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Who REALLY makes your bass?

#161
My eyes were first opened back in the early 90s when I drove to the Pedulla factory in Rockland MA for in issue I was experiencing with my buzz bass.
Bringing it into the shop I noticed a bunch of Tobias basses hanging up in various stages of assembly.
I was told to please not tell anyone but Pedulla had a contract to ghost build Tobias while they were relocating their factory .
Somebody may still be out there playing a Pedulla built Tobias
 
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#163
mbell75 said:
They are though. The Cort factory in Indonesia is making guitars and basses for at least a dozen companies. You think they all have their own sections of the factory with their own workers? lol. They are all done on cookie cutter assembly lines. Thats how you end up with stuff like this...

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This only proves that Sterlings and Squiers are made in the same factory and that someone stuck the Squier's label on the wrong tag - it still says nothing about what goes into each.

Not sure if you're trolling, but no one ever said that each client had their own workers or footprint in the plant, just that they might have different requirements / tolerances. If by chance they have the exact same specs, tolerances and esthetic criteria, then what does it matter if the Sterling neck comes from the same factory as the Squier neck? If it passes the quality control of the client who contracted the work out, then you're still getting what Squier or Sterling is selling you at the price you agreed to pay for it.
 
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#164
mbell75 said:
They are though. The Cort factory in Indonesia is making guitars and basses for at least a dozen companies. You think they all have their own sections of the factory with their own workers? lol. They are all done on cookie cutter assembly lines. Thats how you end up with stuff like this...

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Good luck with your crusade.
 
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#165
mbell75 said:
Companies actually used to build things. Now, they just outsource everything and are just meaningless brand names that go on headstocks to allow them to charge a premium. Most people assume when they buy a Squier or an Ibanez or an Epiphone, that those companies actually made the guitar, not the same company (Cort) making all 3 on the same cookie cutter assembly line. This video is a great endorsement for buying US made instruments.
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This is nothing new, though it appears to be news to you.

Ford makes, Lincoln and Mercury, and each brand often had their own version of the same basic car at different price points. Same with Chrysler and Dodge (and Plymouth back in the day). Chevrolet made Saturns. Toyota makes Scion and Lexus.

In the guitar world, Godin makes many brands, including Seagull guitars.
 
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#167
There is very little truth in advertising, and I don’t know if it was always like this. I suspect it started getting blurred with the advent of free markets, its impossible to know where your things were really made, assembled, yes, but made (ie origin of components), impossible. Things are made where they can get the biggest bang for dollar, everything else is marketing, love it or hate it. That’s the way things are now a days.
 
#168
Skokiaan said:
This is nothing new, though it appears to be news to you.

Ford makes, Lincoln and Mercury, and each brand often had their own version of the same basic car at different price points. Same with Chrysler and Dodge (and Plymouth back in the day). Chevrolet made Saturns. Toyota makes Scion and Lexus.

In the guitar world, Godin makes many brands, including Seagull guitars.
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Exactly. The same way that VW, Audi and Porsche share many components even if they belong in different price brackets. OP is in for a shock if he takes a look at the home appliance world.
 
#170
At most companies it’s more than one person that builds your guitar. I’m Steve, from Lower Groove guitars. I personally buy the wood, and do everything from that point to the finishing, including hardware, electronics, and final set up. And I noticed someone asked who uses Grover tuners for Bass. I use Grover titan tuners, they are the best.
 
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#171
I don't care where it was made. So what if parts of a US model might be imported. So what if a bass is made overseas. Look at all the products you purchase. I dare say that if one does not purchase overseas products then that person is really missing out on opportunity.
There are some killer instruments made in China, Indo and Korea that would put some US made stuff to shame.
anyhow- Just had to voice my opinion.
 
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#172
p12bassnut said:
I don't care where it was made. So what if parts of a US model might be imported. So what if a bass is made overseas. Look at all the products you purchase. I dare say that if one does not purchase overseas products then that person is really missing out on opportunity.
There are some killer instruments made in China, Indo and Korea that would put some US made stuff to shame.
anyhow- Just had to voice my opinion.
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Welcome to American Greed, it's hard being WOKE!
= Corporations' biggest weakness is they love cheap labor! to a fault : (
& Consumers Love to get a good deal! even at the expense of Human rights! to some extent... a recipe for disappointment & suffering : (
 
#173
Yellow Bang66 said:
Welcome to American Greed, it's hard being WOKE!
= Corporations' biggest weakness is they love cheap labor! to a fault : (
& Consumers Love to get a good deal! even at the expense of Human rights! to some extent... a recipe for disappointment & suffering : (
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I'm just saying... Once upon a time long ago... Made in America" meant something totally different than it does Now.
sadly, companies like Gibson, have tarnished that term for the worst.
 
#174
JimmyM said:
Couldn't care less
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00 images2b2.png
 
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#175
The explanation is very easy. Invented by greedy bean counters in corporations. "Global Economy." Think of the whole world as a cookie cutter factory. Sure, there are complications of duties and import/export in the food chain, but everything is made everywhere. Not a whole lot is truly made in America anymore. And some of the material is manufactured overseas then sent back to the U.S. to be "built" here. In little Sitka, Alaska, the ALPS pulp mill corporation knew of the impending closure of their pulp mill. So they bought up HUGE amounts of logs and had them coated and sunk offshore. Before they closed, they retrieved the sunken lumber and sent it to Japan, where it is still being used in manufacturing. And that was over 25 years ago.

The world has shrunk and as already stated, it's hard to guarantee that anything built was 100% built in the USA or even by one company. Having said that, I like Cort and Ibanez, and own Ibanez basses and guitars. They are very well made and are sturdy and sound excellent. My next purchases will probably be the new Fender lefty basses that just came out. Where were they made? I don't know..
 
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#176
ajkula66 said:
OK so Gibson is a fake American brand because it buys tuning machines from Grover which moved their production to China ? That's an interesting argument, especially given the fact that they also source parts from American companies such as Hipshot and Babicz. Not to mention that they maintain actual production facilities in the U.S. and still employ American labour in both TN and MT.

Anyone buying a fairly recent tube/valve amp will find out that the tubes in that amp were made in either China, Russia, Czech Republic or Slovak Republic. That's it. Does that make Mesa Boogie less American or Marshall less British?

Whether we like it or not, certain things are simply not made in the USA, UK, Canada or Germany anymore. There are no production facilities for them, and the demand obviously isn't high enough for anyone to invest in building new ones.

Not to mention that this stuff is really not news for anyone who has been paying attention for the past three decades or so...
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Okay, What I meant was If your product is presented & Stamped as MIA! I expect it to be Q'C'd (Finished) in America at least, I really don't mind if some parts are made somewhere else. But then It should be STRICTLY Spec'd & Quality Controlled In America at sometime in its production, But That does NOT appear to have been the case with gibson guitars/basses= fake branding! Their instrument's Quality just got lost in translation at our expense.
 
#177
I think OP is suffering
mbell75 said:
Well, because most people are under the impression that their Squier instrument was actually MADE by Squier, not by Cort who sells similar guitars and basses for half the price. Many people find that shady business. Thats like paying $30k for a Toyota that was actually made by Kia while Kia sells that same vehicle for $15k. You are paying a premium for the name on the headstock (or badge on the car) while that company really had little to do with the production of your bass or vehicle. Get it?
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:rollno:
 
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#179
Yellow Bang66 said:
Okay, What I meant was If your product is presented & Stamped as MIA! I expect it to be Q'C'd (Finished) in America at least, I really don't mind if some parts are made somewhere else. But then It should be STRICTLY Spec'd & Quality Controlled In America at sometime in its production, But That does NOT appear to have been the case with gibson guitars/basses= fake branding! Their instrument's Quality just got lost in translation at our expense.[/QUOTE
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#180
Yellow Bang66 said:
Okay, What I meant was If your product is presented & Stamped as MIA! I expect it to be Q'C'd (Finished) in America at least, I really don't mind if some parts are made somewhere else. But then It should be STRICTLY Spec'd & Quality Controlled In America at sometime in its production, But That does NOT appear to have been the case with gibson guitars/basses= fake branding! Their instrument's Quality just got lost in translation at our expense.
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Huh ?

You seem to be confusing two separate issues:

a) Gibson instruments ARE and have always been spec'd and QC'd in the USA.

b) The QC aspect of the story got shaky in the second half of King Henry's reign and they did release quite a few pieces that should've never left the factory. The new management seems to be on its way to getting things under control, although it's still too early to tell.

In all fairness, if one builds a guitar/bass/whatever in TN - even using certain foreign parts - where would you think that their QC department resides?
 
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