I was doing my normal setup on a new made in China Pro Jet. As part of my setup I always check the fretboard for high frets. More often than not I end up having to level the frets and do a crown and dress job on a new guitar. This guitar had not one high fret from the factory, completely level other than a few burs I could feel running my hand down the side of the neck.
Won't see that often out of the box ...
Totally amazed in a good way.
the quality of the products made in china has become better.
vietnam is the new china for cheap stuff
Think about it when you move the Toys, to Feed the baby the baby food, In the new nursery that you just rock lathed and plastered with the tools made in China that ALL contain LEAD!!!!!!!!
The sky is falling...
QC on the Korean and Chinese models seems to be pretty good. At least that's been my experience.
I've got 2 Jay Turser strats that were made in china, one's a quilted maple top and the other has a nice maple fretboard, also have a Jay Turser made in china JT-140 'The Colonel' that has zero problems as far as construction goes. My Guild GAD50N was also made in china and is no slouch whatsoever. My '06 Gretsch G5135 Corvette was also made in china. Again, not construction issues at all. I have a made in china Dared MP-5 vac tube/hybrid headphone amp that is amazing quality (it even came with a dust brush and white gloves as not to leave fingerprints on the polished chrome surface) And I also believe that my Pignose G40V was assembled in china (altho the design was by Dennis Kager of Ampeg fame)
I have no problem buying things manufactured in other countries. But don't ask me to eat raw fish! 
Damn Hermitt, you're missing out on the sushi thing. Seriously.
Sounds like China is on the ball. I have three made in Korea guitars. A Gretsch, Fender, and PRS. All three needed a fretboard leveling. Other than that they are good guitars. I usually change out the tiny mini pots and cheaper switches if they come with them. For the money they a great values. With a little extra work, which a lot of us do, they can be tweaked to the next level.
To quote Marty McFly in the next episode of Back to the Future - "What are you talkin' about Doc, the best stuff's made in China!"
My Dot was made in Indonesia (I dont even know where that is on a map), and it kicks ass. Im glad im in the generation of "cheap doesnt necessarily mean shitty."
I have found that where the guitar is manufactured doesn't matter so much anymore. What matters is the level of quality control emphasized by the manufacturer and the guitar company itself.
Fender, Gretsch, and Epiphone are getting good stuff out of China. Reverend is getting the great stuff out of Korea.
The only thing I had to do on my ProJet was to raise the bridge a fraction of a turn.
The import guitars from Korea and China have really gotten to be quality instruments. As I have said before My Korean 5125 is a Pro-Line Gretsch hiding in Electromatic clothing. It is an exceptional guitar in all respects.
I also have an Ibanez Artcore from China that is an awesome guitar and my Chinese Strat clone is the best sounding and playing Strat that I have ever owned including my original '56.
I also have a Korean Dean D24 Tradition dreadnaught that is a joy to play and sounds as good as a number of Martins I have heard. I do not own an American built guitar and see no need to own one because of the high quality of my imports.
Oh yeah, I guess my Ibanez ADX120 Arondite (Iceman series) and my Affinity tobacco burst 8 hole p/g and non-laquered maple neck strat was also made in China.
Geeze.. outa 8 guitars, only my 7594B Blk Falcon is the only one 'not' made in China. In fact, I don't know where it was made since it was a special run of only 100 made in Feb 1992.
Let's not forget how much better the General Tso's chicken has been lately.... delicious.
I wike Chinese food! Sorry, it's the only positive thing I can say about China.
It's one thing to hold political positions or economic theories, and fear or warn against Chinese power for that reason. You can buy or boycott Chinese products accordingly (as no doubt many nations did during the US's rise to industrial power a century ago).
It's another to reject or ridicule the products and processes on which Chinese economic growth is based.
In tech manufacturing, they got it down.
"They" can apparently build guitars to equal any in the world, when their western partners (who order the products for import) ask and pay them to.
I noticed several years ago that most Chinese guitars (above the 99.00 cheapest-possible-POS level) started displaying better neck and fretwork than most Korean guitars. Fit and finish on manymost Chinese guitars has lately risen to rival anyone's.
Whether they're doing solely with cheap labor and quality control – or with industrial technology a decade or more newer than Korea's – I don't know. Some of one, some of the other, a bit of both I suspect.
You can denigrate China, hate China, pretend China doesn't exist – whatever you like. But you can't pretend their products are lacking!
Proteus is right about not buying product from certain countries for political reasons. The reason unemployment is at 10% in the US is because many countries, including allies of the US, are boycotting their produce due to the warlike nature of the US Gov.
When you go around invading countries to steal their natural resources and then lie about the reason why, well, things will naturally go bad for you.
Hermitt doesn't eat sushi?
What are the odds of this.....
Hermitt doesn't eat sushi?
heh.... does seem kinda odd, huh?
In the name of civility, i've held my tongue on recent GDP issues of global warming and free trade, but this is one issue that I can't let pass: you have to try sushi.
I think it's pretty awesome that I was able to buy a guitar with the fretboard leveled perfectly out of the box. Especially since it is sold at a price the average person can afford. My thoughts were less about where the guitar was made and more about why can't other companies do the same thing for the money. I am a fan of fine workmanship, which is what I saw with my Pro Jet and wanted to share that fact. Paying $2000 for a guitar doesn't necessarily equate higher quality in all cases, but it should. Fortunately there are a few makers out there still that deliver what you pay for.
Well, quality issues aside, there are many reasons not to buy products made in China: 1. You are supporting a totalitarian state that imprisons its' citizens for speaking out about anything, and once it control the US will shut you up also. 2. China is a HUGE polluter that is sending toxic smoke to the western US,and all around the world, poisoning its own rivers, using toxic products with little oversight (remember melamine in the baby formula?) etc.... all to produce cheap goods for you. 3. A guitar, stereo, piece of furniture made in China may cost a lot less, but do you think this country has bright future without a manufacturing base?
Off the soap box now, but if you can swallow all that, enjoy your cheap and increasingly well made goods. I'd rather have half as many guitars, a clear conscience and a sustainable future
Sorry, what can I say.
So the factory that made your Pro Jet now has a Plek machine? Sure sounds like it.
Juando, your points are dead on. I agree 100%.
The question is, do you hold it against the Chinese, who are simply doing something they're being paid for, and doing it well, or do you hold it against the American corporations that are shipping production and jobs overseas to see a larger profit margin?
It's not so black and white.
Again, living in the Detroit area, 'buying' foreign is a hot button issue. The consumer is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you do without because you can't afford something, or do you seek an alternative? Is it wrong to save a few dollars? At what point do you draw the line?
It's tough, no doubt about it. There are so many questions, philosophically, politically, and ethically that need to be answered. I don't really see this thread going anywhere good.
My two cents. Worth exactly that much.
I say, spend your money in a way that is consistent with your values, whatever they are.
I don't blame the Chinese for making the instruments, I blame walmart shopping, I'll buy whatever is cheapest no matter what Americans and the investment companies who only care about a profit today, not what is good for a company or our country 5, 10 or 50 years from now.
