They are expensive for a reason,the quality of the workmanship.Compare a Chinese made guitar to an american made one.The Chinese made guitar is a fucking piece of shit.What you are paying for is hand craftmanship.I am talking about a guitar that a pro would use.The heat is on american guitarmakers.I toured the fender factory in Mexico and you could eat off the floor of that plant.Korean Epiphones are works of art.Not surprisingly they cost almost as much as an American made guitar.My German made Hofner will stand up to any Les Paul you have got.Chinese guitars are mass produced dogshit by slave labor.You get this little wonder shipped to you in a box,the wood is shit,the intonation is off,the finish is cheap,the tuning keys slip,the electronics are faulty,if I were working for 25 cents a day what would I care that what I make is nothing but shit?But I make it real fast so my slavedriver is happy.Throw it on top of the pile over there.If I were going to buy a car the last thing I would want is an american made one.Unless it was used from the good old days.To invest into a good guitar that is the first thing I would want.A gibson,a martin,a rickenbacker,a fender.Handcrafted one at a time by a worker that takes a lot of pride in what they do.Corners are not cut,the materials used are the best that can be found.Not recycled junk.20 years worth of one-nighters and that axe is up for the hunt every single night.After all of that time they are as beautiful to look at as to play.The little old lady at the plant that makes the necks that all of the big stars use.She has been doing it for thirty five years and loves her job.All of the great legends of music have come by to see her.As an artist you wrap your hands around that neck to hit an e chord and it rings out forever.