it's pretty interesting to see how jin doesn't necessarily want to expand as a brand, because that would affect the quality of QC itself. He just wants to make sure everything that comes through is to his standards.
That's the truth. You just couldn't give the guitars the QC they'd need when you're producing so many. I've been very interested in AIO/wolf guitars for a while, but I only like to upgrade or get something that's at least as nice as what I already have. Otherwise it probably won't get played...but then again harley benton surprised me in that aspect.
This is a great insight as to how luthier‘s work. I understand exactly what you’re saying Brother) and I also watch other channels that are just losers because like I said my comment I just got a luthier kit that just came in recently and I’ve got several guitars that I want to do the same thing as this guy is doing to make them sound as beautiful as possible they do have problems some of them I will keep. They look great. They do sound great right now but I want them to sound absolutely beautiful and look amazing. So right on brother you’re interested in this is me and I like people understand what is going on or if I don’t know somethings sometimes like I get the answers. I would suggest if you’re not a luthier and you’d like to do this kind of stuff you can get the kids yourself. And it’s mostly minor adjustments and fretwork things like that. But it’s really fun to do you might wanna look into it Bro. Have a good one. My voice recognition system is screwing up. I hope everything came out right. Lol.
@@kiezersosay49 Harley Benton goes through Jin ? Does anyone know if H. B. goes through Jin to make their Guitars better before they get sold ? I hope everyone is doing well .
I own 3 AIO guitars..2 Strats and a LP style. They came set up exactly as specified in the orders and they play great! Happy to finally see Jin and his shop. Fantastic guitars all around.
Dude I still have my blue Wolf WLP and It’s my main guitar. I showed it off to people who owned gibson customs and they were blown away. Such good instruments
I love how much attention to detail he and his staff have towards the instruments coming into his shop! I like his idea of keeping the brand under the radar so that he can continue making high quality instruments at affordable prices!
As a luthier myself, it's great to see a company like this with a director who wants the business to remain small. This is the only way to maintain quality. I only recently started playing a buying guitars. I am 64 and spent most of my music career as a classical bassist trained at some of the finest music schools in America. With the decision to add luthier skills to my basket, I quickly found that the 'big houses' of the violin world which handled most of the very expensive instruments, were more concerned about bottom line than the quality of work they were doing on the finest violin family instruments the world has known. Staying small, yes we still need to worry about our 'bottom line', but we can control the quality of our work much better. Kudos to Jin and his crew for really understanding this concept. Their guitars are really gorgeous, and with their attention to detail, I will certainly be adding at least one of their guitars to my collection in the near future. Thank you for making this vid. I love finding diamonds in the rough - those lesser companies with lower prices but still really quality offerings. These guys are doing things right.
Since you are a luthier, would you say that left and right are typically done by one guy, or would they dedicate a lefty guy to the task generally? Does it matter if a luthier doesn't do lefties as often, it'll still be just as good?
I’m so glad you arranged to show us Jin’s AIO shop, so we can see his attention to detail. That’s extremely unusual to find from any brand. It really adds to the value and quality. Thanks to Jin and his fellow guitar tech for striving to provide quality instruments in a manner that I’ve never seen from ANY brand, at ANY price point.
Hey Max, I want to acknowledge you for having the best guitar channel on RUclips. This location shoot demonstrates why you are the best. Jin and his team are doing fabulous work. Thanks guys!
i was a career letter carrier, im 70 now but from 25 to 55 i delivered mail to so many small businesses in storefronts just like this. i have had so many tours.. I love it. i always had time to see how the magic is done. success is a job shop. get big and watch your special k go out of the mix.
Wow! The amount of time they spend on getting each instrument set-up is astounding when you consider the labor cost in $USD. My respect for Jin's commitment is high. Pardon the expression, but they don't make 'em like him anymore.
I have bought Wolf guitars from Jin and had work done on others. He redressed the frets on my old Washburn 12-string, replacing almost a third of them due to wear and the result was amazing. As you know, from interviewing him, he is a no-nonsense kind of guy and he calmly and patiently schooled me in proper guitar care. He took a home built guitar that my friend's son had made for him in a high school shop class and completely remedied the intonation issues. I'm so glad to see he has relocated from the downtown LA location, where you had to enter from the tiny parking lot entrance in the back, due to security concerns. This man is just amazing! Thanks for talking him into doing an interview (as I'm positive you had to!).
Wow! That's amazing! Thank you for sharing, Max. So good to see a business owner with that level of hands on commitment and passion. Kudos to him for wanting to stay at a manageable level without expansion.
Cool to see the personal attention each guitar gets. This gives me more confidence that ordering their guitars will deliver a good playing instrument. Thanks
Thanks for this. I believe they use IVY for one of their manufacturers. After getting my own IYV, I'd definitely buy from AIO to get that level of attention. Really between their level of attention and the build quality of IYV, you have a heck of a combo there.
FINALLY!! Glad to see you're a man of your word. Not that I doubted it. Just very happy to see what many customers never get to see behind the guitar shop. THANK YOU MAX!!
Yep..I can think of several more that I want and think I need..I actually had to sell some of my gear about 3 months ago..I had 8 guiatrs and now down to 3 and really don't need anymore ..but hey you know gotta get another 1-2-3 more...I did look into these and if you email the company at this shop here he will respond back..I did get messages from him really quick..
Max, because of your reviews and demos of these guitars, I took a leap of faith and ordered one of the AIO Strat style guitars. I really don't know what to expect but I'm hoping for a good experience and one that I don't regret.
I got the AIO SC77 (gold top). Jin emailed and ask what kind of setup would I like. I requested to be like an Ibanez Jem, and boy, it plays like butter. way better than any LP that I've played! the Fret work is awesome!
After watching this video I will be buying one of these guitars. They seem to put their heart and soul into what they ship out. I absolutely want to back this kind of work. What an absolute gem. Thank you for sharing this, Max!
as a proud owner of AIO guitars, is nice to see Jin and the work done. I never had an issue, and always great respond from Jin. looking forward to buy more. amazing great quality
Max; Wow, I didn't realize this was the shop where they actually work. I've seen the storefront for years (it's directly across the street from where I get my hair cut!), but it never looked from the street like anyone was there. When I bought my Wolf 335 after seeing your review of their LP style guitar, I went to Jin's shop in Korea Town to pick it up and he set it up for me while I waited. I'm still very happy with that guitar! Thank you!
Gave me an appreciation for AIO guitars for sure. Basically importing Chinese guitars and doing all the setup work. Which you would be doing yourself or paying someone to do anyhow.
Thanks Max! That brief tour at the guitar shop was really interesting. I have recently bought my first instrument from AIO Guitars. It is my first guitar purchase ever. It is due to arrive in a day or two. Jen said that he was planning to ship it out on Monday; today is Tuesday so you know that I’m excited about it. I’m keeping my ears tuned for the sound of a delivery truck. Anyway this purchase was largely influenced by your spots while speaking about AIO guitars, and a brief video with the tech doing his job. This show of yours has expanded a bit about this ‘tuning’ process, and shows how important that it is. [I know this for a fact, because I keep my skis in tune, not for sound, but for how they will handle under different surface conditions on the slopes, from powder through ice. This must be considered or your day won’t be as fun as you may expect; I digress, sorry] Anyway I feel that I know Jen a little more than before, when he has called to ask me a few questions & talk about my purchase. Who does that anymore? I’ll tell you: only a business owner/operator that cares about his customers, that’s who! I feel really good about my guitar purchase from him.
I got half way through this video and I went to the AIO website and bought a neck thru, strat style guitar an HSS setup. I told Jin that I heard about AIO from you buddy. :)
Got two serviced by Jinsoo. They play AWESOME! If you haven't visited his shop, you absolutely should. 🔥👊 Perhaps, other shops can learn a thing or ten about customer experience from Jinsoo. My go-to shop for all my guitar needs.
Great, great, great video! I am stunned by all of the detailed work that goes into each guitar, especially when you consider the low prices they charge. Honestly, I don’t understand how this business model is sustainable. Add up the materials and the man-hours put into each guitar, and then look at the price. Is their profit? Of course. Enough profit? Time will tell. Let’s hope they can keep it rolling!
" ... my luthiers get fired because they are lazy - not doing great job ... " 🤣🤣🤣- hats off - this single statement got me sold. Just shows how passionate and thorough Jin is about the work. EXACTLY what is needed to ensure that the instruments are of a high quality in terms of setup and playability after passing these stages of inspection. This kind of attention to detail is so rare and getting rarer in these times of 'big profits', 'cost cutting', 'cheaper materials' and 'shoddy workmanship' in general. Luckily, the world of guitars is an exception with the 'quality for the price ratio' getting higher by the day.
100% correct on that. I got my AIO lefty strat about 18 months ago and I still play it everyday. The set up on that guitar is amazing. Out of the box it was butter.
Great tour and interview, they do great work! I have had a couple of wolf guitars and 1 AIO. I would be interested to know about the AIO headstock. The unique little cut out with the cross inlay, does it mean anything in particular? I love his attitude in wanting to be able to keep the quality control high so much so he does not want to expand only to have it lead lower quality setups. So Great! Thanks
Speculation is that the notch in the upper corner of the headstock on some of the AIO models is to stay off a certain litigious US manufacturer's radar.
Bought a Wolf WLP 750T a little over a year ago based on your recommendations. Still just blown away by it. Right up there with my Gibson and Fenders, and I reach for it just as often. Even now, I wonder if I got a uniquely awesome one or if they are all so awesome! (I'm betting they are ALL that awesome) Ya, its THAT good!!!
It's amazing how shitty guitars come out of factories, even expensive big name guitar companies. I ALWAYS have to work on any guitar I buy, it's just a matter of HOW MUCH...
Unfortunately, I have to be honest and say I purchased the red tele style guitar shown at 1:18 in your video some years ago, Just to be clear, I have bought and sold guitars from many manufacturers in many countries USA, Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, etc. This is the only guitar I have ever purchased in my 40 year collecting, that I actually just decided to throw in the trash instead of trying to resell or even donate. It was just not up to any standard of quality that any other brand of guitar is up to these days to take it back from a dissatisfied customer selling on Reverb or Ebay etc. Long story short. You can find many other guitars with much better quality than this brand. And maybe they have already improved QC, but I will never buy another. My Firefly guitars are all not perfect but much better guitars than this brand. Respectfully, my personal opinion based on my purchase and toss in the garbage can of this model telecaster.
The setup on my one Firefly guitar was joke. They never even opened up the box to check it out before it was shipped to me. Excellent guitar however, it only needed a truss rod and string height adjustment, about 20 minutes work and she was good to go.
@@nicolasbeaudry6158 I think you'll find most are coming from IYV's custom shop equivalent in Viet Nam & some are from S. Korea. But you're right that Jin and his crew do the QC inspections & setups.
Here's my 2 cents worth. I know I've seen lots of these AIO guitars, and i see over spray, bunk frets not fully polished, bad paint with multiple blemishspots, bad wood damage spots, way way way high strings action, major major major bad fret buzz. Damn I'd say it's a Quality Control issue with clueless setup people. Um no. Not for that price. We'd all be better off with a Epiphone Real Gubson. Oh yeah better fix those nuts. Are you kidding me. For real. No.
My personal experience with Jin and AIO Guitar was top notch and personal. It was shipped and received in perfect condition I highly recommend AIO Guitar!
Great video, Max. Would love these guys to have a UK distributor. As it is, the shipping charges mean that they slide into the 'not-so-cheap' category.
As a happy customer of AIO myself, this was very interesting and surprising. It's always weird to see how downscaled of an operation some of the companies are that are well marketing and have good reputations.
I bought one of their Single Cut LPs during Covid... It made getting through the plandemic much easier.. Thank you Jin!!! Oh, and thank you Max, for bringing these great guitars to our attention.
I kind of like their PRS style guitars. My only quibble is the abalone position markers and anywhere it's used. I like simple. I would much rather have simple white dot markers.
Max, you’re doing so many of us a huge service with this Channel! I will definitely order something from this shop! I have had to return 3 Fenders over the last 2 years. 😑👎🏻. Its really heartbreaking the company who’s endorsees like Clapton got me playing, can’t even produce guitars without problems. And guess what ALL three had in common? … BAD FRETWORK!
My friend owns a tele from ALO and it sucks😂 it won’t stay in tune and nut working is surprisingly bad also paint sucks. For pickup I have nothing to blame with since it is only 540 US 😅 just buy a Squier it is so much better just on quality.
I have never seen somebody level the entire fretboard with the strings still on. That was wild. I'm now even more excited to buy that redburst single-cut, its great to get to see the luthiers and the company, thanks to Max, and to Jin for doing such good work.
I have wanted one of this gentleman's guitars for a long time, but I have NEVER had a PayPal account (and probably never will). If he would just accept Credit Card payment, I'd own six or seven of these guitars.
@@jesuschrist-alphaomega If you think the Holy Bible is fiction... then you shouldn't have any problem running around naked. Why not? Are you saying you have an instinctive shame of your nakedness? We all do... it's the fall of man; Genesis 3:5-11 KJV
@@jesuschrist-alphaomega It's human nature... I guarantee you wouldn't be willing to strip off your clothes and run around naked for the rest of the day. Stop lying.
This is a great video. I am happy to see at least one company is really looking at the products before they are sent to the customer. Thank you for taking the time to show us how they ensure quality. Also, thanks to Jin for letting us see his process.
I am so pleased to see the bass is presented.My primary "finger voice" is just that. Recovering from a work career ending hand injury, music is now my focus! Thanks again for giving us a wider view. Home base~Chicagoland, Skokie.
NICE!! Me very happy to see quality here in USA. Many crappyness abound during USA disintegration of society. Me happy someone cares. YOU ROCK DUDES!!!! Hellz yeah!!!! :>) :>0 :>)
I always wondered why they changed the name from "Wolf Guitars" to "AIO Guitars". I liked the Wolf logo on the headstock better. Its crazy that they do this much work for a $400 guitar
Really like the *Green LP* but would love it if it had *gold hardware!* 😁 The attention to "set details" is truly impressive and customer centric! 🧐 *_"Jen holds to his passion for a quality guitar from one musician to another!"_* ❤🔥 😎 Truly special person and company! _Very impressive!!_
It was great you were showing his shop , he said he is very ,very picky. And he doesn't want to be too big . Now, I want to get one of his guitars. Good video!
Awesome company and craftsmanship. I have 4 Wolf guitars from AIO before the new headstock design. Mine say Wolf with the picture of the wolf. I have 2 WPRS guitars which are PRS copies, a Les Paul copy with orange flame top and the Les Paul copy with the mother of pearl and abalone top. It’s just gorgeous. The pickups are decent. I was so impressed I emailed Jin Soo and Ingushed about the customer service and craftsmanship and of course the setup. Great guy and company for sure. Best deal out there…
As a proud owner of both a Wolf blue 335 and an AIO Tropical Sunset Tele, I continue to marvel at the level of quality and workmanship of the Wolf/AIO guitars. Not to mention that they are really nice to deal with and very responsive. I fully intend to buy more from them in the future. Thank you, AIO, and THANK YOU MAX for your incredible videos. I am a huge fan....
Hmmmmmmm l lived in the Montrose area near La Canada Flintridge but never knew this AIO guitar shop existed. The only guitar shop nearby is Greyson tune town in Montrose CA
MAX: I just got the "AIO S1 Wolf" (Black) that you reviewed (except mine is the SSH instead of the HSH you had) and so this video is great to see! Jin seems really genuine about his concern for the customer and that's really great to know when thinking about future purchases! 🙂
I just ordered an S4, got a response to the setup form within an hour. Very excited to get the email that it's on its way home to me! Thanks Guitar Max for the awesome video of the AIO shop which was a main selling/purchasing point for me!!
I guess I got lucky Max, I went to their shop ‘cause I’m a local, 14 months ago, next city west, shortly after you reviewed their 335 model, at that point I don’t think he had hired the helper yet, because I played one out of a box, but then he brought me one that was set up. It wasn’t the least expensive guitar I ever bought, only the Amazon headless you also reviewed was less expensive but considering the action and fretwork aspect, the beautiful flame top, & unlike all the others I’ve bought last 6 years, the set up was perfect, I’ve made no changes, except to put 9’s on it, it’s a great guitar.😃
Wish AIO would endorse me. I'm a independent Christian metal artist and I play in a touring Whitesnake tribute. My AIO Wolf LP doesn't miss a show🤘🤘🤘🙏🙏🔥🔥🔥
This vid will definitely make more people buy from AIO, the QA is tres important to anything made overseas, just ask Schecter as pertaining to there imports
it's pretty interesting to see how jin doesn't necessarily want to expand as a brand, because that would affect the quality of QC itself. He just wants to make sure everything that comes through is to his standards.
That's the truth. You just couldn't give the guitars the QC they'd need when you're producing so many. I've been very interested in AIO/wolf guitars for a while, but I only like to upgrade or get something that's at least as nice as what I already have. Otherwise it probably won't get played...but then again harley benton surprised me in that aspect.
Quality is key for sure. ❤
This is a great insight as to how luthier‘s work. I understand exactly what you’re saying Brother) and I also watch other channels that are just losers because like I said my comment I just got a luthier kit that just came in recently and I’ve got several guitars that I want to do the same thing as this guy is doing to make them sound as beautiful as possible they do have problems some of them I will keep. They look great. They do sound great right now but I want them to sound absolutely beautiful and look amazing. So right on brother you’re interested in this is me and I like people understand what is going on or if I don’t know somethings sometimes like I get the answers. I would suggest if you’re not a luthier and you’d like to do this kind of stuff you can get the kids yourself. And it’s mostly minor adjustments and fretwork things like that. But it’s really fun to do you might wanna look into it Bro. Have a good one. My voice recognition system is screwing up. I hope everything came out right. Lol.
@@kiezersosay49 Harley Benton goes through Jin ?
Does anyone know if H. B. goes through Jin to make their Guitars better before they get sold ?
I hope everyone is doing well .
That's how analogman is with his 4 year waiting list for the king of tone. Doesnt want bad quality
I own 3 AIO guitars..2 Strats and a LP style. They came set up exactly as specified in the orders and they play great! Happy to finally see Jin and his shop. Fantastic guitars all around.
Dude I still have my blue Wolf WLP and It’s my main guitar. I showed it off to people who owned gibson customs and they were blown away. Such good instruments
I love how much attention to detail he and his staff have towards the instruments coming into his shop! I like his idea of keeping the brand under the radar so that he can continue making high quality instruments at affordable prices!
What I love about AIO is that they’re lefty friendly, no price gouging for dexterity.
+1 lefty
The attention to detail is amazing too bad more of the big-name companies don't do this type of stuff
The most meticulous “dealer prep” imaginable. Enjoyed every minute of this episode.
If I had to describe this man's work in one word, it would undoubtedly be PASSION.
As a luthier myself, it's great to see a company like this with a director who wants the business to remain small. This is the only way to maintain quality. I only recently started playing a buying guitars. I am 64 and spent most of my music career as a classical bassist trained at some of the finest music schools in America. With the decision to add luthier skills to my basket, I quickly found that the 'big houses' of the violin world which handled most of the very expensive instruments, were more concerned about bottom line than the quality of work they were doing on the finest violin family instruments the world has known. Staying small, yes we still need to worry about our 'bottom line', but we can control the quality of our work much better. Kudos to Jin and his crew for really understanding this concept. Their guitars are really gorgeous, and with their attention to detail, I will certainly be adding at least one of their guitars to my collection in the near future. Thank you for making this vid. I love finding diamonds in the rough - those lesser companies with lower prices but still really quality offerings. These guys are doing things right.
Since you are a luthier, would you say that left and right are typically done by one guy, or would they dedicate a lefty guy to the task generally? Does it matter if a luthier doesn't do lefties as often, it'll still be just as good?
That's impressive!!! You don't see this kind of dedication and passion in ANY business these days! I know where my next guitar is coming from.
I’m so glad you arranged to show us Jin’s AIO shop, so we can see his attention to detail. That’s extremely unusual to find from any brand. It really adds to the value and quality. Thanks to Jin and his fellow guitar tech for striving to provide quality instruments in a manner that I’ve never seen from ANY brand, at ANY price point.
Hey Max, I want to acknowledge you for having the best guitar channel on RUclips. This location shoot demonstrates why you are the best. Jin and his team are doing fabulous work. Thanks guys!
They're about to get a bunch of orders with this video
i was a career letter carrier, im 70 now but from 25 to 55 i delivered mail to so many small businesses in storefronts just like this. i have had so many tours.. I love it. i always had time to see how the magic is done. success is a job shop. get big and watch your special k go out of the mix.
Wow! The amount of time they spend on getting each instrument set-up is astounding when you consider the labor cost in $USD. My respect for Jin's commitment is high. Pardon the expression, but they don't make 'em like him anymore.
"Today on How It's Made: AIO Guitars."
I still have my Wolf that I got from Max. I remember when I got it, I was amazed at how great the setup was. Now I know why!
I have bought Wolf guitars from Jin and had work done on others. He redressed the frets on my old Washburn 12-string, replacing almost a third of them due to wear and the result was amazing. As you know, from interviewing him, he is a no-nonsense kind of guy and he calmly and patiently schooled me in proper guitar care. He took a home built guitar that my friend's son had made for him in a high school shop class and completely remedied the intonation issues. I'm so glad to see he has relocated from the downtown LA location, where you had to enter from the tiny parking lot entrance in the back, due to security concerns. This man is just amazing! Thanks for talking him into doing an interview (as I'm positive you had to!).
Wow! That's amazing! Thank you for sharing, Max. So good to see a business owner with that level of hands on commitment and passion. Kudos to him for wanting to stay at a manageable level without expansion.
Cool to see the personal attention each guitar gets. This gives me more confidence that ordering their guitars will deliver a good playing instrument. Thanks
Thanks for this. I believe they use IVY for one of their manufacturers. After getting my own IYV, I'd definitely buy from AIO to get that level of attention. Really between their level of attention and the build quality of IYV, you have a heck of a combo there.
FINALLY!! Glad to see you're a man of your word. Not that I doubted it. Just very happy to see what many customers never get to see behind the guitar shop.
THANK YOU MAX!!
Max, thanks. Who doesn’t want to tour a guitar manufacturer and see how they build their guitars.
Gotta get me one. How many guitars does a player need? Just one more...
Yep..I can think of several more that I want and think I need..I actually had to sell some of my gear about 3 months ago..I had 8 guiatrs and now down to 3 and really don't need anymore ..but hey you know gotta get another 1-2-3 more...I did look into these and if you email the company at this shop here he will respond back..I did get messages from him really quick..
Max, because of your reviews and demos of these guitars, I took a leap of faith and ordered one of the AIO Strat style guitars. I really don't know what to expect but I'm hoping for a good experience and one that I don't regret.
I got the AIO SC77 (gold top). Jin emailed and ask what kind of setup would I like. I requested to be like an Ibanez Jem, and boy, it plays like butter. way better than any LP that I've played! the Fret work is awesome!
Sorry, I could only think about the Korean BBQ during this whole video.
After watching this video I will be buying one of these guitars. They seem to put their heart and soul into what they ship out. I absolutely want to back this kind of work. What an absolute gem. Thank you for sharing this, Max!
Guitar Max, man on the street. 😎😎
as a proud owner of AIO guitars, is nice to see Jin and the work done. I never had an issue, and always great respond from Jin. looking forward to buy more. amazing great quality
Thanks for sharing!
Max; Wow, I didn't realize this was the shop where they actually work. I've seen the storefront for years (it's directly across the street from where I get my hair cut!), but it never looked from the street like anyone was there. When I bought my Wolf 335 after seeing your review of their LP style guitar, I went to Jin's shop in Korea Town to pick it up and he set it up for me while I waited. I'm still very happy with that guitar! Thank you!
suggestion, dont get a hair cut, use the money to save up to buy more guitars
@@superblondeDotOrg Fabulous idea!
I wish this video was made compulsory in dealerships in UK…!
Gave me an appreciation for AIO guitars for sure.
Basically importing Chinese guitars and doing all the setup work. Which you would be doing yourself or paying someone to do anyhow.
Thanks Max! That brief tour at the guitar shop was really interesting. I have recently bought my first instrument from AIO Guitars. It is my first guitar purchase ever. It is due to arrive in a day or two. Jen said that he was planning to ship it out on Monday; today is Tuesday so you know that I’m excited about it. I’m keeping my ears tuned for the sound of a delivery truck.
Anyway this purchase was largely influenced by your spots while speaking about AIO guitars, and a brief video with the tech doing his job. This show of yours has expanded a bit about this ‘tuning’ process, and shows how important that it is. [I know this for a fact, because I keep my skis in tune, not for sound, but for how they will handle under different surface conditions on the slopes, from powder through ice. This must be considered or your day won’t be as fun as you may expect; I digress, sorry] Anyway I feel that I know Jen a little more than before, when he has called to ask me a few questions & talk about my purchase. Who does that anymore? I’ll tell you: only a business owner/operator that cares about his customers, that’s who! I feel really good about my guitar purchase from him.
Passionate guy with his guitars, Gibson take note.
Quality over quantity…thats a ballsy business model…good for them👍
I got half way through this video and I went to the AIO website and bought a neck thru, strat style guitar an HSS setup. I told Jin that I heard about AIO from you buddy. :)
Good guitars. I bought a PRS ish from them. They sent me a message asking about specs of setup, I never experienced this before
Are guitars available for purchase right there at the shop? I am in L.A….these guitars are impressive.
Got two serviced by Jinsoo. They play AWESOME! If you haven't visited his shop, you absolutely should. 🔥👊 Perhaps, other shops can learn a thing or ten about customer experience from Jinsoo. My go-to shop for all my guitar needs.
Great, great, great video! I am stunned by all of the detailed work that goes into each guitar, especially when you consider the low prices they charge. Honestly, I don’t understand how this business model is sustainable. Add up the materials and the man-hours put into each guitar, and then look at the price. Is their profit? Of course. Enough profit? Time will tell. Let’s hope they can keep it rolling!
" ... my luthiers get fired because they are lazy - not doing great job ... " 🤣🤣🤣- hats off - this single statement got me sold. Just shows how passionate and thorough Jin is about the work. EXACTLY what is needed to ensure that the instruments are of a high quality in terms of setup and playability after passing these stages of inspection. This kind of attention to detail is so rare and getting rarer in these times of 'big profits', 'cost cutting', 'cheaper materials' and 'shoddy workmanship' in general. Luckily, the world of guitars is an exception with the 'quality for the price ratio' getting higher by the day.
Dollar for dollar best guitar company on the market in my opinion.
I've got a couple guitars from AIO and the setup work was spot on. Wayyyyy better than stuff I've got from Heritage and other more expensive brands.
100% correct on that. I got my AIO lefty strat about 18 months ago and I still play it everyday. The set up on that guitar is amazing. Out of the box it was butter.
It's so funny that so many manufacturers use the "setup is personal" excuse to send out instruments that aren't ready to use.
Great tour and interview, they do great work! I have had a couple of wolf guitars and 1 AIO. I would be interested to know about the AIO headstock. The unique little cut out with the cross inlay, does it mean anything in particular? I love his attitude in wanting to be able to keep the quality control high so much so he does not want to expand only to have it lead lower quality setups. So Great! Thanks
Speculation is that the notch in the upper corner of the headstock on some of the AIO models is to stay off a certain litigious US manufacturer's radar.
It's cultural. To be an old school artisan. This aint no foolin around.
Glad I stopped and watched this video. Thanks.
Bought a Wolf WLP 750T a little over a year ago based on your recommendations. Still just blown away by it. Right up there with my Gibson and Fenders, and I reach for it just as often. Even now, I wonder if I got a uniquely awesome one or if they are all so awesome! (I'm betting they are ALL that awesome) Ya, its THAT good!!!
This guitar shop & owner are rare nowadays, really put product quality on priority. Man I wished I had this kinda guitar shop in my country. ✌😎
I own two AIO WOLF Guitars Excellent
It's amazing how shitty guitars come out of factories, even expensive big name guitar companies. I ALWAYS have to work on any guitar I buy, it's just a matter of HOW MUCH...
dang...makes me want to buy one...if I ever get money again
So its a cheap guitar with a good setup. Got it
Incredible service, shame AIO don’t have an outlet in Australia.
Excellent video! AIO has got my attention. Thanks Max!
Unfortunately, I have to be honest and say I purchased the red tele style guitar shown at 1:18 in your video some years ago, Just to be clear, I have bought and sold guitars from many manufacturers in many countries USA, Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, etc. This is the only guitar I have ever purchased in my 40 year collecting, that I actually just decided to throw in the trash instead of trying to resell or even donate. It was just not up to any standard of quality that any other brand of guitar is up to these days to take it back from a dissatisfied customer selling on Reverb or Ebay etc. Long story short. You can find many other guitars with much better quality than this brand. And maybe they have already improved QC, but I will never buy another. My Firefly guitars are all not perfect but much better guitars than this brand. Respectfully, my personal opinion based on my purchase and toss in the garbage can of this model telecaster.
The setup on my one Firefly guitar was joke. They never even opened up the box to check it out before it was shipped to me. Excellent guitar however, it only needed a truss rod and string height adjustment, about 20 minutes work and she was good to go.
he should give a qc course at gibson
We all want aio guitars now!
Respect for these craftsman. That is true quality control.
Craft it’s manufactured in china please … he sets them up .
@@nicolasbeaudry6158 I think you'll find most are coming from IYV's custom shop equivalent in Viet Nam & some are from S. Korea. But you're right that Jin and his crew do the QC inspections & setups.
Fantastic.
Really good to see a guitar brand that cares about guitars.
I might just buy one from them.
Great video.
I have purchased 4 guitars from Jin. All have been exceptional.
Here's my 2 cents worth. I know I've seen lots of these AIO guitars, and i see over spray, bunk frets not fully polished, bad paint with multiple blemishspots, bad wood damage spots, way way way high strings action, major major major bad fret buzz. Damn I'd say it's a Quality Control issue with clueless setup people. Um no. Not for that price. We'd all be better off with a Epiphone Real Gubson. Oh yeah better fix those nuts. Are you kidding me. For real. No.
My personal experience with Jin and AIO Guitar was top notch and personal. It was shipped and received in perfect condition I highly recommend AIO Guitar!
Thank you for posting this! This is what people WISH every guitar shop did!
Great video, Max. Would love these guys to have a UK distributor. As it is, the shipping charges mean that they slide into the 'not-so-cheap' category.
As a happy customer of AIO myself, this was very interesting and surprising. It's always weird to see how downscaled of an operation some of the companies are that are well marketing and have good reputations.
something always extremely satisfying about watching professionals execute their craft
What a cool dude and a great small business to support. Awesome interview and bts video!
Do these guitars have real abalone inlays or are they stickers?
They are not stickers, they are real inlays.
I bought one of their Single Cut LPs during Covid... It made getting through the plandemic much easier.. Thank you Jin!!! Oh, and thank you Max, for bringing these great guitars to our attention.
THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW.
I kind of like their PRS style guitars. My only quibble is the abalone position markers and anywhere it's used. I like simple. I would much rather have simple white dot markers.
Max, you’re doing so many of us a huge service with this Channel! I will definitely order something from this shop! I have had to return 3 Fenders over the last 2 years. 😑👎🏻. Its really heartbreaking the company who’s endorsees like Clapton got me playing, can’t even produce guitars without problems. And guess what ALL three had in common? … BAD FRETWORK!
I'm really glad these videos are helpful!
@@GuitarMAXMusic keep goin brotha!
My friend owns a tele from ALO and it sucks😂 it won’t stay in tune and nut working is surprisingly bad also paint sucks. For pickup I have nothing to blame with since it is only 540 US 😅 just buy a Squier it is so much better just on quality.
Well, he should have gotten it from AIO, not ALO, that's the problem right there!
@@GuitarMAXMusic lol typo pretty sure it is AIO or All In One guitar
I have never seen somebody level the entire fretboard with the strings still on. That was wild. I'm now even more excited to buy that redburst single-cut, its great to get to see the luthiers and the company, thanks to Max, and to Jin for doing such good work.
I have wanted one of this gentleman's guitars for a long time, but I have NEVER had a PayPal account (and probably never will).
If he would just accept Credit Card payment, I'd own six or seven of these guitars.
Of course they take credit cards...
@@GuitarMAXMusic It's not offered as a method of payment on their site, my friend.
Is there a secret code? (I'm just breakin' chops)
Your always blessed when people put their spirit in to make things right.
This is almost exactly what I do to every guitar I buy.. minus the capo before the final nut slotting for lowest action.. that is smart 👍👍
Im so early I could get a preorder of the bible
Freaking funny. Be patient. Fiction is hard to write.
@@jesuschrist-alphaomega If you think the Holy Bible is fiction... then you shouldn't have any problem running around naked.
Why not?
Are you saying you have an instinctive shame of your nakedness?
We all do... it's the fall of man;
Genesis 3:5-11 KJV
@scottdunn2178 actually I don't. Why would you/I be ashamed? Oh ya it's called indoctrination. And so funny quotes from the Bible.
@@jesuschrist-alphaomega It's human nature... I guarantee you wouldn't be willing to strip off your clothes and run around naked for the rest of the day. Stop lying.
Fantastic.
Are these guitars from the same factory line as the "Agile" brand or the "IVY" and "Austin" guitars? Korea or Indonesia?
Killer work ethics 👍👍 much respect and appreciation 👍👍
This is a great video. I am happy to see at least one company is really looking at the products before they are sent to the customer. Thank you for taking the time to show us how they ensure quality. Also, thanks to Jin for letting us see his process.
I am so pleased to see the bass is presented.My primary "finger voice" is just that. Recovering from a work career ending hand injury, music is now my focus! Thanks again for giving us a wider view. Home base~Chicagoland, Skokie.
NICE!! Me very happy to see quality here in USA. Many crappyness abound during USA disintegration of society. Me happy someone cares. YOU ROCK DUDES!!!! Hellz yeah!!!! :>) :>0 :>)
I always wondered why they changed the name from "Wolf Guitars" to "AIO Guitars". I liked the Wolf logo on the headstock better. Its crazy that they do this much work for a $400 guitar
Really like the *Green LP* but would love it if it had *gold hardware!* 😁
The attention to "set details" is truly impressive and customer centric! 🧐
*_"Jen holds to his passion for a quality guitar from one musician to another!"_* ❤🔥 😎
Truly special person and company! _Very impressive!!_
It was great you were showing his shop , he said he is very ,very picky. And he doesn't want to be too big . Now, I want to get one of his guitars. Good video!
Awesome company and craftsmanship. I have 4 Wolf guitars from AIO before the new headstock design. Mine say Wolf with the picture of the wolf. I have 2 WPRS guitars which are PRS copies, a Les Paul copy with orange flame top and the Les Paul copy with the mother of pearl and abalone top. It’s just gorgeous. The pickups are decent. I was so impressed I emailed Jin Soo and Ingushed about the customer service and craftsmanship and of course the setup. Great guy and company for sure. Best deal out there…
Love it. It's akin to watching the sausage being made as they say. Two areas I prefer to avoid... nut cutting and fret leveling. Great video!
As a proud owner of both a Wolf blue 335 and an AIO Tropical Sunset Tele, I continue to marvel at the level of quality and workmanship of the Wolf/AIO guitars. Not to mention that they are really nice to deal with and very responsive. I fully intend to buy more from them in the future. Thank you, AIO, and THANK YOU MAX for your incredible videos. I am a huge fan....
You can't Cool'er that, Jen is the Man.. I would like to do business there at AIO someday. But Budget constraints keep me wishing.
Hmmmmmmm l lived in the Montrose area near La Canada Flintridge but never knew this AIO guitar shop existed. The only guitar shop nearby is Greyson tune town in Montrose CA
MAX: I just got the "AIO S1 Wolf" (Black) that you reviewed (except mine is the SSH instead of the HSH you had) and so this video is great to see! Jin seems really genuine about his concern for the customer and that's really great to know when thinking about future purchases! 🙂
I just ordered an S4, got a response to the setup form within an hour. Very excited to get the email that it's on its way home to me! Thanks Guitar Max for the awesome video of the AIO shop which was a main selling/purchasing point for me!!
I guess I got lucky Max, I went to their shop ‘cause I’m a local, 14 months ago, next city west, shortly after you reviewed their 335 model, at that point I don’t think he had hired the helper yet, because I played one out of a box, but then he brought me one that was set up.
It wasn’t the least expensive guitar I ever bought, only the Amazon headless you also reviewed was less expensive but considering the action and fretwork aspect, the beautiful flame top, & unlike all the others I’ve bought last 6 years, the set up was perfect, I’ve made no changes, except to put 9’s on it, it’s a great guitar.😃
Thanks Max. I definitely want to try this brand. I really appreciate your videos
Greetings, What is your opinion on Ash/Walnut/Maple body structure? Thank you!!!
Wish AIO would endorse me. I'm a independent Christian metal artist and I play in a touring Whitesnake tribute. My AIO Wolf LP doesn't miss a show🤘🤘🤘🙏🙏🔥🔥🔥
This vid will definitely make more people buy from AIO, the QA is tres important to anything made overseas, just ask Schecter as pertaining to there imports
Just ordered my 2nd AIO! Sonic blue TC4! Can’t wait