GAD vs. American made

[learner]

I got my introduction to Guild last year when I bought a new GAD-30RE. I love this guitar -- it has a tone that's unlike any other I have played. BUT, I've never played an American made Guild. I like the look of the F-30's (both the Aragon and the Standard) I see on Guild's website, but they are roughly three times what I paid for my GAD. I've spent enough time lurking in LTG to know that most players feel the GADs don't quite offer what the USA models do, but I'm not sure I understand why. What's missing? Can you help me quantify it?

Thanks,

Vin

 

[silverfox103]

Hey Vin

This is how I would explain it: All of the major US brands have foreign sister companies. They have these companies in order to compete with foreign lower cost guitars. When you are looking for lower costs, one of the first thing that gets sacrificed is quality. Quality is sacrificed for profit.

You still probably get a decent guitar but not the same quality as a US made guitar where you can pass on the cost of a little better quality. That is the difference.

Tom C.

 

[Bill Ashton]

Following my visit to a guitar boo-teek the other evening, I can give you my totally biased summary...

I could not find a slope-shouldered or square-shouldered dread that came even close to the sound of my Guild (Tacoma) D55...perhaps the Santa Cruz "Tony Rice" was close, and had slightly better playability, but not at what it would cost me...Collings maple jumbo was also close, but I couldn't get past what looked like a piece of 50's furniture :lol:

I could not find an OM/OOO size guitar that I liked better than my Guild GAD-30PCE. They had all the exotica there, and nothing screamed or made the Siren-call "take me home." SWMBO was pleased, and so am I...for now :lol: If all I play is the GAD for a while, it sounds great to me...if I play my Gibson or Guild dreads it sounds "boxey" to a point. So did all the other high end guitars of that size, at least to my ear.

The fun is certainly in the thrill of the chase...in my case I have to rethink/change my target...perhaps going back to my original intentions! Go out and play some other guitars, all our ears are different, but I'll bet you'll come back loving your Rosewood GAD :wink:

 

[dapmdave]

Hey Vin

This is how I would explain it: All of the major US brands have foreign sister companies. They have these companies in order to compete with foreign lower cost guitars. When you are looking for lower costs, one of the first thing that gets sacrificed is quality. Quality is sacrificed for profit.

You still probably get a decent guitar but not the same quality as a US made guitar where you can pass on the cost of a little better quality. That is the difference.

Tom C.

Could it be that the main reason these companies have manufacturing in other countries is to take advantage of lower labor costs, and perhaps for reduced regulatory expenses? They can make cheaper guitars almost anywhere, but why spend more money than necessary to do so? People who buy them don't care where they come from.

Just being US-made does not ensure that a guitar is of high quality.

Consider Gibson. They make some nice guitars, but they also turn out a lot of tu*ds. But being US-made, they're all expensive.

Dave

 

[killdeer43]

Just being US-made does not ensure that a guitar is of high quality.

Xenophobia is an interesting emotion; it strikes deep and seeps into our brains subliminally.
If that guitar sounds good and feels good to you and you love it, then that's YOUR guitar, until you find one you like/love better.

But still, keep that one and surround yourself with others, and before long you're lost on the trail of multiple guitars, just like the rest of us. :lol:

Enjoy your guitar and play it a lot,
Joe

 

[chazmo]

Vin,

I think you're asking a totally reasonable question, and I think these are some reasonable answers here. However, due to the general nature of your question there is a strong likelihood that this thread will veer off into a political discussion. Please note: I'm closing this thread to avoid / preempt that, not because of anything you said.

I would ask you to poke around with the site search to look around for more details and any specific discussion we might have on the board which is germane to your axe.