This Sqoe Guitar Factory video has just been uploaded online and shows the amount of hard work and skill needed to create modern guitars. This in-depth tour of the Squier Guitar Factory highlights the passion, precision, and expertise that go into crafting each exceptional instrument.
Inside the Sqoe Guitar Factory
If you’ve ever wanted to see how guitars are made on a large scale, this video is well worth watching. It demonstrates how a well-thought-out factory in China can create guitars on a mass scale and at a low price point.
Building a thriving business from its initial stages is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor, demanding significant time, strategic thinking, unwavering dedication, financial investment, and personal sacrifices.
For entrepreneurs like the driving force behind Sqoe Guitars, the ambition to transform dreams into tangible realities fuels every decision.
This relentless pursuit has led to the heart of their operations: a state-of-the-art guitar factory where each exceptional Sqoe instrument is meticulously brought to life.
This exclusive, behind-the-scenes video tour of the Sqoe Guitar Factory, is a fascinating journey from its initial roots in the Philippines to its current manufacturing hub in China.
Discover the intricate processes and passionate craftsmanship that go into creating these sought-after musical instruments.
Factory Tour
The company’s guide is Nero, Sqoe’s dedicated account manager with eight years of experience. Nero highlights Sqoe’s unwavering commitment to understanding each musician’s unique needs. This includes:
- Personalized Guitar Options: Catering to individual preferences with custom orders, special finishes, and unique engravings.
- Precise Craftsmanship: Ensuring reliable quality through meticulous attention to detail in every stage of production.
- Transparent Communication: Providing clear pricing, detailed cost breakdowns, and prompt responses to all inquiries.
- Expert Support: Offering comprehensive technical assistance for guitar maintenance and swift resolution of any concerns.
- Continuous Improvement: Actively seeking client feedback to enhance guitar designs and exceed expectations with handcrafted elements constantly.
- Adaptable Designs: Acknowledging diverse musical preferences and tailoring designs accordingly.
- Staying Ahead of Trends: Remaining updated on the latest guitar innovations to provide informed guidance.
Wood Cutting
Our exploration begins on the factory’s first floor, the dynamic center of the wood-cutting process. Here, premium raw materials are carefully stored, awaiting their transformation into musical instruments.
We observe various tonewoods, including ash and mahogany, selected for their tonal properties and destined to become the resonant bodies of Sqoe guitars.
Interestingly, each guitar body construction involves combining three pieces of wood, enhancing strength and tonal richness.
Canadian maple
For the guitar necks, high-quality Canadian maple is the primary choice, with a special five-piece neck design – featuring three maple sections and two mahogany sections – offered for superior stability and enhanced sustain. Powerful, precise cutting machines expertly shape these raw materials to exacting specifications.
The journey continues as the cut wood undergoes meticulous preparation. Guitar bodies are carefully polished before being glued together with high-quality glue to join the sections seamlessly.
Heavy-duty pressing machines then ensure a strong and lasting bond, forming the guitar body’s fundamental structure. Following this crucial step, the body takes its iconic curved shape, a hallmark of guitar design.
CNC Machine Accuracy
Next, we witness the guitar body sanding and polishing stage, where skilled artisans refine the contours, creating a smooth surface ready for finishing. A sophisticated computerized CNC machine then precisely carves the wood into the recognizable shape of a guitar.
A specialized process focuses on accurately curving the guitar body, followed by a critical step: punching the midpoint to guarantee perfect symmetry and balance for optimal playability. Similarly, the guitar neck shaping is executed with precision using specialized machinery.
The critical truss rod installation process, essential for neck stability and adjustability, is next. Glue is carefully applied to secure the truss rod within the neck, and the assembly is placed in a specialized machine to ensure a tight and durable bond.
Polishing & Priming
Moving to the third floor, we enter the realm of guitar body polishing and primer painting. Here, experienced technicians meticulously sand and polish the guitar bodies, creating a flawless surface for the subsequent finish.
This is followed by the application of a primer paint using an efficient electrostatic painting process, ensuring an even and consistent coating. The primed bodies then enter a controlled drying room before undergoing another round of meticulous polishing, creating the perfect foundation for the final color.
Applying the vibrant top color paint is a carefully controlled process. Following this, the guitars are placed in a temperature and humidity-controlled drying room for 48 hours, with the temperature maintained below 40°C to ensure proper curing and a durable finish.
Once thoroughly dried, the bodies undergo a final, meticulous polishing process to bring out the richness and depth of the color, often followed by a final buffing stage to achieve a stunning, high-gloss sheen.
Attention then shifts to the guitar fretboard. A specialized machine precisely cuts the slots for the frets and inlays the fretboard position marker dots. These dots are carefully installed, and the fretboard is then polished and shaped to ergonomic perfection.
The fret wires are then meticulously installed and precisely leveled. Further polishing refines the guitar fingerboard, ensuring a smooth and comfortable playing surface for effortless playing. The crucial process of fret wire stopping and polishing guarantees optimal playability and accurate intonation across the entire neck.
Another specialized machine precisely prepares the guitar neck joint, ensuring a perfect and secure fit with the body. Finally, the neck and body are expertly assembled, marking a significant milestone in the guitar’s creation.
Hardware
The installation of the guitar bridge and pickups follows, bringing the instrument closer to its final form. Once all the hardware and electronics are in place, each guitar undergoes a rigorous final tuning and quality check. This ensures that every instrument not only looks exceptional but also plays beautifully and sounds incredible.
The final stage is a comprehensive quality inspection, where experienced technicians meticulously examine every aspect of the guitar to ensure it meets Sqoe’s stringent standards. Only after passing this thorough evaluation are the guitars carefully packaged, ready to be shipped to musicians worldwide.
