Here is a Chinese made Epiphone Casino that was brought in for a new Tusq nut and a fret levelling. A fantastic looking guitar that sounds surprisingly good plugged-in. Getting past the cosmetics, however, reveals less than meets the eye...
Why any guitar over $400 comes with a plastic nut (including many Gibsons!) has always puzzled me. The improvement in tone compared to a bone or even more a Tusq nut is substantial enough to make the salability that much better for 1% of the retail cost. The shocker with this particular guitar was that there was absolutely zero tension on the truss rod, which was likely the cause of the tuning problems experienced by the owner. As much as the truss rod is there to set the lay of the fretboard, it is also there to resist movement.
With the neck pickup removed, it's clear why these Chinese made instruments are low cost. With 2mm wide gaps on either side of the neck block, and a visible shim protruding from the bottom, it certainly makes the integrity of the neck joint quite suspect. Looks great from the outside though!
Another manufacturing flaw ~ a clear saw blade mark at the end of the fretboard, hidden by the plastic nut! This will be carefully sanded out to provide as much positive contact between the new nut and fretboard.
All taped up and ready for a fret dress. Whenever you take in a guitar to have this done, always ask them to do this. As you can see by the picture below (taken only after the first of nine passes), there is a lot of metal dust and shavings that you certainly don't want embedded in your fretboard!
With some attention to detail, these guitars can be "dialed in" to a much more serviceable state than the way come out of the box. Most often it's a few tweaks of the "bolt on" components (electronics, nut, saddle, etc) that make a huge difference.
