Trying of China-Made Guitars

Last week I went to a small local guitar shop with friends, trying to choose a practising guitar for my friend. We tried 3 China-made branded models. Squier is the low-end brand of the legendary Fender. Epiphone is the low-end brand of the famous Gibson.

Squier California Series Telecaster: Priced HK$1080. The body is very light. The neck feel crap. The sound is thin. Even my friend, who still doesn't know how to play, can feel that. The shopkeeper agreed that and said every batch feels the same. The fingerboard is dry and rough, and thus difficult to bend. I won't recommend. I have a vintage US Fender Tele ('83 model) and they are totally different things.

Squier California Series Stratocaster: The quality of body and neck is better than the Tele. The sound is full and have enough variety for different kind of music, for this price point. The fingerboard is acceptable for bending. It is OK for a beginner, and is the cheapest one -- only HK$980.

Epiphone Special Model II: Priced HK$1080 also. The body and neck feel OK. The sound is good and rich, but not versatile as the Strat. The fingerboard is a little bit dry. It is considerable but the shop had no stock but the displayed one which is seriously worn out. I have a Korea-made Epiphone Special Model (ver. I), and it is significantly better in every aspect.

Finally we chose the Strat. I wish my friend will enjoy it and learn playing guitar happily.

Now I am in China and two days ago, I bought through Taobao a so-called China-specific Epiphone Talent Series Folk guitar (steel-string acoustic guitar). Model is TE310C, a 41-inch pure acoustic with cut-away. Priced RMB420 including mail-to-the-door. You cannot find this model outside China. I don't even know whether the piece I received is counterfeit --- you know, here is China.

The material and finishing of this guitar is good. The sound is very good and balanced -- somehow comparable to those HK$2000 ones I tried in Hong Kong TOM-LEE. I feel the action is a little bit high, and the factory-installed .012 steel string set is too hard for me. I never played this type of strings, for my fingers feel hurt. In my college days, I replaced them with .010 electric guitar string set. I am ordering one and will replace them the other day. I expect it will improve the action a lot. I am satisfactory with this purchase.