Is that, people in Europe in the European guitar world seem biased towards European instruments over American just because a guitar comes from Europe and this is Europe. (Or UK, a guitar being British).. Blind to the fact of sound/tone/weight etc of a guitar, and quick to promote a European instrument over an American. It's smug, IMO, as well as going against the free trade modern world we live in. From the UK to NL I've seen this. So I'm being blunt... I as a customer don't want a copy of a Fender or a Gibson or whatever, I want an American Fender or Gibson... Some fantastic guitars in Europe, but nothing compares to the real deal 'products from the US factories/companies who own the patents so don't produce copies of but the real deal'.
In deed, European guitar sellers need to get over themselves promoting the home product over an American just because it's the home product... All quality of the American product gets lost and they want you to spend a lot of money on a guitar just because it's from here. I'm a patriot, but don't mess with my guitar. I'm blessed to be from a world city that trades, that means I don't have to go too far for the guitars I want. But when I went to Amsterdam, all my options I saw there/that I found were fancy ornate looking acoustic guitars I had never heard of that seller said 'were European'.
An endangered part since late 2017 (Brazilian Rosewood) has caused such a stir in the guitar community over CITES certificates that Fender have announced a change in the materials they use, but that pretty soon in 2018, people suspect this to be relaxed and imposed on importers of mass chunks of the wood. My luthier in the UK said 'or just buy a British guitar' / trying to sell me one of his... If I liked the weight of his Les Paul copy, I would, but why on Earth would I spend upwards of £2, 000.00 to over £4, 000.00 a guitar unless it felt/sounded perfect? I don't care how custom made it is, I judge a guitar by how it feels and being an original but doesn't feel right; for the same price just because it's local... Doesn't appeal to me yet while money remains an object to me... If money was no object, sure, I'd order one, but for them prices, I prefer holding a high end Gibson built in Memphis probably.
Also, just now on Google, I've just found out that Gibson are closing their Memphis factory, so, IDK, F--- it... We're entering You'll Have To Pry My Gibsons Out My Cold Dead Hands Territory now, buckle up, this could get bumpy.
To be fair to all Europen guitar luthiers, I understand fully how.. The industry giants will sue you, if you infringe on their patents, and love what Europe has to offer in terms of original patents on how the guitar is built (technical stuff about angles of cuts), so shape does matter... But to me, so does weight, of a high end Les Paul copy made to order/custom/boutique, Vs. what it's copying for the same money, all be it a foreign guitar (from America); that's where the money is, IMO - the weight and feel, which (I really don't want to say it) trumps the copy... I however was born in 1986, grew with TV, a lot of which was American or what my sitcom father writer was into, all that UK/BBC/Tiger Aspect etc stuff who now has a deal with Amazon's kindle, power to him. Then by chance members of my house, like older brother and then older sister' started moving to America, then becoming American, to which of course, happens; I've known one or two British people who were also American or American living in London/where I type, here... -People from all over the world here with different ideologies all walking/commuting in the cold... So I'm also wondering... Why does Europe and America distrust eachother?
