Oxnard Factory Tour - Bunch of Pics - Part 3

[WileE]

And here are the rest. They're also working on oval hole mandolins but I don't have pictures.


P-03s.


Bits for the CNC machines.






Jay with an RS-4

[ducktrapper]

Mando me too!!!

Hey that's my RS-4! 

[WileE]

Oh no!!!   

I've got to have one.

I knew that!

[lyric_girl]

Great pictures. Thanks for posting. Reminded me of being at the Vancouver factory. Will have to visit Oxnard, one day...

[Danny]

   So the P-03 is being made in Oxnard?

[petesmithguitarist]

Great pics, I`m sure you had a very interesting and informative day, cheers, Pete

[WileE]

   So the P-03 is being made in Oxnard?

Yes. The first ones were ready last week. I got to play one while there. It was nice. It was very difficult to figure out where the three pieces of the necks came together -- they did a great job of matching and joining grains.

[gitnoob]

Yes. The first ones were ready last week. I got to play one while there. It was nice. It was very difficult to figure out where the three pieces of the necks came together -- they did a great job of matching and joining grains.

So the three-piece neck is a cost-saving rather than a structural attribute?

I never understood why gitmakers couldn't do both at the same time.   I.e., splitting the neck down the middle and adding a piece in the center should both allow them to source smaller wood stock and improve the structural integrity of the neck, right?

Instead, they decide to splice at the heal and headstock?

[fongie]

Thankyou Will, much impressed. Only one of my git is made from Oxnard and thats my P-09FM. Love to tour one day soon
cheers
fongie

[WileE]

So the three-piece neck is a cost-saving rather than a structural attribute?

I never understood why gitmakers couldn't do both at the same time.   I.e., splitting the neck down the middle and adding a piece in the center should both allow them to source smaller wood stock and improve the structural integrity of the neck, right?

Instead, they decide to splice at the heal and headstock?

I think it's becoming as much a scarcity problem as a cost-sving issue. That one solid piece of mahogany with the 5 necks sketched on it is pretty big. If I'm not mistaken Lowden uses your middle strip suggestion. And then there's the 30-40 piece laminated neck on the new Martin OM-1 that I have (it grows on me every day -- comfort-wise, not in number of laminated pieces...).

[WileE]

Thankyou Will, much impressed. Only one of my git is made from Oxnard and thats my P-09FM. Love to tour one day soon
cheers
fongie

It was the birthplace of my OM-05MT too. They said they remembered working on it.

[bbblacksheep]

Great pics, WileE, all of them!  Thanks for posting!  I would love to do that tour someday...   

[johnny37]

So the three-piece neck is a cost-saving rather than a structural attribute?

When we were at the Vancouver factory for the forum guitar tour/pickup, they said then that the three piece necks were the way of the future.  Not for monetary or structural issues, but because the blanks that they were cutting the necks out of were starting to become less common.  Scarcity of suitable material, not structural stability is the issue.  I would expect that in the not too distant future, you'll see the lower end gits have 3 piece necks, the higher ones with one piece.

[Chasjax]

Regarding the 3 piece necks, that most people turn their nose up at, but that Taylor afficianados swear by - one of the recent Taylor newsletter/magazines has an article about when and why Bob Taylor took Taylor guitars in that direction.  I only skimmed it, but it presents valid reasons for why it can be a superior method.  Check it out if your store still has it.