#1 Custom Shop?
 

Of the top 4-6 guitar manufacturers (by volume) which one, in your opinion, has the "Custom Shop" that adds the most non stock, non assembly line technique, or skill set, to the building process? Who really puts out a "custom" product that is noticeably better than their normal production models? Of those that have a marketed custom shop, which would you rate as #1, and why!

Santa Cruz and Breedlove


Regards
duff

Hard to say
 

I'm told Taylor will let you do just about anything to your guitar from their long list. The guy I buy from has been to Taylor and ordered one for himself. One of his customers wanted to order one and go there and watch part of the build process and they would not let him do that so he did not proceed with the order. I kind of thought that would be cool to select the materials by hand and get the real look you want. I mean for $8k why not? But Taylor said no.

Hands down Larrivee. You can select wood off their Facebook or web page

Not sure I would say hands down.

Most customization (varying from a stock model) involves features and adjustments for a particular player and have little, if anything, to do with making the guitar better. Wood choices can make an instrument behave and sound differently than a stock model with other woods, but again whether the difference is better depends on the player and/or listener. Some luthiers do things like a deep bodied OM, a shallow dreadnaught, a "light build" or similar design tweaks. Again, whether those modifications are better than a standard model depends on the player and/or listener.

gasworker.....wouldn't you want your builder to do a "sound test" on diff sets of wood, looking for the sound you told them you prefer?

sdelsolray.....appreciate your response.....so which major builder offers the custom build that is the most different from their stock models?

Have you considered just getting a custom guitar made by a single builder? You can get a lot of guitar for the price of a custom Taylor/Martin and control every parameter.

That's hard to say (and I suspect it would be hard for anyone to say) because I don't have pervasive on-on-one experience with many luthiers concerning how far they are willing to go with customization.

From limited direct personal experience (and adding a side salad of indirect inferences), I can say the following:

— SCGC is very accommodating with customizations.
— Collings is less so in most areas (e.g., won't do custom neck contours, body depths, limited nut widths, string spacings and neck radiuses, certain bling on many instruments).
— Larrivee will customize within practical limits (e.g., woods, nut width, scale length, bling, but won't go from there).
— Webber is willing to experiment and will customize to the extent feasible.
— Martin offers numerous customization choices on many models, not so much on some other models.

custom shop guitars
 

Nobody here has mentioned Bourgeois, so far. Their entire production is bespoke, like in the English tailors, and customers have a whole lot of flexibility offered them. I was immensely impressed with the attention to detail and the sound fundamental basis of Dana's instruments that I saw when I visited them in September.

I concur with the suggestion that working with a custom builder makes a whole lot of sense if the customer has particular parameters to follow.

It really comes down to your custom order and what it involves, not the manufacturer. For my custom Martin 00-28, I specified certain neck specifications and requested a certain custom shop employee to select the Grade 8 Italian Alpine Spruce and Amazon Rosewood. I'm sure any of the other 4 to 6 volume manufacturers you refer to would do the same. First rule of a custom order, be very specific on what you order and do not leave any question unanswered. Order through a dealer that knows the brand and knows the ins and outs of that brands custom shop.

.......Mike

Larrivee and Taylor both offer considerable customization in terms of wood, binding, neck width etc, but they are built with the exact same techniques on the exact same assembly line.

(minor exception, if you order a burst from Larrivee, Jean Larrivee hand sprays all of their bursts)

Martin probably is the one closest to the question. They have a separate assembly area for the higher end custom work, and you can customize the bracing pattern in addition to woods and nuts, as well as custom glue.

AZLiberty.....thanks for picking up on my original question.....and your answer (opinion) makes sense.....a separate area and workers for their customs...

"by volume"...I'm not exactly sure who the top six builders are.....I've mostly followed Taylor, Guild, Martin and Gibson the last few years.....to my understanding:

Taylor and Guild don't have a "Custom Shop" designated area...just pick your options and down the same assembly line it goes, like AZ said...

I'm not sure what Gibson is doing...it seems like every dealer in the country gets a "Custom" built (limited number) model of some kind for them to market, and I'm not sure what is "standard" and what is "custom"...

Martin, just like AZ mentioned, I believe has a truly separate Custom Shop...seems like you can pick and choose from most of their model choices and have them put it together...and like 00-28 said, they will use the freedom you give them to pick the wood for sound as well as visual, and they'll discuss adjusting the bracing after the wood is selected.....excellent point about going through a dealer who knows the custom shop, 00-28...

rogthefrog.....makes a good point about the "single builder" being a good choice for the customer who wants to stay connected during the entire process.....but I was really aiming the discussion towards the world of marketing the custom builds of the major builders.....whoever those top six are...at least Taylor calls them BTO (built to order) which makes sense, but then I believe the label says Custom Dread or Custom GS, or something like that.....is there any other major manufacturer that gives Martin a run for their money with a true Custom Shop?

Of course. I believe Larrivee is a major manufacturer with a custom shop.
I am in the camp where back and sides make very little difference in sound despite the types of wood.My decision would be based on appearance only. I would absolutely trust JCL to know the tone. Picking top wood is up to the builder but I would likely add triple A or better Sitka, light coloured tight grain. I like streaked Ebony so I would add that as well.

custom
 

If your desire is to have something truly custom where there will never be another just like it and you want to be involved in the choices of the build at each step, then a single builder is by far your best bet. They make one at a time and can accommodate those kind of wishes - and most prefer to do it that way.

If resale value or recognizeability of the "brand" is important, you may want to rethink the above advice.

But don't reject single builders because of cost. There are ones who will be FAR cheaper than the big brands will be. And of course a select few will be far more expensive. I know competent luthiers who will build your guitar for as cheaply as the lower $2000s. And if you stretch to $4000 and $5000, you will only find that many more who can do what you want, exactly like you want it. The cost is partly materials and partly reputation and experience.