Hey brother, do they sell new Jackson guitars made in Japan? All the Jackson imports coming to the US today are made in China or Indonesia. I don't like them. I prefer Japanese like the old models (Jackson / Charvel from 1980s and 1990s). Let me know if Japan made is still available there...
True, everyone is turning to CNC - cheaper and faster to manufacture. Even the ESP custom shop in California which claims "handmade" is 100% CNC. But this is not so bad. The manufacturing process is much more precise and exact duplicates can be made. With handmade guitars, some small details may be different. This is fine if you want an exclusive, not so fine if you need an exact replacement. The main problem with Gibson is quality control. How can you sell a $4,000 guitar with poor fretwork, sloppy binding and misaligned tuners? The problem is not with the instrument. The problem is with the rushed work and a failure to inspect that work properly and correct the issues before it leaves the shop. Customers deserve better. The second problem with Gibson is failure to innovate. How many multi-scale guitars do they sell? How many 7 or 8 strings? And what about new shapes? Gibson cannot rely on selling the same old designs when everybody else is introducing new ideas to the market. Don't get me wrong, I love the company but I hate their stubborn ownership and management. I would like to see Gibson return to their roots instead of d*cking around and offering nothing but a brand name... ;-)
