How can the sale of chinese-made instruments be stopped or reported? It is not right that eBay sellers make money when they do not include the drawbacks of the instruments they sell, like the fact that chinese-manufactured instruments have a tendency to break fast and repairs usually cost more than the instrument itself, or that for a beggining student a chinese instrument is poor quality and frustrates students into thinking that they just cannot play the instrument when the problem is not in the student but the instrument. Buyers are led into a false sense of security when sellers say things like "instructor approved". Which instructors and are they reliable sources? How do we stop these people?
I make my living selling, maintaining, and repairing/rebuilding pianos. I have in the past simply refused to work on or even tune chinese pianos. Within the last year, I have seen some quality improvements coming from the malaysian and chinese factories. The chinese can make quality products if the american companies want them to. Large well known REPUTABLE QUALITY piano brands are now begining to manufacture their "entry level" instruments in china. We cannot stop the economic incentive people give into when they purchase one of these low priced pianos. All we can do is be honest about quality, and educate others to have more respect for quality than they do price.
with the advent of FREE TRADE, the Chinese just like any other country or nationality, are as free to make and sell instruments just like yourself. If you do not like the competition, I may suggest you find another means of income. They are here to stay, and I will add that their products are of better quality than many of the instruments found elsewhere.
Most of the guitar mfg company's have guitars made in china or some other nation and sell them with there name on them. Nothing wrong with them or the quailty but beware when you see a paul for 250.00 coming out of china, it is just a copy and you will be cheated
There are many fine Asian/Chinese instruments that are high quality for a good price. My partner, a violin maker, has selected several well made, beautiful violins from China. I have never heard of a good chinese instrument "breaking". I have played several of these good quality violins. They have a full rounded sound and good projection, and frequently sound much better than many more expensive instruments.
Violins are for playing in my estimation, yet tone of a violin is barely mentioned or focused on, or there is a poor recording of the sound that reveals little about the tone. A guarantee policy can help ensure a buyer is satisfied with the quality and tone of the instrument.
We live in a world economy now. There isn't much logic to thinking a country with a billion people couldn't have a few makers that handmake high quality violins for a good price. The buyer should beware however and be comfortable that the seller is straight and providing good quality violins.
This seems more like a battle between US and European violin makers and dealers and the effects of supply and demand in a competetive market.
It is totally unfair to universally smear Chinese violins and suggest they be prevented from being sold. However, if you want to talk about fair labor and trade, that might be another issue; however, China is very capitalistic and people are getting are making a decent wage in some areas of the country.
I don't care what anyone says. I agree. The sale of chinese instruments needs to be stopped. If someone feels that free trade give you the right to rip people off they are mistaken. This is exactly WHY free trade is not a good idea in a lot of cases.
I don't mind the Chinese violins. However, I think there needs to be very strong movement that requires all violins to have stickers inside identifying the shop/factory where the violin was made, in addition to the date it was manufactured, and whether it was, in fact, "hand" made, or machine made. There used to be a law that all imports had to be id'd as to country of mfg. As a matter of fact, we all should boycott the violin dealers on ebay who do not insist on that identification from the mfg. in their products. That way the quality reputable builders could be id'd. It would be good for everybody.
We sell Chinese made violins. I don't know what other dealers are selling but I'll put our violins up against anything in the 1500 to 1800 dollar price range and be competetive if not superior. Despite all the myths and legends a violin is wood, maple for the back sides neck and scroll and spruce for the top. They are all patterned after violins made by the Masters, Amati, Guarneri, Stradivari, Stainer, and Klotz to name a few. There is a great difference between a properly constructed violin and a cheaply or poorly constructed one. Either can come from anywhere. China produces more violins than any other country. Chances are, that Italian, French, or German violin was made in China also.
yes that is so true. Chinese-made instruments are not necessarily bad. Just like not all Bach Stradivarius trumpets are at the same high level they are said to be. Just because and instrument is made in China it's not a horrible instrument (India-made instruments are a different story though). But with Chinese instruments you need to so thorough research before you purchase one.
The truth is that, not too many years ago, all Chinese-made instruments were crap. But we have to move on from the past. Jupiter has gone a great deal up and made very competent beginner and intermediate instruments. Berkley is also a nice instrument line as well. They may not be the best instruments out there but there are plenty of Chinese companies that are making pretty solid horns for students, both beginning and intermediate to advanced. Old stereotypes must be left behind. I myself have tried both of these brands and they are fairly competent and will work for many early students. I'm pretty sure there are a few other good Chinese brands out there too.
I bought a violin that claimed instructor approve, and it was great!! Great quality and price. I paid under $100, and my instructor thought it was worth about $250.
I'm glad I didn't listen to the army of people who seem to be on some sort of a crusade.
You're going to get good/bad items from everywhere. If they're no good, they won't be selling them for very long? They know that, so why wouldn't they try to make something good?
Lots of drums are made in China nowadays. Ludwig "CS" (China series) are said to be really good drums, for the money/on a budget. Pearl and Sonor drum companies have factories in China as well. Pearl went the route of using cheaper wood and mass produces the low-end "Forum" series in China. These are well-built drums with decent hardware. Conversely, there are some other companies putting out inferior products, from China. People, especially beginners, should be aware of what they are buying, though. I agree with you regarding a poor-quality instrument being a problem that could make otherwise good musician students hang it up. A good example, nowadays, would be a poor-quality double pedal for bass drum. I have one and can play fine with 2 pedals on 2 bass drums, but have a hard time keeping the beat even, with the inferior double pedal.
As in all type of merchandise, what you pay is what you get, don't expect to get a great musical instrument for 50 or 80 dollars, there are good and bad manufacturers all over the world, if you want to get a really good bargain, do your homework, research and compare.
I have a Blueridge BR-183 that is chinese made and it is a fantastic guitar absolutely top notch fit and finish and the sound rivals a comparable martin.
While the signing of the free trade agreement opens the door to opportunities for both the the manufacturer and the consumer, it does shift more responsibility to the consumer, when purchasing a product. Not all consumers purchase with their heads, and are obsessive compulsive. Even so, not all consumers are familiar with what they are buying. Every consumer should take the responsibility to know what they are looking for, anyway-after all, it is their own hard-earned money they are trading for the item. Many reputable companies have moved the creation of certain products oversees. Many of these companies stand behind the item they create, with warranties and return policies. In order to keep their reputation, they must be inspected. Once the item moves to the retailer, he is relying on the fact that the above warranties and inspections have already taken place. It then becomes the purchaser's responsibility to know the company of the item they are interested, if they are listed with the BBB and their rating, the item they want to purchase, it's history, etc. Buying from a reputable retailer helps, too. Spend responsibly and do your homework.
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