improvements in guitar technology

[sprokky]

Hey, here's an idea for discussion:

What major improvements in acoustic/electro acoustic guitar technologies have there been over the last ten years?

Have things got better? Can you get a much better guitar for the same money as you could 10yrs ago?

What do you reckon ?

[tark]

I think quality across the board has improved. The accuracy afforded by CNC machining means low to mid market guitars can be very accurately made. I don't see anything wrong with using machines as long as the overall assembly and adjustment is performed by a craftsman. Very low cost guitars built in China are a bit of a double edged sword. It means in the west we can get very good value for money instruments, but the more low cost goods we buy from them the more we damage our economies and the more of the west China winds up owning.

On the high end there seem to be more and more small luthiers building fabulous guitars and they can take the time to select the woods and do all the hand tuning. I think WWII put back guitar making and it has taken maybe until now to really recover.

I think experimentation with new techniques and materials is very healthy. As far as traditional guitar making is concerned the top quality woods are becoming very scarce.

[smoochimoto]

I agree with Tark. The fit, finish, fretwork and sound of import instruments has improved exponentially since I worked in music retail in the mid 80's. I also agree re CNC tech and the damage to our economies. When I think about making a purchase (a rarity) of an instrument or accessory and I have a choice I will purchase an item from the US, CAN, or EUR even if I spend a little more. I don't think the Pac Rim will miss my money, and it may help keep someone here employed. As far as other tech advances, I think acoustic instrument amplification has made quantum leaps in terms of sound quality. Some people have even said Fishman, BBE and others helped keep acoustic music viable and popular in the 80's and early 90's with their designs. Recently I was able to compare Highlander, Shatten, Fishman p/ups in var flat-tops thru a PA and a Trace Elliot acoustic amp and they sounded great.

[andys]

I use the low cost end of Fender as an example.
When I was starting out playing guitar in 1980, the budget guitars on the market were horrible. You could go a bit higher and get an Ibanez, Aria or a Yamaha but even these were hardly budget. You couldnt get much for £200.
If you wanted a Fender, you had to get a Musicmaster, or a Bronco. Both made from plywood, nice enough necks, but awful pickups, tuners, and hardware. Or you could get a 2nd hand 1970s Fender (which are now regarded as vintage and collectable) which weighed a ton, and had very questionable quality control. So Fender came up with a budget guitar called the Bullet, which was also made of plywood, even worse hardware, and it sold very few. Then they learned a hard lesson, started making Squiers in Japan at first then Indonesia, and finally China. These Squiers were made to Fender specs, played superbly, quality materials, and cost the same as a Bullet.
I owned both a Musicmaster and a Bullet early on in my guitar playing, both cost me £150 used at the time. Both my Squier Teles which both cost me less than that, outplay those old Fenders by a factor of 10. In fact they outplay most 1970s Fenders I have played.
The truth is that the likes of Fender and other makers outsourcing to the Far East, while having issues over economics and ethics, has raised the game. Cheaper instruments are no longer junk, mid priced instruments are no longer variable to the same extent, and it suppressed the complacency that had crept into some of the bigger players in the musical instrument industry. Right now with global economics doing strange things, we might find that manufacturing starts returning to nearer sources anyway, as the Chinese and Indonesians start demanding better wages and conditions as reward for their quality. Just my opinion though.

[Deleted]

My hope is that the ranks of boutique makers like NRP and Fine Reso begin to grow as the baseline quality of cheaper instruments rises. The clever manufactures are already playing in all segments. They produce low cost/ good quality instruments in Asia and Mexico while also offering unique, high quality "Custom Shop" guitars crafted in the USA.

To be honest, I think this is a model that other industrial verticals are also moving towards. For example - automobiles: I say let the Big 3 auto manufacturers in the US go under and allow all the core talent and know-how to instigate the birth of an exciting, unique boutique auto industry! Imagine the auto equivalent of NRP or Fine Resophonic!