Guitars and Wine

[scottreiner]

This is an excellent piece on the production of Fender guitars in the beginning and today. It can be viewed as a parallel to the 'tradition vs modern' discussion in the wine world. I think it is interesting in the context of wine because it can be viewed positively by both fans of tradition and modernity. The traditionalist will argue that slow, purposeful craftsmanship is the only way to make a soulful, honest product. The modernist will argue that technology simply aids tradition in improving the final product and allows the product to be enjoyed by more people.

 

[Kay Bixler]

Don't spoof my Strat, maaaaaan!

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

That's traditional v. modern, what about natural guitars?

 

[Eden Mylunsch]

Natural guitars? No such thing - they're all spoofed-up slaps in the face to Mother Nature. They've got six strings and we have only five fingers.

-Eden (by all rights, Django shoulda been a bassist)

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:
Natural guitars? No such thing - they're all spoofed-up slaps in the face to Mother Nature. They've got six strings and we have only five fingers.

-Eden (by all rights, Django shoulda been a bassist)

Ya think? Wouldn't a koto have been more appropriate?

 

[Eden Mylunsch]

A guitar with the same quantity of strings as a koto would be justifiable given Reinhardt's dexterity and imagination, but that number might otherwise be thought unlucky and would thus not sell well to the mass market.

I enjoyed the videos. The 1959 Fullerton footage is exactly as I imagined the factory would look like - hot and dusty and no safety equipment in evidence. This may be why the older instruments had such unique personalities; I've owned a number of Fender basses over the years and each one shows significant bottle variation from the others.

The vid of the modern production facility is notable for the consistency of the automation. This was shot in the Corona shop - I wonder just how much handwork is done when building the instruments produced under the Fender name in Asia or South America. They sell for a lot less money but are actually pretty good instruments once they're set up properly. They lack the cachet of the American-built guitars, but at the end of the day, it's about the notes that are played, more than the instrument they're played on.

-Eden (down to owning just two Fender basses right now)

 

[Lou Kessler]

The url for this site is not any place to be found. Just checking.

 

[Steve Edmunds]

the Mississippi Delta is shining like a natural guitar...

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

the Mississippi Delta is shining like a national guitar...

 

[MLipton]

I opened this thread sure that I was going to read about what Scott drank in memory of Jim Marshall. My disappointment was palpable.

Mark Lipton

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

Use of wood in guitar-making is far too widely practiced, imho.

 

[Steve Edmunds]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
the Mississippi Delta is shining like a national guitar...

not in my song

 

[Mr. Doghead]

slaps

No, we have ten fingers.

All you need is one claw to hold the bottle and another to hammer the wires.

Best,
Ate Meidinner

 

[lars makie]

And no one's mentioned Mr. Anthony Wilson yet?

At least Eden chimed in. Reminds me of the Pro Tools thread a while ago.

Goes to drums as well, check out Craviotto.

 

[Joel Stewart]

Im just so surprised to see so many human hands at work in the vids. One would think that sanding for example could be programmed into the construction. No matter though, one thing Fender, nor anyone making wooden instruments can control (so far at least) is the wood itself. I settled on the '83 strat I was playing in the used shop because...uhm....it felt good, over several other models played. I don't think it's a particularly great vintage, but that/those pieces of wood were/are great.

It's like bottles (vs vintages)...

 

[David Erickson]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
That's traditional v. modern, what about natural guitars?

Guitars, like wine, do not make themselves. The best guitars, like the best wines, are made by people who respect their raw materials. Scott Beckwith built my bass. As is the case with winemakers whose work I love, we don't see eye to eye about everything, but there is no disputing the quality of what he produces.

 

[Joel Stewart]

Intent may help create beautiful things, but material can trump intent, is my feeling,

 

[Joel Stewart]

and there are brilliant guitars made of crappy wood

 

[David Erickson]

originally posted by Joel Stewart:
and there are brilliant guitars made of crappy wood

There are brilliant electric guitars made of crappy wood; I would argue that they would be marginally more brilliant if they were made of better (meaning denser, more resonant) wood. Emphasis on "marginally."

It is true that there are acoustic guitars that are not made of wood that are quite something (Ovations have a fiberglass/resin composite back), but mostly not.

As for Fender, I'm always surprised at the randomness of their quality, given all the automation they use. I've played MIMs (Made In Mexico) that were spectacular, and a Custom Deluxe Telecaster that practically barked, it was such a dog. Not that my experience means anything--someone else would pick up each of those guitars and have a different reaction. But there really are differences that don't seem to have anything to do with the costliness of the materials or the skills of the luthier. (And maybe that's where the wine analogy actually works).

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by David Erickson:
Not that my experience means anything--someone else would pick up each of those guitars and have a different reaction.

I recently read that Yo-Yo Ma said something similar about the Davidov Stradivarius: Jacqueline du Pre had trouble with the instrument because it responds best to gentle coaxing and that was not her usual playing style.