World Music vs Cor Tek

Devil#20

What's the opinion on PRS SE models from either World Music(Korea) or Cor Tek(Indonesia). Does one factory consistently turn out better guitars than the other or are they equally good when it comes to quality control?

timmypix

I've had 7 guitars in total from WMI - PRS SE and LTD - and the quality across all of them has been faultless, I have to say. Haven't tried any of the Cort-built PRS SEs but I haven't read any complaints. In fact, I think it took a while for people to notice! PRS rely on their quality control as a selling point so I doubt they'd have shifted factory without making sure they could meet standards.

I'm sure I read in a forum somewhere that a few brands shifted from Korea to Indonesia due to the minimum wage in Korea going up and the quality in Indonesia now being of an equal standard.

english_bob

^^^^ Yes, Cort definitely did this. It was fairly big news at the time, at least on guitar forums.

Devil#20

english_bob said:

^^^^ Yes, Cort definitely did this. It was fairly big news at the time, at least on guitar forums.

Cort did what?

PonchoGreg

Tried some SE 22s back to back in the summer, two from WMI and one from the new plant. The latter felt a little bit more quality, mostly because of thinner finish (or at least it looked less plasticy).

But then I bought a secondhand 24 from 2017 (so WMI) and that was very much on par with the cortek ones.

So probably a bit luck of the draw? I did spot (but didn't try) a couple of SE Paul's in the shop at the same time - that would have been from the new factory - and they looked stunning. The fretboards put a few of the US fenders on the wall to shame... 

Grumpyrocker

I have a 2009 CU22 and 2019 245 both from WMI and are both very well built.

I don't have a Indonesian PRS, but I do have a Cort KX500MS I bought recently. It is also a nicely built guitar, has locking tuners and EMG pickups. However I'd say the fit and finish isn't quite as flawless as the PRS SE. But I'd still buy another. 

I expect PRS has the high standard covered in either country. 

guitarcookie1

My SE Hollowbody Std (cor-tec) is faultless. The most well made guitar I’ve ever had (Gibson, Fender, Squier, Yamaha). 

Apart from fancier woods and finishes (if you’re into that) I’m not sure how a US made PRS could improve on it. 

Grampa

My 2017 SE ZM made in Korea, pretty bloody close in build quality & finish to my 2011 PRS MEQ USA built model, but not quite!

english_bob

Devil#20 said:

english_bob said:

^^^^ Yes, Cort definitely did this. It was fairly big news at the time, at least on guitar forums.

Cort did what?

They had a long-standing production line in Korea. The management brought some of their Korean employees to a new factory in Indonesia to train the new workforce there, then when it was up and running they shut down their Korean factory and laid off all their workers.

skullfunkerry

Not PRS, but my Jackson is Cort built and it's great