I like the look of them too. Do you guys feel weird that they are made in China?
Not in the least bit weird at all!! Some people get far too fixated on where an instrument is made rather than whether the instrument is any good and/or worth the money. What you also have to remember about most, if not all import guitars are made to a budget to sell at a certain price point. If the 'import' guitar isn't particularly 'high end' and certainly not 'expensive' (and by expensive I am referring to their relative cost compared to their US - in the case of PRS - version), then its likely to be made to fit a price point using cheaper labour, build practices (such as veneers, multiple piece bodies etc), cheaper parts/materials etc. As Labour is a factor in costs, the quicker they can make a guitar, the cheaper it can be made too - and lets not forget all the shipping costs too that also factor in to the price. PRS also insist the import guitars are sent to them for a final inspection and set-up before being shipped to retailers - another aspect that also adds to the cost you pay and, if they are targetting a price of $1k for example, is also affecting the cost of the actual manufacture of a guitar.
What all this means is that Indonesian, Korean and Chinese guitars are not often at the same quality - inc the build, fit and finish etc as a US made guitar for example but that doesn't mean that these builders 'couldn't' make a high end guitar if they were given the time, the materials etc to do so. They may have to make a guitar for say $400 but with all the shipping costs, the PRS staff that check and set up the SE's as well as Store profits - they are NOT going to sell a guitar for 'nothing' when they have overheads too. Point is, these import guitars are not built to the highest standard these factories could make if they had the time, the materials etc and then that determines their price, they are built to the best standard they can within a certain budget meaning that they have to limit what materials are used, how much time each guitar can have spent on it etc. Time itself can affect QC - at some point, you either have to scrap or let something go because spending time to 'fix' something can push that guitar over budget - of course it depends on the issue but you aren't going to spend several hours stripping a guitar down and re-sanding because of some little mark under the finish because that pushes the guitar over budget and also affects the production of the other instruments.
Eastman Guitars are made in China and are of an excellent high standard. This is a company that are not making guitars to compete at the under $1k market and make the guitars they want at the highest quality they can and that determines the price. Its a very different approach - on the one hand, you have a 'max' budget with which to make a guitar so you can sell it at a certain price point and on the other, you make a guitar to the best of your abilities with the best parts you can and that determines the price. The reason SE's are made overseas is because they could not be made to that standard, to those specs and still hit the price point they are targetting. A Custom 24 SE would probably cost 2x as much (or more) if made to exactly the same standard and spec if made in the US. People are no different and not 'incompetent' overseas - its just that they are building guitars to a budget.
As for the Hollowbody in particular, China makes sense. It has a laminated top and pressed to shape which requires different machinery - something more akin to Acoustic guitar building - although they often have solid tops but still use laminates and pressing to shape. As others have said PRS SE acoustics are made in China and have a great reputation for their quality or the price. To me, it makes sense that China is being used to make the Hollowbody as they probably have the machinery and experience in place to build it - more so than the PRS factory in Indonesia. Its still probably the same company - Cort that are building it.
I think it makes much more sense to go and try one before dismissing it just because its made in China. All the previews I have seen sound positive and, if you want a Hollowbody PRS, you will have spend at least 4x more to get a US made version....
