hi, my name's andrew and i used to be a guitar snob!

[DemosKratia]

In my opinion you're always bound to pay for the prestige of having a gibson or a fender or something, however, a real gibsons gonna have way more mojo than say... an identical vintage.

And at the end of the day, mojo is everything :P

[Ian Price]

a real gibsons gonna have way more mojo than say... an identical vintage.

I've played many Gibsons that have had no mojo whatsoever. More like nojo to be honest. I still think there is a certain mystique behind the 'big' brand names and that is what helps convince people they are great and have bags of mojo.

I know for a fact that my CS '62 Strat relic has loads of mojo 

[DemosKratia]

a real gibsons gonna have way more mojo than say... an identical vintage.

I've played many Gibsons that have had no mojo whatsoever. More like nojo to be honest. I still think there is a certain mystique behind the 'big' brand names and that is what helps convince people they are great and have bags of mojo.

I know for a fact that my CS '62 Strat relic has loads of mojo 

Well, i suppose its all in the eyes of the owner now isnt it?  :)

I just reckon that thinking you have a better guitar can make you play better even if its all just in your head, but that may just be superstition :P

[Ian Price]

I just reckon that thinking you have a better guitar can make you play better even if its all just in your head

This definitely applies to me!

[leerocker]

A dog that plays well isn't great - it's still a dog  ;)

amen to that . i have come across a few gibson les pauls that have been a dog!

[gwEm]

The MIK guitars I own are all absolutely great. The Chinese still have a way to improve, but they will get there I'm sure. In particular my Agile is spot on.

[roland_rat]

Congrats on the guitar.  The name on the headstock makes no difference if it is well made, a joy to play, and sounds the business then thats all that matters.  It is all the better that it is at a pocket freindly price too :D

[MisterMuncher]

I think, in some cases, Chinese manufacture is rapidly approaching the standard of Japanese OEM gear in the early 80's. It's definitely getting to the stage when low-end instruments will be hitting that JV Squier/Early Ibanez "far too good for the money" point. The main problem will be that this time round the corporates might be quicker to intervene to preserve the marketplace for their higher-end instruments.

[cerpintaxt]

I think a lot of the cost-cutting manifests itself in attention to detail. Some rough edges and minor setup tweaks required (actually not much on my Vintage VS6 SG, BTW), but nothing that couldn't be sorted really easily. It's not like we're talking "the best guitar I've ever played" or anything, but you'll get a "pretty good" guitar for budget prices that you can upgrade if you find the right one.

From now on if I was looking to buy a new axe, I'd consider an Agile or MIJ Tokai first before anything else...

It definitely depends on the guitar though. I tried out one of the Ibanez OMR-1 models (they're dirt cheap) and it was just awful. Definitely felt, looked and played like a budget guitar.

[andi.j]

looks like you're not going to get images for a day or so as i've not made it back to the flat since the weekend (getting some serious guitar related withdrawal symptoms) - where do you guys host your images?

(oh, and i've just seen a picture of the same model but with a quilted maple amber top... if only i'd known!)

[Dreichlift]

it's a Korean Cort kx 1 and  i'm told it's not current production so i'd guess a year or so old.
I can post specifics later if anyone needs.

i'm still amazed it plays like it does, guess i found a good one :D [insert smugness!]

I looked into these a while back, they're made on the same production line as the low to mid range Ibanez guitars using same wood stocks and often parts. The guitars are great and my only gripes were that the finish was a little rough in places and the Mighty Mite pickups were hideous.

[ToneMonkey]

where do you guys host your images?

You can attach them to the thread.  If you click on the additional options at the bottom  of the post screen, you can attach it there...... and all the people on works computers can see it too  :D