Those machines are so much more accurate than building a guitar by hand that I can't imagine why anyone would complain about them. The precision using computers simply can't be matched instrument to instrument by the old methods. Very interesting view of the machine that does the first routs. Thanks for a great video.
This video was inspirational to me! I started into lutherie professionally full time later in life (at 51). A lifelong hobby turned professional. I have a very low-tech workshop environment, but still maintain high craft in the outcome. It just takes a little longer. ;) That said, as I've gotten older (and as the body dictates) I have cultivated a high appreciation for CNC and being able to automate those processes that stress the body. If I could afford the outlay I would throw down for a CNC workstation in a heartbeat! I would also build more, and better guitars that way, too. Accordingly, my main focus has rested on repair and restoration. That's cool, but I'd rather build while I still have good years left in me. And though I still enjoy the handcrafting aspects of making a guitar, I'd give anything to work in a shop with more automation tools. At 61, however, nobody seems to want to hire an "old guy". I don't know why exactly, just ageism I guess. In my view Kauer Guitars crafts some of the finest electric guitars going, second to none! Thanks for sharing this video. I look forward to Part 2 when it is available. Glenn Arnold Coastal Guitarworks - Tybee Island, GA, USA
There really is a lot to be said along these lines Glenn. Guitar building is a hard on your hands and joints business and the CNC is both helpful and safer for myself and employee's in this regard.
MAN I THINK I'VE READ JUST ABOUT EVERY EXCUSE POSSIBLE FOR HAVING A CNC IN A (CUSTOM) GUITAR SHOP, HAHAHA. IF BUILDING GUITARS IS HARD ON YOUR BODY MAYBE IT'S NOT THE RIGHT JOB FOR YOU, THERES NOTHING REALLY THAT TAXING, AND YES I BUILD GUITARS TOO JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER NERD ON THIS POST.
Reading some of the stupid remarks people make about CNC machining they have never seen a CNC lathe with live tooling in operation.I programmed CNC machining centers and on repeat runs every component comes off exactly the same some thing handmade will never achieve.
That was an awesome video! Watching the process from start to finish and see what goes into making a quality guitar. The CNC machine is killer and also the hand labor that goes into mix! Can't wait to see more of your videos...
A few years back I built very high-end electric guitars. I sure miss it. I sold most of them to sessions players and collectors. I sure miss it. I would scour the country for guitar tops. Unless you've worked with wood you'd never know how fulfilling it is! I didn't have a CNC but the repeatability would be a welcome tool.
The Safety Police wants you the wear a mask while sanding. Seriously, I have suffered a lung infection and nearly suffocated and died as a result of breathing fine wood dust. I can assure you, that is not a joke. Always, wear protective gear!
100% agreed. We wear masks in the shop 99% of the time, have extensive dust collection and multiple air filtration units running while we work. Just not so much in the video
@@Kauerguitars We don't care if you want to kill yourselves in the shop, but we think the most important place to observe safe conduct is when you're teaching our kids! So that 100% looks more like 10%....
If you're a hobbyist and only take on a few custom projects a year, you build them by hand. If it's your livelihood and you want to build a successful company, you use CNC equipment. It's fast. able to hold close tolerances and doesn't require a shop full of journeymen artists to make it go. I worked in the custom cabinet industry for years right out of high school and then spent the next 35 years as a machinist. When I got into machining in the mid 70's, it was before CNC, and when the first NC machine (precursor to CNC) hit the floor in our shop, my foreman laughed saying that it was a fad that would soon pass. I think you all know the rest of this story.
My grandfather said that every furniture piece is a wooden box. What matters is the finish. So okey, you can make guitars with CNC as he machined furniture, but those are no longer artisan.
Hobetto , Your granbdfather said it was the finish.. Ya so the cnc doesn't do the finish.. they are still hand sanded and painted which still takes a lot of time. The cnc just saves time cutting the shape close.. but there is still a ton of hand work.
You're looking at it the wrong way. The CNC allows me to focus my time and efforts on the area's that cannot be replicated by a machine: finishing, sanding, fret work, final neck shaping, final fret work and setup etc; the so called "artisan" aspects of guitar building. What the CNC does is the monotonous, repetitive work with a higher degree of accuracy than any skilled set of hands could attain. I can do this and still produce a reasonable amount of guitars to stay IN business and keep our three employee's paid. For a 4 man shop making Kauer, www.titanguitars.com and www.drsracks.com that CNC machinery is indispensable to this.
Damn... I do not know how to properly respect and appreciate this video! I have never wanted to buy something in my life. Or dig so quickly into a band! Kauer just dropped into my guitar bucket list.
Great to see how you do things behind the scenes Doug! It was also neat to see that stainless steel straight edge I had made for you at 11:20 in. Keep up the good work, and can't wait to see the next video!
We love the crew at Goodall and everything they build. It is a very different type of guitar building than how we do it. We just try to make the most of the tools we have on hand ;)
Awesome. I don't care if you cut the wood with a bagel knife; it's the end result that matters. I'm personally a little queasy about playing a $3000+ instrument at my cover shows where my guitars get knocked around, but it's easy to see to why these instruments cost what they do (i.e. handmade one-off instruments, and that shop is clearly full of expensive machines/tools). For now, I've got my not-as-good actual Firebird, but I'll step it up sooner of later!
celebutante bro well you can still have same quality for far under 1000$, not trying to take away anyone's job but my brother have similar machines believe in some far east countries they have even better CNC that cut 5 guitars at once and they sell similar quality guitar only wood for like 150$ max. Typical CNC cost at lest here around 5000$ by baying OK wood and selling guitars for far smaller price you will pay it of that CNC less under 1 year and beside you will earn money for your self for sure 100%. . So why are some guitars so expensive? those story better quality lol sure it is better then 100$ no doubt but today you can bay guitars a new one for like 500 $ that are serious concurrency. To be brutally honest guitars are expensive due to builders are hungry for $ profit, my brother live normal life not trying to be a milliner nor super famous , those who like a lot of $ well they pump prices and usually spit on imported guitars. While thy knock off imported guitars well they gladly import wood and hardware ... Fender is a BIG name right? Who make hardware for them? PING Taiwan. Schaller and Floyd Rose are also big names? but Korean Sung Il, Chine s Jin Ho ( i know names might sound silly to western kids) is on same level meaning they work for them so if you bay hardware made from same material with different name does that matter? to me no. Unfortunately to average buyers it means a lot due to marketing and propaganda and fact that builders today wish to be rich . in 1980's my mother for example had almost 2000$ salary it was nothing special and i could get killer new Kramer, Charvel for under 1000$ . Today people live better let say some still make 2000$ of course some make more or less, but guitar production became easier so how then guitars cost 3-5000$? TO BAY PRS will usual frets for 5000$ lol and they are dead in 1 year, just in order to have ''name'' no way. Boutique guitars that are made strictly for you when they measure your hands, use wood you like, shape guitar in the way you wish etc then can understand let say prices over 1000$ max up to 2000$, but to pay serial production guitar 30004? i mean....come on people. Cheers.
I hate to leave comments like this but these guys do not at all take pride in what they do and as a guitar builder myself I can say that.wow they have so much more potential than what they are showing on this video.if I didn't put no more detail in my work than that I wouldn't put out a video of my work.
As I said you guys do great work and your guitars look awesome but it just took me by surprise when I seen you do the neck glue up that the glue wasn't spread around like I've always seen it done and how I was taught to do it that's all.other than that I'm sure you guys do great work.i wasn't trying to start anything or be like a basement troll or anything lol but I was just surprised is all.cheers guys and I hope y'all the best and would love to check out one of those guitars myself.
great seeing you at the NAAM show this year, it'll be fun to see you next year with new product line - I still vote for humbuckers over tv jones, even more I've fallen in love with the Dimarzio D Sonic and the Crunch Lab, see ya soon
Such beautiful guitar, got to see rival sons supporting sabbath in London it was epic !! Always wondered what they played now I know keep up the sick work
Slick here ,interesting video, I've done fabrication, assembly and manufacturing. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look. as far as METALGUYN is concerned, if he really wants to manufacture guitars the old fashioned way, he should get a sharp stick and hit it with a big rock. - oh the times they are a changing.
+T Hartl agreed. Frankly, we're tired of this argument anyways. CNC's have been around 20-30 years at this point, get over it people. The amazing thing is watching people take advantage of things you could ONLY do with a CNC and bringing out really amazing idea's and innovation.
It doesnt really matters how the guitars are cut, but it matters how are finished. Other thing is the artisan factor, that if the guitar is cut by hand in a bandsaw, and inlayed with chisels and the neck is given curvature sanded by hand, and the instrument is still precise, has the artisan capital gain.
The CNC is freaking awesome, I wish I had one! The only thing I didnt understand is when shaping the neck why you didnt use a chisel or knife after the rasp. I find I can get a real good finish with a chisel almost to the finish dimensions. It makes sanding easier and uses less sandpaper and is easier on the lungs. hehe Other than that everything in your process is freaking awesome! Greetings from Dallas, Texas!
The video says it takes months of work to build a guitar. I know almost all of that time is wood conditioning or finishes curing, which I do not consider work. It would be more realistic to say it takes hours of work to build a guitar. With the CNC doing most of the roughing I would be shocked if it took more than eight man hours to get a guitar ready for finishing in a small shop. A factory custom shop once told me it took them about five man hours to make a custom guitar, while their assembly line guitars took about two man hours to complete.
@@Kauerguitars - I will admit I was thinking more in line with what a large company can do. After some consideration I realize that some operations may take a lot longer in a small shop with less automation. I still believe the total man hours to complete a guitar is reasonably low. Just for the sake of clarity I would like to state that there is an appreciable difference between hours and man hours. It may take an hour for a cnc table to turn a blank into a rough guitar body, but it only took about 1/120th of a man hour to load the blank and push the start button. Where I will admit my mistake was forgetting that some things, like custom one off inlays, can take ages without high-end equipment. Staff experience also plays a big role in how big manufactures can get the man hours so low. I've seen assembly line staff top bind a guitar in less than two minutes where it would have taken me at least an hour. Essentially, if you made it this far, I was a little too quick to make the assertion that it could be done in less than 8 man hours in a small shop. There really are too many variables concerned for me to make the assertion with any good faith. Finally, thanks for the job offer, but I'd much rather enjoy my retirement. 😁
@@flyingdutchman6984 We *could* in theory build a guitar with only 8 actual man hours (our www.titanguitars.com line is an example of that) but even 8 is stretching it. Our assembly guy (who isn't in this video) typically has 6 hours just into doing the fretwork, wiring and full assembly for each Kauer (including making the PG's, rear covers etc). I do all the finishing and each Banshee for instance requires about 45 minutes of sanding between coats. That's after each of the following stages: Isolant (scuff), second isolant coat (scuff), grain filler applied (full stand), 1st round of sealer (full sand), 2nd round of sealer (full sand), 1st gloss session (80% sand), 2nd gloss session (full sand), flow out final coat. Then we sand and block it 3 more times (1000, 1200, 2000, each being about 40-45 minutes) and then buff. That's JUST paint. The CNC automation helps speed up and accurately cut parts and allows me to do other things while it's running but most guitar building is just brute force hands on work. Even the large guys, most of the labor is on the sanding, finishing and assembly side. Stuff that's difficult to automate.
About Titan and getting it down to 8 hours, that's: making the body only, neck is subbed out, satin finish UV cured paint and modular pickguards. Even then we still average about 6-8 hours total a guitar.
@@Kauerguitars - I understand completely. Thanks for clearing up some of my misconceptions. As I said I now realize some things are going to take a lot longer in a smaller shop because of less automation. Either way I'd be proud to own any guitar coming out of your shop. Take care.
Different models (and shapes). Our Banshee model is a neck thru, the model we're gluing the neck into is our Starliner and the model I'm painting in the booth is our Arcturus (bolt-on).
Interesting dichotomy CNC precision to a guy very unsteady on the router table then right to drilling tuner holes 15 degrees out of square to the headstock face. @ 5:53 Great looking guitars but, wow.
Explained a million times. The table on the drill press rotates so he is drilling them 90* to the face. Then we cut off the back side of the headstock parallel to the face so there's no chance of having blow out on the back of the headstock during the drilling process. Super easy.
Lmao people bitching about CNC. Tell you what, you open a factory of this size, build everything by hand and then come back and tell me you're getting enough done and aren't losing money by not selling enough
Hej sorry/ i was'nt watching closely frist time /But the Second time i saw how you guys do it - and erased My comment - at least i thought so !!! I'll try deleting one more time. Apologies. ..Again
Kurt we're working on that. We used to have a fair amount on here but my 4 year old with my iPad ... kind of wiped our account. LOL BTW there are lots of things under Kauer, Rival Sons, Michael Burks and more.
awsome classic rock/jam sound.Your guitars and shop tour was very cool.I always enjoy seeing other small shop builders.everyone has a unique way of building. I finally after 25 years of building electrics, built my first acoustic archtop,please check my site out.In the blog I have construction pic. And a gallery of past projects.
Hey guys, great work! I was wondering, what is the applicator you are using to apply the thin glue for the frets ( 7:00) ? I have been looking for those swab type applicators for a couple of years and can't find any because I don't know what to call them...many thanks!!!
It's a tool designed to verify our neck angle. We set it on the fretboard and when the tip touches the body, the neck angle is right. It's something we designed and had cut
+yugrusretep Yep, that's our Banshee model. It's our only neck-thru model. It's not really 1 piece but actually 5 pieces (the neck is 3 pieces, + the two wings)
I am surprised when the neck is glued into place, that the glue was not spread out appropriately using a brush so every square mm is covered correctly before placing the neck into place. That is what I do for all joints I glue together. Just my 2 cents.......
Kris- As you push the neck in it spreads the glue out evenly. We also do this, pull it back to ensure everything is coated then reset (you just don't see that in the video). Just my 3 cents.
Why not leave the guitar all one piece so that the neck and body are the same piece of wood. Then put the trus rod in the neck and put the fretboard on and the maple cap on the body. Then you would have a guitar that wasn't bolt on are neck thru. I mean why cut the neck off of the body then glue it back onto the body? I play guitar but don't know the first thing about building one🙈
Well, keep in mind we're showing 3 different styles of guitar being built. The CNC video is a Banshee where the neck IS part of the body (neck-thru construction). It's not 1 solid piece of wood though because you have to select specific grain directions for things like the neck portion. The next style (where I'm gluing a neck in) is our Starliner and that's what's called Set Neck construction. That's your typical construction style (Les Paul etc) and is a different thing tonally and structurally. The last is the one I'm painting, that's an Arcturus. That is a Fender style Bolt On construction. It's all different things for different goals here.
the amount of bitching about the use of a CNC is honestly hilarious..."gosh I want some body to hand craft my guitar by holding the router using templates made on a CNC! much better then those guitars made on a CNC.." anyhow very cool video!
EVERYONE uses CNC anyway...Me personally, I'd rather have a computer do the work so that it comes out perfect every time and I know that no employees had to get arthritis or carpel tunnel just so I could have a guitar
Imagine if those people would prefer to buy a car welded by human hands instead of welded by a robot... CNC and robots mean uniformity and conformity, and also cheaper goods.
The Banshee is a neck thru. It's actually a 3 piece neck and 2 separate wings. That lets us pick all the right grain directions and ideal weights for each piece.
+JJ JJ LOL- in the winter time the "belt" for the sander gets hard and loses some of its grip and the smaller stuff (less than 3-4' long) sometimes slips and gets hung up in the middle of the sander. So we just push it thru to make sure it doesn't sit in one spot stuck under a sanding belt. In the summer the rubber of the conveyor warms up some and has a bit more grip.
@@Kauerguitars - Are you building guitars in your driveway? Why should it matter what season it is when you are working in a climate controlled work environment? The first process of building any guitar is to control the temperature and humidity in the work environment.
+JJ JJ Messalion got it but yes, it's CA Glue (super glue). We originally wanted to rely on a purely mechanical fit for our frets but that only holds true the moment you press them in. Take the guitars all over the world, expose them to drastically different climates and wood does what it always does, expands and contracts nulling that mechanical fit. So we CA glue them to help minimize any chance of frets getting lose. It's a pretty standard practice in the industry.
MAN SHOVE THAT MUSIC UP YOUR ASS ! I'M ELECTRIC - I'M YOUR ELECTRIC MAN ? WTF ? HOW CORNY CAN YOU GET ? WHAT'S THE NEXT TRACK ? I'M YOUR GAS MAN HEAR ME FART ?
Because the headstock face is tapered. We adjust the table so the headstock face is 90* to the drill so that when we cut the backside of the headstock to be parallel to the front everything lines up. ;)
Those machines are so much more accurate than building a guitar by hand that I can't imagine why anyone would complain about them. The precision using computers simply can't be matched instrument to instrument by the old methods. Very interesting view of the machine that does the first routs. Thanks for a great video.
This video was inspirational to me! I started into lutherie professionally full time later in life (at 51). A lifelong hobby turned professional. I have a very low-tech workshop environment, but still maintain high craft in the outcome. It just takes a little longer. ;) That said, as I've gotten older (and as the body dictates) I have cultivated a high appreciation for CNC and being able to automate those processes that stress the body. If I could afford the outlay I would throw down for a CNC workstation in a heartbeat! I would also build more, and better guitars that way, too. Accordingly, my main focus has rested on repair and restoration. That's cool, but I'd rather build while I still have good years left in me. And though I still enjoy the handcrafting aspects of making a guitar, I'd give anything to work in a shop with more automation tools. At 61, however, nobody seems to want to hire an "old guy". I don't know why exactly, just ageism I guess. In my view Kauer Guitars crafts some of the finest electric guitars going, second to none! Thanks for sharing this video. I look forward to Part 2 when it is available.
Glenn Arnold
Coastal Guitarworks - Tybee Island, GA, USA
There really is a lot to be said along these lines Glenn. Guitar building is a hard on your hands and joints business and the CNC is both helpful and safer for myself and employee's in this regard.
LOOSEWIGG, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. YOU DON'T NEED NO STINKING CNC JUST GET THE KID NEXT DOOR TO DO ALL THE SANDING HAHAHA.
MAN I THINK I'VE READ JUST ABOUT EVERY EXCUSE POSSIBLE FOR HAVING A CNC IN A (CUSTOM) GUITAR SHOP, HAHAHA. IF BUILDING GUITARS IS HARD ON YOUR BODY MAYBE IT'S NOT THE RIGHT JOB FOR YOU, THERES NOTHING REALLY THAT TAXING, AND YES I BUILD GUITARS TOO JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER NERD ON THIS POST.
Eddie, I'm going to use the best tools I think for the job everytime. I'm glad you build the way you do but I'll keep doing it the way I do it.
Reading some of the stupid remarks people make about CNC machining they have never seen a CNC lathe with live tooling in operation.I programmed CNC machining centers and on repeat runs every component comes off exactly the same some thing handmade will never achieve.
That was an awesome video! Watching the process from start to finish and see what goes into making a quality guitar. The CNC machine is killer and also the hand labor that goes into mix! Can't wait to see more of your videos...
Spiccoli Rocks thank you!
A few years back I built very high-end electric guitars. I sure miss it. I sold most of them to sessions players and collectors.
I sure miss it. I would scour the country for guitar tops. Unless you've worked with wood you'd never know how fulfilling it is!
I didn't have a CNC but the repeatability would be a welcome tool.
But do you miss it?
The Safety Police wants you the wear a mask while sanding. Seriously, I have suffered a lung infection and nearly suffocated and died as a result of breathing fine wood dust. I can assure you, that is not a joke. Always, wear protective gear!
100% agreed. We wear masks in the shop 99% of the time, have extensive dust collection and multiple air filtration units running while we work. Just not so much in the video
@@Kauerguitars We don't care if you want to kill yourselves in the shop, but we think the most important place to observe safe conduct is when you're teaching our kids! So that 100% looks more like 10%....
That is why I get illegal aliens to do my sanding for me. They don't mind doing it in small non ventilated areas.
@@Tricknologyinc why would we want to ruin our child labor force?
@@Tricknologyinc Will someone please think of the children!
passion and craftsmanship equals some of the most beautiful guitars I've ever seen. well done wish I could afford them haha. Good work
Thank you!
If you're a hobbyist and only take on a few custom projects a year, you build them by hand. If it's your livelihood and you want to build a successful company, you use CNC equipment. It's fast. able to hold close tolerances and doesn't require a shop full of journeymen artists to make it go.
I worked in the custom cabinet industry for years right out of high school and then spent the next 35 years as a machinist. When I got into machining in the mid 70's, it was before CNC, and when the first NC machine (precursor to CNC) hit the floor in our shop, my foreman laughed saying that it was a fad that would soon pass. I think you all know the rest of this story.
My grandfather said that every furniture piece is a wooden box. What matters is the finish.
So okey, you can make guitars with CNC as he machined furniture, but those are no longer artisan.
Hobetto , Your granbdfather said it was the finish.. Ya so the cnc doesn't do the finish.. they are still hand sanded and painted which still takes a lot of time. The cnc just saves time cutting the shape close.. but there is still a ton of hand work.
You're looking at it the wrong way. The CNC allows me to focus my time and efforts on the area's that cannot be replicated by a machine: finishing, sanding, fret work, final neck shaping, final fret work and setup etc; the so called "artisan" aspects of guitar building. What the CNC does is the monotonous, repetitive work with a higher degree of accuracy than any skilled set of hands could attain.
I can do this and still produce a reasonable amount of guitars to stay IN business and keep our three employee's paid. For a 4 man shop making Kauer, www.titanguitars.com and www.drsracks.com that CNC machinery is indispensable to this.
Never underestimate the power of a rasp. I appreciate these builders.
hard to beat a good rasp
Damn... I do not know how to properly respect and appreciate this video! I have never wanted to buy something in my life. Or dig so quickly into a band! Kauer just dropped into my guitar bucket list.
Thank you!!!
I had to play this twice. Once for the video. And once for the music.
So good guys. I came for the guitar building, I stayed for the soundtrack. Beautiful instruments.
sounds also great on 1,25 speed ^^
Jonckheyt music - Stefan Pontzeele noice
Great to see how you do things behind the scenes Doug! It was also neat to see that stainless steel straight edge I had made for you at 11:20 in.
Keep up the good work, and can't wait to see the next video!
We use it every day Kevin! Really works great!!!
Jeebuz when he brushes off the router table at 3:00 it gives me the willies!
I do like the jig for drilling the jack though.
Yipes. Just saw that.
6:04, Lord his fingers are too close to that bit
It was fun to compare this to the behind-the-scenes video for Goodall guitars. Two very different worlds.
We love the crew at Goodall and everything they build. It is a very different type of guitar building than how we do it. We just try to make the most of the tools we have on hand ;)
Or Warwick basses. Really interesting to watch all the different approaches.
awesome shop stuff, love the shop smith with tilt table drill press and the neck carving section very cool
+greg d Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, Doug...
Happy New Year!
Kudos for the Rival Sons music! Beautiful instruments as well! Hope to try one some day
We love Rival Sons and are really lucky that Scott owns and plays so many of our guitars!
Awesome. I don't care if you cut the wood with a bagel knife; it's the end result that matters. I'm personally a little queasy about playing a $3000+ instrument at my cover shows where my guitars get knocked around, but it's easy to see to why these instruments cost what they do (i.e. handmade one-off instruments, and that shop is clearly full of expensive machines/tools). For now, I've got my not-as-good actual Firebird, but I'll step it up sooner of later!
Have you seen our new www.titanguitars.com series? Still built by us but at "can slug it out in a dive bar" pricing and aesthetic
.
Yeah, they're great, just not my style; thanks for the reply. :)
celebutante bro well you can still have same quality for far under 1000$, not trying to take away anyone's job but my brother have similar machines believe in some far east countries they have even better CNC that cut 5 guitars at once and they sell similar quality guitar only wood for like 150$ max. Typical CNC cost at lest here around 5000$ by baying OK wood and selling guitars for far smaller price you will pay it of that CNC less under 1 year and beside you will earn money for your self for sure 100%. . So why are some guitars so expensive? those story better quality lol sure it is better then 100$ no doubt but today you can bay guitars a new one for like 500 $ that are serious concurrency. To be brutally honest guitars are expensive due to builders are hungry for $ profit, my brother live normal life not trying to be a milliner nor super famous , those who like a lot of $ well they pump prices and usually spit on imported guitars. While thy knock off imported guitars well they gladly import wood and hardware ... Fender is a BIG name right? Who make hardware for them? PING Taiwan. Schaller and Floyd Rose are also big names? but Korean Sung Il, Chine s Jin Ho ( i know names might sound silly to western kids) is on same level meaning they work for them so if you bay hardware made from same material with different name does that matter? to me no. Unfortunately to average buyers it means a lot due to marketing and propaganda and fact that builders today wish to be rich . in 1980's my mother for example had almost 2000$ salary it was nothing special and i could get killer new Kramer, Charvel for under 1000$ . Today people live better let say some still make 2000$ of course some make more or less, but guitar production became easier so how then guitars cost 3-5000$? TO BAY PRS will usual frets for 5000$ lol and they are dead in 1 year, just in order to have ''name'' no way. Boutique guitars that are made strictly for you when they measure your hands, use wood you like, shape guitar in the way you wish etc then can understand let say prices over 1000$ max up to 2000$, but to pay serial production guitar 30004? i mean....come on people. Cheers.
I enjoyed looking behind the scenes
Thank you!
I hate to leave comments like this but these guys do not at all take pride in what they do and as a guitar builder myself I can say that.wow they have so much more potential than what they are showing on this video.if I didn't put no more detail in my work than that I wouldn't put out a video of my work.
You got us. Bunch of lazy, unfilled slackers here.
As I said you guys do great work and your guitars look awesome but it just took me by surprise when I seen you do the neck glue up that the glue wasn't spread around like I've always seen it done and how I was taught to do it that's all.other than that I'm sure you guys do great work.i wasn't trying to start anything or be like a basement troll or anything lol but I was just surprised is all.cheers guys and I hope y'all the best and would love to check out one of those guitars myself.
Fascinating handcraft (partly CNC built). The soundtrack is awesome.
Thanks! We're huge fans of Rival Son's and lucky to call them friends and endorsers
great seeing you at the NAAM show this year, it'll be fun to see you next year with new product line - I still vote for humbuckers over tv jones, even more I've fallen in love with the Dimarzio D Sonic and the Crunch Lab, see ya soon
Thanks bud!
Such beautiful guitar, got to see rival sons supporting sabbath in London it was epic !! Always wondered what they played now I know keep up the sick work
connor garwood that’s awesome! Love Sons, we’re very fortunate to call them friends
This is absolutely awesome Doug! I so badly want one of your guitars! In fact I want at least one of each model and all the variations! Keep it up!
Thank you so much, that's so very kind of you to say!
Slick here ,interesting video, I've done fabrication, assembly and manufacturing. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look. as far as METALGUYN is concerned, if he really wants to manufacture guitars the old fashioned way, he should get a sharp stick and hit it with a big rock. - oh the times they are a changing.
+T Hartl agreed. Frankly, we're tired of this argument anyways. CNC's have been around 20-30 years at this point, get over it people. The amazing thing is watching people take advantage of things you could ONLY do with a CNC and bringing out really amazing idea's and innovation.
I like it. Unfortunately, I like almost every guitar.
Kevin Saunders us too 😂
It doesnt really matters how the guitars are cut, but it matters how are finished. Other thing is the artisan factor, that if the guitar is cut by hand in a bandsaw, and inlayed with chisels and the neck is given curvature sanded by hand, and the instrument is still precise, has the artisan capital gain.
Also modern times hits hard to the artisans, like midi guitars hits everytime harder to the great soloists.
The CNC is freaking awesome, I wish I had one! The only thing I didnt understand is when shaping the neck why you didnt use a chisel or knife after the rasp. I find I can get a real good finish with a chisel almost to the finish dimensions. It makes sanding easier and uses less sandpaper and is easier on the lungs. hehe Other than that everything in your process is freaking awesome! Greetings from Dallas, Texas!
Frank Faz cause we like the way we do it. No real right or wrong way
Kauer guitars are awesome, I want one!
Colin Genereux thanks!
Neck clamping block with fret cutouts......... Nice touch.
3oyearson thanks!
technic is one thing . And art of building another thing. A french man affirms.
The Rival Sons - You Know We're Dealing With Godless Men ... Aho Mitakuye Oyasin!
nice to see so much hands on crafting
+Uncle Buck still a lot of hands on work to do even after all the cnc stuff
+Stephen Chow Yeah. CNC is literally 5% of the process.
I think that you should use more CNC, not less.
scary how close he is happy to have his hand near to that router bit
The video says it takes months of work to build a guitar. I know almost all of that time is wood conditioning or finishes curing, which I do not consider work. It would be more realistic to say it takes hours of work to build a guitar. With the CNC doing most of the roughing I would be shocked if it took more than eight man hours to get a guitar ready for finishing in a small shop. A factory custom shop once told me it took them about five man hours to make a custom guitar, while their assembly line guitars took about two man hours to complete.
8 hours? LOL. Come on down and I'll put you to work
@@Kauerguitars - I will admit I was thinking more in line with what a large company can do. After some consideration I realize that some operations may take a lot longer in a small shop with less automation.
I still believe the total man hours to complete a guitar is reasonably low. Just for the sake of clarity I would like to state that there is an appreciable difference between hours and man hours. It may take an hour for a cnc table to turn a blank into a rough guitar body, but it only took about 1/120th of a man hour to load the blank and push the start button.
Where I will admit my mistake was forgetting that some things, like custom one off inlays, can take ages without high-end equipment. Staff experience also plays a big role in how big manufactures can get the man hours so low. I've seen assembly line staff top bind a guitar in less than two minutes where it would have taken me at least an hour.
Essentially, if you made it this far, I was a little too quick to make the assertion that it could be done in less than 8 man hours in a small shop. There really are too many variables concerned for me to make the assertion with any good faith. Finally, thanks for the job offer, but I'd much rather enjoy my retirement. 😁
@@flyingdutchman6984 We *could* in theory build a guitar with only 8 actual man hours (our www.titanguitars.com line is an example of that) but even 8 is stretching it. Our assembly guy (who isn't in this video) typically has 6 hours just into doing the fretwork, wiring and full assembly for each Kauer (including making the PG's, rear covers etc). I do all the finishing and each Banshee for instance requires about 45 minutes of sanding between coats. That's after each of the following stages: Isolant (scuff), second isolant coat (scuff), grain filler applied (full stand), 1st round of sealer (full sand), 2nd round of sealer (full sand), 1st gloss session (80% sand), 2nd gloss session (full sand), flow out final coat. Then we sand and block it 3 more times (1000, 1200, 2000, each being about 40-45 minutes) and then buff. That's JUST paint. The CNC automation helps speed up and accurately cut parts and allows me to do other things while it's running but most guitar building is just brute force hands on work. Even the large guys, most of the labor is on the sanding, finishing and assembly side. Stuff that's difficult to automate.
About Titan and getting it down to 8 hours, that's: making the body only, neck is subbed out, satin finish UV cured paint and modular pickguards. Even then we still average about 6-8 hours total a guitar.
@@Kauerguitars - I understand completely. Thanks for clearing up some of my misconceptions. As I said I now realize some things are going to take a lot longer in a smaller shop because of less automation. Either way I'd be proud to own any guitar coming out of your shop. Take care.
The first half of the video was some CNC routing of the whole guitar with a unineck. When did the neck get separated? Confused. Thanks.
Different models (and shapes). Our Banshee model is a neck thru, the model we're gluing the neck into is our Starliner and the model I'm painting in the booth is our Arcturus (bolt-on).
Interesting dichotomy CNC precision to a guy very unsteady on the router table then right to drilling tuner holes 15 degrees out of square to the headstock face. @ 5:53 Great looking guitars but, wow.
Explained a million times. The table on the drill press rotates so he is drilling them 90* to the face. Then we cut off the back side of the headstock parallel to the face so there's no chance of having blow out on the back of the headstock during the drilling process. Super easy.
This is E.B.B. ultra custom guitars here. " you shouldn't give away you're process and trade secrets
I love the fact that you used the song "electric man" for this video. One of my favorite songs ;) :D
Not just used Electric Man, that song is PLAYED on a Kauer (Banshee) ;)
gotta love cnc
Lmao people bitching about CNC. Tell you what, you open a factory of this size, build everything by hand and then come back and tell me you're getting enough done and aren't losing money by not selling enough
LOL pretty much
There are artisan guitars built completely by hand. However, the price and the waiting time is exponential. It is a choice.
Who play that COOL guitar ?
Awesome soundtrack
Who play the music? Is awesome, please let us know
Beautiful guitar! Omg
great video, Doug!!
Love your work guys! Hope to see you at the next Holy Grail in Berlin next year. Cheers
Gletty Guitars were coming this year! Can’t wait
Muito bom guitarras belíssimas e acredito com certeza que também maravilhosas parabéns pelo trabalho
Came for the guitars, stayed for the songs.
Beautifull Guitars / Thanks for uploading -
Because we angle the table William to 10* so that drilling IS 90* to the headstock face.
BTW if the tuner holes were 10* out of alignment they would NOT fit.
Hej sorry/ i was'nt watching closely frist time /But the Second time i saw how you guys do it - and erased My comment - at least i thought so !!! I'll try deleting one more time. Apologies. ..Again
7th annual BELGIAN Beer fest??? ALLRIIIGHT!!!! :-D
Demais muito bom ,,,,,,qual a trilha sonora do video?
all beautiful, but a bit distracted by the music!
CNC is accurate and reliable...
beautiful guitars. What's a good resource to hear what they sound like? Not seeing sound samples on youtube.
Kurt we're working on that. We used to have a fair amount on here but my 4 year old with my iPad ... kind of wiped our account. LOL BTW there are lots of things under Kauer, Rival Sons, Michael Burks and more.
ouch lol, i'll check out those artists thanks!
what's the red paint-like stuff you spray at 7:25 ? before sanding the neck back shape.
Would you be able to make and set the neck on the body of an ovation ultra GP ?
I love the video and the music - I'm just worrying about you guys breathing in all that wood dust???
Matt Williams we actually do wear masks almost all day and have extensive dust collection and air filtration. Just makes for an odd looking video lol
Craftsmanship right there!
Amazing design,,, good 👍
Awesome!!!
very nice work
that's so amazing
Great Skills
Do you guys use an acrylic lacquer to finish with?
awsome classic rock/jam sound.Your guitars and shop tour was very cool.I always enjoy seeing other small shop builders.everyone has a unique way of building. I finally after 25 years of building electrics, built my first acoustic archtop,please check my site out.In the blog I have construction pic. And a gallery of past projects.
Hey guys, great work! I was wondering, what is the applicator you are using to apply the thin glue for the frets ( 7:00) ? I have been looking for those swab type applicators for a couple of years and can't find any because I don't know what to call them...many thanks!!!
Just the little wick tips. You can find them on Amazon
Hobby lobby sells them also.
What pickups do you use in 0:07 ? sounds Great!
Wow.... Awesome
Beautiful. Not digging the extreme forearm contour though
Great Video, Doug! This popped into my feed and I had to watch. :)
How are ya? Btw, great soundtrack too. :)
High tech and DIY with some dilettantism. The hole is not perpendicular to the finished head. How will the tuning key be fitted? (5:54)
The table on the drill press is angled to correct for the 11* slope of the headstock. You can see it in the video if you're watching for it.
What was that tool you used at 11:22, and can you buy them, or is that something you made?
It's a tool designed to verify our neck angle. We set it on the fretboard and when the tip touches the body, the neck angle is right. It's something we designed and had cut
Gut zu sehen dass Ihr auch noch per Hand an den Instrumenten baut. Sarkasmus aus. Gute Musik ansonsten......
The guitar on the cnc machine ealy on appeared to be cut out as a one piece with the neck attached?? Enjoyed the sound track too.
+yugrusretep Yep, that's our Banshee model. It's our only neck-thru model. It's not really 1 piece but actually 5 pieces (the neck is 3 pieces, + the two wings)
Hi. I'm a woodworker and I wanna know : what's your wood essence is ?
there must be more guitar manufacturers in the world than a freaking Schmaco Bell.
www.shopwell.com/cuginos-dipz-mix-taco-schmaco-mild/dips/p/5830080222
I am surprised when the neck is glued into place, that the glue was not spread out appropriately using a brush so every square mm is covered correctly before placing the neck into place. That is what I do for all joints I glue together. Just my 2 cents.......
Kris- As you push the neck in it spreads the glue out evenly. We also do this, pull it back to ensure everything is coated then reset (you just don't see that in the video). Just my 3 cents.
Who is that fucking killer band and the album? Man their' kickin it ......Wow Hot !
Friend and Kauer artist Rival Sons. They are freaking awesome
Why not leave the guitar all one piece so that the neck and body are the same piece of wood. Then put the trus rod in the neck and put the fretboard on and the maple cap on the body. Then you would have a guitar that wasn't bolt on are neck thru.
I mean why cut the neck off of the body then glue it back onto the body?
I play guitar but don't know the first thing about building one🙈
Well, keep in mind we're showing 3 different styles of guitar being built. The CNC video is a Banshee where the neck IS part of the body (neck-thru construction). It's not 1 solid piece of wood though because you have to select specific grain directions for things like the neck portion.
The next style (where I'm gluing a neck in) is our Starliner and that's what's called Set Neck construction. That's your typical construction style (Les Paul etc) and is a different thing tonally and structurally.
The last is the one I'm painting, that's an Arcturus. That is a Fender style Bolt On construction.
It's all different things for different goals here.
lindo demais esse trabalho !!!
the amount of bitching about the use of a CNC is honestly hilarious..."gosh I want some body to hand craft my guitar by holding the router using templates made on a CNC! much better then those guitars made on a CNC.."
anyhow very cool video!
LOL so true
EVERYONE uses CNC anyway...Me personally, I'd rather have a computer do the work so that it comes out perfect every time and I know that no employees had to get arthritis or carpel tunnel just so I could have a guitar
Imagine if those people would prefer to buy a car welded by human hands instead of welded by a robot... CNC and robots mean uniformity and conformity, and also cheaper goods.
Those are the folks that go to the car dealership and say "No no, I don't want the new ferrari, I'll take the Model T from 1925, thanks!"
Yeah, you want handbuilt, look at the Greenfield guitars video... that's some next-level stuff.
Looks like Honduran mahogany. With beautiful crotch figure glad you did natural finish, cool video.
Spanish Mahogany :D
Is this guitar made out of one single piece of wood.?
The Banshee is a neck thru. It's actually a 3 piece neck and 2 separate wings. That lets us pick all the right grain directions and ideal weights for each piece.
at 3.10 i was scared for him,find this kind of tool table really really dangerous...with no protection..hope he will keep his hands!
...anyway congrats for the job and the concept of the neck design !
Do you cower behind a Kauer?
Others cower in it's presence
Why the push stick for the sander Doug?
+JJ JJ LOL- in the winter time the "belt" for the sander gets hard and loses some of its grip and the smaller stuff (less than 3-4' long) sometimes slips and gets hung up in the middle of the sander. So we just push it thru to make sure it doesn't sit in one spot stuck under a sanding belt. In the summer the rubber of the conveyor warms up some and has a bit more grip.
@@Kauerguitars - Are you building guitars in your driveway? Why should it matter what season it is when you are working in a climate controlled work environment? The first process of building any guitar is to control the temperature and humidity in the work environment.
@@flyingdutchman6984 Yes. That's my 6000sqft driveway. Thanks for stopping by.
@@Kauerguitars - obviously not a climate controlled driveway. 😁
Looked like the screws backed out and the neck moved during the CNC carving @ 7:15
Hmm. Never noticed that before. That's why we use 3! Looks like one did get loose slightly (though could just be dust causing the focus to wig out)
why no truss rod? did I miss that somehow?
They all get trussrods, I guess we just didn't really think to show that
Adoro ver esse vídeo ✌️
Falling asleep watching that
what are you wicking into the fret slots before fretting?
+JJ JJ Messalion got it but yes, it's CA Glue (super glue). We originally wanted to rely on a purely mechanical fit for our frets but that only holds true the moment you press them in. Take the guitars all over the world, expose them to drastically different climates and wood does what it always does, expands and contracts nulling that mechanical fit. So we CA glue them to help minimize any chance of frets getting lose. It's a pretty standard practice in the industry.
Sauber!Respect!
Nice..but can you dial back the music?
Nice 👍
el mejor video clip de RIVAL SONG lml
That's the difference between Luthiery and manufacturing. I do all that with no automation.
You're my hero.
@@Kauerguitars
Good to know.
MAN SHOVE THAT MUSIC UP YOUR ASS ! I'M ELECTRIC - I'M YOUR ELECTRIC MAN ? WTF ? HOW CORNY CAN YOU GET ? WHAT'S THE NEXT TRACK ? I'M YOUR GAS MAN HEAR ME FART ?
6:24 Why are you drilling 90 degrees down in an angled plane?
Because the headstock face is tapered. We adjust the table so the headstock face is 90* to the drill so that when we cut the backside of the headstock to be parallel to the front everything lines up. ;)
Ahh, must have been a camera angle thing. Rock on!
Rival Sons?
Art