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Not Made in China..........RANT.. Be Proud CBG Makers

Posted by Hip Bone Bellaire on May 20, 2010 at 11:30am in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts
Federal Law allows for only 10% of final assembly to happen in the USA for a product to be labeled " Made In The USA".

OK while I have the itch to maybe buy a modern guitar, thinking that a new toy could just instantly make me play like Shane Speal... OK Just be able to play... I've been overly disappointed to find out how many guitars are made in China, Japan, Korea and so forth... WOW a major disappointment.. I mean... Yes a 129.00 guitar would be nice but if I have to scrape the glue off the frets then what's the point....Even my favorites guitars like PRS, and others in the higher price ranges just don't make them here.... ggeeee 

So I guess I'll just learn on my USA made CBG guitar, save my money for the next build or toy and enjoy life, knowing that I made it myself...

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  • Ben May 21, 2010 at 10:54am
    Colin, I'm a supporter of upstanding morals and ethics as well. I'm just not sure you can make an argument that outsourcing to a country where a dollar goes much further because their market isn't as inflated is a moral issue. There is a difference between a work force and forced work. If any company is forcing people to work, then I would feel very strongly against that company. However, if I'm not mistaken, the jobs that are outsourced from the US are some of the most highly sought after jobs in those countries.
    I sometimes wonder if the Koreans, Germans, and Japanese get mad at their car companies for outsourcing jobs to the US. I believe the jobs in these auto plants are outsourced to the US because although they have to pay us more, and it costs more to run a plant here, they save more than that on shipping...not because they care about employing people in Georgia. I may be mistaken on that though, I don't feel fully informed.
    As for the instrument makers, there are still a good number of instruments that are hand-made. Yes, a lot of guitars are done by computer operated machines, but when you get into the orchestral stringed instruments and the brass and woodwinds, there is a lot of skill that goes into producing these instruments (I can speak for Eastman products anyway as I've had some personal dealings with them). There's a misconception that the instruments that come over from Asia are inferior because of their craftsmen. This isn't the case at all. Its that there is such an incredible demand for the instruments that they've got to get them out as soon as the lacquer dries. That's why you'll get some really high end instruments too...they just take more time with them (Eastman guitars for example).
    As for cats...I don't like cats as rule, but I do have 1 cat that I adore. I'm going to assume that there might be other cats in the future that I'll like so I don't think we should go the home made catgut string route. D'Addario at least assembles enough of their strings in the US to carry the Made In USA label. Are they more expensive than Walmart strings? Of course. Do they have fun different colored ball ends? Yes...that's the main reason I buy them (not really).
    Mr. Bellaire, I'm sure you've heard the saying "socialism is fine, until you run out of other people's money..." As for Unions, I'm in favor of unions in some instances. I'm just against corrupt, bullying union leaders. When I was deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up, I knew that I wanted to do something with music. It wasn't the overwhelming factor that lead to life as a music teacher, but the security and benefits of union life helped guide me in that direction. We also need to remember that Teacher's unions are sticky...they aren't in the private sector so its easy to get out of line in terms of raises, benefits, etc. I constantly remind myself that every dollar I earn, first gets confiscated from somebody else. That's why I'm eating my lunch and typing this at the same time...I want them to get their money's worth.
  • Hip Bone Bellaire May 21, 2010 at 9:48am
    Capitalism is a but messed up, socialism is messed up and I just want to buy something made in my country and I can't even do that....glad my wife is part of the Teachers union in NY State or I would be to poor to shop at Dollar General or WALMART... Sorry just I had to throw unions in there... 8^)
  • colin mcgrath May 21, 2010 at 7:18am
    one last thing before I excuse myself from this discussion. When a corporation is dealing with a homo sapien work force morals, and ethics too, are inevitably involved, whether it is acknowledged or not.

    oh and ben i like dollar tree and deals (not sure if the later is a nationwide store) too. And I buy from goodwill and salvation army when I can. At least these last 2 stock from donations and go back into the community.
  • colin mcgrath May 21, 2010 at 6:27am
    I cannot fully agree with the idea that they are making it 100 percent better in those countries. Yes they give jobs but it is at a level where the people are kept at or below poverty level. I mean isn't that what was happening even here before unions? Is it better there than before those plant came? In a manner of speaking sure, but I have not seen that in a way to where I think I am glad 400 americans lost their jobs so a maylaisian girl can live 12 percent better than she was, and with no way of moving up too quickly. Not to bash capitiolism, I just see it as a necessary evil for the system we have in place. Not that I am a socialist either that is not perfect as well. Just tired of watching rich people stay rich at the expense of keeping poor people poor. And even though a go-getter in this country can make it that is not the majority. Oh well my soap box is creaking. I'll just stick a neck on it and strum.
  • Ben May 20, 2010 at 9:59pm
    Hey Colin, don't forget that the lower wage that is paid over seas goes much further than in the US. You have to think of it in terms of their market. US companies outsourcing overseas has greatly improved the standard of living in those communities. Also be careful of the "even playing field" trap. Usually, in order to do this, you need to take from someone and give it to someone else. A poor man never gave me a job. Now that my rant is in full swing, I'd like to touch on something I did a little digging on the other day. So we've all been hearing about greedy oil companies, right? You get a few different figures but average profits are about 7-8%. I read about how well the Dollar Tree stores are doing. Can you believe they're pulling in like 35%? Think about who they're taking advantage of too? How many rich people do you know that shop at dollar stores? If they were a "fair" store, they'd be selling their products for less than a dollar. Now, as a capitalist pig, I fully support the Dollar Tree in their prices (I even shop there). I just think we really need to consider quite a bit before we make a corporation's expenses a moral issue. (Just my 2 cents...crap, now I'll be short at the Dollar Tree!)

    colin mcgrath said:
    "crow- guess we'd have to go to cat gut..?"
    i have a cat. kinda smallish though may only get a couple sets. 8/).But not to get to into this but for me the problem is with having the global marketplace like we do; it is set up unfairly, to where the whole reason corporations go that route is to save on paying an american. We end up with the shaft. If it were set up better (as in not paying such low wages elsewhere) then maybe those businesses could keep jobs here. I don't know just seems that if the whole world is our market then we need to all be on an even playing field so true competition is available.
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates May 20, 2010 at 1:10pm
    China circuits. I love that.

    So then: "Don't buy my F'ing amp then. This is America. Ebay for God's sake. Don't hit the BID NOW button and move on."

    -WY

    wesley carl said:
    I got ya Randy some one on ebay bitched because I used China circuits for my amps So where else are built I would love to buy all American but it just isint going to happed. By the way check out some of the 70's Japanes builds $$$$$$$ ?

    Randy S. Bretz said:
    Yeah it`s nice to call our builds made in the U.S.A to bad most of the parts we use on them comes from overseas.
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates May 20, 2010 at 1:06pm
    Funny thing is, I think I make a fine instrument. LOTS of attention to detail. True craftsmanship. But I would be REAL hard pressed to equal or even be in the ball park of any local or foreign built commercial instrument in terms of overall quality. I simply don't have to tools or the skill level. I make what I make based on the materials and tools on hand. I do make chicken salad from chicken guano. If I had chicken meat, I wouldn't be making chicken salad (Chick-Fil-A anyone?)

    I do think, and have always thought this, no matter what [superficial] piece of crap* instrument is made here, It's the absolute best the builder could make and thus should have the greatest value and utmost respect we can afford that instrument.

    (* Don't get your panties in a wad. Nobody makes crap here. Just pointing out that looks aren't everything tho some might see that way.)

    I do play my CBG more than my Japanese Yamaha or my Indonesian Washburn. Even more than my Korean dulcimer I bought 25 years ago.

    But I do have a lot of fun!

    -WY
  • Crow May 20, 2010 at 1:01pm
    LMAO

    colin mcgrath said:
    "crow- guess we'd have to go to cat gut..?"

    i have a cat. kinda smallish though may only get a couple sets. 8/)
  • colin mcgrath May 20, 2010 at 12:57pm
    "crow- guess we'd have to go to cat gut..?"

    i have a cat. kinda smallish though may only get a couple sets. 8/).
    But not to get to into this but for me the problem is with having the global marketplace like we do; it is set up unfairly, to where the whole reason corporations go that route is to save on paying an american. We end up with the shaft. If it were set up better (as in not paying such low wages elsewhere) then maybe those businesses could keep jobs here. I don't know just seems that if the whole world is our market then we need to all be on an even playing field so true competition is available.
  • Crow May 20, 2010 at 12:52pm
    LOl man i forgot the strings.. guess we'd have to go to cat gut..?
    Randy S. Bretz said:
    If you build your own body from slabwood from the sawmill and the neck from a tree branch from a tree in your back yard. Frets from bone, you still heve to use tuners made from overseas. They way to get around that is to make your own wood tuners but then where`s the strings made at.

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