Made in vs Crafted in

[Thumper19605]

Not to open the can of worms, Made in can mean assembled in.
The parts are from wherever, like cars motorcycles etc..
Marketing can be a underhanded business.
Crafted sounds better more hands on with care, like hand made.
You can tell the true hand made crafted by the price, it takes time.

 

[Batmensch]

My guess is they changed it to avoid the (now diminished) stigma that used to be associated with the phrase "Made in Japan," which was once synonymous with "junk."

I remember when I was a kid, that was a running joke. I even saw it in Saturday morning cartoons where something (I specifically remember an alarm clock for some reason) would blow up upon being used, and amongst the remains there would be a label on there somewhere saying "Made In Japan". I'm not sure if it was an actual thing where Japanese products were indeed inferior at that time, or if it was really what I suspect was some form of anti-Japanese bias as WWII was still relatively fresh in the country's memory around then.
The Japanese sure turned that around.

 

[SirMjac28]

Beer is made and champagne is crafted.

 

[flojob]

Yours is toasted

 

[Watchootognbout]

Never seen any bass that said "Crafted in.........."

 

[steelbed45]

Never seen any bass that said "Crafted in.........."

 

[Watchootognbout]

It is inevitable that some one would post a picture.Still having never personally seen a "Crafted in" bass.
So what is this bass?

 

[MarkoYYZ]

marketing term... to give you that "Hand made" feel when you're buying a lot cheap stuff being made in sweatshops in Asia (mainly China).. oddly, Japan is probably the only odd exception to this with the "Fender" line..

Not sure, are there any "Crafted in the USA" bass/guitar gear being sold?

People love to throw around the term "sweatshop" as if it only applies to 3rd world countries, and as if "sweatshops" don't exist right under their noses in the US.

I've been to many factories and some are definitely better than others, but the conditions of the shops that make instruments for western brands like Fender are quite good, even in the lowest of low (in your eyes), China.

Below, you'll find a couple of shots of the plant where the CV and Modern Player stuff is made. Let me assure you that they are not working on dirt floors, the doors are not locked, the ventilation is good, they have clean uniforms and adequate tools, they get breaks and lunches and while they may break a sweat (it's going to happen if you 'work' any place that is already hot outside), the conditions are far from what you would expect of a 'sweatshop'.

Being proud of where you're from doesn't require you to denigrate those who live somewhere else. Some may earn it, others don't, but it's unfair to paint them all with your 'sweatshop junk' brush.

 

[MarkoYYZ]

It is inevitable that some one would post a picture.Still having never personally seen a "Crafted in" bass.
So what is this bass?

It is a Fender instrument, but the serial number won't tell you the model. I have a few with this very same type of serial on the heel of the neck.

 

[twinjet]

Maybe because the reputation of the quality of instruments made in China is of a lesser degree than American made products

I would agree with this. I tend to have a higher respect for Japanese and Korean stuff than Chinese. Though I am sure there are some quality basses out of China.

 

[Vargaspub]

I had a Peavey Patriot bass way back in the day that said handcrafted in the USA. I found out it meant that the design and specs were American but it was built somewhere else. Maybe crafted means built in Japan with American design, specs, and parts?

 

[REV]

Not to open the can of worms, Made in can mean assembled in.
The parts are from wherever, like cars motorcycles etc..
Marketing can be a underhanded business.
Crafted sounds better more hands on with care, like hand made.
You can tell the true hand made crafted by the price, it takes time.

Actually the reverse of this is true. Made in Japan means the instrument is made in Japan. Crafted means that parts can come from other places and be assembled in Japan. I have found that both are instruments of very high quality but that the tolerances are a little tighter on Made in Japan instruments. This may not affect the instrument itself but if you want to switch parts it may make it more difficult. The holes may not line up as well if you want to put a MIM neck on a MIJ body for example.

 

[Batmensch]

I would agree with this. I tend to have a higher respect for Japanese and Korean stuff than Chinese. Though I am sure there are some quality basses out of China.

I would think Squier's Classic Vibe line, which is made in China, would qualify. I have never read anything bad about these instruments, only very good things.

 

[twinjet]

I would think Squier's Classic Vibe line, which is made in China, would qualify. I have never read anything bad about these instruments, only very good things.

Same here. I have yet to play one, though. I have only played a VM fretless. It wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't have bought one.

 

[Adam Johnson]

Keep in mind it says "assembled", and the components assembled could have been made ANYWHERE. Also, this label probably only pertains to your window, and nothing else.

Nope, there is a Subaru assembly plant in Indiana. The parts weren't made in the U.S., but were shipped here and put together in indiana

 

[SpanishDave]

Well, almost. I have a 100% authentic JB75RI that came to me directly via DHL from the Land of the Rising Sun which bears an "MIJ" decal on the headstock and a "CIJ" decal on the neck heel. An exceptional instrument in every way...whether it was M'd or C'd over there under license to FMIC.

Hi, your bass has two markings?
That's the first time of heard of that. I got my aerodyne direct from Japan two and I only have a "Made in Japan" plus serial number.
I will try and upload a pic so we can derail the thread

 

[SamJ]

People love to throw around the term "sweatshop" as if it only applies to 3rd world countries, and as if "sweatshops" don't exist right under their noses in the US.

I've been to many factories and some are definitely better than others, but the conditions of the shops that make instruments for western brands like Fender are quite good, even in the lowest of low (in your eyes), China.

Below, you'll find a couple of shots of the plant where the CV and Modern Player stuff is made. Let me assure you that they are not working on dirt floors, the doors are not locked, the ventilation is good, they have clean uniforms and adequate tools, they get breaks and lunches and while they may break a sweat (it's going to happen if you 'work' any place that is already hot outside), the conditions are far from what you would expect of a 'sweatshop'.

Being proud of where you're from doesn't require you to denigrate those who live somewhere else. Some may earn it, others don't, but it's unfair to paint them all with your 'sweatshop junk' brush.

Since 1997 controversy has surrounded Korean factories of Cort and Cor-Tek due to its alleged mistreatment of factory workers. Grievances include the closing of its Daejonfactory with no advance warning on April 9, 2007, mass redundancies of all staff from its Incheon plant on April 12, 2007, and the firing and mistreatment of union officials and members.

On July 12, 2007 a Cort worker set himself on fire in protest, and on October 15, 2008 workers conducted a 30-day hunger strike and sit-in occupation on a 40 meter electricity tower. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian - both partners in the Axis Of Justice - joined representatives of the Cort workers in a protest concert against Cort and Cor-tek on January 13, 2010 at the Nanum Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Morello said "I fully support the Korean workers' demands for justice in the workplace. All American guitar manufacturers and the people that play them should hold Cort accountable for the awful way they have treated their workers."

nobody is going to buy your China Koolaid rant pal... I've been involved in this issue for the better part of two decades, and I can assure you the working conditions in China and a few other places like Cambodia are wholly unacceptable by western standards, there are no protections worth mention of any kind, OSHA, etc...

If those workers were as well paid, and productive as their western counterpart, do you really think Fender would risk the stigma of outsourcing the jobs were it not for the fact that it gives them HUGE margins and keeps their product cheap for the masses?

seriously.


Compare the work-flow and cleanliness of the environments..

 

[SamJ]

Nope, there is a Subaru assembly plant in Indiana. The parts weren't made in the U.S., but were shipped here and put together in indiana

noting worth with that.. that's more of a fair world trade situation where a multi-national company shares the "Value added" cost of making a product .. BMW does the same with the X5 SUV, sending parts to the US... VW in Mexico, etc.. That is closer to my idea of "Fair trade"

 

[MarkoYYZ]

nobody is going to buy your China Koolaid rant pal... I've been involved in this issue for the better part of two decades, and I can assure you the working conditions in China and a few other places like Cambodia are wholly unacceptable by western standards, there are no protections worth mention of any kind, OSHA, etc...

If those workers were as well paid, and productive as their western counterpart, do you really think Fender would risk the stigma of outsourcing the jobs were it not for the fact that it gives them HUGE margins and keeps their product cheap for the masses?

seriously.

The Cort and Cor-tek issues you reference still don't prove their factories are sweat shops. Bad management, layoffs and plant closings without considerstion of the labor force happen everywhere, not just Asia, jusk the GM worker in Canada who lost his job to cheaper labor in Alabama.

As for their pay, if you were to adjust for currency and cost of living, the 2500 RMB the workers in the China plant make per month would not be that different from the $3000 the Corona plant worker gets, or the 5000 pesos per month the Ensenada plant worker gets. You can't transplant one set of wages into another country's economy and assume it's abusive.

You're welcome to your opinion, but if you've ever bought a $50 pair of jeans, $99 drill or a $250 bike for your kid, then you may want to pay closer attention to those glass walls around you.

 

[fretter]

I just read an interesting bit about small-batch whiskey. When it says "made by" or "produced by", the whiskey isn't necessarily made in-house. Only whiskey that says "distilled by" must be made on premises.