When does a luthiers cease to be a small luither?

[LTE]

Number of emplyees? Output?

[Joe_Steeler]

When "HE/SHE" cannot even see the production floor, buried in paperwork and meetings.
Even less inspect the outbound product.

[dkaplowitz]

Is PRS still a "small luthier"?

[acrtl1000s]

Negative. Paul Reed Smith doesn't even make guitars. He invented the microprocessor didn't he?

[jazzandmetal?]

Originally Posted by acrtl1000s

Negative. Paul Reed Smith doesn't even make guitars. He invented the microprocessor didn't he?

That made me laugh out loud.

[K-Line]

When they have eaten a bit too much!

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by dkaplowitz

Is PRS still a "small luthier"?

PRS is one of the largest MI companies in the industry. They ranked 97th in Music Trades' "Global 225" list.

no, i don't think they qualify as a "small luthier" anymore.

[scruffydog]

When you go from being a customer to an accountants sales figure..

[serenghetti]

it stops being a 1 man shop when there are more than 1 guy lol

[treeofpain]

You can still be small and have employees IMO. I think if you are big enough to have a separate "custom shop" line, then you are definitely not small anymore. With a small luthier, everything is custom shop, right?

[daddyo]

6'2"

[DWB1960]

When the person whose name is on the headstock no longer has a part in physically building the guitars IMO. Or when a company goes off-shore and offers a budget line.

How can a company that has upwards of 100 dealers listed on their website still be considered small?

[54GT]

When the customer no longer feels they are getting the personal attention of the builder.

[cmatthes]

Originally Posted by Joe_Steeler

When "HE/SHE" cannot even see the production floor, buried in paperwork and meetings.
Even less inspect the outbound product.

Originally Posted by 54GT

When the customer no longer feels they are getting the personal attention of the builder.

No. This is when they start go out of business!

[tele_phil]

Originally Posted by 54GT

When the customer no longer feels they are getting the personal attention of the builder.

I called up Grosh guitar last week to ask Brent a few questions before I ordered an EJ Custom. Don Grosh answered the phone. I about shit! He was more than happy to answer my questions and give me his insight for ~20 minutes. I drove down to Wildwood right after hanging up the phone and placed my order.

With the "standard" series Grosh seems to be approaching the middle ground in company size, but you can tell that Don is involved with every single guitar that leaves his shop.