The Fender Forest, Gibson and copies (like Tokai). How to find your way

It is impossible today, to purchase a Fender. What do you think of a RELIC fender, a reissue, and many more like squier, mexican fenders. Do you here the difference playing an exact copy of a genuine USA Fender.

Same with Gibson. I went to visit the plant in Memphis, where hollow bodies are made: LUCILLE's, 335, 175 and so much more. I was surprised the way they make a guitar, people tell it is automatic, but I prefer "automatic people" with their proper skills, starting from peaces of wood, and ending in the store. I was a little bit shocked when they told us that 20%-30% of guitars, they still stay there a couple of months before going to stores, are DESTROYED JUST BECAUSE THERE IS AN ESTHETIC PROBLEM, like paint , 1 drop to much: destroy the guitar. Why don't they bring those out: another name, and on the headstock, where they write custom and other things, they can write Gibson. Did you know that almost every person working there receive each year a Gibson, influenced a little bit by that part of their job, if they were sick a while, their motivation, but it still stays a nice bonus.

Fender is going 100% crazy. Is the Fender Highway, a lot cheaper, a good sounding guitar. Do you REALLY HEAR THE DIFFERENCE between a Mexican strat and US strat. Also a lot of these guitars are made in Japan, China (very good workers and very motivated), Korea. SEE PRS the SE series, they really approach the US PRS, I do agree that it is not so smooth to play it, an SE. And than all those fender models, you need a year to test them to find a good sounding guitar (you have to test it without using an amp, and when you use an amp, don't change the configuration of this amp, and don't touch volume on the guitar. I am really curious to hear what the "chordies"people think. 1 more thing, is there a lot of difference in sound between a "standard" fender and the newer G&L guitars, also co-founded with Leo Fender. What should a player who likes fender, and has 5000$ in his hands, custom reissues, relics. Same thing with Gibson, they have Epiphone, will it sound different?

Those things are fascinating, and I wrote this topic to share, the more, the better, information, before the guitarist buys a "better instrument", because almost every guitar player in the world like to buy sooner or later, a " BRAND NAME". I have a lot of guitars, but I don't know if you can hear real good the difference between an Epi and a real gibson, I have one Epiphone: Sheraton, increasing in value. What guitar, not TALKING ABOUT THE KIND OF MUSIC YOU PLAY, meaning, ballads, blues to heavy metal. What is so SPECIAL about the PAF humbuckers. 1958-1959-1960 Gibson Les Paul Standards cost more than 200.000$ This is not funny anymore, the reissues like Les Paul, made today but build like Gibson Standard 59, a jimmy page? Even Tokai "Gibsons" become collector's items. Are the 58--> 60 standards THAT better???, more, the Gibson Les Paul Custom, the more expensive Gibson Les Paul Custom, the same period, is about 4 times "cheaper", also with PAF's AND BEING A CUSTOM. I really would love your opinion, as I wrote already, I am disabled due to a car crash in 2000, >I can sit, walk, but it is more and more difficult to go to the store. I also will write an identic topic, concerning acoustics. I THANK you already for participating this topic, or to react. The more reactions, the better. I have a lot of time, I looked everywhere, from harmony central to the fender, gibsonwebsites, but I think that writing this can give me, and especiall new guitarplayers, a decent answer. Don't forget, we may be playing quit good, but a (long) time ago, we were starters too.