But you said that the Martin Ukuleles made in Mexico are not made with the same excellence as the vintage ones. How do you know they aren’t. I have a 1940 D18 and a 2015 D18. While I agree that age certainly enhances the tone they both are equal in build quality. In fact, I suspect that 80 years from now my 2015 will sounds just as good. Also, to say that Mexican builds are inferior to American builds, in my opinion, is cultural bias. Just saying.
‘But you said that the Martin Ukuleles made in Mexico are not made with the same excellence as the vintage ones.“
‘No, not exactly what I said
actually I said “they are not built the same“
which is true They aren’t built the same There are many factors in building an instrument that affect the way they sound and the Martin ukuleles built at the Mexican plant are not built the same as in Nazareth Where Ukuleles have been built the same for the past hundred plus years
The Mexican plant is a production facility much like the old Harmony or Kay factories They are assembly line builds, and they do not get the care, fit, finish etc that the shop in Nazareth does.
Less time goes into construction as well as lower grade woods and materials. They absolutely can not sound the same.
Like Fender‘s plant in Mexico their guitars from the Mexican plant cost much less to build. They use lower grade wood. Wood culled out from the California plant. Mass produced electronics. They don’t use hand wound pick-ups but machine wound. Less expensive hardware. Parts made in China and shipped to Mexico. They build for the masses in the Mexican plants to accommodate all that can afford these factory built instruments. Martin does the same They cut as many corners as possible in materials and grades of wood.
I never said these instruments were “junk” I said they are not the same and they just aren’t.
There is a reason for the way the builds in these plants are priced at 1/3 or less than the American builds. It is not just labor, It is the materials used and the quality of the build. The time it takes to build is a part of the way they are priced.
i have gone to the tours at Martin several times. I have not been to their Mexican plant but I have seen a film of it.
i’m just saying if it were true that the Mexican builds produced a sound equal to or better than the Nazareth plant
there would be no reason to spend so much more on an instrument. This has nothing to do with prejudice. There are Mexicans who work in the Fender Custom shop in California who are among the best builders at Fender. I don’t know of any Mexicans at the Nazareth shop at Martin but then again Mexico is far from PA but neighbors to California.
This has nothing to do with race it is about the process of assembly line instruments and how those factories work.
You may like the less expensive Mexican builds so do I, for instance I bought a Fender Duo-sonic made in their Mexican plant. I like the scale of the guitar and I don’t want to spend the money on a Vintage American Duo-sonic. I own a Custom Shop Stratocaster. I don’t need the Duo-sonic but it is fun to play. If I am playing out I am going to play the Strat simply put IT SOUNDS BETTER and when performing I want to use whatever sounds the best.
When I am home I can play whatever I feel like. I can take an instrument that does not have a great deal of value to the beach but I would not risk taking a valuable instrument.
We place value on sound , the quality of the build, and scarcity. I think everyone has an idea of what they prefer in sound and everyone has an idea of how much they have to spend. I am fortunate to have worked my entire life and been able to save up enough that I can afford to buy a high quality instrument, however I am not wealthy enough to spend in the five figures for any instruments. I try to do my homework and if I am going to spend $2000 I will play a number of instruments before making a decision of which one to me “sounds best” and feels best to play. When it’s a few hundred dollars I do not give it nearly as much thought. I own a few Martin Ukuleles I can not afford to buy Martin Style 3 Koa Ukuleles and as a guitarist I like the sound of Mahogany so I have a Mahogany baritone and two Martin tenors then as I am learning Soprano I have at this point a few Soprano Martins , a Mexican S-O a 1950’s style 1 and I recently bought a 1917 style 2 which was inexpensive
considering the scarcity and how early it is. I actually prefer the 1950’s style 1 as I am used to the feel of it and it’s sound. I can take the S-O to the beach and not worry about it. I paid $185 for it second hand It’s a Mexican factory made Martin it sounds fine the expression “It is what it is” comes to mind, but it isn’t anywhere close to the 1950’s style 1 and I don’t expect to be even when it becomes 70 years old but I won’t be around then so I really don’t care what it sounds like 50 years down the road!
