Chocklit_Thunda wrote:
I think that it has to do with the fact that acoustics are finicky little buggers.... Every little shave of wood makes a difference... And sometimes you land up with a dud.
More likely at the budget end where QC is less stringent. Which is why if you play enough cheapos you'll find one that is really good.
With old guitars though, the neck will eventually move (less of a problem with brands - like Taylor - with bolt on necks) and this will generally result in a higher action and a need for work on the guitars. Which is why you find old Martins and such that play like dogs.
Cheapo guitars can be problematic here because they need more work to strip down. In some cases the glue used in the neck joint is so nasty that the only option is to steam the whole neck block out and adjust that. And if you have to go to such lengths on a guitar then it's probably not worth the expense.
These days good brands have very high consistency. You don't get many dud new Martins, Larrivees, Taylors, Breedloves etc. Back in the allegedly golden era standards were more relaxed (or harder to maintain) and so you get quite a lot of variance. Martin crafstmen, at one time, were given a pair of gauges for neck profiles - the neck had to be bigger than one of the pair and smaller than the other. So necks were not consistent etc etc.
NOW is the golden age of acoustic guitar making.
