Guitars and Racism

I've been terrible at posting regularly, but that isn't to say I haven't been keeping an eye on listings (current watchlist at 36).  Something caught my eye the other day, and has me just about ready to jump.

A Squier Classic Vibe 50s Stratocaster.  For $200.

Did you just roll your eyes?  Then stand still, I'll get to you in a minute.  First, the guitar...

What grabbed me immediately was the price.  As I noted in the last post, prices are creeping, and Squier isn't immune.  I've seen a few Classic Vibes listed north of $400, and while I'm not following actively, they don't seem to hang around too long.  That's concerning.  I have no problem with these guitars, but Blacktop Strats can still be had for that kind of money.

Not the case here.  Location is playing a big part of this still being available - the seller is in a town that is between two centres that I wouldn't call major.  It also sits outside the default radius of most searches, so this isn't making into as many feeds.  

There's a lesson here - look to maximize your exposure by listing at the confluence of the 50KM thresholds of major population centres.

The seller replaced the guard with a three ply black one, giving it a pseudo Stevie look.  to me it really brings out the tastefully aged plastic covers.  No eye blinding white here, along with no toothpaste over mint.  Admit it - irrespective of logo, that is a great looking Strat.

At any rate, the birth of my second child is holding me off for now (but at the same time providing the justification?).

Back to the eye rollers...

Guitar players, and by that I mean the kind that buy and sell gear relatively frequently, are inherently racist.  There, I said it.

You can't spend more than 2 minutes browsing without someone selling a guitar whose place of origin is the main selling feature. Now this in an of itself wouldn't be terrible - guitars of different origins tend to command different prices, so knowing where a given guitar was made provides context.

Unfortunately, that isn't usually the case.  It is usually posited as "Better Than".  I see it most with Epiphones, and specifically Korean made Epiphones.  Sellers would have you believe that they are better than the current Made in China run.  They're not.  The Made in China ones are better, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the hands that touched them being of one nationality of the other.

You see it in the Fender world too, with the USA/Japan/Mexico comparisons, with some saying that none compare to USA builds, and others claiming "bang for buck" with the others.  If you can't smell the "white hands made it therefore better, but that isn't bad for darker hands", then you're not listening carefully enough.

An aside - Seriously go look up the location of Fender's USA and Mexico factories.  These places use the same processes, are managed by the same people, and in some case I've heard they use the same labour when specialized.  You're telling me it matters which side of the imaginary line your guitar is from?

A second aside - Compare a MIM 60 Strat Lacquer to a USA Vintage '62.  Forget price.  Which is actually better? 

I don't think (most) folks are actively discriminating based on some concepts of the quality of product a given ethnicity can produce, BUT THAT IS THE MAJOR PROBLEM.  Purposeful racism is easily dismissed as the ramblings of the uneducated.  Sentiments like these are latent and unreflected on. That makes them worse, harder to recognize, harder to dismiss, harder to correct.

Without droning on too long, let's stop characterizing things in these terms.  My Made in China Epiphone is better because there was greater investment into purpose built factories (as opposed to third party), and greater emphasis on quality control.  It has nothing to do with the hands that touched the guitar.  Unless you're talking about Master Built stuff, the hands are as only good as the training, equipment, and process.

I've got a Squier Jaguar, and it's great.  It didn't come home great, but I paid $299 for it new.  After throwing a few more $20s at it in parts, it's superb.  It has nothing to do with the fact it is made in Indonesia.  It has everything to do with the price point it was built to.

So the next time you make a comparison like that, think about what you're really saying.  If you actually think ethnicity has something to do with quality, please go drown yourself in the toilet.  

Go ahead.  I'll wait.