Samick are the best guitar on the market

[Bg]

I'm not impressed with the tuning issues with Gibson guitars. My acoustic Indonesian made Samick stays in tune and sounds quite good for the $160 I paid for it back 98 (still going strong). Maybe they have a point.

A guitar isn't worth a pinch of salt if the fuckin' thing doesn't stay in tune.

*sigh* http://nzguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=21427

[Vorbis]

I think Ash explained a while back part of the reason why Gibson/PRS etc are 'expensive'. A lot has to do with actually having to pay the workers a reasonable wage, and a lot of man hours going in to producing the gats. You're paying also for the Gibson brand, the history, perceived tonal advantages, resale value etc.

[Terexgeek]

I had a samick once. It was given to me (thanks TerexGeek) and I gave it away. It was a fender strat copy. I don't have an excuse. I didn't like it. Enough said.

'Twas a Segovia (hair split, same factory probably) Darc, and you're welcome.

[druz15]

I think Ash explained a while back part of the reason why Gibson/PRS etc are 'expensive'. A lot has to do with actually having to pay the workers a reasonable wage, and a lot of man hours going in to producing the gats. You're paying also for the Gibson brand, the history, perceived tonal advantages, resale value etc.

this, Gibson has some pretty good bang-for-buck stuff, they also have some pretty pricey stuff too.
I think resale is a big thing. A $5000 Gibson you could sell 5 years later for around $4000 easily if it was still in good nick, a $400 Samick ain't going to be worth squat in 5 years time no matter how immaculate it is.

[willow13]

a $400 Samick ain't going to be worth squat in 5 years time no matter how immaculate it is.

not sure how true this is ......there has been a number of charvettes (by charvel) pop up on TM in the last couple of months and they have sold for $400+ which to me is way more than they should go for...I also think you'd be lucky to get $4000 for a 2007 les paul secondhand.the range for LPs under 10yrs old seems to be up to $3000 from what I have seen

[Sabbath Bloody Sabbath]

I think Ash explained a while back part of the reason why Gibson/PRS etc are 'expensive'. A lot has to do with actually having to pay the workers a reasonable wage, and a lot of man hours going in to producing the gats. You're paying also for the Gibson brand, the history, perceived tonal advantages, resale value etc.

+1. I guess for a lot of people it's an important issue but it can't always come down to be bang for buck. A Nissan GT-R is faster and cheaper than a Ferrari 458 but I know which one I would rather have.

[Clanger]

I'm not impressed with the tuning issues with Gibson guitars. My acoustic Indonesian made Samick stays in tune and sounds quite good for the $160 I paid for it back 98 (still going strong). Maybe they have a point.

A guitar isn't worth a pinch of salt if the fuckin' thing doesn't stay in tune.

*sigh* http://nzguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=21427

Absolutely none of that applies to me at all.

[Some Bozo]

The only Samick I've owned was 15 years ago, an extremely muddy-sounding semi-acoustic where the pickup was screwed underneath the 20th fret or so, consequently it sounded like playing the neck pickup on a strat underwater.

[Vorbis]

I had a Samick Strat, it was much like the Hondo and Vester Strats I had. I haven't touched a Greg Bennett but have heard it's on par with the Cort stuff (Cortek/Samick - same factory?)
Anyway I dropped it out of the back of a Station Wagon (not even on purpose) and it went skidding down a steep concrete driveway. It survived so couldn't have been total shite.
Bad hardware/cheap electronics/bad woods/poor fret job. Pretty much the same thing for all budget guitars.

[Polar Bear]

My Roadworn Monster strat certainly started out with Samick parts. The neck is a nice profile, but some clown tightened the truss rod to some astronomical tension, not sure if that is what caused the neck to be warped, but there you go, it's improved greatly with loosening though. The body is absolutely awful quality ply. However, it sounds awesome, Seymour Duncan Custom Custom, and with the hacking and quality hardware, it plays well.
In MP we have a few Greg Bennetts, there are some absolutely fantastic guitars, little OM bodied acoustic for $299 is a favourite, and the big bodied two humbucker Jazz box as well. Problem I have with them though is that the headstock is supremely ugly, I don't care what's on it, but it's so ugly I don't think I could own one.

[nzsimon1]

..

[danrawkz]

I don't know about 'best guitars on the market', but they've certainly come a long way in the last 20 years. Greg Bennet guitars are among the best bang for the buck guitars out there that's for sure. They're extremely high quality for the price. And certainly Gibson offers less in terms for value for money, as the difference in quality between a Greg Bennet and a Gibson is far less than the astronomical price difference suggests. I would still say that Gibson make a higher quality, better sounding guitar than Samick, but the gap is a lot smaller than most people would think/admit. In fact many Asian brands are putting out extremely high quality Chinese made guitars these days, and people really need to get past the idea that 'made in USA' automatically means better quality than 'made in China', because it's just not the case.

+1, you nailed it

[mr_sooty]

. Problem I have with them though is that the headstock is supremely ugly, I don't care what's on it, but it's so ugly I don't think I could own one.

I want to judge you, but the truth is that one of the things that is holding me back from pulling the trigger on this Ibanez 335 I've been gassing over is the lightning bolt on the headstock.

[Polar Bear]

Oh man, a lightning bolt is awesome!! Fit in well at church too.

[jeremyb]

Oh man, a lightning bolt is awesome!! Fit in well at church too.

the hollowbody would be mint for holding a plague of locusts too!!