As a guitarist who’s looking for a brand new guitar, you’re probably struggling to narrow down your options. And that’s completely okay! With so many options available, finding the right guitar that checks off all the boxes can be tricky, to say the least. If it’s taking longer than usual, continue to take your time. At the end of the day, you want to make an informed decision that doesn’t cause any regrets.
In order to do that, doing your research (and doing it well) is key. As a rule of thumb, make sure you buy a handcrafted guitar as opposed to a mass-produced alternative. This bite of knowledge has been rapidly circulating the guitar industry, but many people are confused about why this matters in the first place. What difference does it make? Well, you’ll be surprised to find out. We’ve rounded up two key reasons why you should buy a handmade guitar and opt out of mass-produced alternatives. Continue reading!
Guitar Design
Mass-produced guitars are heavily (or entirely) reliant on automation. While you may think automation would leave no room for error, the outcome is slightly different in this case. The guitar designing process requires meticulous attention-to-detail that can only be ascertained with manual designing.
The automation process results in one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter, off-the-shelf guitars that lack the wow factor. In contrast, designing a guitar entirely by hand allows the luthier to customize each aspect of the design as they deem fit. By assiduously working on the texture and color, among a plethora of other design aspects, they can ensure that the final outcome is a one-of-a-kind. They can also make changes along the way to ensure cohesiveness.
If you opt for a handcrafted guitar, you’ll be taken aback by the intricate detail, impressive finish, and unique look. These qualities are largely lacking in mass-produced guitars.
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Guitar Performance
By handcrafting a guitar, the luthier can ensure precision without removing the element of modification. Here’s what we mean by this. When guitars are mass-produced in a factory, customers don’t have to worry about precision. If the machine malfunctions or there’s any other mishap, the respective guitar is rejected. Sounds great, right? It’s a rosy picture until you start considering the element of “modification.”
Mass-produced guitars leave little to no room for modification. While the guitar is examined during multiple stages, undoing the damage in case of errors is difficult, costly, and impossible in some cases. And in some instances, the guitar isn’t discarded; it’s sent out with the inconsistencies and/or errors intact.
This is something that isn’t a cause for concern with handcrafted guitars. The luthier assiduously perfects each stage of the creation process, and corrects potential errors immediately. Since the process is broken down into dozens of stages, there’s more control.
In essence, there’s no room for making big mistakes that cannot be corrected, as in the case of mass-manufactured guitars. You can rest assured that you’re getting your money’s worth in terms of guitar performance, longevity, stability, toughness, and overall quality.
Recommended Read:EddieA’s Quality Guitar Components
Where Can I Buy a Handcrafted Guitar?
When buying a guitar, make sure you prioritize design and performance in equal measure. Check out our collection of 100% handcrafted guitars to find your favorites. At Rock Guitars, we design and engineer high-performance guitars that can help you build a strong musical career. Find out more about our philosophy and founder, EddieA, to gauge why we’re the right fit for you!
