Re: Now THIS is How You Mass Produce High Quality Guitars
Check out the defect next to the binding on the lower horn.
Don't see "high quality" like that on most guitars these days.
?? LOL! Surely we have seen binding shrinkage/wood chip at some point on
any guitar of any make, any quality and any year? Besides maybe it was dropped, maybe it was put through extreme temps? Who knows what happened! Its a non convincing post if the goal was to establish any lack of credibility in MM QC. How many 1000s and 1000s of guitars are made? And what happens to them when people get ahold of them? Its like looking at rotten teeth and blaming the body, not the owner. Its not a factory defect.
You mentioned setup? Yes, of course,. Guitars are
adjustable in many areas for that reason, but that is a given for all guitars isn't it? All of my guitars are setup by me, they all play fantastically for me and I am a bonafide master at it
for me... however my PRS needed nothing but pickup adjustment. Anything else would have been expected anyway. Setup is personal and I would never
expect a factory guitar to meet my setup needs. That would be silly.
BTW, there is nothing that can be done to my PRS or Gretsch in terms of fret-work to improve them. There is just nothing to improve and that is OK LOL!. The standard of work is what you would expect from guitars of that price and build. I find some of the statements you have made needing further clarity. Once a guitar is masterfully put together and setup, how can you state that you can then 'more' masterfully set it up without that reflecting the standard of the original luthier? Wouldn't it be more accurate to say, that at the best, a
slight change to better suit your preference can be made? If you genuinely find yourself able to elevate the craftsmanship of the work of Roger Sadowsky, Paul Reed Smith, Bob Benedetto, Sheldon Dingwall, Bill Collings, John Suhr, Tom Anderson, Gerard Melancon, Mike Pedulla (Amongst so many others) and yes, even Music Man etc...have you considered working for them? Or building high-end guitars of a whole new standard yourself? Or consulting? Honestly, if you really have that skill, you are one very valuable person to a company.
I am genuine in my question as it is important to be credible here or the point has no point. Do you really find you are correcting important and basic details that these luthiers or crews have overlooked or are missing? Its not just a bold claim, there is just no real-life foundation for it. I've had some awesome conversations with and tours with some of these luthiers and crew. When
world-class builders get together to make guitars for world class players, wouldn't we think that attention to every detail would be discerning? Answer, of course they are. Again no flame here Doc, not in the least but we lead when we speak and we define ourselves with our claims and our posts. At the very least I think we can agree that there
may be exceptions and variables. Cheers and respect, RG
EDIT: Answer the other posts separately. Cheers!
EDIT 2: Hey Doc, check out this interview with Roger. This is an awesome informative video from a real master craftsman. Just consider the depth of mindset behind production and setup. I like this video because Roger talks about his Metro line being built by master craftsmen in Japan as well. These are just awesome basses. BTW, the Japan line street for about $2500-$3000.
Check out the whole thing. At 20:17 where talks about basic setup/fretwork/price point etc. I find this approach to be the common basic standard amongst high-end builders.
