Quality
boils down to two main ingredients: Materials
and Workmanship. Let's discuss each individually
as they relate to Watson Guitars. We have
chosen to build guitars in the 'boutique'
range. This demands that a lot of effort goes
into the selection of materials to build one
of our instruments, and that we put a great
deal of precise manufacturing time and effort
into each guitar.
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Wood
Wood is particularly important in instrument building
as the affect weight, sound and appearance. With so much
riding on the end result we select our woods carefully.
We have a number of reputable suppliers both locally,
where we can browse through many fine species, and across
the country. We use Gallery Hardwoods as one of our main supplier
as they are a specialist supplier to instrument makers. |
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Pickups
Pickups are a major contributor to the sound of an instrument.
We are very selective about the pickups we use. In some
cases they are chosen with the woods of the instrument
in mind. In other cases they are chosen to yield particular
tone characteristics. At this point in time we use Nordstrand and Bartolini pickups which we consider the best
in the industry. Other brands such as Kent Armstrong and
EMG are options. We have our own line of top quality pickups under development and hope to introduce them at the 2008 NAMM show. |
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Electronics
We now use Audere, Glockenklang and David McKeen electronics in our basses.
This allows us to match the best electronics system to the instrument. |
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Hardware
Hardware includes the remaining manufactured parts that
have to be purchased to complete the guitar or bass. This
would include bridges and tailpeces, truss rods, tuners,
knobs even fret wire. As with pickups and electronics,
we have researched the best sources for each of these.
Our bridge/tailpiece assemblies usually come from AMB
or Hipshot, tuners from Grover, Gotoh. We have commercial
sources for knobs but expect to make most of those ourselves
as it allows us to match them to the body woods of the
parent instrument. In many cases this also applies to
pickup covers. |
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Finish
There are many different finishes that can be applied
to guitars an basses. Often, it is the wood used on the
instrument that suggests the best finish. We can apply
any finish a customer requires from oiled wood to a hard
and shiny (or satin) lacquer. At this time we apply oil
finished ourselves, and use highly recognized instrument
finishing vendors for lacquers. We have standardized on a Polyester resin finish for most of our instruments. |
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| Workmanship |
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Experience
Alex has been building and repairing guitars of all shapes
and sizes since the early 1970s. During that time he has
produced many guitars and bass guitars, but also experimental
acoustic instruments and electric violins. Throughout that
same period of 35 years or so, Alex has been involved
in cabinet making on an amateur level. More importantly,
he trained as an engineer in Scotland and worked as a
Manufacturing Engineer both in New York and L.A for a
period of 25 years. This engineering background has made
guitar building a natural transition, where tight tolerances
and attention to minute details are the name of the game.
Last but not least, Alex has been a musician all of his
life. He knows the demands of a working musician and lends
that experience and knowledge to his guitar building. |
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Expectations
You can't have good quality unless you have good standards
to work to. As a small one-man shop, Watson Guitars is
able to set its own quality standards and to expect only
the best possible results. Each step in the process of
building a guitar or bass is scrutinized, and the instrument
will not be moved along to the next process unless the
previous one as met our standards. This includes all mechanical
and aesthetic standards as they apply to workmanship and
materials used in the building process. |
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Details
Anyone
who knows guitars is aware of the extra refinements
you would expect from a hand built instrument. We want
our instruments to be known for certain details that
you would not be able to find on comparably priced products.
From the quality of the joints through the extra veneer
laminations and tapered stringers to the one-of-a-kind
features that make every one of our guitars truly unique,
a Watson Guitars instrument will be a worthy investment. |
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