Before I go into the specific company in question, my thought is if it plays and sounds great, and more importantly, it moves me enough to want it, then I’d probably let its questionable ancestry go and just buy the item.
Prestige Heritage Elite - Lite Sunburst
I did just that with my Prestige Guitars Heritage Elite. I bought my Heritage Elite, which is a fantastic guitar, actually before I knew of the controversy – so too late for me. These guitars are Les Paul-style guitars that the company say are cut and shaped in Korea, then accessorized in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Prestige also provides the woods. All that sounds well and good as Gibson does this with the Epiphone line, and PRS does it with its SE line.
But here’s where the controversy starts. These guitars are EXACTLY like this: http://www.unsung.co.kr/html/products/ulp523.html, which is a made by Un-Sung Musical Instrument Company, and this one: http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fjetguitars.ru%2Fshow_9104259 by Jet Guitars in Russia. The latter two share the same model number so the Jet is obviously a re-label of the Un-Sung. Plus, the Samick company in Korea makes something that is eerily similar to the Heritage Standard.
All that said, Prestige says they use two different manufacturers in Korea – the same foundries that produce Epiphones and another popular brand, and that Un-Sung makes copies of these, which are actually constructed in China.
Who knows what to believe? I do know that the tops of the Prestige guitars are full caps, not laminates (you can see the sandwich layers from the pot cavity). My Elite sounds and plays great, and though I don’t use it nearly as much as I used to as I now have real a Les Paul and a ’59 replica, it still gets play time because the Duncan ’59 and JB pickups sound absolutely sweet!
So, knowing what I know now, however uncorroborated, would I still have bought the guitar? Yes. I would have bought the guitar because all things being equal, this is just a great guitar, and you can still get them for a GREAT price on EBay from “acemate,” who sells lots of gear from Canadian manufacturers.
Mind you, it doesn’t have the sound of a Les Paul, but it does have a sound all its own, and that sound is actually quite aggressive. If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably buy the Heritage Standard, as the Elite is a bit too pretty, and I’m always concerned of getting it dinged up.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. If you’re looking for a LP-style guitar but don’t want to pay the price, and don’t want an Epiphone, Prestige Guitars are a great lower-cost alternative!
Guitar Gear 
It’s all about what you like.
Would I buy one without playing it.. No
If I played one and loved the sound and feel along with the price… Maybe
It’s tough for me to spend much unless I know I can get most of the money back out of it. I would still buy a Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite (used) before buying the upper end from an importer. That makes it pretty easy to get my money back out of it if needed which keeps the wife “OK” with me having a small herd of Guitars and amps..
I’m kind of with you on that, Chris. For me with the Prestige Heritage Elite, I got it as a review unit and loved it enough to keep it.
But out of curiosity, I contacted the Chinese “copy” maker to see how much I could get one. A single unit would cost me $215 shipped. Price goes down in quantity. Chinese manufacturing of guitars has been improving A LOT, so it’ll be interesting to get one of these. If I want to order a few of them, I can also put on my own logo. I’m actually thinking about doing what Prestige does and just get the blanks, and attaching my own hardware to them. I could then resell the guitars for around $400 under the “GuitarGear” line. 🙂
It comes down to two things. Does it sound good when you play it? Does it feel good when you play it? That is all that matters.
And that’s really the point of the article (though I admit I probably should have said it more strongly). You’re absolutely right – sound and playability SHOULD be the deciding factors. Almost invariably, they are for me. For some folks though, it’s not enough. I showed a buddy of mine the guitar once, and he loved how it sounded and played, but commented that he’d never buy one because he’d never be able to sell it. In all the time I’ve known him, he’s only sold one guitar (he has several). But I guess that’s a factor for some people.