It appears Trump Guitars are being manufactured in China
Despite bearing the iconic phrase “Make America Great Again” and arriving wrapped in stars and stripes, Trump Guitars might not be as all-American as they appear.
A new documentary reveals that the controversial instruments could be rolling off production lines in China, casting doubt on the brand’s claims of US craftsmanship.
READ MORE: “Can I still make a profit?”: Electro-Harmonix founder shares concerns following Trump’s import tariffs
Trump Guitars first made headlines last year — not for their tone or craftsmanship, but for a legal scuffle with Gibson over their striking resemblance to the latter’s guitar designs. Marketed as a patriotic collector’s item and endorsed (though not owned) by President Donald Trump, the instruments quickly attracted attention for their aesthetics and price tags.
Now, a new wrinkle has emerged. A new documentary from CGTN, spotlighting Zheng’an County in China’s Guizhou province – a guitar manufacturing region that apparently produces “one in every seven guitars worldwide” – appears to confirm Trump Guitars are being manufactured by Shenqu Guitars, one of the area’s largest guitar factories.
The company claims to supply guitars to more than 40 countries and counts major brands like Fender and Ibanez among its clientele.
“The US President Trump has used our guitar,” says Zheng Chuanjiu, Shenqu’s owner, showing off the Trump Guitars website on his phone.
“During his campaign last year, there was a band contributing to his tour. They found us to custom guitars for his tour. After his successful election, we now sell this kind of guitar in the US. We have once got an order with 12,000 guitars.”
Currently, models like the God Bless the USA and American Eagle LP-style guitars are still available for purchase via the Trump Guitars website. The instruments range in price from $1,000 to an eyebrow-raising $11,500 for versions allegedly signed by Trump himself.
As for whether or not they’re actually any good, according to YouTuber Guitar Max (Max Carlisle), who recently took a Trump-signed American Eagle guitar for a spin, “there’s nothing really that special about it that really justifies that price. All of the hardware is very generic stuff.”
“This guitar does not compare very well to other guitars that cost the same amount of money,” said Carlisle.
The Trump Guitars website carefully skirts the issue of manufacturing origin. While it does not disclose where the guitars are built, its FAQ section notes: “These guitars have been manufactured by multiple providers and include parts/features that are both domestic and international. This is standard with most guitar manufacturers.”
The site also stresses that its instruments are “custom designed and developed by a Veteran owned company with the help of a master luthier”, though it doesn’t offer much transparency around final assembly or production.
The revelation arrives amid renewed trade tensions and talk of sweeping tariffs on goods imported into the US. Earlier this week, the Trump administration implemented tariffs affecting nearly every trading partner — including a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods and a 34% tariff (on top of existing 20% duties) on Chinese imports.
Ironically, these very tariffs have placed pressure on American companies like Electro-Harmonix and Fender, which has reported potential cost hikes of up to $25 million due to its manufacturing operations in Mexico and China.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
