Acoustic Production

[AlanSam]

PV - two things :-
1. I agree with you that the numbers sold in the USA during 2017 must be greater.
2. I would love to know the numbers sold in Japan and China!

[Pura Vida]

I'd have to say that the 4k number in 2017 is accurate, as that also came directly from Eastman.  But it shows that the premium models are very rare and special, if they were making less than 50 of them (between E40D, E40D-SB, the initial run of TC guitars, and the handful of E40OM).  The rest would be mostly standard Traditional (E6/E8/E10/E20) and AC (x22CE) series.

Or maybe 4k was a worldwide number, and they were split between Americas and the rest of the world.  They seemed to split the LTD models 50/50 between Americas and Europe, but then it seemed they made some units for Asia/Pac markets.  If that's the case, we'd be talking 1-2k total units with the 50 premium units (2.5-5% of total sales), which seems about right.

[cjhorne]

Using the SN code, where M signifies Acoustic, and the initial digits indicate the year of production, and the serial numbers of the two Eastman guitars, I purchased this year, I estimate Eastman made about 19,000 acoustic guitars (worldwide) last year.  Not only that, but production in the first half of the year was much lower than the second half. To ramp up to 19,000 from 4,000 in 2017, I expect they are using more automation that they have used in the past.

SN M2005805 - Shipped from CA on 08/12/2020
AN M2018210 - Shipped from CA on 12/22/2020

With so many guitars being sold in 2020 (Eastman & non Eastman), one might expect to see a lot of used entry level guitars for sale toward the end of 2020. 

CJ

[cjhorne]

...To ramp up to 19,000 from 4,000 in 2017, I expect they are using more automation that they have used in the past.
...

CJ

This article (1Q2022) confirms my suspicions:  https://www.musictrades.com/profile5.html

An excerpt:"Eastman’s array of CNC machinery will be utilized to produce precision component parts, significantly reducing the amount of direct labor required, while artisans will continue to handle the assembly process."

And there is nothing wrong with that.

CJ

[Pura Vida]

Great find!  The only clarification I'd make is the 4000 number quoted to me was for acoustic guitars only in Americas.  I think the overall guitar number was closer to 10k, and that's before they got into the solid body electric market, which they've been crushing.  But it's obvious that their numbers have increased, and they're still chasing supply-demand balance.

Apparently, they had gotten their first CNC around that time, which they were using for headstock and/or logo.  Since then, I think I read somewhere that they use CNC for initial carve and shaping, but still have their staff finish the carving, bracing, shaving, etc. by hand.  It wouldn't make sense to hand cut every piece of wood, if they wanted to get up to this 40k number.  And that may explain how the neck carves have become so much more consistent in recent years.

Also, for comparison, let's say acoustic is 1/3 of the 40k number (assuming electric outsells acoustic)... that's about 13k, which is about 10% the size of Martin's acoustic lineup.  I'm not sure what Gibson or Fender produce in electric guitars, but perhaps a proportionately similar number.

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Shorter version of what I typed: I wish we had some more details, so we didn't have to speculate or guess.  

[cjhorne]

  I'm not sure what Gibson or Fender produce in electric guitars, but perhaps a proportionately similar number.  

This was for Taylor in 2019: "Currently, we're producing over 720 guitars a day between both of our factories. We're slated to build over 160,000 guitars this year alone."  It was probably quite a bit higher since then.

Reference:https://www.insider.com/one-of-the-biggest-guitar-manufacturers-in-the-us-2019-10

CJ