People should stop obsessing about guitars being made in USA

I took care to specify that I'm talking about factory made guitars. I'm under the impression that the Nik Hubers are more of a custom made instrument. Perhaps I'm wrong on that score.
I'm Just Busting Your Wrinkled Nads. ;)

I Am Not Sure How Many Guitars They Make A Year But It Is A Fair Amount...I Would Say As Big Or Bigger Than Anderson On Volume But Nothing Like Fender. He Has Staff, Machines, A Proper Facility And Of Course A Bunch Of Wood (TWSS) So He Does A Good Job (Again, TWSS). I Imagine He Is In The Sweet Spot (Again, TWSS) Of The Business Size Where It Is Big Enough To Make Some Hay But Not Too Big That It Is Cumbersome...(Again, TWSS). 🤣
 
There’s nothing about guitar making that’s endemic to the US. I’d argue that PRS’s history is evidence that making great guitars can happen anywhere—even in Maryland. That’s not a knock on Maryland. It’s that workers without some mythical geographic or genetic link to guitar making can produce awesome guitars. Gibson and Peavey proved this with their factory changes over the years, too.

When a guy who knows something about starting up a guitar factory says that great guitars can be made anywhere, he probably knows what he’s talking about. He might not have plans to drive down production costs to build his brand bigger than ever. Then again, he might.

Or whomever succeeds him in a few years might. Core-level PRS guitars for $2,500? Private Stock expansion? They could clean up at every price-point, in every market.
 
I support American made products whenever it is reasonable in my equations (which of course varies from person to person and product to product). When it comes to luxury items like guitars, I am going to shell out the extra coin to get that extra quality (even though diminishing, just like with core vs ps) and try and put my money into American companies and American workers pockets. There are exceptions, and I am not going to look down at any guitar based on where it is made, but all things being equal, I am choosing the USA made version for these and other reasons mentioned by others in this thread ;~)) I studied and understood plenty of economics courses in obtaining my degree in accounting and understand that many times globalization is going to win, but IMO, that is just another reason to buy American and keep USA manufacturing alive ;~))
 
I am new to PRS and dove in with a Indonesia built standard SE24. birds, bound neck, bound top, good pickups, string thru tremolo, beautify wine red, what is not to like?? so in my guitar world getting a neck setup with action, truss rod, etc to my liking (low, buzzless) is what I strive for. Being an Engineer I do this work myself. I feel I have good success. once in a while I run into a buzzing "b" 3rd fret or something, but usually come up with a way to rectify. When I got my PRS SE the setup definitely needed work. Then again, when amp shopping the guy at GC set me up with a 2400$ Gibson Les paul which apparently came from the factory virtually unplayable (to my likings). So, I generally am not one to say - that Korean is not as good as this made in USA. If you know how to set up a guitar, you can make Gems out of cheapos.

The PRS SE now plays very similar to my 3 Gibsons, but although the light body feel is hard to get used to, it is a fine guitar. Pickups are very clear and their voice is brilliant.

Being around manufacturing all my professional life, comments like - those workers are great craftsman, vs others. These days with CNC machining and PLEK, everyone has good workers and the craftsmanship afficionados, may not know what they are talking about. Dont get me wrong, the Gibson folks in Nashville take their work seriously- I have looked into them. and I have no doubt that the folks in Maryland are totally committed as well. But, these fine craftsmen are only one aspect of "build processes". The Management and Engineering functions own those processes, and the "craftsman" use those processes and their knowledge and experience to ensure you get a fine guitar.

So, play on - enjoy your instruments, and play your best, whatever level you are. Guitars from all around the world are like a box of chocolates. I drive an F150, but I dont dis the Volvo's BMW's, Nissans or Kia's.
 
I bought my SE 24 Standard because of the way it played. Fit my fretting hand like it was custom made for me.

Issues? Yes.

1: The 3 way blade switch was flakey since day one and just last week I wound up replacing it.

2: Despite installing locking tunes and having two tech's going over the nut slots the guitar goes out of tune when doing the slightest "shimmer" effect using the bar. I finally gave up and blocked the trem off in both directions. Too bad because I wanted to experiment with it.

3: Even though the intonation is dead on I have to keep the B string tuned 1/2 cent flat or things sound out of tune.

4: Of all the guitars I own this one is the most tempermental with temperature changes. Takes quite a while for the guitar to settle in.

But it's still a great player.
1.Even with the work you’ve e had done, there will be a break in period for the tremolo. When I get a new (to me) guitar, I work the tremolo up and down vigorously 5 to 10 times every day before I practice on it. It usually takes about 21 days for everything to settle and mesh, and that’s 21 days of playing regularly. I’m a dedicated trem abuser. The only trem I hated was on my SE SAS. For some reason, that one felt like pulling on a Tin can on a string. 2. How can the intonation be dead on if the b string isn’t dead on? I also find that my Asian PRS are more temperamental than my USA to temperature change, but I find every guitar sensitive to temperature changes. They’re wood, and wood always moves. That said I do believe my USA ones are better made.
 
There is 0.00 % chance the guitar Paul is holding was made anywhere else than the US. LOL.
Margins are WAY higher on PRS SE guitars so yeah he's a proponent. Can you get a Chinese guitar that sounds good? Probably. Will it hold its value like a PRS Private stock or Core 24? IDK. Could you end up with fake Pups, bridges, thinner tops or even laminates? OH YEAH.
 
I find every guitar sensitive to temperature changes. They’re wood, and wood always moves. That said I do believe my USA ones are better made.
We were out of town for the weekend. When we left it was 55 and raining. Last night it was snowing. When we left the humidity in the house was 68% and last night it was 42%.

Last night I went in to play guitar. Picked up the Axis first, and tuning drifted so far that I couldn't get two of the strings to pitch with the fine tuners (it's a Floyd). I'll have to get out the hex wrench and loosen the locking nut to get it in tune. I reached over and picked up my Custom 24 which was on the stand right next to the Axis. It was in perfect tune and I didn't have to touch it. I played for about 20 minutes and when I went to put that one down and move on to the NF3, the C24 was still in tune.

I picked up the NF3 which was on the stand next to the C24. It had one one string flat by a few cents, all the others were in tune. The Axis is a KILLER guitar, but the neck is MUCH MUCH more sensitive to weather/temp/humidity changes than ANY of my PRS guitars is.
 
We were out of town for the weekend. When we left it was 55 and raining. Last night it was snowing. When we left the humidity in the house was 68% and last night it was 42%.

Last night I went in to play guitar. Picked up the Axis first, and tuning drifted so far that I couldn't get two of the strings to pitch with the fine tuners (it's a Floyd). I'll have to get out the hex wrench and loosen the locking nut to get it in tune. I reached over and picked up my Custom 24 which was on the stand right next to the Axis. It was in perfect tune and I didn't have to touch it. I played for about 20 minutes and when I went to put that one down and move on to the NF3, the C24 was still in tune.

I picked up the NF3 which was on the stand next to the C24. It had one one string flat by a few cents, all the others were in tune. The Axis is a KILLER guitar, but the neck is MUCH MUCH more sensitive to weather/temp/humidity changes than ANY of my PRS guitars is.
Almost nine years and I still haven’t had to tweak the truss rod on the White Westie.

It’s insane.
 
I think the origin of this is that PRS get a lot of their profit from overseas markets. Thats all.

Personally I am glad they pitch SE, S2 and core. Great guitars, all variants.
 
Here are some truths of guitar making…
-Wood doesn’t care where it grows.
-Some of the most coveted guitars were made with non-US source wood and other parts.
-Excellent guitars are designed and built by excellent luthiers.
-You can find amazing instruments across all price and geographic spectrums.
 
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