Fender Video Shows Guitar-Building Process at Breakneck Speed
Fender Musical Instruments has released a time-lapse YouTube video that takes viewers behind the scenes to see how the company’s guitars are made. Titled A Strat Is Born, the four-minute clip offers a behind-the-scenes peek at the firm’s Corona, California, factory and the process through which Stratocasters are created and built.
Set to the sound of wailing guitars, the short film clip demonstrates how instruments are handcrafted and depicts workers cutting, sanding and sawing – a throwback to the days before robotic, automated assembly lines. From body to fret board, the video’s frequently disjointed but pleasingly high-octane flow reveals how nearly every screw, plate and part passes through the hands of actual people before coming together in sweet harmony. The sheer amount of work and painstaking detail invested in each instrument is so exhausting, viewers may hope that everyday workflow progresses at a more leisurely clip than is shown here.
Taking viewers from initial woodworking through the gluing, drilling and ultimate tuning processes, Fender’s clip is a fascinating look inside the heart of one of today’s most well-established music manufacturers. Be advised, however: given the pace at which the video moves, viewers are advised not to watch while hopped up on caffeine, lest they risk spontaneous combustion.
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