Mike has a CNC that he uses for rough cuts of necks. The way I see it is that this in no way makes the basses less "hand made" than basses whose builders don't cut the lumber themselves.
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Totally Hand Built....
- Thread starter sps500
- Start date
Mike has a CNC that he uses for rough cuts of necks. The way I see it is that this in no way makes the basses less "hand made" than basses whose builders don't cut the lumber themselves.
I'm completely baffled why anyone would care whether wood is cut by CNC, router, or chisel. The materials and design of the bass and skill of the luthier are what really matter, the tools are irrelevant.
As Bruce Johnson said, CNC doesn't save as much labor as many think. Seems to me that the skill of the luthier is reflected in the final fit and finish, not the rough cut.
I use both. The current NX basses are totally hand made.
I really think it's too easy to read too much into whether something is hand made or CNC made. I can assure you that using a CNC does not in any way ensure a quality instrument. It will make it easier to be more consistent, but the devil is in the details and the details will always have to be done by hand.
Agreed. Spector uses a CNC machine to rough out the necks of their basses, but they're completed & finished by hand.
There is something to be said when spending 5K plus for an instrument and knowing no electricity was used to build it.
Air Conditioning, heating, electricity for the shop vac, buffer, paint sprayer, sander. etc. Also, oil/gas for the transportation of materials. Electricity for the lumber mill, etc.....mmmm... zat wot ewer talkinn' 'baout?
Carl Thompson has some simple machines such as a bandsaw, joiner, etc. but his instruments are as completely hand built as you can get.
Pete Hilton (as far as I know) is building the same way.
Carl let me know that Pete was thinking about getting a CNC machine for some of his work, and that Carl may be able to offer his wooden adjustable bridge to more people as a result.
As has been said previously- I don't think a CNC machine takes away from the skill necessary to build a perfect instrument, those skills need to be present first.
Pete Hilton (as far as I know) is building the same way.
Carl let me know that Pete was thinking about getting a CNC machine for some of his work, and that Carl may be able to offer his wooden adjustable bridge to more people as a result.
As has been said previously- I don't think a CNC machine takes away from the skill necessary to build a perfect instrument, those skills need to be present first.
It's sometimes impossible to do everything by hand. Not due to skill or anything, but because it's quicker to use a machine. If a luthier is making one instrument a year, using no power, then how can he make a living without charging a fortune for his one instrument? If he can cut the rough body blank on a bandsaw, and carve necks with a router, then he'll make more instruments a year and charge less.
And if the body's going to be sanded to the line, then who cares what it's cut with? The saw cut will be sanded away to sawdust anyway, so surely it isn't part of the finished instrument?
To give an analogy, my DB teacher loves my bass. It's a Romanian shop bass from the '50s/60s, not much to look at and completely beat up. It's '4x louder' than his handmade custom basses, and he loves the growl and sound that it eminates. He's even asked for first refusal if I ever sell it (which I won't) despite the fact be plays 5ers and it's a 4!
If you play and instrument and you love it, why does it matter how it's made?
And if the body's going to be sanded to the line, then who cares what it's cut with? The saw cut will be sanded away to sawdust anyway, so surely it isn't part of the finished instrument?
To give an analogy, my DB teacher loves my bass. It's a Romanian shop bass from the '50s/60s, not much to look at and completely beat up. It's '4x louder' than his handmade custom basses, and he loves the growl and sound that it eminates. He's even asked for first refusal if I ever sell it (which I won't) despite the fact be plays 5ers and it's a 4!
If you play and instrument and you love it, why does it matter how it's made?
I understand the Luddite appeal of an instrument totally made by hand: local lumber hand cut, hand sawing, hand-cut joiner, etc., all ala Roy Underhill and The Woodright's Shop. It's not as much about the final product as it is about the process, and the connection between the human hand and the instrument. Looking at a neck pocket where you can see the hand chisel work that created it has a certain emotional appeal - like the scribe lines on hand-cut dovetail furniture joinery. You can feel a connection to the workman's process.
How cutting a neck pocket with a router and a template is in any way superior or "different" than cutting it on a CNC machine eludes me.
How cutting a neck pocket with a router and a template is in any way superior or "different" than cutting it on a CNC machine eludes me.
Musiclogic
Commercial User
- Aug 6, 2005
- 6,505
- 73
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- Owner/Builder: HJC Customs USA, The Cool Lute, C G O
I was considering a CNC at the end of last year after getting bombed with orders, After weighing the 3 hours it takes a shop sized CNC to do a body and the amount of programming to get tool paths correct for each neck variant, and a short gab with Pete Skjold, I decided to get a shaper for roughing my necks and a bigger dust collection system.
Unless you can afford industrial CNC, or you are doing small quantity, a shop sized CNC is not really wise for small shops, they take up too much space, take too long to do the work and use too much electricity. It's more cost effective in a small shop space to have better machines and jigs, which is what I am doing this year.
Unless you can afford industrial CNC, or you are doing small quantity, a shop sized CNC is not really wise for small shops, they take up too much space, take too long to do the work and use too much electricity. It's more cost effective in a small shop space to have better machines and jigs, which is what I am doing this year.
That's almost verbatim how I would have put it: CNT lessens the time wasted on grunt work.
I can't imagine how anyone could believe CNT materially lessens the quality of a bass, or that sweatily chopping down the raw blanks by hand would make it better.
As the old adage goes, "Doing things the hard way doesn't mean you're smart. Doing things the hard way means you're stupid."
Does CNT make all the mojo leak out?
Seriously, if the OP can explain the attraction of inefficiency for him, I'd be grateful.
