..I agree. I have a Squier VM Telecaster Thinline and for the money I paid, I got the best neck I have ever put my hands on with a very thin tinted satin finish that has a nice light flame on, Seymour Duncan designed pickups and slightly shorter scale (like a Les Paul). If I was to have those features in a MIA product, I would have easily paid 4 times the price. If I could have had my way, I would say that a decent setup was needed but I knew the guitar would come out nicely once done.

It's like buying a new car. A brand new car straight from the factory does not get delivered at the new car dealership fully waxed & detailed inside & out, a full tank of petrol and protective plastic removed from the interior & a full service done. It's up to the dealer to do this, and I feel its up to the retailer to set up a guitar. at least, they come 80% done. But my tele had rattly saddles, dust all over it and the strings were pretty shot- probably why it was on the rack for a while. On the grand scale of things, I consider a $200 guitar cheap. So when I pay $699 ($NZD) for a guitar I expect not to have rattly saddles, the fretboard oiled and a reasonable set of strings on it at least

My first full time job was in a music store, and part of the daily duties was to make sure all stock was set up when they arrived, all instruments tuned and dusted first thing in the morning.

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Thank you BassPaulL,
Many of us here have a global understanding of government, economics, and reality that don't mimic FoxNews .

FoxNews? What's that?

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob

About a half-hour away from my home, there is a store which sells 100% American-made products ("down to the packaging," as the website boasts). From what I've heard, this place does very good business and receives orders from all over the country.

http://www.madeinamericastore.com/

I do try to buy American whenever I can, but I have to admit this is often a very difficult thing to do. Sometimes, it's simply not possible.

Think of starter guitars, for example. What parent is going to spend $1000 on their 8-year-old child's first-ever guitar (that they might play for a week than never touch again). In this case, an expensive American-made instrument is simply not a practical option.

In order for the U.S. to get back on track economically, we are going to have to re-establish our manufacturing base. And this will require cooperation on ALL sides. Companies need to stop sending jobs overseas, unions need to start making concessions to help their companies/organizations become more competitive (the UAW has done this to a degree with the "Big Three" auto companies and it seems to have made a difference), the government needs to find ways (probably through tax incentives and tariffs) to make it a more attractive option for companies to manufature in the U.S.), and consumers need to support the companies that manufacture domestically. Otherwise, our economy is going to continue spiralling down the drain and we'll soon start to experience the stuff that we're currently seeing over in Greece and other parts of Europe.

yep, and I buy from there as much as possible. and I get most food at the local farmers markets.
a good place to get well made american clothing is http://www.allamericanclothing.com they don't have a huge selection but the stuff lasts forever.

and Wigwam socks are extremely durable and are extra comfy especially the king cotton boot socks.

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Cool! It's amazing how long a well-made piece of closthing will last. I'm a little embarrased about just how old some of the stuff is that's still sitting in my closet

as long as my private parts remain covered I usually don't care how many holes I have in my clothes, that looks cool though rite? my house work jeans look AWFUL

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I'll bet there's a market in China for old authentic american / western clothing, does china have ebay

+1, since 1983.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

A noble thought, but in order for a North American employee to earn enough to live and feed a family, the employer must pay wages much, much higher than the cost of having the product manufactured elsewhere and shipped in.

Also, around 70 years ago, the stage was set in the US for "forced" manufactuing inefficiencies. After the Second World War, millions of troops returned home and jobs had to be made available. So while the US ensured its citizens remained gainfully employed by postponing automation in manufacturing, Japan did the opposite. Its workforce and infrastructure, having been devistated, was replaced by automation, out of necessity. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is, of course, much more complicated than that. But that played a significant role.