Originally Posted by: manXcat Fortunately so many alternatives abound in 2020, for those of us in ROW refusing to be gouged by Fender or Gibson [u]Corporations[/u], there's just no need to fund CEO bonuses unless brand bias blind.

Oh for the days when Made in Japan was no longer a synonym for junk, but the JP¥ still was when I scored my first Ibanez lawsuit SG.

There's a great point here for the availability of very playable andaffordable instruments.Compared to when I was first starting, there was a huge gap between the 'quality' brands and everyone else. You had few choices. Go cheap and not as playable or spend the bucks.

Now? There is an enormous number of great instruments at really affordable prices that aren't Gibson or Fender. Even then, Gibson and Fender are paying attention to their value brands (like Squire or Epiphone) because they're getting taken to the 'budget priced' cleaners. That's just my opinion but with great value instruments, it's very competitive and that's good for all players.

I do (sorta) differ on Japanese instruments. When Ibanez started making guitars that all the 80's metal guitarists wanted, I think that upped the game for other Japanese players like ESP etc. I think guitars actually made in Japan are pretty high quality. When Fender was (temporarily) own by a Japanese company, the took a '63 Strat as it's template. They wanted to change how Fender had been viewed during its CBS years (less than stellar).

I suppose though, it's a matter of perspective too.