Quote:
Originally Posted by gitarro
...the factory guitar is made cookie cutter like while the luthier made guitar is made with the focus to make it excel.
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I will try to re-frame this statement in what I think is a simple but important way:
Top quality factory guitars are not cookie cutter (a derogatory term). They are
proven designs that can be, and are, reliably replicated in a production environment. In that respect, they generally tend to meet or exceed their inherent, and relatively well understood, potential. That is part of their value proposition - they are a known quantity.
To many musicians, that's more important than spec'ing a 1 23/32" nut or a bracing pattern that produces a soundboard resonant peak at A = 432 Hz. I only partially jest, as you probably understand.
A Martin dreadnought of the 18 or 28 variety may not be "special" enough for some players, but there is no doubt that millions of person-hours of inspired music are rehearsed, performed, and recorded on them every year literally since they were invented in the early 20th century to present day. Luthier guitars don't have that kind of track record, and can't approach it.
There are gems and duds in every category, so let's ignore those extremes in this discussion.
For the record I've commissioned a half dozen custom instruments over the years, so I'm not blindly defending Martin, Gibson, etc. My experience is empirical. You state you've not been interested in a factory product since your first guitar, so perhaps you have less hands-on experience with the best examples.