Originally Posted by VintageSteve
There are many wood guitars, solid and hollow, of very reputable names, that are CNC machined-milled, and not hand-cut, to save production costs, and because it is possible nowadays. That includes the necks and bodies...
Are you trying to say that bike tubes are not mitered in sophisticated machinery and all the threads are cut by hand because this would be the direct comparison to the points you made. That the tubes are custom drawn in the builders shop and he casts the lugs himself? I guess a bike would not have soul or life if the builder didn't hand file the miters and if they used investment cast fixtures that require virtually no filing??
My post drew a comparison between guitar assembly and bike frame assembly, not how the tubes are drawn, necks cut, or whatever.
Of course many custom guitar builders hand plane and sand tops, hand mold sides, etc...but few still cut necks without modern machine tools. That is just a waste of time. Many custom shops also mold sides in quantity and CNC tops, necks and headstock for preliminary preparation.
But a guitar cannot be assembled by a machine as some bike frames can be welded by automated torches on assembly lines. Since the glueing of a guitar and the brazing of a frame are so critical to the performance, this is a valid and direct comparison.
And Ramirez builds acoustic classical and flamenco guitars. A bit different than an electric guitar with numerous electronic accessories that affect the sound. An acoustic guitar and a bike frame seem much more equivalent for comparison purposes.