How Ernie Ball Music Man Builds Guitars | Factory Tour

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Join John Bohlinger as he goes inside the San Luis Obispo facility to see how these majestic machines are crafted with a mixture of delicate handwork and precise automation.
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© Copyright Gearhead Communications LLC, 2023
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Raw Lumber & Grading Tonewoods
01:06 - Sourcing Wood
01:37 - Double Planing Wood
02:01 - Cutting Body Blanks
02:30 - Roasted Necks & Its Benefits
03:37 - Glued Bodies & Roasted Alder Bodies
04:09 - Majesty 8 Construction
04:37 - Quilted Maple & Buckeye Burl Tops
05:25 - "Big Bird" Body Blank Cutting Machine
06:08 - Haas Neck-Through Cutting Machine
06:57 - Cutting Out a Majesty
07:28 - Neck Carves & Inlay Dots
07:55 - Cutting Fretboards
08:19 - Sanding Fretboard Radius
08:53 - Adding in Frets
09:57 - Sanding Bodies & Necks
10:46 - "BIN" Room
11:09 - Paint and Finish Coating
11:57 - Handstaining Finishes
13:09 - Buffing
13:58 - Machine Shop
14:52 - Setup Department
15:23 - Final Assembly
#guitar #factory #ernieball #ernieballmusicman

[@premierguitar]

Learn More: bit.ly/ErnieBallMM Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGKZbin Win Guitar Gear: bit.ly/GiveawaysPG Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL Merch & Magazines: shop.premierguitar.com

[@TinelCH]

Video Editor: "What kind of noise reduction can you apply to the audio?" Audio Engineer: "YES."

[@snapfinger1]

Soon as you pick up any EB MM model in a music store you can feel the superior craftsmanship.

[@iwillnevergetone5]

facts. they're probably the best feeling production-line instruments at the moment

[@kebotrans]

And after you get it the value drops 40% within minutes. I dont get it they are really great

[@robjoyner1167]

it's made by bots. no craftsmanship involved

[@ParaBellum2024]

@@robjoyner1167 I have no problem with this: the guy who programmed the CNCs did a great job, so the basic product is very consistent, so it can be finished and set up to a very high standard by people.

[@robjoyner1167]

@@ParaBellum2024 cool. spend all your money in guitars built like toys then. knock yourself out

[@innocentoctave]

John Bohlinger: paid by the 'wow!'

[@ColdCuts707]

Reminds me of Huell Howser.

[@guitarz]

Just scored a used 2016 Cutlass SSS and WOW so stoked this thing is so comfortable to play and after a quick setup from the previous owner I think I found a winner! Love the neck sooooo good

[@RobertJones-rd5wl]

Great tour, thank you guys! I appreciate my Majesty even more now after I’ve seen how elaborate the process of making it is😀

[@bigmikeyz0071]

Man that is rad to see Ebmm process on manufacturing their instruments. I wanted a 80’s style guitar a few years ago. I looked at typical brands and models like a Charvel, Jackson and others. Then I played a lime green 80’s Cutlass hss bfr. It’s my main guitar because it’s an incredible instrument. The craftsmanship is top notch you can tell it was made with great care and attention to detail. The axis neck profile is super comfortable and it is one of best necks that I ever played.

[@BURTBROWN]

VERY interesting tour!!!!!! Amazing before and after comparison of basic block body assembly to final out of the machine cut! Many thanks!

[@GreyMarano]

Just bought Rabe Sabre! Playing 37 years. Gibson PRS fender guy. This guitars is absolutely amazing different but truly a piece of art for those who think that these guitars are not worth it just can’t afford one and are salty.😅

[@zmix]

Great tour, we've come a long way since Peavey started using CNC in the 1970s... at 13:37 how is that buffing robot *not* called "Buffy the orange peel slayer"...?

[@samstrolia]

Very cool video getting to see behind the scenes. I recently was able to find and purchase my dream guitar, a left-handed 2018 JP6 in Mystic Dream. This guitar is my prized possession! I wish there were still left-handed guitars being made for guys like me that can't physically play a right-handed model, but either way EBMM keep up the quality building of these beautiful instruments!

[@zoomzoom3950]

Thanks for the tour! Just got my fourth Kaizen, in Kryptonite; my favorite guitar. Also looking for my second Majesty; my other favorite guitar. EBMM build quality and attention to detail are amazing. Cheers!

[@carpathus]

Most impressive. There really is a lot of hard work going into their guitars. Cheers!

[@Twobarpsi]

Cool tour!

[@MrSmiley1964]

Drinking game. Do a shot every time our boy John Bollinger says WOW! a chaser when he says OH WOW! In all seriousness, I had a friend who owned a Silhouette back in '89 or so and it was just an amazing guitar. I couldn't play the thing to much because it would get me thinking about trading in my '65 Strat for one. Watching this makes me want one again.

[@GigiUK]

I bought my first EB way back in 1994, and I still have it - the Silhouette model with a FR trem ❤

[@MaTTheWish]

Awesome Tour! Beautiful Guitars ...Now I need a Music Man.

[@michaelopry3456]

I can't afford one at the moment, but the level of detail and pride that goes into these is phenomenal. And that purple stain...dang. One day....

[@MauricioGarcia-mk5bz]

You make the best videos buddy. Do more videos like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tymanngruter1808]

This was the video i am gonna buy one, thank you!

[@ThomasBrandoGreenman]

I have a MM Axis and it's the most musical guitar I've ever played - everywhere on the fretboard just sings. Watching this video you can see where the precision comes into play. Say what you will about robotics - it can do things that a human can't do, and faster.

[@TrixiLovesYou]

WOW!

[@dividedbytimestudios]

That Majesty in its natural wood looks insane, hate to think their all covered up, would actually be cool to see it stained and let the wood shine through

[@JTB--]

These behind the scenes videos are incredible. Keep em coming John!! PS- Led Zeppelin Swan Song t-shirt FTW!!

[@premierguitar]

thanks for watching!

[@Garbageaf]

I hope the green JR sig I saw at NAMM '24 comes out this year. It will probably have an ebony fretboard, but it would be the perfect guitar if it had the maple board from the majora purple.

[@creampuffbandit]

My Stringray Special 5HH is an amazing instrument and I'll say that it can go toe to toe with the MTDs I've had the opportunity to play in the past. (Which are also amazing instruments don't get me wrong)

[@riffsnreviews]

Damn the mics make the dude sound like Kermit the frog, just had to laugh when he said that the robot is called big bird, lol

[@levent.]

The best guitars ever made. I have 3 MM guitars and bass guitars which couldn't even try but it turns out, they are all great and not a single issue I've had in 20 years.

[@Angelo-fo8de]

I would not go just that far, best? Hell no, they are not !

[@delosreyesgino]

@@Angelo-fo8de Probably the best production line guitar. But really they're better than a lot of the so called customs.

[@andrewbennett2044]

​@@Angelo-fo8deI'd argue one of the best. Gibsons quality isn't what it was today, Fender was designed to be an affordable guitar and now they're "high ends" don't offer anything that makes them high end. Ibanez, PRS and ESP are killing it in the 2k and up range of guitars. Once you get into that price range it comes down to preference. Ernie ball is making some of the best guitars today.

[@michaelsteven1090]

Wow! 😉

[@TristanJCumpole]

Bit of a handwavy explanation about the "roasting" (torrefaction) process and what the material is. Wood torrefaction is thermal treatment in the absence of oxygen. Essentially the road to charcoal. It modifies the chemical and physical properties of wood. Several things happen; primarily, moisture is removed from the cells, along various volatile compounds. The hemicellulose and lignin partially decompose, and the cellulose partially restructures. The wood does become more brittle and lighter, and the sawdust from machining is way more problematic than normal wood dust. The main difference is that the cells of the wood no longer have the same ability to take on or lose moisture to the environment, making the workpiece more stable in service against fluctuating weather conditions. It's better in laminated necks with a bit of reinforcement rather than being the only wood in the neck, but that's my personal experience and opinion.

[@EasyBreather000]

Hi, thanks for the more scientific description here. Is there really any worthwhile benefit to using a roasted, single piece neck over non roasted? Thanks again, EB000

[@TristanJCumpole]

@@EasyBreather000 Absolutely there is, especially for touring musicians who might be playing a cold dry place one week and a humid sweaty one the next....non-torrefied woods will expand radially and tangentially (less so longitudinally) as they take on or lose moisture, changing their size and shape depending on the direction of the wood growth rings, their proximity to the heart, etc. Torrefaction makes the material stable by altering the structure of the material at a cellular level, so it dimensionally reacts less (orthotropy/isotropy). I dislike the terminology used by the music industry to describe the varying levels of "roast" because it dumbs the principle down; nobody understands it and people latch onto the trendy marketing wankateer term of the week. The bottom line is that the stronger the torrefaction, the closer the wood is to becoming charcoal. The wood loses many of its original properties (such as tonal contribution) or at least they change. A light "roasting" produces the best compromise, retaining the most properties that we want. So to answer your question, "yes"....to a point. Too heavily converted and you can hardly compare the result to the original untreated wood. A little goes a long way.

[@uvicjames]

@@TristanJCumpole Good answer and I agree that the marketing hype is annoying. As someone who used to tour and play in environments that are changing all the time, I'd say that anything that endures changes in humidity and temperature is a must. I recall one gig where we went from an indoor room into a hockey arena and all of our instruments detuned so horribly that they weren't right for days. I switched to Flaxwood and Rainsong instruments to avoid that.

[@jimwang8282]

❤❤❤

[@hanovergreen4091]

Excellent. Well mic'd interview I could clearly hear what was said. John asked simple questions and then let the person speak. Thank You. More like this please. Best Regards and Best Wishes!

[@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888]

We must be watching different videos. The sound quality is awful. Factory dude is speaking through a BOSS Flanger!

[@hanovergreen4091]

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 Agreed that it's not "the best"..but compared to a lot of factory tours..this is a way cut above. Always room for improvement but got to give them credit for lav mics vs handheld.

[@premierguitar]

Had to really lean into noise suppression/voice isolation software to pull out all the machines working in the background during the woo mill portions. Thanks for watching!

[@hanovergreen4091]

@@premierguitar Ya'll done good 😀👍

[@coaldoubt2879]

So pretty much how all the large manufacturers build guitars

[@travistwelfthman]

Once I got my Stingray I didn't pick up any of my other guitars until I went and got a Sabre.

[@SirBoycie]

40 minutes in a machine: "Wow! That is so labour intensive!"

[@b.scottfarthingsworth]

I am super ready to pack up, move to SLO, and work for M.M. like#399 for this vid

[@arriereitor]

Nice video, but a have a question. You buy an EBMM for 3000$. But if you go to an skill luthier, where you choose the woods, and you've got yours completely handmade custom guitar, asks you the same 3000$ why do we thinks it's expensive? In my opinion, in any guitar factory you will buy the same guitar that thousands of other people and pay for technolgy, cloning instrumet after instrument

[@crowonawirehome]

Pretty impressive. Lots of hand work.

[@Iam_Dunn]

Some of the best guitars I’ve ever picked up! \m/, ,\m/

[@mauricerrr]

Great video! Wish the audio was better

[@premierguitar]

Had to really lean into noise suppression/voice isolation software to pull out all the machines working in the background during the woo mill portions. Thanks for watching!

[@markseven762]

Great Guitars!!!

[@ashleyjackson8538]

Maybe two

[@77JeffT]

John "Wow" Bollinger.

[@_avia_]

In a few years from now, very few, we will watch two robots showing the factory. I'm sure Ernie Ball will name the robots John and Tomas.

[@ledsled1001]

Geez the audio! Lol

[@ParaBellum2024]

Fascinating video, but it's a shame the sound quality's so poor.

[@elektrar9620]

Very nice, but still when I received my 7000EUR Majesty limited edition, there was missing certificate, the guitar could not stay in tune and the intonation could not be set properly-very expensive decoration on the wall guitar. After months of proving it is a faulty guitar my dealer took it back and luckily I was crazy to buy another one-this time it was perfect and cost me half the price(not the same LE majesty, just regular)

[@geezberry8889]

a Luke is on my xmas list

[@ashleyjackson8538]

I’m getting one

[@vyvyvyvyvyvyv]

all these crazy prices for a few pieces of wood and electronics

[@robjoyner1167]

agreed. unjustifiable. What's so incredible about this process and the materials involved?

[@johnnycab8986]

Go and build your own then.

[@johnnycab8986]

@@robjoyner1167 Setting up manufacturing in the US to make a profit is insanely difficult.

[@robjoyner1167]

@@johnnycab8986 stop replying to every single comment kissing their ass. if these things are made by bots and slave labor what's the point of a US factory???

[@mikes51501]

Lmao, do you say the same about cars?

[@JohnQuilter]

Shouldn't have needed to have the noise reduction so aggressive with the lav mics. Besides that, nice tour!

[@Angelo-fo8de]

EVH sent them packing !

[@RokDAWG1]

I think Fluff did this tour recently but it’s ok I definitely dig it!

[@erico2001]

Best guitars hands down for me. I switched to MM guitars about ten years ago and no desire to play anything else. Liquid glass necks

[@enochmusicetc9795]

Is that a multiscale tremolo bridge for 7/8 string???

[@Cestariarts]

Here 4:11 that's why you clicked on the video.

[@jackmundo4043]

Sterling Ball is one fine human being. I wish I knew him.

[@DDPAV]

So a machine does almost all the work and JB states " wow that is so labour intensive"😜. Sometimes you just got to fill up space in the conversation......

[@Cestariarts]

What the heck happened to the audio?

[@premierguitar]

Had to really lean into noise suppression/voice isolation software to pull out all the machines working in the background during the woo mill portions. Thanks for watching!

[@Cestariarts]

@@premierguitar Damn man, that sounds like a nightmare!! I'm glad you managed to pull this out for us. Thanks

[@abaija]

👍🇦🇹👌🙋🤸

[@rareform6747]

Best Strings but Guitars ?

[@memq1987]

unbelieveable to see that an entire majesty is cut to shape via CNC. i hope they test play it with CNC too

[@KenjiKitahara]

12:56 I guess they can't say EVH model...

[@turbocoupe27]

It was originally named the Axis before EVH even got involved. It hasn't been an EVH since 1996.

[@KenjiKitahara]

@@turbocoupe27 Oh wow, I didn't know it existed pre-EVH... I got some homework to do!

[@jaycareaga9929]

@@turbocoupe27They only had the body design it hadn’t been named. It became the EVH and was renamed Axis after Ed left.

[@turbocoupe27]

@@jaycareaga9929 There's a pic of Eddie out there holding the prototype, and it clearly says Axis on the headstock. www.angelfire.com/ca2/smithtone/gi/ebmm_basswood.jpg

[@jaycareaga9929]

@@turbocoupe27 The first prototype sitting in the vault at EBMM doesn’t have Axis on the neck.

[@robjoyner1167]

So, these are the great US made guitars that cost a fortune crafted by bots and low paid labor? Doesn't seem too different from any other factory.

[@YourCaliBos]

Silhouette Baritone-please resurrect it

[@GeorgeZimmermen]

As others have stated. Mostly robots and cnc machines making these guitars and they charge astronomical prices for them. Mexicans in Mexico assembling your guitar vs Mexicans in America assembling your guitar. EBMM factory tours are no different than every other guitar factory tour I’ve watched. They aren’t special and do things the same as every other manufacturer but you get fanboys who have this magical idea in their head that some special person is crafting their guitar and making it play so special just for them. This is a mass produced product not a handmade guitar company

[@Hell_Inc]

Exactly. A few pieces of wood, some of the most basic electronics and some paint done by bots and underpaid labor can’t cost this much. They should just delete this video. It’s embarrassing.

[@PG-ex3kl]

Yes, you can have your guitar built by a yellow robot called ‘Big Bird’

[@PocketKnifePat]

Typical comments from those that can’t afford something and choose to put their worthless opinion out there. EBMM manufacturer some of the best guitars at a price point that is more than fair for what you are getting. Perfectly setup, beautiful finishes, and a great sounding road worthy instrument. They are constantly creating new and inspiring designs while George is at his computer bringing nothing to the table.

[@robjoyner1167]

@@PocketKnifePat keep kissing ass, junior

[@johnnycab8986]

@@Hell_Inc It's not the labor, materials that make the guitars cost what they cost, it's the cost of doing business in the US that makes them so expensive. Thank your local and federal government for that.

[@SamuelMurrish]

The audio in this video dude… oof.

[@jimmyjimmy951]

“So labour intensive” for the CNC..😂

[@mikes51501]

Have you ever been apart of programming and QC? Tons of work involved and they are doing almost everything themselves and the guitars are badass.

[@Music-tx5jl]

Why are we still making new guitars at all? Does the planet not have more than enough already? Also, why are these ones so darn expensive if they're primarily built by robots? I'm truly disgusted at the state of everything these days. So shameful.

[@russelblacker2562]

don't know why they are so expensive if it's all robot

[@son0fsocal]

All the people out of work because the mechines : - don’t need medical benefits - don’t call in sick - don’t complain - won’t unionize - don’t sexually harass anyone - don’t take vacation - don’t need lunch breaks - don’t talk politics - don’t talk back - wont ever go postal If I owned a business, I would replace people with robots too.

[@mikes51501]

Go ahead and start a business and get back to us? You must have no clue about building guitars or manufacturing in general. Ernie Ball employs a ton of people and the CnC’s and Robots help meet demand and keep quality high. 🙄🤣

[@JohnSpo]

I remember when you could buy a music man guitar that was mostly hand made for $1200 and now they're $4,000+ and made by machines.

[@MisterTee]

It floors me how bad the resale is on this brand of guitars. Their quality is top shelf, the endorser list is top shelf, but the depreciation is off the hook. It doesn’t make sense to me.

[@ileutur6863]

Who cares. Don't buy guitars to resell them

[@andrewbennett2044]

Bought mine for 2750, they're going for 3.5-5k today. Models that were limited run and originally sold for 6k are selling for 7.5-9k.

[@mikes51501]

The amount of stupid complaining on here is hilarious, 🤦🏻‍♂️🤣

[@WE500CD]

2023 and the audio is horrific. No excuse for that.

[@Sevenxsnroses]

Well, this convinced me not to buy an Ernie ball music man. High prices, nothing but machines doing the work he said in the earlier part of the video that they had an abundance of wood yet they still charge a crazy amount of money. So my money isn’t going towards any of the workers increased pay wages or benefits. It’s going to machines and greedy corporation who says we have an abundance of wood, but will still continue to charge the same high prices. What’s the point of paying American prices when you’re not paying an American worker and you’re ripping off the regular American after you have an abundance of wood. I think I’ll go with another brand.

[@DD-lc9jv]

The extremely shitty audio made the video unwatchable. Thats becoming a on these PG videos might be a good idea to look into fixing it or perhaps firing who ever ya got over pretending to know how to get audio!

[@jimmywrangles]

Almost twice the price of a Gibson...The entire company is a joke. Over 7 thousand dollars Australian for a freaking guitar. Wake up.

[@zoomzoom3950]

get a better job

[@rydoggsc2]

This video makes me not want to buy another Musicman. The way their prices have gotten out of control for a majority machine built product feels awful.

[@NitroModelsAndComics]

So glad I dont own a MM. Eobots taking jobs ...

[@ryanbrouk1568]

Man the audio is bad