It’s quite amazing how fast technology has progressed in the world post 1945. The end of World War 2 triggered massive advancement in production, trade and an “economic miracle” period in Japan which quickly became the worlds second largest economy.
This rapid growth period also produced some very high quality musical instruments and equipment which is now highly sought after. The attention to detail and ability to copy, combined with pride of workmanship saw production of gear that in some cases was better than the original. This was highly apparent in the manufacture of guitars and lead to the “lawsuit era” of the 1970’s.
The Japanese were also producing high quality audio equipment. For a long period it seemed as if everything was labelled “Made in Japan” in the way that we now see huge production out of Korea.
Sadly nowadays we see a high level of production which is more about quantity than quality. This is price driven and results in sub standard equipment and what seems to be a race to the bottom, by companies previously recognised as producers of fine instruments. This extends to all musical equipment and reflects our throw away society.
But consumers are now embracing the emergence of so many boutique manufacturers and slowly realising that a particular brand name does not guarantee the quality we expect. This is very clear when we look at the RRP and the subsequent sale prices. At Soundcity we unashamedly promote boutique instruments and equipment and encourage customers to think outside the square. Meanwhile we will all keep searching for that ’59 Les Paul Goldtop with matching case on Gumtree for its original purchase price. Maybe even pick it up for $100 less.
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