I was a hobbyist luthier for years... making pocket money now and then from fixing up old guitars and selling or giving them away to beginners... and a few collectors... when I got lucky.
The thing is now... especially post-pandemic...
Asian made guitars are amazing at all price points. The market is saturated quality instruments and great prices for Yankees who like all things new and shiny...
It's like so many post-war delusions... where we believed that the post-war industrialized nations... that once ruled global economics could only create cheap substitutes...
They were rising from the ashes of a war-trashed infrastructure. It took them a few decades to get back on their feet... is all.
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