At a dead end on the Zuwei company- who are they

[Missing Link]

Last week I took my Zuwei (Starshine) copy (I think) of a Jim Adkins Thinline made by Fender or for Fender to a guitar shop where they had a used Fender Jim Adkins version on hand.
My main reason was to see if there were any differences in workmanship when comparing the two as my long term plan is to do some upgrades on this guitar. One guitar has a cost (Zuwei- starshine) of $350 while the other (Fender) $900 (used). Both are in the natural wood style with P-90s.
I am going now to say I am baffled as both look, feel, and almost play the same. Other than the name Starshine on the head-stock VS Fender JA Telecaster one would never know.
Now with that said the store clerk believes it is made by the same company but is incorporated with low end parts and may have a blem witch it does, just a polly coat sag in the lower horn area, no bid deal. But some company's will take the blem's and put a low end parts or parts on the and sell under a different name.
When compared to the Fender model the Starshines tuners were low end, the bridge, and stop, the P-90 were not the Semore Duncon brand, knobs were not the same as the JA, but the guitar is identical in almost every way.
So I have been trying to find out about the Zuwei company's back ground and history in making guitars if maybe for Fender but under a different name as I am finding out that the names do change but the guitars they make are the same, in China. Very confusing at times.
I am completely happy with the copy of the Fender JA telecaster ( if it is a copy) but wanted to know more about the company and if they do actually make the JA name brand teles but also made the same but with budget parts installed.
If anyone knows any more on this guitar, the company or any information I sure would like to know more.

Cheers


PIC 1 Fender
PIC 2 Starshine (Zuwei)

 

[stratisfied]

The gentleman in this video does not share your enthusiasm. Apparently Zuwei objected to his objectivity and subsequently sent him a hand-picked, specially set-up instrument to provide a follow-up review which was more favorable.

 

[Missing Link]

That's a pretty interesting video as is the secound one also. I am still at a loss as too who really makes the Sunshine brand name.
Zuwei maybe just a seller of the brand Sunshine but the quality of the Sunshine I received (whoever makes it) compared to the first Zuwei this guy received is not even close to being as bad.
Again I am not sure what is going on behind the curtains of the guitar makers would when it comes to off names being stamped on head stocks maybe they like it that way, not knowing, but as a consumer it would be nice to know the history that is going on with theses brands as we are spending our hard earned cash and taking a chance.

 

[JohnnyThul]

Last week I took my Zuwei (Starshine) copy (I think) of a Jim Adkins Thinline made by Fender or for Fender to a guitar shop where they had a used Fender Jim Adkins version on hand.
My main reason was to see if there were any differences in workmanship when comparing the two as my long term plan is to do some upgrades on this guitar. One guitar has a cost (Zuwei- starshine) of $350 while the other (Fender) $900 (used). Both are in the natural wood style with P-90s.
I am going now to say I am baffled as both look, feel, and almost play the same. Other than the name Starshine on the head-stock VS Fender JA Telecaster one would never know.
Now with that said the store clerk believes it is made by the same company but is incorporated with low end parts and may have a blem witch it does, just a polly coat sag in the lower horn area, no bid deal. But some company's will take the blem's and put a low end parts or parts on the and sell under a different name.
When compared to the Fender model the Starshines tuners were low end, the bridge, and stop, the P-90 were not the Semore Duncon brand, knobs were not the same as the JA, but the guitar is identical in almost every way.
So I have been trying to find out about the Zuwei company's back ground and history in making guitars if maybe for Fender but under a different name as I am finding out that the names do change but the guitars they make are the same, in China. Very confusing at times.
I am completely happy with the copy of the Fender JA telecaster ( if it is a copy) but wanted to know more about the company and if they do actually make the JA name brand teles but also made the same but with budget parts installed.
If anyone knows any more on this guitar, the company or any information I sure would like to know more.

Cheers


PIC 1 Fender
PIC 2 Starshine (Zuwei)

From the pictures I'd say that the pots are not placed in the same spot, even when taking the bigger witch hat knobs into account.
If that were the case, than this would be a definite sign for me, that this isn't a rebranded Fender guitar due to blem.

 

[Peegoo]

I do know that the practice of 'house brand' guitars is a real thing: factories in Korea, Japan, China and Indonesia make guitars under contract to Famous Name Brands, and they also push their own stuff out too. It is common for these house brands to have lower-quality parts to reduce production costs.

I don't know if this is the case with Zuwei, Glarry, and other MIC stuff, but it would not surprise me if it were.

 

[Missing Link]

I would think your right about what you say. Maybe the Starshine I have is made by one of the better companies in China and they just use low end parts and stamp someones name on it and thats that. Still it would be nice to know more but maybe I am at the end with this qestion on the Starshine product. eBay show quite a few Starshine guitars.

Cheers

 

[stratisfied]

From Amazon's Vendor Page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...&visitId=3507ad78-5c6b-4c2d-a1a5-f4e15d39e88d

They tell their story here:
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=a8b7...L2FsbC1hYm91dC1zdGFyc2hpbmUtZ3VpdGFycy8&ntb=1

Starshine would appear to be a Zuwei brand:
https://www.zuweiusa.com/product-page/starshine-performance-strat-metallic-gray

 

[uriah1]

Fyi. That link popped up as unsafe site
Maybe just my Norton

 

[Missing Link]

Well here's what I got today and I will say that I am completely not impressed at all with this rep person from Zuwei or Sunshine.
What happened is I contacted a company on eBay in China that sells the Sunshine brand asking for some history of the company and a contact email or link to contact them with some inquires if they know the party to contact, pretty much a honest request. The reply was we are the makers of the Sunshine brand and I am the one who does this but we do not give out any information on the company and its product, you will have to read he sales information for the type of instrument you want. We can build you a custom guitar if you want, That was pretty much it, cut and dry. So I replied that I am only interested in some background history on your company and the product you sell. I just want to pass the information on to others that maybe interested in the guitars you are making to sell in the USA mostly due to you being a young unknown brand and somewhat new to the guitar line up. The reply was almost identical to the first reply but with more of a rude tone to it, mostly implying that we just don't give any information out just what is offered on the sales information, that was it.
Either this guy or gal who responded was having a bad hair day and or lack of coffee or just quite smoking but as far as I am now concerned I would not buy any more of there crap if they have reps with attitudes like this.
I do not see them going far with the guitars no matter how nice they may be and now do not care and makes me think that the customer support would be the worst.
So with that said thats a company I will stay away from.


Cheers

 

[JohnnyThul]

Well, it is a business model to be an agent for the producing factory. If you have access to a factory, you do not want to share the contact with anyone, as this threatens your business. That's common sense in Asian OEM MI business. You rarely get in touch with the real manufacturers and when you do, that's like hitting the jackpot.

If you are a big player like Fender or Ibanez, that's of course a different story.

 

[stratisfied]

They are a Chinese producer of budget guitars sold under multiple brand names and through multiple online channels. eBay and Amazon are their mainstays and they also sell consumer direct online at the store I provided a link to. In all likehood they are a ghost builder for multiple sellers like Chinaguitar and others on DHGate and AliExpress. They are basically a low-priced line of unbranded Chinese guitars that get branded with whoever's name that buys them wholesale.

 

[Swirling Snow]

Pay no attention to the brand behind the curtain!

 

[archetype]

Well here's what I got today and I will say that I am completely not impressed at all with this rep person from Zuwei or Sunshine.
What happened is I contacted a company on eBay in China that sells the Sunshine brand asking for some history of the company and a contact email or link to contact them with some inquires if they know the party to contact, pretty much a honest request. The reply was we are the makers of the Sunshine brand and I am the one who does this but we do not give out any information on the company and its product, you will have to read he sales information for the type of instrument you want. We can build you a custom guitar if you want, That was pretty much it, cut and dry. So I replied that I am only interested in some background history on your company and the product you sell. I just want to pass the information on to others that maybe interested in the guitars you are making to sell in the USA mostly due to you being a young unknown brand and somewhat new to the guitar line up. The reply was almost identical to the first reply but with more of a rude tone to it, mostly implying that we just don't give any information out just what is offered on the sales information, that was it.
Either this guy or gal who responded was having a bad hair day and or lack of coffee or just quite smoking but as far as I am now concerned I would not buy any more of there crap if they have reps with attitudes like this.
I do not see them going far with the guitars no matter how nice they may be and now do not care and makes me think that the customer support would be the worst.
So with that said thats a company I will stay away from.


Cheers

What you want to know is proprietary business information. That information is an intangible asset of the company. The information describes a bit of how they do business and their branding strategy. They don't want others to know these things, especially things that might help the competition, especially since you might "...pass the information on to others..."

Your wanting to know a company's proprietary business information has no bearing on their need to keep it proprietary.

You got your answer, quite clearly, in the company's first response. You asked again. You got a response to that. Of course, add them to your list of companies you will stay away from.

 

[stratisfied]

Fyi. That link popped up as unsafe site
Maybe just my Norton

Chinese hackers at work. I must have caught them on their day off.

 

[stratisfied]

Well here's what I got today and I will say that I am completely not impressed at all with this rep person from Zuwei or Sunshine.
What happened is I contacted a company on eBay in China that sells the Sunshine brand asking for some history of the company and a contact email or link to contact them with some inquires if they know the party to contact, pretty much a honest request. The reply was we are the makers of the Sunshine brand and I am the one who does this but we do not give out any information on the company and its product, you will have to read he sales information for the type of instrument you want. We can build you a custom guitar if you want, That was pretty much it, cut and dry. So I replied that I am only interested in some background history on your company and the product you sell. I just want to pass the information on to others that maybe interested in the guitars you are making to sell in the USA mostly due to you being a young unknown brand and somewhat new to the guitar line up. The reply was almost identical to the first reply but with more of a rude tone to it, mostly implying that we just don't give any information out just what is offered on the sales information, that was it.
Either this guy or gal who responded was having a bad hair day and or lack of coffee or just quite smoking but as far as I am now concerned I would not buy any more of there crap if they have reps with attitudes like this.
I do not see them going far with the guitars no matter how nice they may be and now do not care and makes me think that the customer support would be the worst.
So with that said thats a company I will stay away from.


Cheers

Here is what they guy is actually telling you between the lines: "We don't make the guitars, we're a marketing company selling guitars we buy from multiple ghost builders. We will not tell you who makes them because you may try and go around us and buy direct from them."

Over my career in Logisitics, I've had many clients that sourced their products from China. They would travel to China and meet with companies within a geographical manufacturing district that specialized in the manufacture of specific types of products. They would provide specs for what they wanted manufactured and quantity to deliver. Each company would provide them a prototype, quantity pricing and delivery date commitment. This involved everything from plush toys sold on Amazon to fruit and gel cups sold at Aldi. Those were especially troublesome as the glue used on the cardboard sleeves failed and fruit cups were constantly splatting on Aldi's floors lol. They all came back to our warehouses to be inspected case by case and reglued.

One of my clients was a well-known BMX bike company whose "factory" riders and bikes were perennial National BMX and Freestyle competition winners. The company's President told me they could get whatever quality they wanted on a sliding scale with price paid in China. The company engineered the bikes and sourced their manufacture through multiple Chinese builders. Each builder tended to specialize in a specific style of bike or could offer options (paint-on-chrome finish for example) another could not. There were also large factories who could produce any type of bike with any desired combination of features. He told me he would see every brand imaginable being made on specific manufacturing lines in the same factory. Of course, my client provided on-site QA to insure the integrity of the products that bore their name, no different than what major guitar brands do when outsourcing to China and Indonesia.

Here's a breakdown of manufacturing districts and the products they specialized in. It's a little dated but you get the drift.

https://www.berkeleysg.com/china-manufacturing-distribution-map/

 

[stratisfied]

All that said, when it comes to a $200 Chinese-made guitar, who really cares who made it as long as it plays satisfactorily. It hardly carries any cause for concern over after-purchase support. You buy it, it works, you play it. If it doesn't, you return it and file the experience under lessons learned. If you want after-sales support, buy from a local music store choosing from the brands they support, they'll cheerfully direct you where to send it under the terms of the OEM warranty.

 

[Wildeman]

I just don't mess with things like that, how cheap does a guitar need to be? I pick up used Squires for less than $100.00 all the time, I know what I'm getting, same with Epi's.