I love this community because I'm learning a lot about where stuff is from. Case in point, I was going to suggest Ibanez and found out it's Japanese lol
This is exactly what we should do for now - post every single post both here on Lemmy and on Reddit and we should constantly remind people that they have to switch to Lemmy!
Honestly I can warmly recommend the Thomann house brand, Harley Benton. The dirt cheap, entry level ones are on par with beginner models from known bands, and if you splurge a little more and get one of their nice ones, you'll have a really fine instrument for the price of the beginner model in the known brands.
They're German and the reason it's so cheap is they have 0 layers in the pipeline, they "manufacture" and sell directly. Most of their own brands punch well above their weight, but you should still look at the reviews etc for your specific item of choice.
Yeah for sure, and some of it is just curated OEM stuff they slap their logo on, but still the point stands. If you want manufactured in EU prices aren't gonna be the same.
Thomann's house brand Harley Benton has some good guitars. Not sure about hollowbody guitars, but I have a semihollow guitar from HB that I play quite a lot and has good build quality.
Ah, did not know this! Thanks. I tried to look through their website to find info on where the guitars are made nowadays but couldn't really find anything.
Yes, it's very difficult to find out where a guitar was manufactured. Often you have to go to a music store website and try to find a picture of the back of the headstock (or nub for Strandbergs). Most the time it's written there.
Also there are several Japanese guitar companies - sure they're not European, but at least they're not American. Examples would be Ibanez, ESP, Yamaha.
Also consider your local luthiers and other manufacturers, they're often in dire need of support, yet get none because their guitars don't have "Fender" or "Gibson" written on them.
I think Gibson has legitimately sunk in quality and is a shell of its former self, I'm not convinced Fender has. It is my understanding that QC slipped a bit during the pandemic and some instruments in rough shape left the factory, but I've seen reports of them honoring their warranty and replacing them with perfect instruments. I personally don't need another Fender, my '96 fat strat is still fit for purpose.
Question from an Ibanez RG series lover - how do the Mayones, M-Tone and Vigier compare? Love me some long neck action and looking to expand my collection.
I never figured out why people think that wood type matters for the tone of an electric guitar.
The vibrating string is not even touching the wood. Just spanned between a ridgid metal bridge and metal pegs. The electricity also does not run through the woods but through wires insulated by rubber. The pickups also don't pick up vibrations or sound from the wood since it contains no metal...
How did anyone even come up with the idea that wood matters for the tone.
probably started by big brands so they can sell their names for more. The same guy also tested amps and pretty much everything anyone has believed about them, tubes etc, for decades is also bull. He used a few effect pedals and switches to make an amp that can mimic the famous brands he used as reference to a degree where I doubt anyone could tell the difference.
you can make an electric guitar and amp out of scraps and get whatever famous sound you want but a lot of people I have meet really don't want to believe this after lining their walls with guitars with price tags I could never afford.
My electric guitar is a Swedish Hagström Ultra Swede, I always wanted to get a genuine Gibson Les Paul but never could afford one. So I ended up with the much cheaper Ultra Swede, have been playing with it for two years and I'm more than happy with it.
I also have two Finnish Landola acoustic guitars from the late 60's - early 70's, a 12-string "Colorado" model and a 6-string "Buffalo". Both sound excellent, especially after I made new bone nuts and saddles to replace the original plastic ones.
I have a Lakewood acoustic, made in Germany, I'm incredibly impressed with. It's a custom shop with a AAAA European Spruce top and Cocobolo back and sides. Lakewood Guitars
Nik Huber has a great reputation. Karl Longbottom also. Oswald is a great choice too. Taran acoustics, Lowden also of course. That's just off the top of my head.
After all this years I have to find out that it actually is an intrument.
Mayones certainly makes my sandwich sing.
I love this community because I'm learning a lot about where stuff is from. Case in point, I was going to suggest Ibanez and found out it's Japanese lol
I've played an Ibanez SR 300 bass on stage for years. I tried many others but nothing feels or sounds as good to me.
Well, at least it's not from murica
This is exactly what we should do for now - post every single post both here on Lemmy and on Reddit and we should constantly remind people that they have to switch to Lemmy!
The Reddit mods seems to not like Lemmy a lot: https://lemm.ee/post/57901024?scrollToComments=true
They enjoy seeing their work get fucked over. That sounds like a cuck to me.
What is reddit?
They will ban you for it now.
Strandberg
I've always wanted one of their 7 or 8 strings with the fanned frets but that price tag is steep
I've played one once in a shop and it was amazing. If I can ever afford to drop that much money on an instrument I will be going right to them
An if we want to support our Canadian friends: Godin. Excellent guitars
Solar.
Yes, they also have "Made in Europe"
Playing a ultra swede for years, no complaints :)
Excellent guitars. Made in china, but still very good.
Speaking of excellent chinese guitars; Eastman acoustics are incredibly good.
I love Hohner brand guitars. Made in German, simply great sound and experience overall.
Wow, I didn’t know there are two brands with so close names. Though, I checked: I meant Hohner: https://hohner.de/
I love my PJD custom shop Woodford Elite. They are a small UK based shop.
What EU brand would I be looking for if I wanted to buy a decent beginner friendly hollowbody?
Honestly I can warmly recommend the Thomann house brand, Harley Benton. The dirt cheap, entry level ones are on par with beginner models from known bands, and if you splurge a little more and get one of their nice ones, you'll have a really fine instrument for the price of the beginner model in the known brands.
They're German and the reason it's so cheap is they have 0 layers in the pipeline, they "manufacture" and sell directly. Most of their own brands punch well above their weight, but you should still look at the reviews etc for your specific item of choice.
EU brand, manufactured in Asia though.
Yeah for sure, and some of it is just curated OEM stuff they slap their logo on, but still the point stands. If you want manufactured in EU prices aren't gonna be the same.
Hagström viking. Hagström alvar.
But they are only an EU-brand, not actually made in EU.
Thomann's house brand Harley Benton has some good guitars. Not sure about hollowbody guitars, but I have a semihollow guitar from HB that I play quite a lot and has good build quality.
Oh wow I haven't thought about Thomann and Harley Bentons in years!
A bit pricy, bit there is Strandberg Guitars which AFAIK are made in Uppsala, Sweden.
Most of the current production is made in Indonesia, some special editions in Japan. Still, great guitars.
Ah, did not know this! Thanks. I tried to look through their website to find info on where the guitars are made nowadays but couldn't really find anything.
Yes, it's very difficult to find out where a guitar was manufactured. Often you have to go to a music store website and try to find a picture of the back of the headstock (or nub for Strandbergs). Most the time it's written there.
Manson guitars are from the UK.
Also there are several Japanese guitar companies - sure they're not European, but at least they're not American. Examples would be Ibanez, ESP, Yamaha.
https://seagullguitars.com/
They're Canadian, but reasonble quality...
Warwick and Sandberg have a few made in Germany bass guitar lines that are pretty sick. Also Duesenberg - sooo beautiful
Also consider your local luthiers and other manufacturers, they're often in dire need of support, yet get none because their guitars don't have "Fender" or "Gibson" written on them.
I use Yamaha bass. I think I won’t change it anytime soon.
those guitars are also much higher quality than Gibson or fender
I haven't kept up with guitars in the past 20 years, but didn't fender and gipson fall off super hard quality wise?
it's not a production or design issue (and there are many)
it's just that for some reason the quality control has sunk to levels that have become unacceptable
I think Gibson has legitimately sunk in quality and is a shell of its former self, I'm not convinced Fender has. It is my understanding that QC slipped a bit during the pandemic and some instruments in rough shape left the factory, but I've seen reports of them honoring their warranty and replacing them with perfect instruments. I personally don't need another Fender, my '96 fat strat is still fit for purpose.
Not EU but
https://maton.com.au/
from Australia have very nice steel string acoustics
Australia is basically honorary Europe.
Heck, all of CANZUK is honorary Europe.
Japanese, but tokai make great guitars.
Yamaha for beginners!
So mayones IS an instrument! Someone tell Squidward!
Question from an Ibanez RG series lover - how do the Mayones, M-Tone and Vigier compare? Love me some long neck action and looking to expand my collection.
Also, I'd say Ibanez, but they're Japanese...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n02tImce3AE
whichever one has the pickup and pickup positioning that gives the sound you want
I never figured out why people think that wood type matters for the tone of an electric guitar.
The vibrating string is not even touching the wood. Just spanned between a ridgid metal bridge and metal pegs. The electricity also does not run through the woods but through wires insulated by rubber. The pickups also don't pick up vibrations or sound from the wood since it contains no metal...
How did anyone even come up with the idea that wood matters for the tone.
probably started by big brands so they can sell their names for more. The same guy also tested amps and pretty much everything anyone has believed about them, tubes etc, for decades is also bull. He used a few effect pedals and switches to make an amp that can mimic the famous brands he used as reference to a degree where I doubt anyone could tell the difference.
you can make an electric guitar and amp out of scraps and get whatever famous sound you want but a lot of people I have meet really don't want to believe this after lining their walls with guitars with price tags I could never afford.
Japan makes the best IMO
Jerzy Drozd (Spain) for bassists who never get enough love.
My last two guitars were Ormsby's, from Australia.
Lowden Guitars, high quality acoustics, made in Northern Ireland. https://lowdenguitars.com/
Taran makes some really amazing acoustics too.
My electric guitar is a Swedish Hagström Ultra Swede, I always wanted to get a genuine Gibson Les Paul but never could afford one. So I ended up with the much cheaper Ultra Swede, have been playing with it for two years and I'm more than happy with it.
I also have two Finnish Landola acoustic guitars from the late 60's - early 70's, a 12-string "Colorado" model and a 6-string "Buffalo". Both sound excellent, especially after I made new bone nuts and saddles to replace the original plastic ones.
Skervesen guitars are amazing build quality
Hapas https://hapasguitars.com/
Furch anybody? Czech guitars, 1A quality!
Feels like this meme needs to use someone other than an american...
Daemoness, Blackat, Mayones, RAN
I have a Lakewood acoustic, made in Germany, I'm incredibly impressed with. It's a custom shop with a AAAA European Spruce top and Cocobolo back and sides. Lakewood Guitars
Framus is awesome. Good thing that my favorite Canadian is also a framus endorsed artist!
Harley Benton
I looked for "m tone" and it seems to be a guy in Oregon
Nik Huber has a great reputation. Karl Longbottom also. Oswald is a great choice too. Taran acoustics, Lowden also of course. That's just off the top of my head.
Can't believe there is no love for Thomann in here, yet. Cheap and effective, can't go wrong.