Murray, maybe you're digging a little too deep there, but if I get the chance to look inside one I'll see what I can see.

One thing he is getting at, I think, is that when you keep the shop small and production low, you can experiment with stuff like that, and hand-pick each piece for how it fits into the whole, without having to think "how would I build a hundred a month like this?" Economies of scale are very secondary to the true value of working on it, trying something different, until it's exactly what you want it to be. I find it interesting that Oskar considers himself the artsy type of builder--not that I disagree in any way--since his instruments while lovely are not highly adorned. It's a mindset and an approach to the work that defines it as artistic.

It's true about Martin being industrial too. My impression from my tour there was that the Martin building process involves highly skilled craftsmen at each work station--but although I'm sure many of them are luthiers in their own right, what they do is highly specialized. One guy is shaping necks all day, another attaching them, another gluing tops, etc. There's not a lot of room for individual creativity (except maybe in them thar Cowboy geetars), backing up and trying something else, etc. in there--they have a plan, send the guitars down the line according to that plan, and rely on strict quality control to ensure the finished product meets their standards (if it doesn't, last I heard it gets cut in two. There are no factory seconds shipped or sold.) But hey, it works, what they do. I'd love a Graf guitar, but my next one will probably be another Martin. Got my eye on a D18V...      

W-O