http://disqus.com/by/cfthb/enMon, 01 Feb 2010 02:55:53 -0000http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/epiphone-inspection-401#comment-84414015<p>"Epiphone moved most of its stringed instrument production from the U.S. to Asia in an effort to meet the rising demand for superior instruments at affordable prices"?? This is a very good, very P.C. statement.</p><p>Personally, I feel that Epiphone has done an admirable job of duplicating Gibson guitars (of course, as a wholly-owned subsidiary), but I'm sure it would increase the already excellent reputation of the Epiphone/Gibson nameplates if statements like the one quoted above were more honest.</p><p>Everyone knows that labor expenses in China are but a small fraction of those paid in the U.S. You needn't mention the effects this has on the trade deficit; they're obvious to anyone paying attention.</p><p>However, the bottom line is that it's far, far cheaper to make your products in China than in the US. Do you really think it would harm your customer relations that badly if you were more honest?</p>cfthbMon, 01 Feb 2010 02:55:53 -0000http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/epiphone-inspection-401#comment-84414014<p>"Epiphone moved most of its stringed instrument production from the U.S. to Asia in an effort to meet the rising demand for superior instruments at affordable prices"?? This is a very good, very P.C. statement.</p><p>Personally, I feel that Epiphone has done an admirable job of duplicating Gibson guitars (of course, as a wholly-owned subsidiary), but I'm sure it would increase the already excellent reputation of the Epiphone/Gibson nameplates if statements like the one quoted above were more honest.</p><p>Everyone knows that labor expenses in China are but a small fraction of those paid in the U.S. You needn't mention the effects this has on the trade deficit; they're obvious to anyone paying attention.</p><p>However, the bottom line is that it's far, far cheaper to make your products in China than in the US. Do you really think it would harm your customer relations that badly if you were more honest?</p>cfthbMon, 01 Feb 2010 02:48:13 -0000http://www.guitarboomer.com/2008/01/guitar-tricks-for-building-calluses.html#comment-11634687<p>On the callus-building thing - I've been playing and teaching a really long time, and have a pretty foolproof way to build deep calluses with minimal pain and no chance of blistering. Just play, whatever guitar or string gauges you have, until your fingertips start to burn. Then keep playing another 15 minutes. It won't be comfortable, but won't really hurt. Then wait until your fingertips don't hurt *at all*, and repeat the process. Within a few weeks you'll find you can play for quite awhile before the burn begins. You'll know you're there when you can't feel the strings at all, and others can feel your calluses easily. Enjoy!</p>cfthbTue, 23 Jun 2009 13:40:40 -0000