Chinese Thunderbirds??

[mp40smg]

I am old enough to remember the first round of knock offs. At the time lots of people said that they were nothing but garbage with serious issues and the quality just was not there.

They were inexpensive. Clones of strats, teles, les pauls, SGs and even Alembic. All for more than half the price of the real deal. They sat in the stores and only people who had no money or players just staring out actually bought the things. The people that "knew" would tell everyone they knew to run from them.

Then all of a sudden, Fender, Gibson and even Alembic sued them. And all those people that "knew" took another look. They then realized that at the time, these knock offs were as good as the orig goods. In some cases they were even better made (especially in the case of fender). Names like Ibanez, Fernandes and Tokai.

Then they all went away. Not too far after, all of a sudden, we had guitars rolling out of Japan (from that same factory) with a Fender name on it. And all of a sudden, people could not believe how much better the MIJ feders were than their US made cousins.
Very shortly after that @77, Paul Stanley, Bob Weir and John McLaughlin and George Benson were appearing in public with this new brand Ibanez, and nobody could believe how good they were.

I guess the question I have is could these chinese knock offs be made at the same factory that actually makes the name brand stuff?

 

[Meddle]

hey ToleranceJ, I just clicked the first link in the first post in that thread..the lefty is strung up righty with the E on bottom... just another factory defect to add to the existing JUNK -- PERFECT for Jim Haslip ( AND ME ) -- and is no longer available, not that I would want it anyway

.

That is a monsterous pile of fail of all different kinds. Pickguard is wrong, knobs are wrong, pickups are wrong, strung wrong.


Still, I wonder how the grain matches on the back.

 

[amimbari]

That is a monsterous pile of fail of all different kinds. Pickguard is wrong, knobs are wrong, pickups are wrong, strung wrong.


Still, I wonder how the grain matches on the back.

since it is a set neck and one piece, it probably does

I am old enough to remember the first round of knock offs. At the time lots of people said that they were nothing but garbage with serious issues and the quality just was not there.

They then realized that at the time, these knock offs were as good as the orig goods. In some cases they were even better made (especially in the case of fender). Names like Ibanez, Fernandes and Tokai.

All for more than half the price of the real deal.

different countries, different employees, different factory worker management, different era of wood and manufacturing techniques --- not a fair comparison.

 

[stiles72]

If you want an inexpensive (compared to Gibson) white bird that isn't bolt on, watch Ebay for the guy in England who sells Tokais. He has white ones every now and then.

 

[bassplayer8953]

I guess the question I have is could these chinese knock offs be made at the same factory that actually makes the name brand stuff?

I am old enough to remember the 1st round of knock-offs also. Lots of 'em looked the part (better than these chinese pos's) some actually played quite well. Japan was establishing itself as a competitor to the US, in terms of manufacturing quality. The emergence of Japan as a manufacturer started a downwrd trend in manufacturing that the USA has not recovered from to this day. Our so-called American corporations find it easier to out-source manufacturing, put their workers out of work, and rest on their reputations, than to actually build the products they put their name on. (Apologies to bass mfr's, most of them still have at least some presence in the USA, but at sky-high prices)

Today, with CNC machines available worldwide, the quality available, even from the cheapo manufacturing countries, is amazing. But therein lies the rub: the same subcontractor furnished with the specs to make a USA branded instrument can then make a generic version himself. Or arrange to have a partner make them to that spec, then sell them themselves, at a lower price than the US retailers (I was going to say manufacturers, but that's really not the case anymore, is it?)

That's one of the hazards of subcontracting out to a country where they don't play by rules...just like they don't play by any rules regarding pay, benefits, working conditions, pollution, etc...

...but everyone can have their pick of $119 SX basses, so it's all good, right...?...right...:scowl:

BTW, from a Thunderbird owner: I could spot that fake POS a block away. And that bastardized version of a Ric...don't even go there. To the poster who stated that these were for the Chinese market: good! Keep 'em there. Those are just nasty!

 

[Gaolee]

For what its worth, China can make plenty good instruments. I have a couple year old Ibanez Artcore guitar which is plenty good, even though it was the least expensive model. I still wouldn't buy directly from a Chinese source, though, since the Chinese economy is a bit like the wild west. Let Epiphone, Ibanez, or whoever deal with the adventure.

And, why would you buy a new crapshoot when you can get a used real one from Craigslist for less money? I paid $200 for a T-bird including a matched Epiphone hard case. Not so bad, even though the neck is just a little off angle. It plays fine, so I don't care, and for the price, it is close enough to perfect for me.

 

[hidude360]

Why not get an epi t-bird pro

 

[EdHunter]

That pants Ric knock-off is quite cool. I'd get one, re locate the strap button and play it as a reverse-reverse.

Maybe replace the pups, but there's a little voice inside me saying that is very cool.