"Samick" brand electrics

U stands for Unsung factory.
Samick would be "S"

My first 12 string was a Samick, and it was a great guitar. And when I went to trade in my Fender acoustic/electric, the guy at the store called out to his boss" how much do we give for the Samick"?

I've owned two Samicks, one was a Strat knockoff and the other one an RG knockoff. I still have the second one, and although I rarely play it anymore, it's fully functional and sounds pretty good.

I love my samick lp copy. It plays just as well as any epis i've tried the pickups are weak but i'm swapping those out after 3 years with this thing cause I love the feel of it so much.

I love my samick lp copy. It plays just as well as any epis i've tried the pickups are weak but i'm swapping those out after 3 years with this thing cause I love the feel of it so much.

This is a common sentiment with a lot of LP Copy owners, regardless of brand. I have a Jay Turser Les Paul, it is more then likely made by Samick, and I plan to change the pickups, but the feel is great.

But... my Epi LP Custom Special is made in Korea and it has that SAMICK Seam at the top of the neck where the headstock joins.... Serial # starts with a "U" I assume its a Samick...???

<shrug> :)

Just curious as to what you mean by the "Samic Seam"???

Greybeard, the serial number on my Squiers all start with "I". I've heard that a lot of Squiers are made by Samick. Is this the case with mine??

The problem with Fender is that they don't follow the same numbering sequence as anyone else. Fender USA starts with a letter denoting decade. That's followed by a letter for the year, within that decade, followed by the date & series numbers. Mexican Fenders have the same structure, but have an M in front of the decade letter (MN was 1990s, MZ is 2000s - Z is apparently "zeroes").
US made Fenders, currently, have Z followed by 5 or 6 serial digits, Deluxe models have a DZ number.
And then there are the exceptions, like SE (Signature guitars), AMX - American parts, built in Mexico, etc., etc,.........
Squier numbers don't seem to be available.

But... my Epi LP Custom Special is made in Korea and it has that SAMICK Seam at the top of the neck where the headstock joins.... Serial # starts with a "U" I assume its a Samick...???

<shrug> :)

Just curious as to what you mean by the "Samic Seam"???

Ok, look at your guitar's neck.. on the back side, and if you don't see this, look for it the next time you go to a guitar store.

You might notice on most necks, its a solid piece of wood.. from the body all they way up to the top of the headstock/pegboard.

On the Samicks, you'll see a clear cut seam on the back of the neck at about a 45degree angle that starts around the third fret and angles up towards the nut. Its part of their manufacturing process to place all the different headstocks on the machined lumber stock they use for necks. Its a quick, efficient manner when they build in batches for Epi, Fender, Ibanez, Schecter, who ever...it doesn't matter at this point.

Dagwood, I think you'll find that on most guitars that have angled headstocks, I don't think it has anything to do specifically with Samick.

Dagwood, I think you'll find that on most guitars that have angled headstocks, I don't think it has anything to do specifically with Samick.

Greybeard,

We have a Samick/ESP-LTD dealer here in my town... small Mom and Pop shop, been in the biz for years..the son is running it now... He was the one that pointed this out to me and I looked around and sure enough all of the Samicks I picked up in his shop have that seam...

So I just figured...... <SHRUG> :)

Yeah, seems like this "samick seam" would be on the neck itself, as opposed to being past of the neck and the fretboard.

I don't think any of my guitars have this seam, but I definately can remember seeing it on many guitars in the stores.

FYI - Samick makes keyboards and violins too.

http://www.samick.co.kr/eng/default.asp#

Hi,

New here..

I've a Greg Bennett Avion 3, I think it's great..

Contrary to popular belief, it is not hardwood/plywood. According to http://www.samick.co.kr/eng/product/guitar_gregView.asp?types=7&series=30 it's all mahogany with a flamed maple top. The AV1 and AV2 are from nato wood. AV5 is flat top with stock P90 pups. I opened it up and there's shielding paint in the body cavity, and the top is solid maple, not plywood. My squier bullet doesn't have it. I believe the AV3 is the highest ranged AV axe coming out of Indonesia. The AV6 and AV7 (maybe AV4 as well) are made in Korea, thus the higher price.

On a less positive note, the website http://www.samickguitar.com is terrible. The info is ambiguous. I've been trawling all over the web and forums trying to dig up info.

I'm thinking of getting a Strat copy, the MB-3 with DD pups and wilkinson bridge, any comments?

BTW, to all the AV3 owners, welcome to the club, are the pups on our axes ceramic or alnicos? Thinking of dropping GFS vintage 59's in the neck, and the Fat Paf in the bridge.

Thanks

I own the older LS-11 strat copy by samick and it fell apart in a year. Bad electronics, input jack, selector switch. Horrible.

But my silvertone is made by samick and i love it. Go figures.

That's pretty scary one company is in control of half of the guitar population. But maybe it's good for economy-of-scale.