Originally Posted by
Dreadman
An Aria made Casino - Niiiiice!
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'Zactly, D-man. The way I understand it Aria (Japan) either sold their Korean palnt or started Peerless there as a Korean subsidiary. I could be wrong about that, but at least according to Blue Book, and at least until about 4-5 years ago, Samick and Aria were the Korean subcontractors for Epiphone. Now neither is, by name.
An yep, M29...oozes quality.:
Not all import Epiphones, even after Gibson opened its Qiang Dao factory, are created equal. Gibson has managed, I think, to get folks to believe they're making everything at their own factory, to 'produce them with better quality control' under Gibson USA people management. But they've had definite quality control issues there. How ironic is that?
They still subcontract. Oddly enough, some of the 'high end' imports aren't made at their own factory, or even in China. (Masterbilts and Elitists, in particular).
I recently had an 04 LP Standard made at the Gibson China plant. Got it September. Nice enough. But one tuner was mounted a tad crooked. I was gonna replace them, but I traded it to get the G&L Comanche I posted about. And last week I saw an 05LP Standard Plus Top (figured maple) made by Dae Won/ China. It was flawless. Perfectly bookmatched top.
The LP Ultra II's supposedly hit the stores Wednesday. I wonder where they're made? Only if the serial number starts with 'EE', it's by Gibson China. Any other letter code, and it's subcontracted.
^^
AXES: Fender '81 The STRAT, '12 Standard Tele, '78 Musicmaster Bass, '13 CN-240SCE Thinline; Rickenbacker '82 360-12BWB; Epiphone '05 Casino, '08 John Lennon EJ-160E; Guild '70 D-40NT; Ovation '99 Celebrity CS-257; Yamaha '96 FG411CE-12; Washburn '05 M6SW Mando, '08 Oscar Schmidt OU250Bell Uke; Johnson '96 JR-200-SB Squareneck Reso; Hofner '07 Icon B-Bass; Ibanez '12 AR-325. AMPS: Tech 21 Trademark 10; Peavey ValveKing Royal 8; Fender Acoustonic 90, Passport Mini, Mini Tonemaster; Marshall MS-2 Micro Stack; Behringer BX-108 Thunderbird; Tom Scholz Rockman. PEDALS/FX: Boss ME-50; Yamaha EMP100; Stage DE-1; Samson C-Com 16 L.R. Baggs ParaAcoustic D.I; MXR EQ-10.
Regular Fretter
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