Korean guitar Shine SIL-510

guitarz.blogspot.com

At first sight, the PRS-like shape with figured wood top and glossy finish (not to mention the fancy fretboard inlays) of this Shine SIL-510 is the kind of things in a guitar that makes it invisible to me...

But the cool pickup covers caught my attention, then the fact that Shine is a Korean brand, so I looked more into details. Shine is the house brand of Saein Musical Instrument Company, that makes guitars for Ibanez, Epiphone and Peavey in Korea and China. Of course after a few decades making guitars for these western brands, they for sure have all the skills needed to release their own models - unless you think Korean people are too stupid for that...

Actually this guitar only has positive reviews anywhere I've looked, as much for its sound than for its finishes, but it's now mostly sold at discount price (around £150 in UK) - so it seems that it will still take a while before musicians trust a brand that cannot claim it's American, European or Japanese. But this was the case with Japan until they could join the club, and I'm sure that things will slowly change. I just wish they'd come up with innovative designs!

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!