Lee wrote:

snip

If the Chinese are going to churn out stuff like this now that they
are a 'recognised' industrial power trading properly with the west,
what chance is western manufacturing going to stand in the years to
come ? I assume that electronic goods are going the same way, as I
have now seen several 'Made in China' valve (tube) amplifiers that
were similarly well built, and have achieved some degree of acclaim
over on one of the audio groups, and at something like a quarter of
the price of similar items of western manufacture.

Arfa

Arfa.... I bought the same chair here in Toronto from Staples and while
I picked it up at the store, I found exactly the same thing. I was
really impressed how the small parts were blister packed and the thread
lock on the screws.
Regards
Lee

When my 10 yo daughter decided to learn guitar, she used a cheap (I mean
*really* cheap) Chinese acoustic. It worked okay, but was no
masterpiece. When she joined a band, we decided it was time for an
electric.

I searched want ads, pawn shops and talked to friends. (I'm in
Nashville, after all.) I couldn't come up with a better deal than the
$100 Chinese Ibanez Les Paul Jr from the Guitar Center. The instrument
got very good reviews on the web. It is very nice--now--after a few
trips back to GC...had a bad habit of breaking E-strings due to a burr
on the bridge.

Aside from that, it's got a nice straight neck, good electronics and
decent tuners. It may not last forever, but it's great for a
pre-teener's first rock & roll guitar.

I figure it will be around 5-10 years before the 'average' quality of
goods imported from China will be superb, like what happened in Japan,
only quicker. By then the era of cheap (but good) Chinese goods will go
the way of cheap (but good) Japanese stuff. That will be due partly to
the evolution of the goods, as well as the improved economic conditions
for the Chinese people.

Better get it while you can.

jak