Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Thu Apr 18, 2024 10:41 am


All times are UTC - 5 hours


Forum rules


Be nice, no cussin and enjoy!




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 34 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Author Message
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:29 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:32 pm
Posts: 3470
First name: Alex
Last Name: Kleon
City: Whitby
State: Ontario
Zip/Postal Code: L1N8X2
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I did notice that the dust collection was very good.

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:58 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:27 pm
Posts: 2082
Location: South Carolina
First name: John
Last Name: Cox
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
J De Rocher wrote:
I was struck buy the difference in how the hand-done steps like installing rosettes, binding, and frets are done by the workers versus how I do them. They motor right through at high speed with no fuss no muss, while I'm constantly checking everything along the way to make sure I get things right and don't miss something. I'm sure a lot of their ability to do that comes with the repetition of doing the same step day in day out. I was also struck by how casually they handle the guitars. I'm constantly worrying about dinging the guitar, especially the top, while building it. There's nothing delicate about how they handle the parts and instruments. Maybe that comes with repetition too.

It takes about 10,000 hours to master something with repeated work/practice.

That's about 3 1/2 years of 40 hour work weeks. Adjust accordingly per your work schedule.

If you did this as a day job for 3+ years full time - you get pretty quick with tasks that take folks like me forever to do once a year...

Watch a pro electrician hang a lamp fixture.. One of the aggravating ones with the little teeny screws you have to line up over your head and they always drop down the AC vent. It takes me an hour.. But that 22 year old Journeyman can have one of those stupid things soup to nuts done in 15 minutes....

Or a good tile guy - those guys can slap down tile and it all lines up so nice, smooth, level, and even....


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:54 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 8:21 am
Posts: 3327
First name: Brad
Last Name: Combs
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
You need to introduce me to your contractor. :D

_________________
Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cbcguitars/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbcguitars


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 9:26 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:37 am
Posts: 4780
Dave m2 wrote:
It is fascinating and thanks for posting. But oh it is so dispiriting. All those handwork processes that surely we all enjoy, reduced to pushing pieces of timber into machines. And the end product, yes it looks like a guitar but almost certainly sounds incredibly poor, to be sold to people who haven't met a decent guitar.


I'm not sure we can assume they sound poor because of automation any more that we can assume guitars sound poor because they use CNC'd parts.

I'm really impressed with how efficient they are. Imagine that kind of process with individually voiced tops and backs? The laminated sides are built in, so you have that going for you. I do this because I enjoy the craft and art of each individual guitar, but if the end goal was simply a great guitar, there's nothing to knock about automation alone.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:30 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:27 pm
Posts: 2082
Location: South Carolina
First name: John
Last Name: Cox
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I wish I could just carry my white guitars in there and they would finish them for $10.00 each..... That would be worth the price. ;) ;)


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 3:50 am 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:45 pm
Posts: 1470
First name: Trevor
Last Name: Gore
City: Sydney
Country: Australia
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
truckjohn wrote:
I wish I could just carry my white guitars in there and they would finish them for $10.00 each..... That would be worth the price. ;) ;)

Be very careful what you wish for! Here's a link to a post on another forum. Asian guitars can be very, very good, as Nigel has heard. What you have to remember is that if you are building a guitar for US$24 FOB Guangzhou to meet a specific price point, there is only so much you can do. If you want to pay more, the quality improves. The bits you can't normally see get prettier and you may get a bit more shell. But even low cost guitars in the white sound pretty good. It is the polyester finish that kills them.

_________________
Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 6:13 am 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo

Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:20 am
Posts: 277
Location: North East England
First name: nigel
Last Name: forster
City: Newcastle upon tyne
Zip/Postal Code: ne12at
Country: england
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
Trevor Gore wrote:
But even low cost guitars in the white sound pretty good. It is the polyester finish that kills them.



Now I know you're a big fan of adding mass to the sides Trevor. I am too now thanks to you. So if the Chinese made the top lacquer thinner but kept it heavy on the back and sides, would they be making better sounding guitars?

_________________
nigel

http://www.theluthierblog.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 7:06 am 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:45 pm
Posts: 1470
First name: Trevor
Last Name: Gore
City: Sydney
Country: Australia
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
nkforster wrote:
So if the Chinese made the top lacquer thinner but kept it heavy on the back and sides, would they be making better sounding guitars?

:D "Better" is a pejorative term these days! If you read on a bit down that thread I referenced earlier, you get to this. So definitely louder, at least.

I once used polyester to grain fill the B&S of a guitar, then nitro over and only nitro on the top. The extra damping was clearly audible. Others have noticed this, too. So the finish that is applied is another variable in the equation, to use as you choose.

_________________
Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Dec 16, 2017 11:44 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member

Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2006 1:47 pm
Posts: 1624
Location: United States
First name: Larry
Last Name: Hawes
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Don't post here a lot but the love the factory tour videos - but - I felt a genuine sadness watching this one. All the painstaking effort involved in making a guitar reduced to simple machines and really can't explain but I just felt a little empty on the inside watching this. And yours for $269.00? Just a little sadder.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss ... Ck%3Akepma

_________________
Thank You and Best To All


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 34 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Colin North, doncaparker and 61 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com