i went to raon and pier today looking for a bass and a strat copy for home use.
im very impressed with the korean strat copies i've seen at salonga. priced at 4800, the finish and neck are flawless. im not that much into tone (because im a drummer) so soundwise, it still sounds like a strat. i would have bought it right then and there but i held off since i want to check out pier too.
the guitars at pier suck, a functioning strat copy costs at 5000 and up while junks start at 3500. there was one strat badly mutilated which was repainted in violet by brush and broken tremolo selling for 3500 calling out for a refinish. i wanted to buy it because the hardware was very good, gold plated and the headstock does not have a brand on it. i thought this would make a good project guitar but the guy at the store wouldnt even let me take it home for 1500 even if it was virtually unusable. bawal tawad
on a side note for tokai fanatics, there's a red tokai limited edition strat on the same store. needs a little work too and has a missing backplate. the store does not have a name but they have a yamaha ez-g hanging at the front. they also have the most number of guitars on sale.