Interesting video of building a ES-335 at the Nashville factory.

Exorcist

I found it pretty interesting - not sure the I like seeing the nitro sprayer not wearing a mask.. but what do I know...

Its Gibson marketing, but genuinely interesting IMHO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi3-D7N31eo

sweepy

Well, Kim isn’t going to have any lungs left spraying guitars like that  ! 

Danny1969

I've had a tour round the Memphis factory (now closed ) where all the custom hallows and stuff were made. This video looks a bit more modern, some of the processes were very old fashioned and slow. This looks a bit of a faster process

Moltisanti

whoa Marty Schwarz looks like Alexi Sayle all of a sudden!

Moltisanti

great video, really interesting, especially the binding technique

sev112

Fabulous looking guitar - dont normally go for those but looks fab 

springhead

Nice, thank you.  Would have been good to see their method for installing the electrics, knowing what a bitch it is to change out pots or whatever on a semi.

SteveRobinson

springhead said:

Nice, thank you.  Would have been good to see their method for installing the electrics, knowing what a bitch it is to change out pots or whatever on a semi.

If you look at the assembly stages there is a large cutout in the centre block where the bridge pickup goes. All the gubbins goes in through that hole rather than the treble f-hole as is the traditional method 

shugz

On the older ES without the cutout in the lower block it's always worth a look at the f-hole and if its chipped or looking a bit worse for wear then a good indicator the harness has been out. Even gibson are/ were known to have a bottle of lacquer nearby the harness installs dept just in case.

Not a big deal but worth bearing in mind. A small dentist mirror can also usually get in there in case you can get a pot/ date code if trying to get a more accurate age on an older ES. Unless they've soldered over it

Useless trivia I know. I'll get me coat.

H

Zoolooter

Marty was that impressed he went out and bought a Heritage 535!

midlifecrisis

i found that intersting. I would now really like to see an epiphone 335 being made wonder what the differences would be, i know they arnt sprayed with nitro

Philtre

midlifecrisis said:

i found that intersting. I would now really like to see an epiphone 335 being made wonder what the differences would be, i know they arnt sprayed with nitro

An Epiphone 335 has no defects.

midlifecrisis

Philtre said:

midlifecrisis said:

i found that intersting. I would now really like to see an epiphone 335 being made wonder what the differences would be, i know they arnt sprayed with nitro

An Epiphone 335 has no defects.

and is probably made in 10 minutes flat.

SimpleSimon

midlifecrisis said:

i found that intersting. I would now really like to see an epiphone 335 being made wonder what the differences would be, i know they arnt sprayed with nitro

This made me think about the actual cost of producing such a guitar. We all whinge about overpriced guitars but these look labour intensive indeed. Epiphone guitars must be made using slave labour by comparison, i mean how do you build an ES guitar so cheaply otherwise? Sure woods and components are cheaper but they must be made using similar techniques? weve had it pretty good in reality but is it sustainable to expect it in a more sustainability concious world?

thermionic

What surprised me was that they made their own laminates. I expected they’d buy the sheets ready made.

SteveRobinson

thermionic said:

What surprised me was that they made their own laminates. I expected they’d buy the sheets ready made.

It needs to be done like that to form the shape.

Moltisanti

so are Epiphone made the same way but in a cheaper location, or is there more to it ?

CeeJay

Moltisanti said:

so are Epiphone made the same way but in a cheaper location, or is there more to it ?

I don't know for sure, but I'd be surprised if Epi's are hand sprayed.

Kalimna

I suspect there's not much diffence between the timber sheets used for the laminates between Gibson and Epiphone, price or 'quality' wise, beyond the visual aspect.

The largest difference, I imagine, is in the finessing of things like the binding, the finish, the fretwork etc. As a general rule, the cost of raw material is a small part of any instrument.

Adam

CeeJay

CeeJay said:

Moltisanti said:

so are Epiphone made the same way but in a cheaper location, or is there more to it ?

I don't know for sure, but I'd be surprised if Epi's are hand sprayed.

I could be wrong though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=LRczd_ZEf4E&feature=emb_logo