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Post by markfromhawaii on Oct 31, 2023 23:53:07 GMT -5
This is a long one; almost 2 hours. Pretty interesting. Sort of a mix of CNC meets human craftsmanship. One has to wonder when total automation takes over. I sort of winced when the guy in the spray booth had his mask down as he air brushed the blue lacquer.
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Post by Opie on Nov 1, 2023 6:16:33 GMT -5
Believe it are not, the airflow is going so fast that a mask is mostly preventing bounce back from spraying, if you were brushing unless your nose was 6" from the the surface I doubt you'd be exposed. Still, it's bad optics.
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Post by Opie on Nov 1, 2023 6:21:00 GMT -5
As to cnc automation, it's good in the sense that each guitar is exactly like the last one. But as a lover of vintage guitars, I love the inconsistency of hands on jig work. It made for subtle differences, and some of those were pure magic.
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Post by ninworks on Nov 1, 2023 7:56:54 GMT -5
I think CNC manufacturing for electric guitars is fine. There's not really any "tuning" of the wood depending upon how things end up. Acoustic guitars are a different beast. Handmade ones that are built by a talented and experience luthier will always be a better instrument due to adjusting the sound as it's made by using the correct wood, shaving different pieces to get the best sound and strength, and other customized techniques to bring out the best in a particular instrument.
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Post by reverendrob on Nov 1, 2023 19:43:50 GMT -5
They still sound different, even with the same exact specs etc.
I have a pair of '16 Gibson High Performance LPs - made a couple weeks apart, the only difference is color.
They PLAY virtually identically, which I adore.
But the arctic white one snarls with that NY Dolls/Sex Pistols thing in a way the wine red doesn't, and the wine red does the jazzbox thing just a hair better.
It's 5% or so at most, but well, that's what you're paying for.
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DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 418
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Post by DrKev on Nov 2, 2023 15:43:18 GMT -5
Wait, what? Gibson have historically have installed inlay and frets and binding on the fingerboard BEFORE gluing on the neck? Woah! I never knew!
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Post by LTB on Nov 2, 2023 15:49:47 GMT -5
One of the very best factory videos I have seen. Thanks Mark!
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 4, 2023 12:28:58 GMT -5
Wait, what? Gibson have historically have installed inlay and frets and binding on the fingerboard BEFORE gluing on the neck? Woah! I never knew! Yeah, hence the binding nubs on the sides of the frets... and often the giant gouges on the fingerboard from scraping the binding. |
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 4, 2023 12:33:56 GMT -5
As to cnc automation, it's good in the sense that each guitar is exactly like the last one. But as a lover of vintage guitars, I love the inconsistency of hands on jig work. It made for subtle differences, and some of those were pure magic. Yeah, there is still a LOT of room for automation/systemization that won't hurt the "vibe" of the instrument at all.
Just yesterday I wrestled with a $6k LP that wouldn't accept a plug in the jack. The plate was screwed on off center, and one part of rotating the jack didn't fit at all, the other wouldn't let a plug go in. So, out came the rounded chisel to open up the inside, since I didn't want to fill/touch up the holes and redrill. Automating this would result in a 0% loss of mojo. Once upon a time, CNC meant things would come out more geometric than it might otherwise, but you can get great carved tops and whatever you want with automation. Or, you might effectively accept short cuts by doing it that way, and a guitar had a distinct Epiphone/Squier vibe. That really isn't the case anymore. As Martin has accepted more and more automation, their guitars have only gotten better, and even with more "mojo". There are even ways to automate things like top wood selection and brace carving.
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Post by ninworks on Nov 5, 2023 4:07:47 GMT -5
I really enjoyed that. Thanks for posting it.
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Post by LeftyMeister on Nov 5, 2023 8:21:36 GMT -5
Back in the 90s, I had ordered a Heritage 535 that was built to spec. As timing would have it, I had a business trip to the Kalamazoo area the same week when the guitar was supposed to be finished. I asked the dealer if I could pick it up and bring it home and they were OK with it. As a bonus, I received a tour of the original Gibson Kalamazoo factory. Many of the old Gibson artisans were still there. It was quite the treat.
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Post by LTB on Nov 6, 2023 19:08:04 GMT -5
Lefty, that is too cool but have to ask you, did you have anything to do with the timing?   Also, do you still have it? |
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sirWheat
Wholenote
For a better future, play Stevie Wonder for your children.
Posts: 319
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Post by sirWheat on Nov 7, 2023 18:29:49 GMT -5
Neat. Nothing really surprising or earth-shattering for me though I do enjoy seeing the various manufacturing processes.
Anderton's guy needs to get some meds for his ADD; he didn't hear (or seem to give a crap about) half of what the tour guide had to say. Looked a bit disrespectful...
It cracks me up when people pooh-pooh the notion of CNC, etc. Newsflash; wood don't care how it gets cut or shaped. Think that 335 of your dreams is overpriced? Imagine what it would cost if those tops, etc. were actually hand-shaped. While I love making things by hand myself (and appreciate others doing so) the fact is that no one tops humans in terms of inconsistency and fallibility. All that said, it's easy to see why anyone would be sore about having to cough nearly 3K for a D-18 or whatever they get for a LP standard after seeing all that great technology.
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Post by LeftyMeister on Nov 8, 2023 15:33:32 GMT -5
^^ It was just luck.
Sadly, I sold it many years ago. I sold it for more than I paid for it, but it still feels like one that got away.
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Post by LTB on Nov 10, 2023 2:32:53 GMT -5
^^ It was just luck. Sadly, I sold it many years ago. I sold it for more than I paid for it, but it still feels like one that got away. Guilty of the same to many times |
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