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Cool vid. When I first had the thought about becoming a guitar maker I assumed all guitars were built in factories and I would go and find a job in one! Although I am always impressed with machines that are built to do that kind of thing I am more impressed with what I can do myself.
thanks ethan for posting this video. it would have been interesting to see how they attached the necks to the guitars. i was curious why the workman was putting glue at the tips of the already glued braces. any idea?
Working in this factory looks a lot of fun with a nice family working atmosphere. If they were making well designed, reasonably priced furniture for schools and hospitals I would have even warmer feelings about the place.
However, over at the Admira website (this is the Admira factory I think) we read
Handmade Spanish guitars: your music, our passion. Discover the Admira guitar family
We might have read
Our laminated cosmetically perfect guitars will never split or crack. When you come to sell yours after it has been under the bed for 20 years since the end of your first disappointing week of trying to play it, you will find that it is still as good(?) as new
I invented the second bit. Perhaps I was unfair, but my first guitar was a good piece of furniture but a disappointing musical instrument so my opinion is coloured by unhappy memories.
RE: Cómo se fabrican las guitarras ... (in reply to RobJe)
quote:
Our laminated cosmetically perfect guitars will never split or crack. When you come to sell yours after it has been under the bed for 20 years since the end of your first disappointing week of trying to play it, you will find that it is still as good(?) as new
I invented the second bit. Perhaps I was unfair, but my first guitar was a good piece of furniture but a disappointing musical instrument so my opinion is coloured by unhappy memories.
I think you might be looking at this the wrong way.
In order for you to get what you pay for, lower end guitars are made to be furniture on purpose. That's why even though the CNC machine might be the same, the high end all solid model will have a nice neck and the cheap beater laminated model will have a baseball bat.
RE: Cómo se fabrican las guitarras ... (in reply to RobJe)
quote:
Our laminated cosmetically perfect guitars will never split or crack. When you come to sell yours after it has been under the bed for 20 years since the end of your first disappointing week of trying to play it, you will find that it is still as good(?) as new
I invented the second bit. Perhaps I was unfair, but my first guitar was a good piece of furniture but a disappointing musical instrument so my opinion is coloured by unhappy memories.
That is seriously funny stuff as I can totally relate. My first "flamenco" was a Rodriguez C3F and looking back now I can say it was as dead as a cadaver. I had been playing flamenco about 3 years at the time and I thought it was pretty decent until a more experience player enlighted me to his Eliasson. of course that was over 10 years ago and I've learned a thing or two since then.
I agree with Sr. Martins, you are looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps this is a really just an elaborate ploy to weed out the non hackers right from the get go. If you can't make a go of it playing flamenco on a crappy beginners instrument, what right do you have continuing your journey? You have to suffer for your art you know. This will eliminate all the posers and pretenders right away!!
RE: Cómo se fabrican las guitarras ... (in reply to sig)
quote:
I think you might be looking at this the wrong way.
Perhaps.
My early guitar/furniture buying experience came in 1960 – it was a different world. The second guitar I bought was cheaper. I bought it “new” in Spain from a “reputable” dealer – still in business today. I came to realise later that it was not new – just refinished (tell-tale sweat mark under the varnish) with a new back made from cheap wood. Of course such dishonesty would never be encountered in these modern times!? But it was a joy to play and still is – my son has it.
Although there were plenty of cheap plywood "guitars" in those days it was also possible to buy cheap playable instruments made from solid timbers by people who knew how to do it.
RE: Cómo se fabrican las guitarras ... (in reply to RobJe)
quote:
Although there were plenty of cheap plywood "guitars" in those days it was also possible to buy cheap playable instruments made from solid timbers by people who knew how to do it.
If you had a guitar factory business, how would you differentiate your products and price ranges if everything was great & awesome?
Since you can't produce guitars that are even better than your best guitar, the only solution is to cut on materials, cosmetics, playability, setup, etc.... until you reach the furniture models.
RE: Cómo se fabrican las guitarras ... (in reply to Sr. Martins)
quote:
If you had a guitar factory business, how would you differentiate your products and price ranges if everything was great & awesome?
Well you did it by methods that wouldn't be acceptable in the modern age - and I do understand why.
This is how it was done.
- cheap solid timbers for back and sides – cut to maximise the usable timber you could get out of a log - wide and wavy grain – 3 piece backs – don’t worry too much that it might split
- tops made of cheaper wide grained spruce -
- pegs or cheap creaking machine heads
- very simple rosette, no purfling very basic cosmetic details throughout
- finish with a quick spray – make it a nice red colour to cover up the blemishes
- get some guys who know a bit about making guitars (not factory operatives)
- buy a cheap plot of land in Pozuelo de Alarcón and build a shed where guitars can be made
The crazy thing is that most of these guitars were pretty good to play and some of them guitars survived. And they were so cheap!
RE: Cómo se fabrican las guitarras ... (in reply to Sr. Martins)
quote:
I didn't do a thing, I just described what happens nowadays.
I was just replying to your question that I quoted - make cheap guitars differentiated from the best by being good but disposable rather than cr*p and everlasting
Posts: 1696
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: Cómo se fabrican las guitarras ... (in reply to keith)
Hi, Keith.
Yeah, I was curious about that glue at the tops of the braces too, and they showed it more than once. I have no idea. Maybe to throw off the competition. The necks are probably attached with a spline--it would be the easiest and cheapest way and that appears to be what they're into.
Thanks for posting the videos. I enjoyed the Alhambra video presentation, as I just purchased an Alhambra guitar this winter. Lots of love, care, expertise and patience goes into guitar construction.
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