at Sweetwater and wasnt impressed based on the quality of my Korean. Again though maybe my Korean example was just a 1 off exceptionally made example. I'd put it against my US made p PRS in terms of fret ends and overall attention to detail.

Most Korean guitars are built well. I have quite a few Japanese Jacksons that are primo well built instruments. All pre 2003

Kalamazoo. Fullerton. FGN. Stevensville.

I have had bad luck with Korean made guitars... I have sent many back from a few different brands (really bad quality from factory ie cracked wood in trem routes/poorly routed in general, bad design mistakes, poor quality hardware etc). that being said, if i like the guitar i will keep returning until i get a good one. only country of origin i have had consistent good luck with is Japan. I don't own any U.S. made guitars so i can't comment there.

My Indonesian Squier guitars are both EXCELLENT. They are head and shoulders above the Mexican tele and p bass I own. I can't speak for other brands but frankly Fender should let their Indonesian factory make all their non-American guitars.

The trick is to educate yourself on what constitutes a good guitar, because a good guitar is a good guitar, doesn't matter where it's made...

If u want problems, buy les paul standard, you will need more minutes to review. Thats why i went with ESP and LTD.

From my experience, i rarely had bad korean guirars while a lot of guitars i bought from Indonesia have been bad. I had bought 3 separate pro series Jackson SL2 mick thomson model which are all made in Indonesia and all have quality issues with the paintjob. But as soon as I upgraded and biught the USA model, it was flawless and had 0 quality issues. Indonesia is a hit or miss from my experience.

In general the Korean made guitars have better electronics. Pickups are pickups, but the rest of the electronics can make or break a guitar for people who aren't into workng on them. Personally, I never buy guitars specifically because of where theyre made.

The country of origin does not matter. Most are built on CNC machines. It’s about the quality of the components. Will you have to replace anything? Tuners, pickups, hardware.

It's been sort of the same process time and time again. In the 60s to mid 70s Japanese guitars were wonky knock offs, but by the late 70s to 90s they offered great alternatives to the US-models (e.g. Tokai, Greco, Ibanez), because the labor force was more skilled, machinery improved etc. but that also raised production cost. So, what happened? Parts of production moved to South Korea in the mid to late 80s and those guitars aren't brilliant. By the mid to late 90s Korean guitars were decent, but production got more expensive .... yada yada yada production moved to China and Indonesia. And in a few years it will be Vietnam, India and maybe somewhere in Africa. The nationality of the guy pressing the CNC isn't really that imporant. QC is.

I'm not paying top dollar for Indonesian made. I'll look for mij and us made on reverb

Nope!

I would say anecdotally that the Korean guitars I have are a bit better to play and are a bit better finished, but there’s not much in it, and the Indonesian guitars I have weren’t in a comparable price range.

I got an E-II(Japan) a couple years ago because I wanted a high quality guitar. The wood work and associated finishing details(aside from the dye on the fret board staining my fingers for weeks) were great. However, the hardware has been nothing short of garbage. Everything constantly comes loose and the push-pulls cause the guitar to cut in and out. I have bought $200 guitars with far better hardware. So, needless to say, I have no problem buying an Indonesian made guitar from here on out. The wood work difference doesn't justify hundreds or even thousands of $, and you are going to get shit hardware either way.

My Indonesian made strandbergs are killer.

Uh, sonic drive studios, like Paul Davids but more metal! 🤣

hey Jon, if you have any copy of the "Utopia" album please lett me buy it im begging you please, I'll give you my kidney if I have to PLEASE PLEASE

Guitar for guitar, the price of the exact same guitar went UP when they went to Indonesia, I think that's more what people take issue with. Guitars should be cheaper to make in a slave theocracy vs a free country

It was done on purpose. They need to push people off the LTDs just like they needed to push people off the standards by naming them e-2. Suffering from success basically.

NO.❤

As long as they aren’t making them in their butts

Indonesia eh? Dutch bias detected! 🤣Just kidding!

I own 10 PRS SE made in Indonesia. They are the best guitars ive ever owned. You morons know wood is wood no matter the country its built in. Mahogany in the USA is the same as China.

Jon you kinda used "for that matter" backwards xD You said at 3:15 that "This is one of the most gorgeous ESP LTD guitars that you have ever seen, or owned, for that matter." Which has a premise that you have owned more guitars than you have seen. Which would be wild xD hahahaha but who knows perhaps you are a secret dealer and you own way too much shit to be able to see it all.

Yes it suck

I will NEVER, EVER buy some Chinese or Indonesian made piece of shit. I love MIM and MIK for medium and high medium grade stuff.

Indonesia is a majority Muslim country. I won’t buy anything made in Indonesia. This is a growing sentiment that guitar manufacturers should pay attention to.