does it matter where (bass) guitars are made?

[NoiseNinja]

Lol wut??
Genuinely cant tell if you're being sarcastic but the US doesnt have a huge illiteracy rate; not sure where you pulled out that statistic. As for not being advanced, thats a complicated statement. Theres a lot of economic inequality and there are parts in the country where technology is def behind. As a whole? not really. Its more of a choice here. You can live in the mountains w/o a cellphone or wifi and thats fine; You can also live in the Silicon Valley, one of the most important tech hubs in the world, and have access to all the new technology.

Agree with education. Its a shame we dont value it as much as we should.

Don't know if you are in denial or what, but compared to most European states the huge illiteracy rate is a fact (of course this is a matter of how you define huge. But relatively in comparison it is.)

It is also a fact that Japan is the most technologically advanced country in the world, so compared to that USA, even if admittedly highly technologically developed, is also not the best on that field.

I am not saying that USA is anywhere near a 3rd world country, I am just saying that USA is not as great and up front as they used to be anymore.

Anyway this has gone way off topic and pared with the fact that political discussions are not that well seen here on the forum, if we need to discuss this further, please send me a PM.

 

[funkymonk13]

Don't know if you are in denial or what, but compared to most European states the huge illetracy rate is a fact.

It is also a fact that Japan is the most technologically advanced country in the world.

I am not saying that USA is anywhere near a 3rd world country, I am just saying that USA is not as great and up front as they used to be anymore.

Just looked it up. I took "illiteracy" to mean you cant read at all. School is required here and unless you have a learning disability you're not gonna come out of that w/o knowing how to read and write. Those articles are a bit click-bait and dont really paint the whole picture accurately imo.

I do get what you're saying though. It is a shame education is falling behind. Our country is complicated. We have 300+ million people. We're a nation of immigrants, people from all walks of life come here. We're also a nation of extremes in every sense of the word.

I still wouln't call our illiteracy rate "huge", and i still wouldnt say were "not that advanced".

As for not being "that great" thats subjective to your values.

 

[Williethump]

Building bass guitars is mostly 1950's technology, well within the capabilities of any industrialized society. We like to mystify it with terms like "Mojo", but its just wood, metal, wire, and paint. Compared to the device you are viewing this thread on, it might as well be a hunk of chipped flint. As others have said, CNC files and machinery are everywhere, so it's down to the QC of any particular factory. Having owned a Steinberger bass, I'd argue that wood isn't even necessarily the best material to make electric instruments out of, sooner or later they will just get 3-d printed. Then we can all argue about which polymer sounds better.

I agree it's the sound that matters. Yet most musicians are quite conservative, lusting after instruments from the dawn of the electric bass era. I suppose it'll have to change unless technology can create synthetic tropical tone wood.

 

[bdplaid]

Don't know if you are in denial or what, but compared to most European states the huge illiteracy rate is a fact (of course this is a matter of how you define huge. But relatively in comparison it is.)

It is also a fact that Japan is the most technologically advanced country in the world, so compared to that USA, even if admittedly highly technologically developed, is also not the best on that field.

I am not saying that USA is anywhere near a 3rd world country, I am just saying that USA is not as great and up front as they used to be anymore.

Anyway this has gone way off topic and pared with the fact that political discussions are not that well seen here on the forum, if we need to discuss this further, please send me a PM.

Whenever someone says something they claim "is a fact," that's time to look it up for yourself:

Invalid Link Removed

and here's something else you may find useful:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160202185457.htm

 

[NoiseNinja]

Whenever someone says something they claim "is a fact," that's time to look it up for yourself:

Invalid Link Removed

and here's something else you may find useful:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160202185457.htm

Try to actually read what is written in small letters above that figure that the first link of yours lead to.

According to that:

The average score of the US population is on par pretty much with what we have in Denmark, yes.

Still there are a higher percentage of US citizens in this test that scores in the lower part of the scale compared to Denmark, which then the percentage of people in US that scores higher than the Danish average makes up for.

I guess it is still a matter of definition then.

USA has a higher percentage of really bad cases of illiteracy, though also a higher percentage of people that score above average than for example Denmark.

Also my point about Japan still stands according to the figures you linked to.

What your last link and the quality of basses according to what country they are produced in has to do with that whatsoever is a bit of a mystery to me though.

 

[Antisyzygy]

sweetwater customers get these notices/articles in their email, but in case you don't subscribe: i thought it might be an interesting read for some....maybe more for those who are fence sitting re: a potential purchase.

Does It Matter Where Guitars Are Made? - inSync

i don't think the builders (interviewed in the article) have 'shattering news/views', but i thought i'd share and then follow the comments.

thanks,

jim

i'm in the group who doesn't really care where the instrument is made --- as long as it plays well for me!

It matters somewhat, but you could make a bass as nice as an American Elite Fender for much cheaper overseas so it's not as simple as "where it's made".

In general companies like Fender are intentionally segmenting their offerings in such a way that the USA line is their best one. In principle there isn't any reason a reputable Chinese or Indonesian company couldn't produce these at a similar quality level for less.