Seeing China, Feeling China

The Music China Expo has certainly established China’s position in the world in manufacturing of musical instruments. It was held from 12 to 15 Oct 2010 where the day one and two were for traders and the remaining days were for everyone. There are hardly any musical instruments China is unable to produce let alone to imitate. Broadly, I will share my take on China’s musical instruments’ scene from a few perspectives. They are,

1. Quantity versus quality
2. Manufacturers’ maturity
3. Consumers’ perceptions and behaviors

I will kick off with quantity versus quality AND manufacturers’ maturity. It would be unrealistic to mutually exclusive these two perspectives when discussing the music scene of China. In the Music China Expo handbook or any given trade shows' handbooks, one will find a list of exhibitors organized in various formats but the most common one is in alphabetical order. After flipping many pages of the Music China Expo handbook for 10 minutes, I have seen nothing but Chinese companies. As many retailers I could see in the list, there were as many manufacturers. Although there were a few foreign companies but it was a far cry to be compared to the sheer numbers of Chinese companies. These companies mean business. They spare little manpower and resources in creating an impression to the others. The visual identity of each company or brand is evidently created and displayed. It is easy to agree that budget wasn’t the prime consideration. In Singapore, we lament about walking about the Singapore Changi Expo halls because of the distance and space. By this standard, we should contemplate driving within the expo halls of the Music China. Huge is an understatement … As the saying goes, you build them and they will come. The expo halls are built BIG for the BIG crowd.

Here’re some pictures to illustrate the magnitude.

Expo main entrance

This is a common sight everyday

Mass registration or Mess registration?

Pictures were taken in the early morning and I just wonder how much crowd can be built up by late morning. Hann and I took a picture (below) outside of the expo hall. The light poles behind us are still within the expo premise.

Hann and me

Another picture taken to illustrate the size of this place.

A panoramic view, the place is HUGE! 

As you gather from the pictures above, the expo centre is a purposefully built facility to handle events of mammoth scale, arguably at world's scale. By default, the number of exhibitors and visitors also flocked in by great numbers. Does it imply with great numbers mean high instruments’ quality? In mathematical perspective, it does make sense to assume the former statement to be true. However it was neither a flat NO or a resounding YES. Things are hardly black or white in China. I think you can appreciate this statement.

I was quickly dazzled by the sheer quantity of products displayed in the show. Promptly I walked through isles and halls to get a glimpse of the coverage. After the initial scan, I got into details. By conversing with the exhibitors and scrutinizing the instruments, it was apparent that they were more eager to sell the products than to emphasize the quality. Cultivating customers’ loyalty was not the prime concern too. There were a few smaller players that were very service-oriented but their influences were insignificant against the masses.

The guitars were made with quality and suitable tonewoods, much like those made in North America, Japan and Europe. Distinctively, the quality of the fine details of the China made guitars differ from the mentioned three countries. Less attention was paid to achieve those intricacies. Given the type of tonewoods available in China and the current product standards, the guitar manufacturers have yet to discern the many quality tiers among guitars, especially in these three major aspects; tone, appearance and playability. E.g. rosewood B/S guitars are regarded as good guitars regardless of the manner of construction. Matching the prices to guitars are as pragmatic as reading the specifications. The three major aspects were hardly in their awareness let alone consideration. This may also account for the lower in price range. By no mean that guitars made here are inferior. Lacking in ability was unlikely but maturity may be more appropriate. But I reckon China guitars will arrive to be recognized as quality products very soon. It was like the era in pre-world-war 2, traders shunt Japanese made products. After the war, Japanese products were elevated to world-class standards and traders started avoiding Taiwan made products. Now we have reservations with China made products. Soon we may treat India products the way China products were treated and what does mean for China products then?

Prices led the way in sales transactions. This is probably driven by the consumers’ perceptions and behavior. There were immense amount of curiosities among the consumers. While internet has kept the consumers well informed but they were not discerning in product knowledge and applications. In the show, Singapore brands were highly regarded by the Chinese because of the high standards of governance Singapore has shown to the world. It did indirectly elevate the brands from Singapore regardless the level of awareness they have on those Singapore brands.

In terms of guitar construction, the consumers were aware of the price differences between a full solid wood and laminated wood guitar. However it was not apparent that they could feel the actual quality. Invariably, it may be hard to convince them that a full solid wood guitar can sound like a dog whereas a laminated wood guitar can sing like an angel. They may also compare one brand to another without knowing adequately of both and draw their own conclusions. Does all these still happen here? I highly think it does … are we so different after all?

Given the huge population in China, it is acceptable that they need time to develop and attain progression in the people. Unlike infrastructures, they can be built in the shortest possible time but wisdom that comes with maturity takes time. Very soon, there will be no avoiding of China made products and they are here to stay.

Enough of writing; the pictures galore starts from here! Enjoy them.

One of major retailers

Takamine Guitars

Ibanez Guitars

Demonstrating products capability 

ZOOM in action

One of the many contract manufacturers

One of the many isles

Some instruments manufacturers

Sure you can find one that fits!

Drum skins for anyone?

Case Galore!

More Cases

Brass & Windwoods

Classical Chinese Musical Instruments

Cool looking amps

Seafood galore!

Amps don't look the way they used to

Performers for B-band

New acoustic amp from B-Band

Selecting tonewoods

They are curious enough to try .. anything ...

Seeing and feeling China was indeed an invaluable experience for me. Those views were purely my personal expressions and anyone is free to contribute their comments.