Still, I feel that each major brand has an area or two where they excel, but none is really close to "hitting it out of the park", getting everything (or even most things) right. I find things that displease me on all steels - but then again, that's to be expected. I look at a steel like a player, an engineer, but also as a casual observer and craftsman. It amazes me how many players are impressed by very simple things, polished metal and simple wood finishing, while they completely miss other aspects or touches that are equally simple, but totally glaring in their absence: Knee levers that aren't rounded on the edges, pedal boards without improved fastenings, knee levers that can't easily be moved, pickups that don't plug in, guitars with no volume or tone controls, guitars with slotted pullers that require a dingus to retain them, guitars with too many or too few pulling adjustments, pedals that can't be moved or adjusted easily, guitars with no place to set your picks and bar, guitars with tuning keys too close together, guitars without sliding or movable pickups, expensive guitars with cheap fretboards and nameplates, totally boring (boxy) designs, cases without wheels, cases that are far too heavy, guitars with "open" changers that love to catch string ends...and the list just goes on and on.
As others have said, most all guitars today are very good, mechanically and sound-wise, but it's obvious (to me, anyway) there's room for a ton of aesthetic and practical improvements. After seeing what real craftsmen in other fields can do, I must admit that most steels are seriously plain and boxy. Unlike a lotta players, I just don't get all "gooshie" over the grain pattern in a flat board.
