And again, this is just me. But I will starve myself out and try to avoid being lured in by the better prices and get a 'real' Lakland. It may mean that I don't have another bass or three for awhile, but I will tend toward a long and detailed search in the Used category anyway. Not saying that your Indo Lackland is not a great bass. It probably is, I just don't want to settle. I have also found out that in the end, I'm getting almost all of my money back on the top line basses if I ever want to sell. It is a pattern that I have not fully binded with but I am getting there. The part about getting all your money back has some things that need to watched as well. If it is a 'super-boutique', you know the ones made by like one guy who puts out a few instruments a year.......that tends to go to the other end where you will take a loss.
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Can anyone comment on instruments made in Indonesia?
- Thread starter alienstarguest
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And again, this is just me. But I will starve myself out and try to avoid being lured in by the better prices and get a 'real' Lakland. It may mean that I don't have another bass or three for awhile, but I will tend toward a long and detailed search in the Used category anyway. Not saying that your Indo Lackland is not a great bass. It probably is, I just don't want to settle. I have also found out that in the end, I'm getting almost all of my money back on the top line basses if I ever want to sell. It is a pattern that I have not fully binded with but I am getting there. The part about getting all your money back has some things that need to watched as well. If it is a 'super-boutique', you know the ones made by like one guy who puts out a few instruments a year.......that tends to go to the other end where you will take a loss.
I used to build instruments for musicians. After I got into it, I realized that there is a certain amount hype about quality associated with the location of the plant, or the brand name. People will often comment on how X guitars or instruments made in X are more superior than instruments made in country Y.
I think to truly judge quality, you have to look at a few things on their own merits, and if they pass the quality standard, then it's a good instrument no matter where it was made. Assume it's a bolt on...
1. Is the neck firmly attached to the body so it doesn't creak or move when strung up or played? Is there an absence of a gap between the neck heel and the neck pocket?
2. Does the neck has a good action, and does the truss rod work?
3. Do the tuners stay in tune?
4. Is the instrument well-intonated all the way up the neck, when set up properly?
5. Does it sound good to you? Even a cheap instrument can sound good.
6. If it is fretless, does it have the desired whine from the strings vibrating against the fingerboard immediately in front of your finger? No sense buying a fretless instrument that makes you pay the price of intonation accuracy without the tone you want.
6. Is the finish decent? No pock market, fat edges, scratches, or evidence that it's been filled in with filler? (even that won't affect the playability of the instrument, but it can alienate people from the aesthetics).
7. Is the instrument made of strong wood or other materials? I have played plywood basses that sound good, although I tend to prefer other tone woods like alder or ash. Also, necks made of a really hard maple for stability. But those aren't the only good woods. Basswood is soft but has its own tone, in my view -- sort of middly, but it's softer than other woods.
8. Is there room at the bridge and the truss rod to make a wide range of adjustments if necessary (due to humidity or other changes).
9. Do the outer strings have sufficient freeboard on either side so they don't slip over the edge of the neck when you fret them from an angle by accident?
10. If you like everything but the pickups, is the price worth it after allowing for new pickups?
11. Does the bass buzz a lot? If so, can the bass be shielded in the control cavity and pickguard (if any) inexpensively to stop the buzzing?
12. Is everything soldered and bolted together firmly, particularly the input jack?
I think to truly judge quality, you have to look at a few things on their own merits, and if they pass the quality standard, then it's a good instrument no matter where it was made. Assume it's a bolt on...
1. Is the neck firmly attached to the body so it doesn't creak or move when strung up or played? Is there an absence of a gap between the neck heel and the neck pocket?
2. Does the neck has a good action, and does the truss rod work?
3. Do the tuners stay in tune?
4. Is the instrument well-intonated all the way up the neck, when set up properly?
5. Does it sound good to you? Even a cheap instrument can sound good.
6. If it is fretless, does it have the desired whine from the strings vibrating against the fingerboard immediately in front of your finger? No sense buying a fretless instrument that makes you pay the price of intonation accuracy without the tone you want.
6. Is the finish decent? No pock market, fat edges, scratches, or evidence that it's been filled in with filler? (even that won't affect the playability of the instrument, but it can alienate people from the aesthetics).
7. Is the instrument made of strong wood or other materials? I have played plywood basses that sound good, although I tend to prefer other tone woods like alder or ash. Also, necks made of a really hard maple for stability. But those aren't the only good woods. Basswood is soft but has its own tone, in my view -- sort of middly, but it's softer than other woods.
8. Is there room at the bridge and the truss rod to make a wide range of adjustments if necessary (due to humidity or other changes).
9. Do the outer strings have sufficient freeboard on either side so they don't slip over the edge of the neck when you fret them from an angle by accident?
10. If you like everything but the pickups, is the price worth it after allowing for new pickups?
11. Does the bass buzz a lot? If so, can the bass be shielded in the control cavity and pickguard (if any) inexpensively to stop the buzzing?
12. Is everything soldered and bolted together firmly, particularly the input jack?
My main bass right now is an Indonesian-made Ibanez SR655. The quality seems very good to me but keep in mind, I'm not the best judge of these things and I don't play live. These basses are $750 new and a lot less expensive used. Mine weighs 7.14lbs. I don't know any other company that offers consitently lightweight basses at that price & at even lower prices with the other models. All right sorry for the sales pitch.
It would be interesting if there was a database showing which factories were used by all the instrument companies.
It would be interesting if there was a database showing which factories were used by all the instrument companies.
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If we are going to go there, I respectfully, but very much disagree. I think Indonesia gets a pass at times with the amount of information on instrument manufacturing being scant. Like someone said in another post, it is that way with Indonesia and they likely want it like that. Again, not specifically, but overall, I'd have to rate it like this from 'worst' to 'best' on the Asian front, not really wanting to use those terms, but another generalization.
So. #1 being the least desirable, here are my Asian rankings. I'm 53 and have watched this industry for awhile now.
1. China/Indonesia - A slight nod to China actually being better as the breadth of the industry there is so massive. Hard to tell.
2. Korea
3. Vietnam .... not a lot of info but I'll put it here, since good experiences have outweighed bad.
3. Japan.... by far the best. Was not always this way but to me it clearly is now.
So before anyone get irate. I completely realize that some very good stuff comes out of each of those locations. I truly do not think however the others can compete with Japan in terms of quality.
Also just to keep this thing in perspective during the birth of rock music in the UK (of course followed by influences in the states), those musicians were not lining up to obtain Burns guitars. Almost all of them were trying to acquire Fender's, Riks, and Gibsons. There was a reason for this. The US made the best stuff. It wasn't any kind of affinity for the exotic (even if there was a bit of western allure that the states exuded during that time), it was because more likely than not...... think about those terms as it applies all over this thread.... MORE LIKELY THAN NOT, there were going to get a better instrument to perform their tasks. Styles be damned....Burns looked cool as heck to me.
Is my take on this snobbish. Perhaps? Yet in an odd consideration as an example....Im not even a big Rickenbacker fan (perhaps because I have not got my hands on that many, I Own a 4003), but even tho I'm not a huge Rik fan there would be something perverse about playing a copy of a Rik made in Asia. I don't exactly know how that applies here, but I added that thought none the less.
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I'd really like to see some of these instruments. Got any websites or links? Thanks.
From what I've seen, the quality spectrum of Asian guitars/basses runs as follows (best to least-good):
-Japan
-Korea
-Indo
-China
That's a very generalized statement based on a relatively small sample, so take that into consideration.
I have a couple of knock-around Chinese basses that are OK and perfectly playable, but the Japanese and Korean stuff I've owned has been far better both in terms of workmanship and materials. I've swapped better-quality pups into every MIC bass I've owned because the stock ones pretty much sucked (as did the pots, jacks, etc.).
Hope that adds something to the discussion. I haven't actually owned any MII instruments, so can't really comment on those based on extensive, first-hand experience, since I've just picked up a few briefly in stores.
-Japan
-Korea
-Indo
-China
That's a very generalized statement based on a relatively small sample, so take that into consideration.
I have a couple of knock-around Chinese basses that are OK and perfectly playable, but the Japanese and Korean stuff I've owned has been far better both in terms of workmanship and materials. I've swapped better-quality pups into every MIC bass I've owned because the stock ones pretty much sucked (as did the pots, jacks, etc.).
Hope that adds something to the discussion. I haven't actually owned any MII instruments, so can't really comment on those based on extensive, first-hand experience, since I've just picked up a few briefly in stores.
For ***** and giggles today I went to GC in Nashua NH. When I got to the bass section I saw this natural Squire 5 string jazz bass with some really nice maple fiquiring on the body. It caught my eye. So I grabbed it from the hanger it was on immediately found it had nice action. Sounded great acoustically. And felt good in my hands. Besides it being a little heavy I was pretty impressed with it. So I got a cord and plugged into a Mark Bass amp set up and WOW! It sounded awesome. I could not believe that I actually liked a Squire bass. I own and have owned many high end basses.
This Squire not only riveled some of them but down right sounded better then some of them. I kept thinking to myself there has got to be catch. But after playing it for a good 30 minutes I could not find anything really bad with it except that it was a little heavy. And the best part about this whole adventure was the bass was on sale for $379.99! So I bought it. I got it home thinking ok it has to pass my amp test or it's going back.
It sounded great through my amp system. I had to tweek the truss rod a bit but the rod moved nice and smooth and the neck reacted perfectly fine to the adjustment. Bottom line they are making good instruments over there. And for the price you can't go wrong.
This Squire not only riveled some of them but down right sounded better then some of them. I kept thinking to myself there has got to be catch. But after playing it for a good 30 minutes I could not find anything really bad with it except that it was a little heavy. And the best part about this whole adventure was the bass was on sale for $379.99! So I bought it. I got it home thinking ok it has to pass my amp test or it's going back.
It sounded great through my amp system. I had to tweek the truss rod a bit but the rod moved nice and smooth and the neck reacted perfectly fine to the adjustment. Bottom line they are making good instruments over there. And for the price you can't go wrong.
In my experiences, Indonesia makes a fine instrument. I have an Indonesian 2010 Squire 72 Tele bass and a 2011 Chinese Squire 51 P neck on another bass. Both necks are identical in build quality, the Indo neck is satin finished and larger frets vs tinted gloss and small frets.
I feel that China takes the super low $ contracts as I never see Indonesian guitars that are bottom feeders.
I feel that China takes the super low $ contracts as I never see Indonesian guitars that are bottom feeders.
For budget guitars, Radix Guitars make excellent instruments.
For higher end, Rick Hanes make some of the finests. Check out I Wayan Balawan's guitar for example. (YouTube it).
I have a 80's circa Ibanez Ergodyne that was built in Indonesia, this thing has the tonal characteristics of a Mockingbird, nice low action, no buzz, and a really cool and flexible preamp. My main bass!
There are many companies that make instruments. Sort of virtual spec companies. A brand specs the things they want in their particular model and sends the specs out for quotes. Samples usually made, and the prices and materials are then up for bartering and revising the quote. Quote can encompass a single or multiple model years and other models from same year may be made in different plants.
Quality can vary but it was competition from the Pacific Rim that finally made Gibson automate.
I had a Cort C4H that I was very happy with until one year later when the neck twisted. It just happens sometimes with wood.
The electronics were obviously to the low end but that was something up-gradable so that was ok with me. But the bass assembly tolerances, the finish and overall quality was
absolutely fine especially for the price range. I still have some GAS for a nice Cort and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one but I think the same way as you do about waiting until I
have the money for a special instrument
- Sep 14, 2009
- 903
- 665
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- Endorsing Artist: GullanskyLab pickups
I only have one, an Ibanez srx355: absolutely nothing to complain about, in terms of building quality.
A very nice bass, obviously compared to the price range.
A very nice bass, obviously compared to the price range.
Wow. I have to take back one element of my previous reply, where I said that I had no Indonesian bass. I *do*. I'd completely forgotten that that's where my Squier Jazz V was made. My story is a little similar to David's. I needed a platform for a Roland GK-3B pickup, for synth interfacing, and the mechanicals of the GK bass pickup are very much centered on a Jazz body profile. I had tried mounting it on 5ers already in my collection, but none would mount it cleanly. So I decided to go out and find the best deal I could on a usable Jazz-bodied 5-string. Not necessarily even Fender or Squier, not necessarily new. After working my way through several area stores, I stumbled on a Squier Jazz V that had been on the floor as a display/demo instrument marked down to less than $300.00 out-the-door. I figured I might as well try it, and was amazed. It played and sounded better than the MIM Fender Jazz V on the wall more than 2x the price. It *is* heavy, a 12 pounder, but I don't need MIDI for full live sets. Cannot fault Indonesian quality.
It's a pretty good bass. I hardly touch my nice bass now. Too bad it says Squier. It would be worth more $$.
