That’s great to hear! One day I’ll go take one for myself.

I did the factory tour in 2009 and it was amazing, and it didn't cost anything. I was really surprised that the tour group actually walked on the factory floor and , as you say, we were able to interact with the workers. I also loved the museum. And I still have my sound hole cut-out. That was a really nice touch.

@@DriftwoodGuitars when you got that Rosewood bed in Jersey you were only a few hr's or less to the plant. I though I'd see you going there.

Great explanation! It improves precision and accuracy then. When it really matters, you do it this way. Maybe in a handmade shop that precision and accuracy difference doesn't matter much, but when making many hundreds or thousands of guitars each year the difference becomes significant.

Another reason the table moves is to minimize the effects of inertia on the gantry - another point is the gantry has a big weight (the spindle motor) on the end of a lever (the gantry legs) and then it would have a z-axis which is another lever - this gives two pivot points that can flex causing errors in the cut - so a stationary gantry with a moving table eliminates this - the table rides on the linear rails and has a larger footprint and allows the gantry to be more solid and focus on the spindle - the tradeoff is that it requires significantly move room for the same size working surface - so the job that the machine will be performing needs to be taken into account when selecting a machine layout - furthermore the material that will be processed also has an impact on this - metal requires significantly more force to mill than wood or plastic - but where wood mills pretty well (talking about how the tools cut and discard material and how clean it cuts) plastic usually requires higher feed rates and large flutes as plastic tends to heat and swell easily which distorts the final dimensions - a large 3-axis gantry 2.5 mill (like a 4x8 table mill used for flat stock) is usually fine for wood plastic and some thin metal but for precision work and or large pieces of metal a traditional 3-axis mill is best - its all about stability and runout - the oscillations can be measured with stress gauges and the farrier method but i've rarely ever had to go that far when designing and building a mill - one last consideration is the drive system - a single phase drive system (to clarify were talking about the motors to move the axis but also would include the spindle) is going to oscillate (harmonics are when the oscillations overlap which amplifies the effects of them) - so three phase motors then to work best but aren't critical usually - it really comes down to if you're chasing 10ths of and inch or thousandths of an inch

It’s a CO2 laser with a gas tube source. You don’t move the laser source because vibration will introduce longevity issues. With DC servers, moving the work piece is simple and accurate.

Learned something new today. Thanks!

@@stephenbennett7331 Was going to say this. CO2 for organics/wood. For cutting head movement you would need a mirror system which is more maintenance.

Did we say otherwise?

@@DriftwoodGuitars a little defensive? Nope. Just sharing my experiences...

Disagree with you.....I've played many Martins and none of them compare with my Boucher or Breedlove....I usually find Martin owners are the ones with all the bias and conceit in my experience, and their dealers.....I would say every Martin owner and dealer I've ever come across is a SNOB....I went with a friend who had a $6000 Martin back to the dealer he bought it from because he brought it to me and it sounded like crap and he wanted to know why and I noticed instantly it had way too much finish on it. They said there was something wrong with our hearing and that Martin never makes mistakes.! I also had a student who was told if he didn't buy a martin guitar he couldn't play in his friend's band! What kind of bull shit is that, eh?

Martin's are great, I work for Bourgeois guitars. When you can buy a used Bourgeois for the same as a stripped down d28, somethings wrong with that picture...

@@briandesjardins728 yeah. It just means people are brainwashed lol! I’ve never played a great Martin....everyone I’ve played has been mediocre at best, so yeah, something definitely is wrong with the “picture” lol

It’s an opinion piece of a competitor. Let’s leave at that.

Yeah I don't like it when there's an underlying emotion involved or a certain disdain, because there's a lot to be said about the whole boutique way of building guitars. However a lot of people think that Martin or Gibson or Taylor make the best guitars because of the name they have. When they are essentially mass produced guitars that look great but aren't necessarily anything special. What you're saying is not really true, a Taylor or a Gibson will all have something good about them generally it's just a personal preference of what the brand does.

Agreed. Hide glue important also sounds better. Idc what anyone says, I can hear the difference. It just hardens differently. Especially considering how close it gets to the joint.

There's supposedly oderless hide glue but that probably smells too haha.

Nice story!

Yeah, they used real humans then. Looks like they're struggling to keep up with the Taylor robots. Sad. Martin is the American design classic. Only one original.

I did the same tour back in ’95 (North and Sycamore rd plants) : i could see everything and talk to anyone... So interesting. The only (small) complain: i found them a bit stingy: as an owner of a nice D42, i’ve been awarded a wonderful spruce discus, as a special customer gift ! A T-shirt would have been welcomed...Anyway, my Martin is still wonderful, after all these years

Most modern wood glues offer this same reparability.

See i am not sure why fans of guitars are so tone glue thing, but i have never heard a single guitar builder say hide glue is for the tone. Most furniture builders are frugal or cheap and hide glue you get in like 3lb or bigger bag you can use that last for years.

When buying a Takamine pay the extra money for all wood.

@@michaelmckenna9022 all the ones I own are all solid and are outstanding

@@TheKhanhhoa I do business with a Japanese company. They furnish the plant manager with a 3500 square foot home. The whole family moves into the smallest bedroom in the house. The Japanese if had a choice, they would live in a smaller place. There is a lot of social pressure in Japan to have an outstanding career. The children study day and night to have better grades than their peers. They rarely get any vacation. One of my customers in Osaka area actually Kolbe. He begs me to visit so he can entertain me and get himself a day off. You are right, the suicide rate there is extremely high. Behind the pleasant smiles are some very unhappy people. What's funny is the peasants or low class people are happier.

I watched the Takamine tour online and I found some of the things they discussed very interesting. Such as the brand name is actually named after a mountain and not a person. Who knew?

Interesting that they do everything by hand. I purchased a nylon Takamine once and the neck was so twisted it had to be returned. Ended up going with a Taylor Academy 12N.

Exactly. Really a turn off. Not a good look acting that way. And anyone hating on Martin is out of their minds. Especially their tone. You wouldn't in the position you're in without them. And imo, they're still the best sound wise.

Not a good idea. If you screw up, it's not reversable.

I was recently speaking with a custom guitar builder, and he swore that he had a neck returned to him for fret ends that were perfect when it left his shop. Humidity and temperature changes are really hard on necks

Who's to say it's not like a custom 10k guitar? All that matters is how the wood amd pieces came together to create synergy. You don't have to spend a ton to get amazing tone. And I've bought up and down thr ladder to realize that.

Does your friend have any website, social media or anything like that? I would love to check out his work!

Yes, I as well would like to see his work..

@@Andy_Classic He despises social media, although he is on FB, he only uses it to go on guitar forums. I will respect his wishes. I'm on FB. PM me, I'll send you pic's. My profile pic is of a Tele I built.

@@johnfeole1971 He dispises social media. Only uses FB for guitar forums. I'll respect his privacy. I'm on FB, send me a PM, I'll send you pic's. My profile pic is of a Tele I built.

@@thomaswalz3515 he sounds like me, lol..thx, I'll check FB..

I agree. This really turned me off too. I was In the factory a few years ago and Dick Boak (look him up) and I were talking and there was a phenomenal player in front of us sampling guitars out of the museum showcases. I asked of who gets to play those and he said, “ that’s Julian Lennon”. So if you think laughing at the most historic and well known acoustic brand (who employs hundreds of American workers) in the world is cool, I think there are a lot of players that may feel the same as me.

Buy a fucking Yamaha then, it's better built and you won't be paying a grand for martin on the headstock

Yang di tertawakan adalah nilai yang tidak sebanding dengan kualitas, saya kira ini yg mereka maksudkan dengan nama besar tapi tidak menjamin kualitas dengan harga yg di tawarkan

I was literally thinking the same thing 😂​@valebliz

They are being real, i get it why your butt is hurting though, Paying for just brand name is bullshit, youre better off buying a guitar from an unknown luthier, and it will surely beat 99% guitars in terms of quality out there

I was going to say that “fraise” is the French word for router bit (also strawberry).

@@marmotsongs Yes, it seems to be similar in most European languages.

Also in Dutch. It's spelled 'Frezen' but it's pronounced the same as 'Fräsen'.

I believe the use of this word is a remanent of the German roots of Martin Company. I worked in a company, Norton Company, that had its roots in Sweden and remember they still used the the words from Sweden to describe different processes when they made the grinding wheels that they were famous for. This was true even though it was more than a century on from its founding in Worcester, MA.

Yeah it comes from that word. ​@@marmotsongs

Not hating, just pointing out differences in Hand Made vs Factory made.

I know what you mean. They sound pretentious to me and it's reflected in their 15k US base price.......... not sure who is buying there guitars? certainly not gig musicians at that price.

Martin is the standard that all others are measured by!!! I will stand my Guild M-20 up against anything handmade. Martin D-18 is an American classic!!!

@@freddieblue6351 M20 is a great guitar.

Exactly

They connected the sawmill with the factory to gain space. The overhead area is looking down into the sawmill as they were on two levels. I worked there in the 80's and it wasn't there then. I spent time in both buildings and it was an up hill walk to the main plant from the mill. The mill was closed as they couldn't get lumber in quality and also from the countries any longer.

can you provide the link? Because when I watched his videos I am pretty sure he used two part epoxy glue when gluing braces for example.

@@karffiol kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q6h0qqmfyt6bYZ8.html

Yes all martins made in the US are all solid wood

I’m completely self taught! You can do it

@@DriftwoodGuitars thanks man I'm probably gonna check out your guitar building Playlist to learn some stuff, but I feel like it'll take me at least 10 years to even come close to your level of craftsmanship so it's definitely daunting to me. But I went to school for fine art for years and took some woodworking classes so maybe it'll come a little more natural for me.

No

Yea.. I really think martin guitars are gonna make a name for themselves