All. All Lakland skylines since 2008 are made there. I can't tell a difference between my indo or Korean skylines. Fit and finish is equal to or better than domestic instruments.
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Can anyone comment on instruments made in Indonesia?
- Thread starter alienstarguest
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I've got an Indonesian Peavey. Other than the craptastic electronics the bass is pretty well made. Based on everything I've played, I'd take an instrument from Indonesia over one from China
I have an Ibanez Premium RG920 (yes it's a guitar not a bass) and the build quality is fantastic. Even down to the binding and cutting/fitting, I don't think I could find an imperfection with a magnifying glass. Ibanez claims for the Premium they source the same wood as used for the Prestige. If it didn't read Indonesia on the headstock I would've been convinced it was a Prestige.
So far, you're the only poster in this thread who is actually from Indonesia, so your post holds the most credibility. Most of the rest of us are just guessing.
Supposedly Ibanez has its own factory in Indonesia exclusively for their Premium line instruments. Look up reviews on those basses from the last few years and you won't find a single negative one. (1200e, 1405e, etc.)
Also, I had an Indonesian Squier VM Jazz I really liked. Not quite to the quality of my MIM, but very close and about 50-75% of the cost!
Also, I had an Indonesian Squier VM Jazz I really liked. Not quite to the quality of my MIM, but very close and about 50-75% of the cost!
Because you don't wan't to be the behringer of bad news?
I have a Yamaha BB 1024-X made in Indonesia. It is a very well-made, good quality bass. Very solid and dependable.
I've had a chance to play with a G&L Tribute M2500. Made in Indonesia. It was awesome! It would've come home with me if I had cash that time.
AFAIK, both Cort and Samick (which are South Korean companies) have factories in Indonesia and do a lot of the contract manufacturing for other brand names. The Squier and Fender serial numbers have letters that indicate which manufacturer made the instrument and where, like "IC03nnn".
I don't know how it works in the guitar business, but in many businesses, parts are subbed out to contractors who are tooled up for that type of part. So for example, there could be a shop that makes tuners of various different kinds and quality levels, and they sell tuners to the contract manufacturers who put them onto guitars. So you might see tuners that are identical or nearly so, or identical but badged with different names, on different brands of guitars. It doesn't mean one copied the other. They might have a common source.
As always, quality level depends on how closely the brand works with the manufacturer and the manufacturer works with the subs, and the price point specified. That's true in the USA as well.
I don't know how it works in the guitar business, but in many businesses, parts are subbed out to contractors who are tooled up for that type of part. So for example, there could be a shop that makes tuners of various different kinds and quality levels, and they sell tuners to the contract manufacturers who put them onto guitars. So you might see tuners that are identical or nearly so, or identical but badged with different names, on different brands of guitars. It doesn't mean one copied the other. They might have a common source.
As always, quality level depends on how closely the brand works with the manufacturer and the manufacturer works with the subs, and the price point specified. That's true in the USA as well.
It's annoying though how owners of older Korean ESP LTD, Lakland Skyline, etc. basses that moved production to Indonesia later will say "this is one of the better Korean built examples" when they try to sell it. I think it fuels the quality myth. I'm not saying you would do that, but it happens often.
I own MIK and MII versions of the same bass model. Can't tell the difference quality-wise. Solid builds.
I've played a few of the Ibanez and G&L Tribute basses and they seemed pretty solid. Sounded great, too. I almost left the store with an Ibanez SR1206 (or something like that; the six string with Nordstrand pickups).
Now this my bass friends is a killer, informative post. From a local source. Thank you. Exactly the type of information that is worth having.
With all due respect to our Indonesian board member, just being "from somewhere" doesn't mean you know the inside details of every industry that operates there - especially one that likes to keep information away from prying eyes due to the kind of multi-brand contract manufacturing that goes on. When he states "there is no Giant Instrument factory in Indonesia" he's just plain wrong, and then goes on to compare Fender/Squier, Ibanez and Cort as if they are different factories (rather than different brands who source from the same factories).
The Samick factory, for example, spans something like 4 million square feet over a dozen buildings, has over 3000 employees and builds over 500,000 guitars (they also do 15,000 pianos). It certainly qualifies as a mega-plant, yes? Cort is pretty much the same with its multi building campus, 2,000 employees and reported 1,000,000 guitars per year capacity (no pianos here).
There are other factories of course, like Yamaha (who is actually the #1 largest musical instrument company in the world), but they don't do as much OEM manufacturing for 3rd party brands and wouldn't fall into the "make guitars for everyone" conversation that is being asked about.
There are other factories as well, since there is such a large and music-experienced labor force, but they're not on the same scale.
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