manufacturing of acoustic guitars

andytellem

TTony

I'll move this to the Making & Modding section as you're more likely to get some replies there.

andytellem

TTony said:

I'll move this to the Making & Modding section as you're more likely to get some replies there.

ok thank you

Jez6345789

Hi 
I am not a manufacturer but have looked at a number of factories over the years in the Acoustic World most recently Martin and Taylor and they are in some ways opposites in how they work.  In that Martin still carry the torch of tradition in some of the ways they work where you get a distinct impression that Taylor is all about building a better mousetrap whichever way they can and if technology and process can do the job better then lets build the machine to do it. 

From the point of the question
I think the starting point is how many guitars are you planning to build. It can be an arbitrary number but its the start point in my mind. 

Yes CNC is a big part of the cost but Taylor use far more lasers to cut everything from inlays to sides backs etc. 
Another forgotten cost has to be space, wood storage, drying etc all take a lot of space especially if you are gassing off Nitro finish.
 
Hence Martin has drying guitars and Taylor uses a UV cure you can sand in minutes of spraying so you shorten time to finish.

Again Taylor had far more automated bending machine for the mould aspect.  

And finally dont skimp on the budget for cloths pegs

andytellem

Jez6345789 said:

Hi 
I am not a manufacturer but have looked at a number of factories over the years in the Acoustic World most recently Martin and Taylor and they are in some ways opposites in how they work.  In that Martin still carry the torch of tradition in some of the ways they work where you get a distinct impression that Taylor is all about building a better mousetrap whichever way they can and if technology and process can do the job better then lets build the machine to do it. 

From the point of the question
I think the starting point is how many guitars are you planning to build. It can be an arbitrary number but its the start point in my mind. 

Yes CNC is a big part of the cost but Taylor use far more lasers to cut everything from inlays to sides backs etc. 
Another forgotten cost has to be space, wood storage, drying etc all take a lot of space especially if you are gassing off Nitro finish.
 
Hence Martin has drying guitars and Taylor uses a UV cure you can sand in minutes of spraying so you shorten time to finish.

Again Taylor had far more automated bending machine for the mould aspect.  

And finally dont skimp on the budget for cloths pegs

wow thank you so much! i hadn't a clue how a guitar was manufactured before i decided to base my assignment on guitars! (big mistake) i feel that the Taylor methods of manufacturing would suit me better as i understand technology better than traditional methods.

so in reference to the relative contributions of materials and the machinery to the final cost of the guitar to the customer would you say that the initial cost of machinery and materials is high but they can mass produce more guitars in a shorter time period which enables them to sell at a lower price that a "hand built" one? or have i completely misunderstood?

BRISTOL86

Search YouTube for something like Taylor’s factory tour, there is a really interesting documentary type video where they show you the process from the raw wood through to a finished guitar - should give you some good insight! 

Winny_Pooh

Taylor is also smart and uniquely, they also buy and export wood direct from Africa and are quite focused on sustainability. I think you could do your work on just them and contrast with more traditional companies. Taylor also use time saving devices like necks secured with one bolt internally etc.